#142: The Case of Capital Intrigue

You can tell a lot about a ghostwriter by the Nancy Drew book they write. And I'm not wasting any time in expressing that message here, because it's written in every word of this book.
Let me start off with what I expected from this installment: Nancy goes to Washington D.C. to visit George, who (despite having no experience at... anything) has landed a photography internship at the White House. Nancy and George cruise around, talking animatedly about the history behind every single monument they pass. Someone steals a rare artifact given to the United States President from the leader of a made-up country named San Valente, and Nancy helps the FBI find both the artifact and the kidnapped ambassador. The president shakes her hand, and then she goes back to River Heights to continue her insipid life of accidentally stumbling into the mysteries that criminals just lay at her feet.

Yet that isn't quite what I got, and it's not a bad thing. In all the Nancy Drew books I've read, it is remarkably rare to come across one that so clearly aspires to be something more. I don't mean to degrade Nancy Drew books, but they generally come in the same basic formula: Nancy goes on vacation with Bess and George, someone sabotages the resort they're staying at, and it's up to our girl sleuth and her friends to figure out which of five characters sees some bit of gain in doing nasty things to nice people. Every mystery varies, but the point is they're not incredibly creative when it comes to plot.

But in this book, I saw a glimpse of the person writing. This can be either a plus or a minus. Good fiction will always be barren of authorial evidence- that is, if the author is placing some symbol or turning point in the story, it shouldn't be immediately obvious to the reader what the writer is trying to do (this can be a tough point of criticism for those- such as myself- who write stories heavy with epiphany). In other words, you don't want to see evidence of the author peeking through. But on the other hand, I would have to argue that reading something which gives us an insight into the author's own thoughts is extremely valuable.

I'm saying this because this particular book reads very much like a mystery-adventure-thriller (think Deception Point by Dan Brown). By this I mean that Nancy is investigating an inside job from the start, since the perpetrator appears to be someone working in the White House. I could have expected that of course, but the attention to detail is astounding, and the story goes on and on along the lines of what should be a full-length novel. Nancy befriends one of the interns, Eduardo, whose father happens to be the ambassador of San Valente. The two grow close, though Nancy's trust in Eduardo is thrown into question when she discovers that he was once involved with a gang in his home country. And then, as the two are out for a midnight walk at the Lincoln Memorial, a masked gunman attempts to hunt them down. They duck behind the mammoth statue of Lincoln while bullets mar the white marble, and then they make a miraculous escape. The next day, the adventure continues as the twosome race to the Watergate Complex to rescue Eduardo's kidnapped father, and then evade the police and rush back to the White House, enlisting the help of a couple of very trusting Secret Service agents to crack down on the perpetrator before time runs out.

Now if this doesn't sound even vaguely like a Dan Brown thriller (minus all of the history and crazy conspiracy theories), you should just slap yourself. The ghostwriter took a few steps here that were especially daring. I'll be honest, I for one am just a little perturbed by the notion of a gunman shooting at the Lincoln Memorial and defacing what is arguably the most magnificent statue in D.C. This may also have something to do with the fact that I regard Abraham Lincoln very highly for his dedication to preserving the Union (and the fact that I am a history nerd to begin with). But that's the daring move: taking something familiar, something of value, and creating a dangerous scenario around it. And this ghostwriter did it in a Nancy Drew book, not even hesitating to supply two of the 'good guys' with pistols as they creep through a hallway of the Watergate Hotel on a mission to save the ambassador. The characters aren't messing around here- it's gritty and it's not nice. But that's what makes this book stand out.

Furthermore, as with all thrillers, the protagonist has to have a love interest- and in case you were wondering, it's not Ned. I know I get on Nancy's case a lot for sporadically prancing around with other guys, but take a look...


Given the artist's rendition of Eduardo, I can't really blame Nancy.
And anyhow, this is just another risk the writer took (successfully, I might add). As you've seen, I am consistently ragging on Nancy whenever some guy appears in the middle of a case- but not now. The author does an incredible job of making their friendship sweet and subtle (until a slightly sappy ending, but let's not get too down about that). It isn't overdone, and most importantly Nancy remains true to herself throughout. She isn't hanging on Eduardo the entire time, forgetting about the case, or landing herself in any trouble that only a man could save her from. She's the Nancy we know and love, but she's showing us that doesn't have to change just because there's a new guy around. It's a breath of fresh air.

Any reader could easily qualify this book as just another Nancy Drew book, in which she goes on a trip, finds herself knee-deep in yet another mystery, and is consistently targeted by criminals who want this snoopy girl detective out of the way. But I'm pointing out the differences between this and other installments because, as I've said, it wants to be so much more. Given a few hundred pages, this episode in the life of Ms. Drew could make up a full-length novel.

And that's where I come back to my main point here: in this story, I see a writer who maybe doesn't want to write Nancy Drew books for a lifetime, someone who wants to be recognized for writing good, enjoyable fiction, though they know they're just blessed to have a job. So they channel their creativity, their penchant for adventurous mystery-thrillers, into the only secure medium they have if they're going to make ends meet as a writer.

It's a tough world out there for people who just want to write- you can crank out the novels and short stories, but the chances of getting published are slim to none. If ever someone gives it a go and sticks at it despite the constant letdowns from publishers, it's not because they think they'll get published someday. It's because they love to write.

Seeing the author through their words isn't always a bad thing- and when there's only so much you can expect from a Nancy Drew book, catching onto these things and thinking about them means quite a lot. Because behind every one of these cheesy books with varying degrees of impracticality, there is someone whose dreams haven't quite been fulfilled. And the most striking part is that they understand this, they accept it, and they keep writing.