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Informationen zum Autor Carolyn Keene is the author of the ever-popular Nancy Drew books. Klappentext Nancy and her friends are headed for the shores of Cape Mermaid, New Jersey, where they are hoping to spend a fun-filled week. But as soon as they arrive at an old inn on the beach, strange things start to happen. Could the rumored ghost of Cape Mermaid actually exist? Illustrations. “I can smell the ocean!” eight-year-old Nancy Drew exclaimed as she rolled down the car window. “I can hear seagulls!” George Fayne added excitedly. “I can see the ice-cream stand!” George’s cousin Bess Marvin piped up. “Can we stop, Mr. Drew? Pleeeeeease?” “Pleeeeeease?” Nancy and George chimed in. Laughing, Carson Drew made a right turn onto Neptune Street. “I promise we can go later. I don’t want to spoil your appetites for dinner.” “Okay, Daddy,” Nancy said. “Are we eating at their house? Or at a restaurant?” “Their house is a hotel, so I’m not sure,” the Drews’ housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, said. She was in the passenger seat next to Carson, with a road map spread out across her lap. “There it is, on the right,” she added, pointing. “Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful!” Nancy craned her neck for a better look. Ahead of them was a big Victorian mansion. It was pale blue with purple shutters, and it had a gold weather vane on top in the shape of a mermaid. The sign in front read: MERMAID INN, 1879. Nancy, Carson, Hannah, and Nancy’s best friends, George and Bess, were visiting Carson’s cousin Claire Katz. Claire and her husband, Leo, owned the inn, which was in the seaside town of Cape Mermaid, New Jersey. The Katzes had two daughters: Tessie, who was ten, and Amanda, who was six. Carson, a lawyer, was going to do some legal work for Leo and Claire. While he was busy, Nancy, George, and Bess were going to explore Cape Mermaid with Hannah. Nancy couldn’t wait! Carson pulled into the driveway and parked the car. Nancy and her friends grabbed their rolling suitcases from the back and half-ran, half-walked through the front yard. Seashells crunched under their feet on the path, which wound through a garden full of fragrant roses, honeysuckle, and lavender. Nancy could make out a pale stretch of sandy beach just beyond the backyard. The front door burst open just before they reached it. “Yay, you’re here!” a little girl said, jumping up and down. She had short, wavy brown hair, and she was wearing a polka-dot bathing suit, a pink ballet tutu, and one orange flip-flop. “You must be Amanda,” Carson said as he and Hannah caught up to everyone. A second girl joined Amanda, dressed in a white beach cover-up. She was taller, with shoulder-length, dark blond hair. It was hard to see her face, though, because she was holding a small purple video camera in front of it. A little red light was flashing, which meant that it was in record mode. Carson bent down and waved awkwardly at the camera. “Uh, hi. You must be Tessie.” “Hi, Carson! Hi, Carson’s friends and family!” Tessie slowly panned her camera from left to right. “This is Tessie Katz, reporting from Cape Mermaid,” she said in a serious-sounding voice. “These people have just arrived at the Mermaid Inn after a long drive from River Heights, Illinois. What will they find here in Cape Mermaid? A relaxing summer vacation? An exciting adventure? Or something else? Stay tuned!” George pointed to the camera. “Is that the brand-new KidCam? I’ve been saving up my allowance to buy one!” Tessie lowered the camera from her face. “It’s supercool! It records video digitally onto a memory card.” “I would have no idea how to work one of those,” Hannah joked to Carson. “Me neither. Kids these days are way smarter about technology than we are,” Carson agreed. He turned to Tessie and Amanda. “Are your parents here? They’re expecting us.”
