The Secret of the Old Clock
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This classic mystery introduces the iconic Nancy Drew, offering a thrilling, feel-good story about a clever young woman who uses her wits to right a wrong and help the deserving.
Edition details
Book Summary
Sixteen-year-old Nancy Drew investigates the suspicious will of Josiah Crowley, which left his fortune to the snobbish Topham family. Convinced a second, hidden will exists, Nancy follows clues, faces danger, and recovers a notebook from a clock that leads to the rightful heirs.
Nancy Drew learns from her father, lawyer Carson Drew, that Josiah Crowley's will left everything to the arrogant Tophams, though many believe he intended to provide for kind people like the Horner sisters and Abigail Rowen. Determined to find a rumored second will, Nancy interviews witnesses, including the Horner sisters, who recall Crowley hinting at a hidden document. After Abigail Rowen reveals that Crowley hid a notebook in a family clock, Nancy tracks the clock to the Tophams' bungalow. She is locked in a closet by robbers but escapes with the help of caretaker Jeff Tucker. Nancy retrieves the clock from the thieves, discovers the notebook behind its face, and learns the will is in a safety deposit box under the alias Josiah Harkston. With a court order, she and her father retrieve the will, which gives inheritances to the Horner sisters and Abigail Rowen while cutting off the Tophams. The Tophams are left bankrupt, and Nancy refuses a monetary reward, asking only for the old clock. The story celebrates justice, resourcefulness, and the triumph of generosity over greed.
Reading guide
Go deeper in The Secret of the Old Clock
Character guides, themes, chapter companions — plus Character Web, narrative arc, and theme heatmap teasers that unlock fully beside the text in BetterReads.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
Nancy Drew
A teenage detective who turns a mantel clock's chime into a clue, chasing a missing will with the patience of a psychologist and the nerve of a pursuit driver.
Josiah Crowley
An eccentric dead man whose hidden notebook and scattered household goods turn his estate into a puzzle box that his greedy relatives never learned to open.
Carson Drew
Nancy's father, a calm lawyer whose court order and steady skepticism keep his daughter's hunches tethered to what a judge will actually accept.
Grace Horner
A Horner relative drawn into the Crowley search, whose connection to the family gives Nancy another thread to pull when the will seems hopelessly lost.
Allie Horner
A young Horner whose stake in the Crowley estate makes the missing will personal, and whose help keeps Nancy's investigation moving through family channels.
Abigail Rowen
An elderly friend of Josiah Crowley whose memory, jogged by a chiming clock, releases the notebook clue that reframes the entire search.
Social Class and Snobbery
The book contrasts the arrogant, wealthy Topham family with the deserving but poor Horner sisters, highlighting how social standing and snobbery influence characters' actions and the plot's moral stakes.
Justice and Fairness
Nancy Drew's quest to find Josiah Crowley's second will is driven by a desire to correct an injustice, ensuring that the fortune goes to kind, deserving relatives rather than the cruel and greedy Tophams.
Resourcefulness and Independence
Sixteen-year-old Nancy demonstrates remarkable capability, managing her household, driving a roadster, and using clever detective work to solve the mystery, embodying youthful independence and problem-solving.
Greed vs. Generosity
The Tophams' greed and stinginess are contrasted with the Horner sisters' humble generosity and Nancy's charitable motives, framing the inheritance dispute as a moral battle between selfishness and kindness.