The Secret at Shadow Ranch is the fifth volume in the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories series. It was first published in 1931 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, and was ghostwritten by Mildred Wirt Benson. This book, as of 2001, ranks 50 on the list of All-Time Bestselling Children’s Books, according to Publishers Weekly, with 2,347,750 sales since 1931.

Summary (original edition)

In The Secret at Shadow Ranch, a phantom horse galloping through the Arizona desert under a moonlit sky signals the beginning of one of Nancy Drew’s most atmospheric adventures in this Western-themed mystery. The story opens with Nancy arriving at Shadow Ranch to visit her friends Bess and George, only to find the property gripped by frontier superstition. The locals whisper about a curse dating back to the 1880s, when outlaw Dirk Valentine buried stolen gold on the land and died proclaiming his ghost would guard it eternally.

The ranch’s current troubles seem to validate the legend—mysterious hoofbeats echo through the canyon without visible source, cattle are stampeded by unseen forces, and the discovery of a century-old saddlebag containing Valentine’s cryptic diary suggests someone has revived the treasure hunt with dangerous fervor. Nancy’s investigation reveals how modern criminals exploit the ghost story, using phosphorescent chemicals to create apparitions and manipulating the ranch’s natural acoustics to simulate spectral riders.

The 1931 original thrums with authentic Western atmosphere—Nancy learns to identify rattlesnake warning buzzes versus the similar sound of a shaken pebble-filled can, discovers how the ranch’s adobe walls preserve hidden messages in their clay layers, and narrowly avoids being crushed in a rigged rockslide meant to look like natural erosion. Unlike later revisions, this version retains Nancy’s heart-stopping ride on a runaway stallion through the box canyon, where she must rely on frontier survival skills to outwit both human enemies and the unforgiving desert itself.

Shadow Ranch emerges as a character in its own right—its sun-bleached corrals and whispering cottonwoods bearing witness to generations of conflict. The secret Nancy ultimately uncovers proves more valuable than gold, linking the past’s violent injustices to present-day redemption through the unlikeliest of clues: a faded calico dress still hanging in an abandoned homesteader’s cabin, its pattern matching the quilt squares in Valentine’s long-lost love letters.

Nancy Drew #5 –The Secret Of Shadow Ranch First Edition Book Identification

Only the first few printings of the first/second year are included. Printings codes are based on the Farrah Guide, 12th printing. Please refer to the guide for later printings.

Note: Glossy+: Glossy frontis + 3 glossy internals.

Nancy Drew #5 –The Secret Of Shadow Ranch First Edition Dust Jacket Identification

ao: Among other titles.

Reference:

• Farah’s Guide to Nancy Drew, 12th printing