Customer Reviews
good. reminded me of a movie i liked when i was little. 
2007-08-23
I thought it was really good. I love how these books are short, but get you really into the story. The author definitely doesn't fill the pages with useless boring information. The books are easy fast reads and I love how every person in the book is there for a reason. The book reminded me of the Mary-kate and Ashley movie that I watched when I was little called "How the West Was Fun" because it was also about a ranch and treasure too.
thank you for your time
and feel free to comment
this review,
Loran
The Case of Nancy Drew: An Adult Reader's Thoughts On SHADOW RANCH 
2006-09-20
Originally written by Mildred Wirt Benson from outlines by Edward Stratemeyer, the Nancy Drew series was first published in 1930s. THE SECRET OF SHADOW RANCH was the fifth book in the series, and it presented its heroine as a rich, headstrong, and distinctly reckless teenager who sometimes carried a pistol and who wasn't above breaking the law when it suited her purposes.
As the series progressed and other writers began to generate Nancy Drew novels, the character changed and Nancy was "toned down;" instead of flatly rich, she became reasonably affluent; recklessness was replaced by commonsense caution; and while she might be willing to bend the law a bit she would never knowingly break it. In the 1950s and 1960s the earlier novels were re-written to reflect this change in character.
As originally published in 1931, SHADOW RANCH not only found Nancy packing heat, it also demonstrated that she was a good shot when it came to fending off wildlife. Re-written in 1965, the story concerns Nancy's visit to Arizona, where she faces a phantom horse and works to find both a hidden treasure and a missing artist who may be in the hands of kidnappers. Earlier books found Nancy assisted by Helen Corning, a slightly older friend; on this occasion, however, she is accompanied by two cousins, the ultra-feminine Bess Marvin and the tomboyish George Fayne, both of whom became reoccuring characters in the rest of the series.
The Nancy Drew books tend to repeat certain basic ideas, and in this particular instance the repetition is not so much amusing as it simply repetitious. Still, the book does have its minor charms: Nancy is distinctly the ideal of a specific era, able to do whip up a chocolate cake, win a square dance contest, and solve the mystery all at the same time.
The Nancy Drew books are not great literature by any stretch of the imagination--they are too distinctly formula for that--but they are competently written, literate, and never talk down to their target audience. They are also good "comfort reading" for grown-ups who recall their childhood reading fondly. SHADOW RANCH is not among the best of the series, but entertaining nonetheless.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Who is that mystery girl? 2006-07-29
No I'm not talking about Nancy Drew.
In this editon (the original) Nancy and her friends travel to Shadow Ranch where they fall into a mystery. They come across an abused child living in a shack. Her guardian seems to be a crazy, old lady who likes to beat the child. Remember this is the 1933 version, and this kind of behavior was normal. Nancy feels for the child, and upon searching the shack she discovers a trunk of expensive girls' clothing as well as a doll. Does the trunk belong to the little girl? Upon closer examination, Nancy believes that this little girl might have been kidnapped at an earlier age, and is being brought up to believe that the kidnappers are her real parents.
Will Nancy solve the case?
This is a really good copy if you can get your hands on it, if not applewood books has a copy.
A great book for girls who love Nancy Drew and Horses! 
2006-06-21
Bottom line is this is a terrific book to read. It's a great book about horses and of course Nancy Drew!Anybody who loves mysteries will love this book. It's basically about Nancy Drew going to her two best friends'Uncles'house/ranch to have a great time riding horses and solve a mystery. When her friends tell her about all the vandalism that has been going on Nancy knew she had to figure it out. Plus she her friends,and some other people on the ranch have been seeing this so called "Phantom Horse" who everybody thinks is a ghost. Nancy doesn't know if it's really a "ghost horse" or if somebody on the ranch or anywhere else is just doing this as a prank. That's all I'm going to tell you for now, anyway buy this book you will loooove it!
THe Secret Of Shadow Ranch 2005-10-28
The Sceret Of Shadow Ranch is great mystery. It's about Nancy and her friends thinking they wher going for a vacation on Beth and Georges uncels ranch ranch in Arizona for the summer. A hidden treasure and a phantom horse became another mystery for the three friends to solve. I mostly liked the ranch setting . i would love to spend a weekend at a ranch like that. i didn't however like how mean the bad guys wher to each other. I think it is sad when other people make others feel worthless. Nancy, was my favortie chartecter because she was mysterious also when she was solving mysterys she keept going no matter how hard they were to solve. My favorite part is on page 152;"You're a downrite marvel, that's what you are young laddy," Ms,Thurmond said that about Nancy Drew. i like when the charecter,Nancy, how she helps notice how smart she really is. it is a really good story. The only question i have about this book is that;i wish they would have said what the debt was, like why they had to sell the ranch? I would recommend this book greatly because it really makes you think.
