The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery

Nancy Drew #75

The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery

Basic Plot Summary (Spoiler Alert): Nancy is investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding the sinking of the freighter Rayo del Sol for Mr. Johnson who lost a valuable textile order which was on board. The freighter went down near Cartagena, but the ship was not scheduled to be anywhere in the vicinity. Realizing that Nancy might discover Cordova’s scheme of unloading the shipments and storing the cargo in his Cartagena warehouses before they are deliberately sunk, the culprits kidnap her and transport her by private plane to the hacienda. On board Nancy meets Elena who has stowed away in hopes of returning to the hacienda to visit her aunt who has been acting strangely. The girls escape when the plane lands and Elena and Ricardo hide Nancy in a closed wing of the hacienda with Maro for company. But she finds the secret passage to the main building, and locates the hidden closet where Rosalinda has hidden some of the family treasures, while Maro runs interference.

Chapter by chapter synopsis will be coming soon.

Setting

Phoeniz AZ, Los Angeles (San Pedro), San Francisco, area around Cartagena, Colombia

around the time of Chinese New Year

Recurring Characters
Carson Drew

Characters and Suspects

Mr. & Mrs. Jules Johnson - textile importers, friends of CD

Barry Cole - crewman

Roger - dock employment office

Elena Escobar

Maro - her black cat

Ricardo - Elena’s fiancé

Rosalinda de Luz - Elena’s aunt

Rosa Blanca - Elena’s white jenny (female burro)

Mr. Jack Dodsworth - American Consul General (friend of Cordova)

George Rinaldo - Hotel Triton Ciomara - Rosalinda’s trusted personal servant

Deceased:

Uncle José - Rosalinda’s husband; mistakenly called Carlos

Mariposa - Rosalinda’s little sister who resembles Nancy (Elena’s mother?)

Paolo - Mariposa’s husband (Elena’s father?)

Ricardo’s father - prior hacienda manager

Culprits

Señor Cordova - attorney who runs the hacienda

Isabella - housekeeper

Juan - kidnapper

Charlie Sim - associate

Jim Liu - San Francisco restauranteur (corner Grant/California)

Motivation: Cordova has been drugging Rosalinda to keep her weak, hoping that she will sign a power of attorney which will give him control over the de Luz estate. His deadline is Elena’s 21st birthday. He plans to drill for oil and use money from his insurance fraud (he owns the shipping companies of the freighters which have been sunk) to purchase oil tankers

Resolution

Nancy escapes from the heavily guarded hacienda to rescue Elena and Ricardo being held at Mesa del Oro - they sneak back to liberate Rosalinda and all escape by plane

Mis-adventures

2 crates pushed to try to crush her
drugged and hypnotized to drop case
knocked out at Phoenix Airport - kidnapped by plane
grapples with Isabella in office

Nancy's talents
pilot’s license

Key clues
crates with de Luz logo in MIC warehouse

Nancy's outfits

items of interest
errata page 32 - refers to Bayport as Nancy’s home town

Meaning of the title
Cat statue symbolizes the wealth of the de Luz family and how it is kept out of Cordova’s grasp; duality with green-eyed Maro who helps Nancy in her adventures

reward

THE COVERS

Below is a gallery of all the covers I have found for The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery. Below each picture is the artist's name, and a brief description of the scene depicted.

Wanderer "Arch" cover by Hector Garrido

fantasy montage (does Maro even trip the guards?)

Wanderer "Checkerboard" cover by Bob Berran

page 47 - Maro waking Nancy after she has been transported to the closed wing of the hacienda. Maro licks her face and she sits up abruptly and her hands fly to her head. Maro does not jump in from the window and he is friendly. Scene is set by candlelight and furniture should be old Spanish-style

Minstrel cover by Paul Bachem: pages 73-4 - Nancy lights a candle in the hidden closet behind the tapestry where Rosalinda has hidden some of the family treasures so that Cordova cannot steal them. Light reveals a case with statue of cat - it is described as life size golden statue set with emerald green eyes and a diamond collar.

Armada (UK) Format "C" cover by unknown artist: shows kidnapped Nancy and Maro the black cat (eye color?)

Wahlströms (Swedish) - recycles US cover by Hector Garrido

Wahlströms (Swedish) - recycles US cover by Paul Bachem

Forlagshuset (Norwegian) cover by Svein Solem Tammi (Finnish) - recycles US cover by Hector Garrido

THE PRINTINGS

This chronological listing of printings mimics the identification system developed by David Farah for his guide on Nancy Drew. He has given me permission to replicate his system for the purpose of categorizing the paperbacks from this series. For those of you not familiar with his methods for identifying a printing, the first line describes the outside of the book (cover/spine/back cover) and the second line describes the internal pages (inside cover/pre-text pages/post-text pages/inside back cover).

Published:  1984

1st
Garrido/W1lavender on aqua/3.50,49739-1,+
bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/bl//ND#57-75 ao of/bl/bl

2nd
Garrido/W1lavender on aqua/3.50,49739-1,+
bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/bl//ND#57-78 ao of/HB#59-85 ao of/NQH#1/bl

3rd
Garrido/W1lavender on aqua/3.50,49739-1,+
bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/bl//ND#57-78 ao of/HB#59-85 ao of/NQH#1/bl

4th
Garrido/W1lavender on aqua/3.50,49739-1,+
bl/pwt/bl/tp+/cp/tc/bl//ND#57-78 ao of/NDCF#1/NDCF#2-3/bl

5th
Berran/W2/two-toned yellow/3.50,+,64282-0
bl/exc/ND#57-78/tp/cp/tc/bl/pwt/bl//ND#57-78 ao of/RHts CCF/HB#59-85 ao of/DrG#1-6/S&S (16)/PrS#1-6/SIArch (4)/bl

