Penvellyn - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

Nancy Drew, famous teenage girl detective, has been asked to discover what strange malady is plaguing young bride Linda Penvellyn. Linda has taken to hiding behind a curtain in bed all day long, snapping orders and acting erratically. Linda's mother knows Carson Drew, Nancy's father, and wants to find a cure. She asks for Nancy to go to the mysterious Blackmoor Manor, a massive mansion rising from the depths of a murky British bog in the middle of a desolate area.

Upon Nancy's arrival, spooky things start happening right away - she hears a strange whisper that says her name and sees a huge pair of glowing red eyes staring at her through the night. Her fears are assuaged by the no-nonsense Mrs. Drake, who brings Nancy to her room. Nancy tries to talk to Linda, but she refuses to come out, lamenting with words that make no sense to the girl detective. Instead, Nancy meets up with another character - Jane Penvellyn. She is Linda's stepdaughter, and loves the supernatural world. She also has many games and puzzles in a hope chest in her room, and is excited for Nancy to become her new playmate.

As Nancy explores the mansion, she also encounters Ethel Bosinny, an elusive woman who is Jane's tutor, and Nigel Mookerjee, who is working on a book about the Penvellyn family history. It isn't long before Nancy's inquisitive nature kicks in, and she discovers an old computer belonging to Jane's grandfather. He has equipped it with a strange "find-the-ghost" game, making Nancy dash about the mansion looking for glowing ghost cutouts when she enters the computer's password. She soon solves the puzzle and learns of a secret passageway in the Manor's East Hall.

As the characters slowly begin to reveal their own dark secrets, Nancy talks to Linda. When she mentions that she found a secret passageway, Linda warns Nancy that "she'll be cursed, too." Nancy pressures Linda into revealing that she found a secret passage of her own by playing around with a gargoyle in the hallway. Using the Penvellyn family crest, Nancy opens the passage in question and discovers a strange curse etched above a door. It says that whoever reads it will become the fabled "Beast of Blackmoor." By looking into the creature's history and snooping, Nancy discovers that Linda thinks she is turning into a werewolf. This may seem silly, but Linda has developed a huge appetite for raw steaks - and her arms are mysteriously hairy.

Nancy delves deeper into the Penvellyn family history, and finds a rumor about a great treasure protected by the family. With the help of Jane and Loulou the Parrot, Nancy navigates the maze of hidden passageways deep within the basement and finds a hidden Alchemy lab and forge. In order to unlock its secrets, Nancy must "reunite the elements four" of air, water, earth, and fire. Using an old journal containing the Penvellyns past and some of her famous intuition, Nancy is able to do just that. In doing so, she forges a unique key that releases the fabled treasure. The treasure also summons the culprit to meet up with Nancy.

The end is resolved in the familiar way of Nancy writing home and tying up all loose ends of the case, explaining the culprit's motives and how they got away with it all. Then, as usual, a sneak peek into her next adventure is revealed.