"'If you are reading this, then I am gone and this manuscript, per my instruction, has been delivered to the writer Chelsea Cain for publication as she sees fit ... ' With these words, Chelsea Cain's delicious and affectionate parody of the beloved Nancy Drew series is off and running. According to Nancy-or Nancy Drew-Nickerson, to be exact (yes, she married sweetheart Ned)-she was certainly not a fictional character, and Carolyn Keene was not a hard-working team of writers, as most people believe. In fact, Carolyn was Nancy's college roommate, who shamelessly plagiarized her tales from Nancy's exploits-and, in the process, got a whole lot wrong. For one thing, Nancy did get older, and each chapter of this book reveals Nancy and her chums solving a mysterious case in a new phase of life. Here are the daring escapes, brilliant guesswork, and dependable stock characters-including not only Bess, George, and Ned, but also interlopers such as the Hardy Boys and plucky nurse Cherry Ames-that have delighted generations of Nancy Drew fans. And here, also, are the parts of teen-sleuth life that you never saw: the secret romances, reckless driving, minor drinking problems, political action, and domestic drama that have, up till now, remained hidden from Nancy's adoring public"--Publisher's description.