Review of THE NANCYS AND THE CASE OF THE MISSING NECKLACE by R. W. R. McDonald

 4 Stars

This cozy crime story was a great way to begin the new year of reading.

Eleven-year-old Tippy Chan lives with her mother Helen in the small town of Riverstone in New Zealand. Tippy’s Uncle Pike and his boyfriend Devon arrive from Australia to look after her while Helen is on a Christmas cruise. Tippy is obsessed with her uncle’s Nancy Drew books and wishes she too could be an amateur sleuth. When the mutilated body of Tippy’s teacher, Ms. Everson, is found, Tippy and her minders form a detective club to investigate. The police arrest another teacher, Sally Homer, but Pike, having known her in the past, is convinced of her innocence. What begins as a bonding exercise and a way to help Tippy face her first Christmas without her father becomes dangerous. Tippy is even left symbolic messages to deter her from investigating what happened.

Tippy, the narrator, is a very likeable character. She’s inquisitive, observant, and intelligent and loyal to family and friends. She feels like an authentic pre-teen: she remains innocent in some ways as she tries to make sense of the world. There is, however, a vulnerability in her; because of the sudden death of her father earlier in the year, she needs reassurance and comforting.

I enjoy reading about dynamic characters and Tippy does grow in the course of the novel. With the help of Pike and Devon, she learns to open up about her feelings, something she has not been able to do with her mother who is overly protective. She also realizes that there is more to people’s lives than what they may publicly project. For instance, she learns that her uncle’s early life as a gay man in a small town was difficult, that teachers may be very different from what students see in the classroom, and that her father’s life was complicated.

There is also a motley cast of minor characters, Pike and Devon being the most memorable. Pike, for example, is definitely a unique personality; outrageous in his behaviour, he is anything but conventional in his interactions with his niece. He and the flamboyant Devon constantly banter back and forth. Tippy does not – fortunately – understand much of the sexual innuendo of their exchanges, though the reader will certainly be laughing. Some might question Pike’s approach to minding his niece, but there is no doubt that he loves her and wants to protect her. Pike and Devon also insert themselves into the life of Melanie, the neighbour’s teenage granddaughter. Melanie scares Tippy, but the men see beyond her spiky facade and reach out to help her. This decision speaks highly of the type of people the couple are beyond their campiness.

Though there is a mystery to be solved and a lot of comedy, the book also touches on some serious topics. It explores loss and grief and emphasizes the importance of family. Just like there is more to Pike and Devon than their appearance and audacious behaviour might suggest, there is more to the novel than just humour and suspense.

Anyone who grew up reading the Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys novels will enjoy this book. It’s witty and entertaining but also possesses some thematic depth. It is also heart-warming: at the end I reacted like Devon does when he receives Tippy’s Christmas gift.