Evelyn's Mystery Books

My first Nancy Drew Cameo Edition books. I recently learned about the Nancy Drew Cameo Edition books , which are a lovely set of 12 books that were published in 1959 and 1960 as part of a book club. These books feature beautiful artwork by Polly Bolian, both on dust jackets and in a color frontispiece (same artwork as the dust jacket) and internal line illustrations. The books also have beautiful endpapers featuring scenes from the stories and a Nancy cameo portrait on a ribbon. The books also have the cameo artwork on the front cover and spine. The cameo books are a little difficult to find, especially with dust jackets in good condition. However, they are easier to find (and much less expensive!) without dust jackets. I've decided to collect a set of the books without dust jackets. I think they are stunningly beautiful books even without the dust jackets. These books do not commonly come up for sale in Australia, where I live, but I was recently able to buy a set of thr...

My first two Connie Blair books. I received my first Connie Blair books in the mail this past week. This book series in hard to find here in Australia, but I did manage to find copies of the three books that were published in paperback in the late 1970s. Two of those books arrived this week, and a third book is on its way from the seller. The books are not in great condition, but nevertheless I like these little books. I'll take them to read during some upcoming work travel. I will try to track down copies of the hardcover books, and possibly also the paperback books that were published in the 1960s. I did order two hardcover books that were fairly inexpensive (including international shipping) to start my Connie Blair collection properly, but they will take a few weeks to arrive. I like how all of the books have a color somewhere in the title - that's very clever. Here are two more pictures of the books: The fronts of the books. The backs of the books. ...

A surprise gift!  I received a lovely surprise in the mail today: an eBay seller sent me this Nancy Drew Files book as a gift. I have ordered a few books from this seller, and I'm sure that I'll order more in future. I love the cover art on this book, and the book is set in Maryland, where my mother grew up and where I still have family. Here's a view of the back of the book: The back of the book. It sounds like a fun book! I don't have many of the files books. I haven't focused on finding them, but I'll slowly work on collecting them as they come up for sale at good prices. I actually only have three out of the 124 files books, so I have a ways to go with my collection! Here are the three books that I have: Three files books.

My gorgeous new set of Nancy Drew books! I recently received a beautiful set of Nancy Drew books from my new friend Todd. This set of 8 books was published in 2014 and 2015 with new cover artwork that is modern but reminiscent of 1930s Nancy Drew. The cover artwork is stunning -- I absolutely love it. These books were apparently for sale at Target, and only eight titles were published. I wish I'd bought them when they came out, but fortunately Todd had an extra set to send to me. Todd and I are trading books. He is sending me some books from America, and I am sending him some books from Australia, mostly UK edition Nancy Drew books. Here are some more pictures of this lovely set of books: The backs of the books. The spines of the books. Closer view #1. Closer view #2. Closer view #3. Closer view #4. What a beautiful set of books!

Two UK edition Susan Sand books. Excitingly, I have found two more UK edition Susan Sand books: #7 "The Search for the Snowship Songs" and #8 "The Mystery at Beggarbay Bluff". I am thrilled to have found these because the #7 and #8 Susan Sand books are fairly hard to find. Generally the UK editions are very hard to find, although they are likely much easier to find here in Australia compared to in the USA. The books were reasonably affordable and are in fairly good condition. Book #8 is a little crumpled but still in decent shape. Here are some more pictures of the books: The spines of the books. The backs of the books. Interior page - book #7. Title page - book #7. List of other books - book #7. Book order page - book #7. Interior page - book #8. Title page - book #8. List of other books - book #8. So far I've found UK versions of books #5, #7, and #8 in the Susan Sand series. I need to keep my eyes out f...

My gorgeous rare Susan Sand book! I recently obtained a rare version of the first Susan Sand book: an Advance Reading Copy of "The Mystery at Hollowhearth House". This book was produced just as the series began, to promote the series. The book format is similar to the later published version, except that there is an extra banner on front and the back has promotional text instead of the plot summary, which is instead located in the interior of the book. The book also does not have a price, ISBN number, or barcode. All of the Susan Sand books are scarce, but this book is truly rare. I only know of one other series book collector who has a copy. Not many of the Advance Reading Copy books would have been published, and probably most of the ones that were published did not survive. I feel very fortunate to own one! I found the book by accident. I ordered the book from Thriftbooks for $8 US, including shipping to Australia. There were no pictures of the book, but it was d...

My beautiful new book! I recently received a new Severn House edition Dana Girls book, a copy of "Mystery of the Wax Queen". I bought this book from a seller in the UK, and it took awhile to arrive. I'm so happy that I bought it, though, since the book is in beautiful condition and not ex-library. It is apparently very difficult to find copies of these Severn House books that are not ex-library, so I feel that this one is a real gem. Here are some more pictures of the book: The back of the book. The spine of the book. The title page. The copyright page. The Table of Contents. The side of the book. It really is in excellent condition. A couple of the interior pages. Here is the book compared to the other hardcover and softcover version: The fronts of the books. The backs of the books. I have found three of the Severn House editions so far: My three lovely Severn House books. The books on the shelf. I bel...