Murder mystery set in SOUTH OTAGO, New Zealand

11th December 2025

The Nancys and the Case Of The Missing Necklace by R W R McDonald, murder mystery set in South Otago, New Zealand.

Goodness this is such an exuberant and delightful novel (although with a rather gruesome murder at its heart).

Eleven year old Tippy Chan lives in Riverstone and is being temporarily cared for by her Uncle Pike and his partner Devon, whilst her mother is off on a Christmas cruise. They have come over from cosmopolitan Sydney and now find themselves in this backwater, bringing with them the pizazz of big city, over-the-top life and ways of being, both of them rather colourful manifestations for this grey little place.

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Then, one of Tippy’s teachers is murdered, it is no cozy crime murder mystery as the teacher’s head has been severed from her body and there is a scalp floating about.

Tippy happens to be an avid reader of the Nancy Drew sleuthing series and loves to emulate that great amateur detective’s modus operandi. They all decide to form a detective trio. It would be easy, surely, to outwit the local police force and track down the perpetrator? It also could be an interesting exercise, and given Tippy is more than ready to hone her Nancy Drew skill set, they decided obviously to call themselves the Nancys (I did wonder whether the author also deliberately chose the potentially contentious title, give the history of the word in the gay community??!)

Nancy Drew: “..she’s like a super-hero brave and always speaks up for the truth, no matter what.”  The Nancys are ready for a challenge.

Investigations ensue and it proves to be a real firecracker story. Tippy certainly has a mature head on her young shoulders, as she has had to contend with the loss of her father and in a way, manage her Mum’s loss. Enter the two colourful and edgy characters, and this Christmas is guaranteed to be full of adventure. The two men are not averse to innuendo and they are pretty sweary around Tippy, which might just lose them some credit points, but Tippy just rolls her eyes and gets on with things. It is clear, though, they know how to have a good time and they add a real flourish of extrovert behaviour to the unfolding story. This story is a an up-beat and inventive romp, big-hearted and wonderfully camp.

Tina for the TripFiction Team

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