Rich and Dangerous

In "Rich and Dangerous" (case #25 in The Nancy Drew Files series), 18-year-old Nancy Drew is spending the weekend in New York City with her lawyer father. While he's busy with an annual Interpol convention, Nancy is getting acquainted with her rich older neighbor, Sarah Amberly, who shares the penthouse floor with them in the Plaza Hotel. For the short time that she knows Sarah, Nancy is worried about the old woman's health. And she has good reason to be, because shortly after they meet, Sarah dies in her suite from an overdose of her heart medicine. At first, Sarah's death is considered a suicide, but when her expensive jewelry collection disappears shortly after her death, the hotel detective (Joe Ritter) considers it murder--and Nancy Drew the main suspect since she was in the suite when Sarah died. Well, of course Nancy didn't kill Sarah Amberly, so she--along with the help of her two friends, Bess Marvin and George Fayne, who drop in for a short visit--decide to uncover this mystery themselves. Here's their list of possible suspects: Maximilian, the mysterious waiter who offers Nancy bits of gossip about Sarah's odd family, yet ominously warns her not to interfere so much; Alison Kale, Sarah's poor, mentally unstable younger sister who may be crazy enough to kill her sibling out of jealousy and rage; Jack Kale, Sarah's nephew who has a major problem with gambling and stealing and may have killed his aunt for the money; Pieter van Druten, Sarah's rich fiancé who may have an ulterior reason for marrying her; and Madame Rosa, Sarah's tarot card reader who foretells of death, possibly as a way to frighten the old woman to death."Rich and Dangerous" was a decent enough Nancy Drew mystery, but I thought the whole secret double-identity of the killer was a little too ridiculous and complicated. Still, this book is worth reading if you're a big fan of The Nancy Drew Files series.