The Nancy Drew Files Books in Order
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🎧 Listen to Secrets Can Kill on Audible
The Nancy Drew Files is a teen-oriented spin-off of the original Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene and launched in 1986. It ran for 124 numbered books until 1997, featuring a more mature Nancy Drew with an emphasis on romance and edgier crime plots. Each book is a self-contained mystery, reflecting changing cultural expectations and aiming to reflect the interests of an older teenage audience. The series is part of a broader evolution of the character, following earlier revisions to the original series and preceding later series such as Nancy Drew: Girl Detective and Nancy Drew Diaries. The character of Nancy Drew was originally introduced in 1930 and has been adapted across multiple series and media formats.
Publication order
In the order the books were originally released.
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Buy on Amazon1986 · Carolyn Keene
Secrets Can Kill is the first book in The Nancy Drew Files series, featuring teenage sleuth Nancy Drew as she investigates a mysterious murder during…
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Buy on Amazon1986 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy is assigned to find a missing rock star, Bent Fender's lead guitarist Barton Novak, who disappeared suddenly after telling Nancy he had…
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Buy on Amazon1986 · Carolyn Keene
A weekend on the slopes is just what Nancy and Ned need to rekindle their romance, but joined by Bess and George, they run into deadly peril when…
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Buy on Amazon1986 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew investigates a series of unsettling incidents at the offices of Flash, a popular teen magazine. She aims to uncover the identity of the…
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Buy on Amazon1986 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew's quest to find the driver who mowed down Kim Baylor in broad daylight leads her into extreme danger. Her investigation brings her into…
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Buy on Amazon1986 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy and her friends find their lives in danger when a maniac stalks them while they are on a white water rafting expedition.
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
When Nancy and her two best friends attend an international tennis competition, Nancy poses as a government courier to deliver a document vital to…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy searches for the practical joker who is stalking the Emerson College basketball team before the team blows its chance for the playoffs. The…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy tracks down the thief responsible for stealing the million-dollar Raja diamond during a gala ballet performance. The mystery unfolds as she…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
When a star investigative reporter who's a friend of the Drews is gunned down, Nancy steps in to finish the dangerous exposé he was chasing. The…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
When Hal Colson is kidnapped, Nancy Drew suspects that the teenaged heir is being held somewhere in River Heights and that the punk rockers he hangs…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
A series of sabotage incidents threatens a small airport where Nancy has friends learning to fly. As accidents turn deadly and planes begin to fall…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy travels to Canada to stop a blackmailer targeting successful people within the same social circles. As she investigates further, she senses she…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
A wave of arson strikes River Heights, and when the fires start hitting close to home, Nancy takes up the investigation. As she digs into who is…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
When Nancy's friend George takes up bicycle racing, she becomes the target of vicious attacks and is run off the track. Nancy investigates who is…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
Bess and Nancy get a chance to work as extras on TV's top soap opera, with America's heartthrob Rick Arlen, after being invited by his beautiful…
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Buy on Amazon1987 · Carolyn Keene
While enjoying a lavish party hosted by wealthy Joanna Tate, Nancy finds herself investigating a major jewel theft. A rookie police detective wants…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
While visiting a friend at a California college, Nancy poses as a transfer student to investigate the mysterious drowning death of a sorority girl.
