The Hidden Staircase

Nancy Drew's quiet day turns ominous when Nathan Gombet, a rude and threatening stranger, storms into the Drew home accusing Carson Drew of cheating him in a railroad land deal and demanding mysterious papers. Nancy's quick thinking forces him out, but not before he ransacks the study, leaves her shaken, and hints that the dispute is far from over. As the mystery widens, Nancy learns Gombet has a reputation for greed and intimidation, and she begins to fear he may be connected to threats against a new railroad bridge and to efforts to frighten people from their property. Her suspicions deepen when she visits the Turnbull Mansion, where she finds a house filled with anxiety, thefts, and eerie pranks—missing silk dresses, canaries left in odd places, and growing pressure from real estate men to sell. The Turnbull sisters reveal that Gombet once claimed they had signed an unfair option on the house and warned them they would regret refusing him. Meanwhile, Carson Drew's delayed return from Chicago becomes a source of mounting dread, and Nancy's investigation takes on a more urgent edge as she realizes the mansion's troubles and her father's disappearance may be linked. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.