Nancy Drew Diaries #17 “Famous Mistakes”

Nancy Drew Diaries #17 “Famous Mistakes” is still not listed on Simon and Schuster’s website. Amazon barely has any info on the book, and there are still two releases for the book going around the internet.  I suspect that the book has been cancelled.

However, thanks to the Library of Congress, we now know what the plot of “Famous Mistakes” is. And to be quite honest, I won’t mind if the book gets cancelled.

“Nancy and her sleuthing friends race to find out who is responsible for sabotaging a controversial comedian's upcoming performance at River Heights's new arts complex, where an exhibition of Dutch Masters is being installed.”

It’s yet another Diaries book where Nancy Drew investigates sabotage. Most of the Diaries books have been about sabotage. Even “A Nancy Drew Christmas” seems to be about sabotage. It seems like Simon and Schuster have run out of ideas for Nancy Drew books, which is odd, because the Hardy Boys Adventures series doesn’t seem to have this problem.

I really don’t see the Diaries series lasting for much longer, especially since “Famous Mistakes” is looking like a “Phantom Book” *, a book that is announced, but never published. Normally, if a Nancy Drew or a Hardy Boys series has one of these, it means the series has been cancelled. 

I could be wrong about this, and I will be keeping an eye on Simon and Schuster’s website to see if anything changes. 

*Two examples of Phantom Books are the Fear Street Segas books "The Raven Woman" and "Carousel of Doom". The Hardy Boys Undercover Brothers book "The Case of the MyFace Kidnapper" is another example.

A Nancy Drew Christmas in September

According to Simon and Schuster's website, the 18th book in the Nancy Drew Diaries series will be called "A Nancy Drew Christmas: Super Special". The book has a release date of 18 Sep 2018. There's no cover for it yet, but we do have a back cover summery:

Nancy finds herself a Christmas mystery in this super special eighteenth book of the Nancy Drew Diaries series, a fresh approach to the classic mystery series.

Nancy Drew’s dad surprises her with a trip to a beautiful New England ski resort for Christmas break. Nancy is so excited. What could be better than a whole week of skiing and five-star dining?

But no vacation can go smoothly when Nancy is involved. On her very first run down the slopes, Nancy hits a bad patch of ice and takes a serious tumble. A doctor sends her back to the hotel in a cast and mandates twelve days of bed rest. That means no long car trips back to River Heights and twelve days of sitting around. Luckily, there’s still the five-star dining and beautiful views.

Just hours into her convalescence, Nancy witnesses something very suspicious through another hotel room window. And when she presses the concierge she learns there have been mysterious break-ins throughout the hotel. It’s clear someone has been going into guest’s rooms but, as far as anyone can tell, nothing has been taken. Nancy can’t resist—she has to investigate. Only trouble is, she’s still bed bound.

Taking some cues from Home Alone’s Kevin McCallister, Nancy devises some clever schemes to get her investigating done from her bed. But for all her plans, Nancy still can’t find the source of the break-ins. Or the purpose. What’s worse the mood of the hotel has turned decidedly un-merry. People are leaving in droves and the jolly hotel owner is worried about the hotel’s success.

With all the odds stacked against her, can Nancy solve this crime in time to save Christmas? Or is this one Yuletide she’ll wish to forget?

Despite not really being interested in the Diaries series, I'll will admit the book sounds interesting. What's also interesting is the fact that Simon and Schuster is releasing a Christmas themed book in September.

Also, that release date is very pretty close to the release date(s) for Diaries #17 "Famous Mistakes", which is supposed to come out on either  August 28, 2018, or September 5, 2018, depending on what site you check. "Famous Mistakes" is also not listed on the S&S website, nor do we have a back cover summery for "Famous Mistakes".

Is "A Nancy Drew Christmas" replacing "Famous Mistakes"?