WATCH OUT!!! THERE ARE *TWO* VERSIONS OF THIS BOOK. 
2005-07-01
The original "Secret of Shadow Ranch" was published by the syndicate responsible for all the Nancy Drew books in the 1930s. In the 1950s, the book was updated, and the plot was changed almost COMPLETELY, but the title remained the same. So if you find an old copy of this book, or a first edition of this book -- basically anything besides the book pictured on this page with the yellow cover -- then you are not going to get the same story. I came to this realization after checking out the old copy from my school's library, reading it, and finding it boring, which I never remembered any Nancy Drew mystery being. After coming here to read the reviews, I finally figured out why.
The newer version of the story, as other reviewers have indicated, involves a ghost horse of some kind. I'll leave them to talk about that one because I can't remember it. But the older story is just about Nancy and her friends Bess and George taking a trip to Arizona for the summer, staying at a ranch, and being on vacation. 100 pages into the book, there's no indicaion of any "secret" at the ranch, but there are some weak hints about secrets that other people might have, involving a kidnapped little girl, a medically naive case of amnesia and a long-lost father miraculously returning home. The story is weak, because it's not very interesting to read, it's predictable, and worst of all is the fact that Nancy manages to "solve" two mini-mysteries with one simple telegram from her father, who did all the sleuthing on his own outside the plot.
I can deal with everyone living happily ever after (except the criminals) because that's what I've come to expect from a Nancy Drew plot. But in the other books, Nancy earns it. In this book, all she does is open a telegram and suddenly she has all the answers. Boring! The only things given any real detail along the way are the girls' trips into the mountains (most of which end badly) and Nancy's use of some questionable tactics to get what she wants. Plus the bad guys are allowed to just walk away!! What kind of Nancy Drew plot ends with that kind of let down?
Another interesting point is Nancy's use of a gun in this book. She actually kills several animals with it while the girls are in the mountains on hiking trips. I am fairly certain that she would never dream of handling a gun in the other books, and in fact, I don't even remember the criminals having any. Don't they usually just tie people up or something?
Overall this is a dull, meandering story that isn't in line with the Nancy Drew stories we've come to love and expect. Stick to the yellow-cover version if you want a good adventure, and seek this version out only if you're a collector. It's not interesting enough for much else!
Nancy Drew and the Secret of Shadow Ranch 2005-03-25
Nancy Drew is the main character and she is a young sleuth who has solved four mysteries. There is a mystery out at Shadow Ranch. Shadow Ranch is a dangerous place and can lead to a lot of harm because of rock slides. A 12 year old's father was missing for three months before they found him. He was held prisoner by the people who were causing trouble on the ranch. The best part of the story is when they find out the mystery. If you like mysteries, I recommend this book.
The ghost horse 2004-12-15
This book is about a girl named Nancy Drew who goes to her friend Bess's uncle's house because her uncle has a problem at his ranch. They keep having things stole and things broken. They also keep seeing this ghost horse and every time they see it that's when all the bad things happen. They have tried to catch the horse but it was too fast. Nancy has an adventure on her hands and she has to figure out what does the horse have anything to do with the mystery. I liked this book because I have always liked mystery books and there is suspense in this book also. I couldn't put it down. This book is foreshadowing because it always hints to what is gonna happen next. I said the story was 5 stars because it was a very good book and I got into it easy and I like stories that I get into easy.
Kind of boring, but not completely bad... 2004-06-28
I read the 1931 version. This book is signifigant because it introduces Bess and George, but otherwise it's sort of boring. It was written more like the western adventure books that were being written at the time rather than Nancy Drew mystery story for the most part, but it was still okay, and well written, at least.
The Secret Of Shadow Ranch 2004-01-06
This book is about Nancy Drew who was taking a vacation at Phonix, Arizona and has a to solve the mystery of Shadow Ranch. This book has a little of everything. It has mystery, adventure, romance, and much more.
I really enjoyed reading this book by Carolyn Keene, she's one of my favorite writers. I give this book five stars. Hope you enjoy it.
By: Lina
