The Message in the Hollow Oak

 The Message in the Hollow Oak (1935) by Carolyn Keene

Nancy enters a contest to come up with a title for a Canadian author's latest serialized book and wins! The grand prize? The deed to some property in Canada. After Carson Drew arranges for a suitable chaperone, she, Bess, and George take their first trip outside the United States to take a look at the land--which just happens to be beautiful lakefront property with a rumor of gold attached to it. Soon Nancy is battling for her right to the property while an unscrupulous owner of mining company starts digging up gold on her land. Carson is already representing someone else in a dispute with the same company and comes to Canada to look into both matters.

Meanwhile...on the way to Canada, Nancy meets up with Ann Chapelle, the author of the book, who is on her way home to Canada for the first time in decades. She left home after being disappointed in love and a falling out with her grandfather (who didn't care for the young man in the case) and hopes to make things up with her grandfather. But before reaching their destination, the train is involved in a wreck and Ann is badly injured. She asks Nancy to take messages to both the grandfather and her former love--in case she is unable to do so. As with most of Nancy's cases, she finds that while fulfilling her promise to Ann she is able to discover keys to the other mystery.

Another favorite from my younger days. My family spent a lot of time camping, so I enjoyed this story which takes place in the wilds of Canada. And now that I'm older and have done a canoeing trip with my son and the Scouts in the Boundary Waters, I'm more familiar with the idea of portages between the waterways. I have a much better understanding of how remote some of these areas still are. It just made for exciting reading when I was younger.

Spoiler Alert!!

I will say, that as an adult, I'm not sure what I think about the ending of this one. Nancy dynamiting a dam just to keep the bad guys from using her land doesn't strike me as okay. First--how on earth does Nancy know exactly where the most advantageous place is to put the dynamite? Second--destruction of property? Really? Third--she has no way to know how getting rid of a dam will affect the few people who do live in the area. It just seems like "Carolyn Keene" couldn't come up with an ending that would give the villains their just desserts, so "let's just flood the land so they can't use it."

But even with that reservation, this is still a good adventure in the Nancy Drew series and I'll leave it with the rating I gave it when young. ★★★★

First lines: "Carson Drew, Attorney at Law...Private." Nancy frowned as she regarded the neatly lettered sign on the door of her father's inner office.

Last line: "After having had so many exciting adventures up North, I think I'll agree to your holding title to all the property that comes into the Drew family!"