1st Minstrel
Berran/M1/two-toned yellow/3.50,+,64282-0
bl/exc/ND#57-83/tp/cp/tc/bl/pwt/bl//ND#57-85 ao of/HB#59-92 ao of/LCA (30 of/MyL (2) of/Min (18) of/Min (14)/Min (14) of/bl

2nd Minstrel (listed as 1st Minstrel)
Bachem, nb/M1/kelly green, 350/pic, 64282-0
BF#1-11/exc/ND#57-97/tp/cp/tc/bl/pwt/bl//ND#57-97, g1 ofHB#59-104, g of/NewBT#1-20 of/LCA (12) of/Min (19)/Min (19) of/Min (22) of/NewBT ad

FOREIGN TITLES

Language

Foreign Title

Title's translation

Swedish

Kitty och mystiska katten

Nancy and the mysterious cat

Finnish

Neiti etsivä ja smaragdi-silmäinen kissa

Nancy and the emerald-eyed cat

Norwegian

Detektiv Nancy Drew og katten med smaragdøynene

Nancy and the cat with the emerald eyes



The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery, artwork by Hector Garrido © 1984 by Simon & Schuster, New York.
The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery, artwork by Bob Berran © by Simon & Schuster, New York.
The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery, artwork by Paul Bachem © by Simon & Schuster, New York.
The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery, artwork unattributed © 1986 by Fontana Paperbacks, London.
Kitty och den mystiska katten, artwork by Hector Garrido © 1984 by Simon & Schuster, New York.
Kitty och den mystiska katten, artwork by Paul Bachem © by Simon & Schuster, New York.
Detektiv Nancy Drew og katten med smaragdøynene, artwork by Svein Solem © Forlagshuhset, Oslo.
Neiti Etsivä ja smaragdi-silmäinen kissa, artwork by Hector Garrido © 1984 by Simon & Schuster, New York.

Setting	Phoeniz AZ, Los Angeles (San Pedro), San Francisco, area around Cartagena, Colombia around the time of Chinese New Year
Recurring Characters	Carson Drew
Characters and Suspects	Mr. & Mrs. Jules Johnson - textile importers, friends of CD Barry Cole - crewman Roger - dock employment office Elena Escobar Maro - her black cat Ricardo - Elena’s fiancé Rosalinda de Luz - Elena’s aunt Rosa Blanca - Elena’s white jenny (female burro) Mr. Jack Dodsworth - American Consul General (friend of Cordova) George Rinaldo - Hotel Triton Ciomara - Rosalinda’s trusted personal servant Deceased: Uncle José - Rosalinda’s husband; mistakenly called Carlos Mariposa - Rosalinda’s little sister who resembles Nancy (Elena’s mother?) Paolo - Mariposa’s husband (Elena’s father?) Ricardo’s father - prior hacienda manager
Culprits	Señor Cordova - attorney who runs the hacienda Isabella - housekeeper Juan - kidnapper Charlie Sim - associate Jim Liu - San Francisco restauranteur (corner Grant/California) Motivation: Cordova has been drugging Rosalinda to keep her weak, hoping that she will sign a power of attorney which will give him control over the de Luz estate. His deadline is Elena’s 21st birthday. He plans to drill for oil and use money from his insurance fraud (he owns the shipping companies of the freighters which have been sunk) to purchase oil tankers
Resolution	Nancy escapes from the heavily guarded hacienda to rescue Elena and Ricardo being held at Mesa del Oro - they sneak back to liberate Rosalinda and all escape by plane
Mis-adventures	2 crates pushed to try to crush her drugged and hypnotized to drop case knocked out at Phoenix Airport - kidnapped by plane grapples with Isabella in office
Nancy's talents	pilot’s license
Key clues	crates with de Luz logo in MIC warehouse
Nancy's outfits
items of interest	errata page 32 - refers to Bayport as Nancy’s home town
Meaning of the title	Cat statue symbolizes the wealth of the de Luz family and how it is kept out of Cordova’s grasp; duality with green-eyed Maro who helps Nancy in her adventures
reward


Wanderer "Arch" cover by Hector Garrido fantasy montage (does Maro even trip the guards?)	Wanderer "Checkerboard" cover by Bob Berran page 47 - Maro waking Nancy after she has been transported to the closed wing of the hacienda. Maro licks her face and she sits up abruptly and her hands fly to her head. Maro does not jump in from the window and he is friendly. Scene is set by candlelight and furniture should be old Spanish-style

Minstrel cover by Paul Bachem: pages 73-4 - Nancy lights a candle in the hidden closet behind the tapestry where Rosalinda has hidden some of the family treasures so that Cordova cannot steal them. Light reveals a case with statue of cat - it is described as life size golden statue set with emerald green eyes and a diamond collar.	Armada (UK) Format "C" cover by unknown artist: shows kidnapped Nancy and Maro the black cat (eye color?)

Wahlströms (Swedish) - recycles US cover by Hector Garrido	Wahlströms (Swedish) - recycles US cover by Paul Bachem

Forlagshuset (Norwegian) cover by Svein Solem	Tammi (Finnish) - recycles US cover by Hector Garrido

Language	Foreign Title	Title's translation
Swedish	Kitty och mystiska katten	Nancy and the mysterious cat
Finnish	Neiti etsivä ja smaragdi-silmäinen kissa	Nancy and the emerald-eyed cat
Norwegian	Detektiv Nancy Drew og katten med smaragdøynene	Nancy and the cat with the emerald eyes