Louise and Jean Dana  

The Dana Girls Mystery Stories
#21-30 (First Set)

The summaries for volumes 21 through 30 have been taken from the publisher summaries.
  #21 The Haunted Lagoon

"Impossible!" the girls gasped.  Louise and Jean Dana stare unbelievingly through the swirling mists in an isolated lagoon.  In mid-air floats a fantastic apparition—a full-rigged sailing ship!  The next moment, the phantomlike vessel dissolves in the fog.

Never before have the Dana sisters encountered so strange and eerie a situation.  Little did they dream, when invited to visit fascinating Chincoteague Island off the Virginia coast, where wild ponies roam, that their carefree vacation would turn into a challenging and exciting mystery.

The Haunted Lagoon
To find the solution, Louise and Jean must uncover the whereabouts of an ex-sea captain, Tracy Forsythe, whose once proud career was ruined under tragic circumstances during a shipwreck years ago.  In their efforts to locate the missing man and help the captain's heartbroken family clear his name, the two young sleuths are thwarted constantly by a sinister enemy who resorts to desperate measures to prevent them from unearthing the truth.

Readers will share many thrilling, spine-tingling moments with the Danas as the girls pursue the baffling trail of clues that leads them to pirate treasure and a startling climax.

  #22 The Mystery of the Bamboo Bird

When a precious gilded bamboo Garuda bird, containing a sacred golden statue studded with jewels, is stolen, the lovely Malee Wongsuwan begs her school friends, Louise and Jean Dana, to help recover the treasured bird, a gift from her father.

Despite Malee's warning of possible danger, the Danas agree to take the case, never dreaming that in a few days they will be pursuing their search in the Oriental splendor of Malee's native land, exotic Thailand.

The Mystery of the Bamboo Bird
Via romantic Honolulu and fascinating Tokyo, the three girls fly to Bangkok, spectacular shimmering capital of Thailand, where a mosaic of clues and harrowing experiences await the young detectives.  Along the picturesque canals, or klongs, once the chief thoroughfares of the "Venice of the East," where the lighthearted, gentle people still ply their trade from boat to boat, Louise and Jean put their sleuthing ability to its greatest test.  Clues discovered during a breathtaking boat chase through the floating market and a visit to the golden Temple of the Dawn lead to the capture of an elusive international jewel thief.
  #23 The Sierra Gold Mystery

Louise and Jean Dana fly home from Thailand completely unaware of the exciting adventures waiting for them just a few hours away.  But even before their plane lands in San Francisco, Louise's precious star sapphire ring is stolen, and the girls are plunged into a new mystery.

Before the Danas have a chance to investigate it, a fellow traveler, Janet Crane, begs them to find her grandfather who has disappeared somewhere in the rugged terrain of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in eastern California.

The Sierra Gold Mystery
The two mysteries must wait, for the girls have promised to visit their aunt, Mrs. Carol Reed, in Sacramento.  Aunt Carol tells Louise and Jean a family secret about a chest of gold nuggets which was buried for an ancestor during the historic gold rush of 1849 by his devoted Chinese servant—and now the girls have three thrilling mysteries to satisfy their love of adventure.

Four generations of Reeds have searched for clues to the treasure with only a half-charred letter to guide them.  Now Jean and Louise, with their sharp instinct for solving the most complicated riddles, decide to add their three mysteries together—and come up with a triple solution.

  #24 The Secret of Lost Lake

A cross-country streamliner is wrecked in the Rocky Mountains and the valuable show dog, Baron, that Jean and Louise Dana are taking to his new owner in New York disappears from the train.  Searching by horseback for Baron, the girls encounter exciting adventure and a challenging new mystery.

Baron's tracks lead toward Lost Lake, near the site of an isolated community buried in a mountain landslide forty years ago and now reputedly haunted by a witch.  A nefarious plot against the witch manifests itself in bizarre clues: a threat chipped in stone in an ancient Indian cave and a message—"Get the witch!"
—sinisterly triple-echoed in a rugged canyon.

The Secret of Lost Lake
As Jean and Louise, assisted by a friendly rancher, diligently search for the handsome German shepherd dog, they try to fathom the mystery of the legendary witch and her unknown enemies.  Who is this weird figure?  Why does she frequent the site of the old disaster?  Most important of all, who are the evil schemers pursuing her—and why?

What happens to Jean and Louise as they seek the answers to these perplexing questions makes another absorbing Carolyn Keene mystery.

  #25 The Mystery of the Stone Tiger

A black-robed ghost roams the streets of the Danas' home town.  A tiger stalks the woods on the outskirts of Oak Falls.  And the Hilary Museum is plagued by a phantom prowler who seemingly passes through locked doors and windows.

Louise and Jean Dana, returning home from a long trip, are horrified by these events.  Their friend Elise Hilary begs them to solve the mystery surrounding the private museum.  Elise, however, can volunteer no clue to what the ghostlike intruder is searching for, nor can she offer any clue to the sender of a threatening note.