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates after a friend who works at a glamorous perfume company begins receiving sinister anonymous notes. As the threats escalate into…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
Murder is brewing at a world-famous cooking school in Chicago, where two chefs turn up dead shortly after Nancy Drew and Ned enroll in a course on a…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
A concerned father hires the teenaged sleuth to investigate Dave, the mysterious boyfriend of Nancy's rival, Brenda. A near-fatal car accident…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
In Hawaii, Nancy Drew investigates when Lisa Trumbull, granddaughter of millionaire Alice Faulkner, is kidnapped, and a ransom note demands that the…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
When Nancy turns down Ned's marriage proposal, she is shocked when the very next day he announces his engagement to another girl. Nancy knows the…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
While on vacation in New York, Nancy Drew saves the life of an elderly woman who turns up dead a few days later. Is the victim's supposedly caring…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy goes undercover after a string of dangerous incidents threatens a theater production. As accidents on the set turn life-threatening, she must…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
At a high school reunion, Nancy and her friends find the festivities turning sinister when threatening messages suggest someone is targeting a former…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy is drawn into a deadly case involving a mysterious woman and a string of crimes that point to a femme fatale dubbed the Black Widow. As the…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
When a popular health-food guru and television personality becomes the target of poisoning attempts, Nancy steps in to protect him and find the…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew and her friend Bess Marvin travel into the world of fashion, where someone is determined to see famed designer Kim Daley dead. When Nancy…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
Five years after Lucinda Spada died in a freak boating accident while vacationing in Tahiti, her daughter Bree begins receiving anonymous letters…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy and Ned visit the prestigious Basson College to see their friend Linc Sheffield, but when they arrive they discover Linc lying unconscious…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
A criminal operates in disguise, leading Nancy on a difficult case where nothing is as it appears. She must see through the deception to identify a…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
A skilled performer vanishes mid-show, and Nancy must determine whether the illusion is real or a cover for foul play. She races to find the missing…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
A posh resort catering to outdoor activities is plagued by a series of accidents. Concerned about the danger, the owner invites Nancy Drew to…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
When strange happenings coincide with the opening of a new dance club, Nancy is suspicious. The owner of the club is the heart-throb of every girl in…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy's investigation backstage at a theater production reveals a murder conspiracy among performers. She must identify the killer and expose what…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates a suspicious neighbor with ties to a serious crime, uncovering disturbing secrets in her quiet street. She must gather evidence…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
Teen detective Nancy Drew investigates a saboteur who has been lacing skincare products with poison at the local mall. Her boyfriend Ned Nickerson…
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Buy on Amazon1989 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates a chemistry lab accident that becomes a murder investigation when she realizes the crime was perfectly calculated. She must expose…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates a counterfeiting ring operating in River Heights, uncovering false impressions that mask serious crime. She must expose the…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew investigates the disappearance of four wild cats from the River Heights zoo, where a graduate student becomes the prime suspect.…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
The football players of Bedford High School take their football too seriously for their own good. When waitress Cynthia Tyler is fired from the…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy goes to the Kentucky Derby, where death is the dark horse. When Carson Drew invests in a Derby entry called Pied Piper, Nancy and Bess fly to…
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Buy on Amazon1988 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy goes undercover investigating dangerous situations where flirtation becomes a tool for criminal purposes. She must expose the perpetrator using…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates romance and deception when a relationship reveals hidden criminal connections. She must expose the person using love as a…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew must solve the mystery of an artist's nephew's death, and find a missing painting from a local gallery by this same artist, all without…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
As Nancy's summer vacation in the Hamptons draws to a close, she struggles to choose between Ned, her longtime beau, and the handsome dancer Sasha,…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates corruption and criminal activity within the glamorous modeling world. She must expose the crimes targeting beautiful young people…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates a criminal rental operation where danger is the product being sold. She must expose who runs the illegal enterprise and stop them…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy exposes a criminal's web of lies and false trails designed to mislead investigators. She must follow the truth despite deliberate deceptions…
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Buy on Amazon1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy spends a winter weekend at Emerson College's Winter Carnival with Ned, Bess, and George, but a jewel heist puts a chill on the festivities, and…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
When the long-lost son of a recently deceased millionaire turns up at the reading of the will, Nancy is convinced that the young man, who has been…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates disappearances in high altitude locations where thin air and dangerous conditions mask foul play. She must solve a case unfolding…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
While vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Nancy, Bess, and George learn that one of the hottest rock groups around is filming a music video at…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
When Nancy's boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, looks into insurance fraud as part of his job as an insurance company investigator, the perpetrator ends up…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
Sabotaged cars, suspicious accidents, and a desperate letter to an advice column figure into Nancy's summertime mystery.
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy and her friends visit the Oakwood Inn for a chocolate festival, joined by celebrity taster and TV star Brock Sawyer. The weekend turns sour…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy goes undercover to investigate a grade-changing scheme at Brewster Academy. Someone has penetrated the school's computer and is extorting cash…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy joins Ned on campus for Emerson College's homecoming weekend, which includes pep rallies, parades, and the big football game. When a series of…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
Posing as a reporter for a ski magazine, Nancy sets out to uncover the truth behind Rebecca Montgomery's firing from the posh Tall Pines…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy visits the hometown of deceased country singer Curtis Taylor to investigate a report that he has been seen alive. She discovers instead that…
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Buy on Amazon1991 · Carolyn Keene
When Halloway College freshman Ava Woods uses the Campus Connections computer dating service to find her dream date, she vanishes. Nancy and Bess…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
On tour of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Nancy Drew is asked to look into a series of threats against the staff. The investigation leads her to…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy tracks a terrified fugitive through River Heights, uncertain whether they're victim or criminal. She must uncover the truth before the…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
When a top female skater takes a terrible fall, Nancy suspects sabotage. In a world marked by fierce competition, ambition, and industrial espionage,…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
The River Heights car theft ring steals Bess’s new Camaro, prompting Nancy to investigate. When the suspected thief is found murdered, Nancy deduces…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy, Bess, and George are off on a continental adventure to Switzerland, where jet-setter Franz Haussman invites the girls out for a night of…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew travels from one Greek island to another in her quest to stop forgers who are selling stolen American passports to terrorists. The…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
Ned and Nancy visit San Francisco and become involved when the top model at the Coast's hottest talent agency is murdered.
