Nancy Drew #83

The Case of the Vanishing Veil

Synopsis: When Nancy attends a wedding in Boston, she encounters a marriage marred by mischief.  The groom may have stolen the bride's heart, but a thief has made off with her antique lace veil!  From a mansion in Cape Cod to a museum of witchcraft in Salem, Nancy, Bess and George follow a trail of intrigue and deceit across the New England countryside.  They uncover the shocking story behind the wedding-day prank -  and a $60 million mystery behind the vanishing veil.

Publisher's synopsis: A Boston wedding...a veiled threat...a dangerous environment. When Nancy attends a wedding Boston, she encounters a marriage marred by mischief. The groom may have stolen the bride's heart, but a thief has made off with her antique lace veil! From a mansion in Cape Cod to a museum of witchcraft in Salem, Nancy, Bess, and George follow a trail of intrigue and deceit across the New England countryside. They uncover the shocking story behind the wedding-day prank -- and a $60 million mystery behind the vanishing veil!

Setting

primarily Boston MA, with side trips to Salem MA, Kennebunkport ME and Cape Cod

Recurring Characters

Bess Marvin, George Fayne, Carson Drew

Characters and Suspects

 
  • Meredith Brody - friend of George’s from camp
  • Mark Webb – Meredith’s husband-to-be
  • Rev. Roger Petry
  • Helga Tarback - astrologer
  • Tony Fiske - Meredith’s ex
  • Rose Strauss - Meredith’s grandmother
  • Brendan Thorndike - recently deceased multi-millionaire
  • Betty & Dirk - wedding guests
  •  Lt. Burt Flood
  • Chuck and Jennifer - Channel 8 news anchors
  • Aunt Pat
  • Ms. Palomino - airline check-in
  • David Kaufman - curator at Salem Witchcraft Museum
  • Richard Bellman - emcee at Laugh Riot comedy club
  • Barry Mayonnaise - comedian
  • Robert - tour guide at Thornhill Mansion   
  • Harold & Greta - guests at the Mosses’

Culprits

  • Cecelia Bancroft - ditzy chatterbox; aka Markella Smith and Mrs. Petry
  • Jason Moss - her husband, head of the Thorndike companies
  • Frazier Bancroft - Cecelia’s brother
  • Licorice - Cecilia's poddle

Motivation: If no Thorndike heirs are found, fortune reverts to Moss
plot The girls are in Boston for Meredith’s wedding (George is a bridesmaid).  Meredith is wearing her grandmother’s veil for the ceremony, but it is stolen right before the wedding.  There has been a prediction that a cloud of bad luck will hang over the newlyweds until the veil is recovered.  Grandmother Rose is indifferent to its loss.  Cecelia had spotted the Thorndike crest on the veil in Meredith’s engagement photos which were run in the paper, so she steals it before the ceremony.  Tony witnesses her theft and is blackmailing her.  Rose (then Rebecca) had divorced Thorndike because he cared more for money thank for family and had taken 2-year old Margaret and 3-year old Robbie with her.  Margaret later married Jake Brody and had one daughter Meredith.

Resolution

Everyone congregates at Rose’s house in Kennebunkport; police surround the house and capture 3 culprits before they can force NBG and Rose into car to be pushed over cliff.

Mis-adventures

trash can rolled at her
runs out of gas in Salem while being followed
knock out drops in her drink
    tied up and dumped in cemetery
    bitten by small black poodle
    kidnapped and chloroformed

Nancy's talents

Key clues

 
white limo with LICORICE license plate
Thorndike family crest - complex pattern of blooming tulips arranged in a wreath
handwriting on Markella’s plane ticket

Nancy's outfits

flowered print dress and straw hat

items of interest

 Bess catches the bouquet
The girls stay at the Ritz

Meaning of the title

Meredith's veil disappears right before the wedding - the Thorndike crest on it would have provided evidence that she was the rightful heir of Brendan's massive estate

reward

THE COVERS

Below is a gallery of all the covers I have found for The Case of the Vanishing Veil. Below each picture is the artist's name, and a brief description of the scene depicted.

Minstrel cover by Bob Berran:  pg. 123 - Frazier grabs at Nancy as she carries the veil out of the copy shop in a plastic bag.  Frazier should be wearing his trademark earring and Patriots cap (platinum hair is correct).  Veil is described as having a feathered edge and bearing a crest, made of hand lace (not tulle)
Minstrel 3 cover by Frank Sofo: fantasy montage of the Thorndike veil and the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston.


Wahlströms (Swedish) cover by Frank Sofo - same as Minstrel 3 cover above
Tammi (Finnish) cover by Kaarina Hanström:  pg ___ - Nancy (along with Bess and George are drugged while enjoying the entertainment at a local comedy club.  They awaken (bound?) in a cemetery in the middle of downtown Boston.

Forlagshuset (Norwegian) cover - recycles Bob Berran artwork Tharanga Prakashakayo (Sinhala) cover - recycles Frank Sofo artwork

FOREIGN TITLES

Language

Foreign Title

Title's translation

Finnish

Neiti etsivä ja morsiushunnun arvoitus

Nancy and the puzzle of the bridal veil
Swedish Kitty och den stulna brudslögan Nancy and the stolen bride's __________
Norwegian Detektiv Nancy Drew og den forsvunne arvingen Nancy and the lost heir 

The Case of the Vanishing Veil, artwork by Bob Berran © 1988 by Simon & Schuster, New York.
The Case of the Vanishing Veil, artwork by Frank Sofo © 2001 by Simon & Schuster, New York.
Kitty och stulna brudslögan,  artwork by Frank Sofo © 2001  by Simon & Schuster, New York.
Detektiv Nancy Drew og den forsvunne arvingen artwork by Bob Berran © 1987 by Simon & Schuster, New York.
Neiti etsivä ja morsiushunnun arvoitus artwork by Kaarina Hanström © 1989 by Tammi, Helsinki.

 

© 2007, 2013 Lea Shangraw Fox