'Tippy Chan is eleven and lives in a small town in a very quiet part of the world—the place her Uncle Pike escaped from the first chance he got as a teenager. Now Pike is back with his new boyfriend to look after Tippy while her mum's on a cruise. Tippy is in love with her uncle's old Nancy Drew books, especially the early ones where Nancy was sixteen and did whatever she wanted. She wants to be Nancy and is desperate to solve a real mystery. When her teacher's body is found beside Riverstone's only traffic light, Tippy's moment has arrived. She and her minders form The Nancys, a secret amateur detective club.
'A wrongful arrest, a close call with the murderer and an intervention from Tippy's mum all conspire against The Nancys. But regardless of their own safety, and despite the constant distraction of questionable fashion choices in the town that style forgot, The Nancys know only they can stop the killer from striking again. A gripping and glorious, heart-warming novel for anyone who's ever felt they were on the outside looking in. At its heart, The Nancys is about the family we make and how we must summon the courage to face the truth, no matter what the cost may be.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
R W R McDonald's debut novel The Nancys was highly commended in the 2017 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards unpublished manuscript prize. Reviewer Fiona Hardy spoke to the author about small-town mysteries, new perspectives - and Nancy Drew.
R W R McDonald's debut novel The Nancys was highly commended in the 2017 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards unpublished manuscript prize. Reviewer Fiona Hardy spoke to the author about small-town mysteries, new perspectives - and Nancy Drew.