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy spends a weekend at the former estate home of the late mystery writer Dorothea Burden. What was meant as an innocent exercise in fictional…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy and Bess are thrilled to be invited behind the scenes of the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, until Nancy learns of a plot to sabotage the…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates crime prevention strategies going dangerously wrong when murder enters the equation. She must expose who kills using law…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
When the accountant of Riverview's new comedy club is jailed for embezzlement, Nancy believes he was framed and goes undercover at the club to find…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
When Nancy and Bess Marvin visit Ned Nickerson at Emerson College, they become involved in an experiment in mind control and terror.
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
Andy Devereux invites Nancy, Ned, and Bess to a sailing regatta near his family's estate in Annapolis, Maryland, where he guarantees his boat will…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy is in Sarasota, Florida, the winter site of the Grand Royal Circus, to help trapeze artist Natalia Petronov, who was adopted as an infant, look…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy travels to Carmel, California to find out who stole the stones from a diamond necklace and replaced them with fakes. Her investigation becomes…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
River Heights is about to elect a new mayor, and Nancy's candidate, District Attorney Caroline Hill, is implicated in a bribery scandal by small-time…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates dangerous maritime mysteries where ocean-going criminals and maritime conspiracies emerge. She must solve a case unfolding on the…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
A three-day bike ride with friends turns dangerous as a series of "accidents" put the group on a downhill course. The rider most at risk is Nancy's…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy becomes entangled in a web of drama, danger, and deadly ambition when actress Evelyn Caldwell wants to transform a Connecticut barn into a…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy receives an invitation from supermodel Martika Sawyer to her exclusive tropical resort, Cloud Nine. Inside one of the gorgeous guests at Cloud…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
Nancy travels to Emerson College to celebrate Sweetheart Week with Ned, but the festivities are disrupted when the campus sweetheart, Rosie Lopez, is…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy becomes a crisis hotline investigator when calls for help reveal dangerous crimes in progress. She must trace dangerous callers and stop…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates illusions and deceptions designed to mislead her about the identity of a criminal. She must see through the elaborate false…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy joins her boyfriend Ned's expedition to Yellowstone National Park to research the marmot. The natural wonders of Yellowstone turn into a…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
The Nancy Drew Files, also known as the Nancy Drew Case Files, is a detective fiction series that began in 1986 and was published by Simon & Schuster…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy Drew assists star pitcher Sean Reeves after his five-year-old daughter is threatened with death unless he loses the series. The case involves a…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy joins grad student Barb Sommers on beautiful Block Island for summer fieldwork, uncovering a secret worth killing for when fisherman Tom…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
While visiting Ned Nickerson at college, Nancy must ask him some sensitive questions after a scandal breaks out that could lead to his expulsion. She…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
Bess secures a job at the Razor’s Edge dance club and invites Nancy to visit. During a crowded night at the club, a sudden blackout occurs, followed…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy spends Thanksgiving in Paris, where her neighbor Ellen Mathieson, a professor studying painter Josephine Solo, finds her research taking a dark…
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Buy on Amazon1994 · Carolyn Keene
When crime crashes in, Nancy finds that the money may be fake, but the danger is all too real. Bess receives two crisp new twenties for Christmas…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
Vacationing in Washington state, Nancy and Ned discover that the owners of the Alpine Adventures guide service have been victims of a terror…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
A renowned romance novelist's arrival in River Heights sparks rumors and danger when she publishes an autobiography filled with scandalous…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
While teaming up with River Heights detective Sam Fanelli after an eight-year-old boy is kidnapped, Nancy learns that young Jeremy Wright may be the…
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Buy on Amazon1995 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates danger at high altitudes when an airplane-related mystery emerges. She must solve a case unfolding in the skies before it reaches…
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Buy on Amazon1995 · Carolyn Keene
Jealousy, passion, and ambition heat up off camera on the top-rated soap Love and Loss. Invited to New York City by the assistant producer, Nancy…