The Mystery of the Stone Tiger
Center of the sinister conspiracy is the magnificent marble tiger presented to the museum by a maharajah.  Its eyes glow by night, the black-robed ghost attempts to mutilate it, and the sound of flute music floats eerily from somewhere in the museum.

Determined to unravel the spooky puzzle, Louise and Jean involve themselves in some frightening adventures as they follow a maze of clues to the solution of this suspense-filled mystery.

  #26 The Riddle of the Frozen Fountain

Louise and Jean Dana return to Starhurst School, which has been rebuilt after the fire described in an earlier adventure.  As usual, the two lively sisters are eager to tackle a baffling mystery which suddenly turns up.  It all starts when Professor Crandall receives an anonymous note warning him not to remove the valuable Cellini bronze fountain that he has just purchased from the old Price estate.  While tracking down the writer of the threatening note, Louise and Jean courageously face danger as they become more and more deeply enmeshed in a puzzling chain of events.
The Riddle of the Frozen Fountain
A strange blond woman, phantom ice skaters, a mysterious riddle, and a terrifying gorilla-man are only a few of the clues that challenge the girls' detective skills.  How Louise and Jean solve the mystery, and finally see the beautiful fountain safely installed on the Starhurst School campus, makes a fast-moving Carolyn Keene mystery, packed with surprising happenings and breath-taking suspense.
  #27 The Secret of the Silver Dolphin

A radio newscast announcing a reward to anyone who can locate a valuable silver dolphin involves Louise and Jean Dana, teen-age sister sleuths, in a baffling search.  Pretty Judy Platt is desperately trying to find the silver dolphin mentioned in her dead brother's will.  But no one knows what kind of dolphin to look for—a live mammal or a silver object.  The only clue is Oliver Platt's signature, encircled by four stars to represent the constellation Delphinus—the dolphin.  The Danas' sleuthing is hindered by a hostile fortuneteller and a hoarse-voiced man wanted by the police.
The Secret of the Silver Dolphin
It soon becomes apparent to the young detectives that Maria Castone and "Throaty" Sensky are engaged in a sinister conspiracy to get the reward—and will stop at nothing to ensure the success of their criminal scheme.  Louise and Jean's quest for the silver dolphin leads them and Judy Platt to Miami, Florida, and then to a deserted Caribbean island called Job's Coffin.  How a dangerous skin-diving chase, followed by an amazing undersea discovery, results in the Danas uncovering the strange mystery will thrill readers.
  #28 Mystery of the Wax Queen

Louise and Jean Dana are thrilled when their uncle telephones them at Starhurst School and asks them to solve a very puzzling and fascinating mystery involving two Wax Queens, one of them alive!  Time is of the essence—the puzzle must be solved during the girls' spring vacation.

Their detective work takes the Danas to a quaint Greenwich Village shop in New York City.  Here they meet and are baffled by a sculptress with extrasensory perception.  Weird and spooky adventures confront Louise and Jean as they attempt to unravel the mystery of a valuable wax bust of Queen Victoria which suddenly and strangely appears in the sculptress' shop, then strangely disappears.

Mystery of the Wax Queen
Two young women who frequently change disguises and a man suspected of operating a car winning racket try hard to scare Louise and Jean off the case.  How the teenage sister sleuths, with the help of their friends Ken Scott and Chris Barton, find the solution to this tantalizing mystery is revealed in the breath-taking climax.
  #29 The Secret of the Minstrel's Guitar

The Dana girls take time off from Starhurst School to accompany their Portuguese-American friend Isabel Sarmento and her father to Lisbon, Portugal.  Senhor Sarmento has enlisted the assistance of the teen-age sister detectives in solving the baffling thefts of cork products from his Lisbon warehouse.

But even before the ocean liner the Balaska leaves New York Harbor, Jean and Louise find themselves involved in a mystery on shipboard.  What is the secret of the minstrel's magic music?  Why is a thief so eager to get hold of the handsome young man's guitar?  Is the dangerous schemer somehow connected with the warehouse thefts?

The Secret of the Minstrel's Guitar
Jean and Louise successfully combine sightseeing in beautiful, romantic Portugal with outwitting a tribe of sinister gypsies as they unravel this seemingly unsolvable double mystery.
  #30 The Phantom Surfer

With their Starhurst School friends, Jean and Louise Dana spend spring vacation at Horizon, located on the Atlantic coast.  The seaside resort town is being restored to its former Victorian-era character.  But the restoration project is plagued by thievery and sabotage.

The Danas and their favorite dates, Chris Barton and Ken Scott, are plunged into the thick of the mystery when they witness a lumber theft, discover that signals are being sent from an abandoned lighthouse, and see the nocturnal surfer who time after time mysteriously vanishes before reaching shore.

The Phantom Surfer
In between thrills and spills while learning to surf, the lively teenage detectives face many hazards in their attempts to trap the plotters responsible for the sabotaging of the restoration project.
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