In Password to Larkspur Lane, Nancy Drew stumbles onto another mysterious case when a wounded, rogue homing pigeon crashes into her yard. The pigeon carries a strange message: “Trouble here. After five o’clock blue bells will be singing horses. Come tonight.” Intrigued, Nancy notes the pigeon’s identifying numbers (2-21-12-12), and leaves for a flower show she has been preparing for. On her way back, she happens to see a doctor-acquaintance of hers being kidnapped and driven away by a car with a license bearing the numbers “2-21-1.” (We’d all be amateur detectives if we had Nancy’s luck!) While investigating this, Nancy is soon contacted by her old friend Helen Corning, who requests her help in dealing with a mysterious ghostly apparition that has been haunting her grandparent’s home. Meanwhile, the Corning’s caretaker has been behaving quite strangely…
Spoilers ahead!
If you can’t tell from my little description above, this story has a LOT of sub-plots. This isn’t a problem, but they aren’t woven together too well by the story’s end. They were effective in making the mystery intriguing, but they really lose their power once you realize that being intriguing was their only purpose. For example: the ghostly blue fire appearing at the Corning’s home was to scare Morgan (the caretaker) into cooperating with the bad guys. Why so convoluted? Why a complex contraption involving fireworks and triggers when the villain could just wave around a knife? What happened to good, old-fashioned threatening? It’s just so convoluted that it’s nonsensical. The book also ends with Ned, Burt, and Dave swooping down in planes piloted by the state police onto the villain’s property- perhaps just a teeny tiny bit unrealistic. Boy, these teenagers live exciting lives.
I think this is one of the Nancy Drew stories that was done dirty by its rewrite. I assume the original 30s version made more sense. On that note, I only found out recently that the first 34 volumes of Nancy Drew were rewritten in the early 60s. Wikipedia states the rewrites excised racist overtones (good!) but also made Nancy “less unruly and violent.”
HUH???! Nancy Drew, violent? I could hardly believe my eyes. Now that is something I’ve gotta see. I want original Nancy! I want reckless, VIOLENT Nancy!
That being said, I really enjoyed this one. Although I’m a little tired of these villains wearing their hearts on their sleeves the second they are caught. Take this passage from the final chapter, after the villains have been caught and handcuffed:
“It’s not my fault,” said Bell, his voice rising nervously. “It’s Thorne’s. Ever since he read about the Cornings’ jeweled crystal collection he wanted to steal it. Then he dragged us into the scheme and bungled it! My men were doing all the work! Whenever I wanted Tarr and Jackson, they were trailing Nancy Drew in the sedan or spying on that Sylvan Lake place. They even set the dog on her. Twice they snatched Morgan, and Jackson showed the blue fire night after night to scare him. It finally worked. Then suddenly Morgan wouldn’t go along with us, so we had to teach him a lesson.
“As for Tarr,” Bell went on bitterly, “he spent days making the firework wheel wheel and rigging up an asbestos-lined box for it.”
Tarr gave a sickly grin. “All I had to do was shut the door of the box and the blue fire was gone-like magic!”
Jackson’s face was pale. “We only did what Thorne ordered.”
“Be quiet, all of you!” barked Thorne. “Don’t you know there are police listening?”
Password to Larkspur Lane, pg. 171
WHAT! Sorry to quote the book so lengthily, but just IMAGINE going into that much detail in front of state police, just because you suddenly have a hankering to air your grievances!
Anyway, this is a kid’s book, and I liked it. I especially liked that Sassy Drew made an appearance:
“Effie gulped. ‘I’m sorry. I can’t see him. Oh, I could cry!’
‘Well, don’t,’ Nancy commanded. ‘That pigeon is one of my best clues. I must find it!’”
Password to Larkspur Lane, pg. 58
Alright, Nancy has her sassy pants on! I’m a fan.
Larkspur Lane Sandwiches
These sweet, easy sandwiches are made of butter, orange marmalade, and crystalized ginger. And– that’s it! Super easy. This recipe was taken from the Nancy Drew Cookbook: Clues to Good Cooking. This cookbook is awesome. It’s meant for kids, so the recipes are mostly easy, and I just I think it’s so fun that for every Nancy Drew mystery, there’s an accompanying recipe.
You will need:
- Butter
- Sliced White Bread, crusts cut off
- 1/4 cup Crystallized Ginger
- 3/4 cup Orange Marmalade
Aside from cutting the crusts off the bread, this recipe has no prep time. Mix together the ginger and marmalade, spread it on a slice of buttered bread, and top with another slice of buttered bread. And viola! You have your sandwich.
This sandwich is very, very sweet, which I found unusual as I typically think of sandwiches as being vehicles for hefty amounts of protein (BLTs, clubs, etc.). But I REALLY like it. It has a unique gingery flavor that I’ve never had before. The mixture is pretty yummy looking as well.
I edited the recipe a tad as I had a hunch that cream cheese would go better with the jelly texture than butter. I tried it both ways, and I was pleasantly surprised by the butter. The butter gives it a much more subtle, light flavor. With cream cheese, you have a much creamier and fuller sandwich, and I think it emphasizes the ginger by way of contrast. I still preferred it with cream cheese, but be wary: spreading cold cream cheese on non-toasted bread can easily result in you tearing your poor bread to bits. Maybe let your cream cheese soften a little while, and don’t be a dummy like me.
My only beef with this recipe:
This little bottle of crystallized ginger was twelve dollars. That’s six dollars an ounce! My store was out of regular crystallized ginger, so I had to pick organic, which is maybe why it was so expensive. But wow! Why are your little tea sandwiches so pricey Nancy??!?
Anyway, I loved it! Super delicious, sweet, and easy. I can just imagine sitting back on Larkspur Lane, munching my little sandwiches, watching the little old ladies I’m conning out of their money go strolling by… oh, wait. Larkspur Lane? Is this what the villains of this book eat? Anyway..
Philosodrama 
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