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Buy on Amazon1995 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates when someone becomes a captive of their own emotional attachments or criminal romance. She must expose the dangerous relationships…
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Buy on Amazon1995 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy travels to Westbridge, Massachusetts, in the Berkshire Mountains to attend a world-famous piano competition. She discovers that finalist Ted…
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Buy on Amazon1995 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy checks into a luxury hotel where danger comes free of charge. While she investigates threats against Italian-born student Gina Fiorellao, Gina…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
Preparing for an exciting weekend when Ned's fraternity throws a party at the same time a gala art opening debuts the work of a handsome aspiring…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
When the fiancé of a prominent citizen in River Heights is threatened with death, Nancy is summoned to uncover the truth behind the danger. The…
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Buy on Amazon1996 · Carolyn Keene
During Fashion Week at the River Heights Mall, Bess works at a boutique called Wicked and is about to make her modelling debut. When someone starts…
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Buy on Amazon1996 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy and George go undercover at Brookline High to protect track star Samantha Matero after she suffers a suspicious ankle sprain during a practice…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
Visiting the Backbeat Cafe, a new establishment owned by the lead singer of a popular band, Nancy, Bess, and George encounter a sudden mystery when a…
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Buy on Amazon1900 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy's old friend's wedding is nearly ruined by a series of sinister rumors, hints of scandal, and whispers of betrayal. Nancy must intervene before…
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Buy on Amazon1900 · Carolyn Keene
Invited to Stafford Military Academy's gala centennial celebration, Nancy, Bess, and George anticipate a weekend of dining and dancing until Sergeant…
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Buy on Amazon1984 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates romance and seduction used as weapons to manipulate victims into crime or danger. She must expose the person using dangerous love…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
The Rocky Isle Marine Institute in Maine faces financial hardship and loses its baby dolphin, prompting a ransom demand of a million dollars. Nancy…
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Year unknown · Carolyn Keene
Nancy must piece together the truth about a crime in which the only clue is the victim's sketchbook, which reveals a sinister web of deception and…
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Buy on Amazon1900 · Carolyn Keene
Invited to play the part of a murder victim in the school play, fraternity president Michael Wentworth nearly dies when he is poisoned. Nancy Drew is…
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Companion & related books
Related titles and editions that sit outside the main numbered order.
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Buy on Amazon1997 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy, Bess, and George come to Santa Monica, California, to help open Lydia Rojas's restaurant, the Ch@t Cafe. When someone knocks out Lydia's…
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Buy on Amazon1996 · Carolyn Keene and Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon
Nancy Drew and her father, Carson, travel to Philadelphia for a meeting of the Vidocq Society, a group focused on solving unsolved crimes. Carson's…
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Buy on AmazonThe case of the safecracker's secret
1990 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy finds herself in great danger when she investigates a series of safe deposit box break-ins, working to uncover who is responsible for the…
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Buy on AmazonThe Girl Who Couldn't Remember
1989 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy helps a mysterious girl plagued by amnesia recover her memory while uncovering her connection to a serious crime. She must determine who the…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
Nancy investigates a historical legend about a lost miner's fortune that masks modern criminal activity. She must solve a case rooted in frontier…
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Buy on Amazon1993 · Carolyn Keene
Everybody is talking about Marcy, Chicago's hip new teen TV talk show, and Nancy has tickets to see it live. When host Marcy Robbins goes on the air,…
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Buy on Amazon1992 · Carolyn Keene
A plan to transform a grand old inn into a hot new rock club has turned into a design for disaster. Nancy is determined to stop a saboteur before the…
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Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the The Nancy Drew Files books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with “Secrets Can Kill”. Start with “Secrets Can Kill.”
How many books are in the The Nancy Drew Files series?
We list 132 books by Carolyn Keene , published between 1900–1997.
Where can I buy the The Nancy Drew Files books?
Each title above links to Amazon. See our affiliate disclosure.
More series like The Nancy Drew Files
Reading order compiled from author/publisher guidance and verified bibliographic data. Spotted a wrong order, a missing book, or any other mistake? and we'll correct it.