Editing Nancy Drew (section)

=== 1986–1997: ''Files'', ''Super Mystery'', and ''On Campus'' ===
{{main|The Nancy Drew Files{{!}}''The Nancy Drew Files''|Super Mystery{{!}}''Super Mystery''|Nancy Drew on Campus{{!}}''Nancy Drew on Campus''}}
[[File:Ndharh.jpg|thumb|''The Nancy Drew Files'' showcased a more mature character version and romance elements, as seen on the cover of ''Hit and Run Holiday'' (1986). Here, Nancy is in swimwear, in proximity to an attractive young man rather than a clue.|upright]]
In 1985, as the sale of the Stratemeyer Syndicate to Simon & Schuster was finalized, Simon & Schuster wanted to launch a spin-off series that focused on more mature mysteries and incorporated [[Romance novel|romance]] into the stories. To test whether this would work, the final two novels before the sale, ''The Bluebeard Room'' and ''The Phantom of Venice'', were used as [[backdoor pilots]] for the new series.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The books read are drastically different from the preceding novels of the past 55 years. For example, ''The Phantom of Venice'' (1985) opens with Nancy wondering in italics, "''Am I or am I not in love with Ned Nickerson?''"<ref>Keene (1985), 1.</ref> Nancy begins dating other young men and acknowledges sexual desires: "'I saw [you kissing him]… You don't have to apologize to me if some guy turns you on.' 'Gianni ''doesn't'' turn me on!… Won't you please let me explain.'"<ref>Keene (1985), 111–12. Cited by Shangraw Fox.</ref>

The next year, Simon & Schuster launched the first Nancy Drew spin-off, titled ''The Nancy Drew Files''. However, after the above-mentioned two Mystery Stories books, as implied in ''The Double Horror of Fenley Place'', Nancy appears to be dating Ned again and the series continues without any reference to Nancy dating other guys in ''The Bluebeard Room'' or in ''The Phantom of Venice''.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The Nancy Drew character in the ''Files'' series has earned mixed reviews among fans. Some, including [[sex-positive feminists]], contend that Nancy's character becomes "more like Mildred Wirt Benson's original heroine than any [version] since 1956."<ref>Caprio (1992), 27.</ref> Others criticize the series for its increasing incorporation of romance and "[dilution] of pre-feminist [[wikt:moxie|moxie]]."<ref>Torrance (2007), D01.</ref>

One reviewer noticed, "Millie [Mildred Wirt Benson] purists tend to look askance upon the ''Files'' series, in which fleeting pecks bestowed on Nancy by her longtime steady, Ned Nickerson, give way to lingering embraces in a Jacuzzi."<ref name="leighbrown-1d" /> Cover art for ''Files'' titles, such as ''Hit and Run Holiday'' (1986), reflects these changes; Nancy is often dressed provocatively, in short skirts, shirts that reveal her stomach or cleavage, or a bathing suit. She is often pictured with an attentive, handsome boy in the background and frequently appears aware of and interested in that boy.{{Original research inline|date=March 2024}}

The books emphasize character relationships, with Nancy Drew and Ned Nickerson becoming more of an on-off couple and having other love interests that span multiple books. However, at the end of the last book in the series, statements imply that Nancy keeps dating Ned. The end of the book ''Murder on Ice'' strongly implies that Nancy and Ned engage in [[sexual intercourse]] (at the very least, they go into a Jacuzzi together).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Keene |first1=Carolyn |title=Murder on Ice |date=21 January 2014 |publisher=Collins |isbn=9781481414470 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWxvAAAAQBAJ&q=jacuzzi}}</ref> Nancy also becomes more vulnerable, being often [[chloroform]]ed into unconsciousness, or defenseless against [[chokehold]]s.<ref>Foster (1986), 31.</ref>

Furthermore, the minor thefts of the original books are replaced by murders and murder attempts, and Nancy is frequently in mortal danger. In an extreme example, in the book ''Deadly Doubles'', the fate of an entire nation and millions of lives are at stake, a character is tortured and strangled off-screen, and Nancy and her allies are nearly killed on five separate occasions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Keene |first1=Carolyn |title=Deadly Doubles |date=11 February 2014 |publisher=Collins |isbn=9781481414517 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2cBRAQAAQBAJ}}</ref>

The ''Files'' also launched its spin-off. A crossover spin-off series with ''The Hardy Boys'', titled the ''[[Super Mystery]]'' series, began in 1988.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} These books were in continuity with the similar ''Hardy Boys'' spin-off, ''[[List of Hardy Boys books#The Hardy Boys Casefiles (1987–1998)|The Hardy Boys Casefiles]]''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

In 1995, Nancy Drew finally goes to college in the ''[[Nancy Drew on Campus]]'' series. These books read more similar to soap opera books, such as the ''[[Sweet Valley High]]'' series.{{Original research inline|date=March 2024}} The ''On Campus'' books focus more on romance plots and also center around other characters; the mysteries are merely used as subplots.{{Original research inline|date=March 2024}}

By reader request, Nancy broke off her long-term relationship with boyfriend Ned Nickerson in the second volume of the series, ''On Her Own'' (1995).<ref name="Fisher" /><ref>Drew (1997), 185.</ref> Similar to the ''Files'' series, reception for the ''On Campus'' series was also mixed, with some critics viewing the inclusion of adult themes such as [[date rape]] as "unsuccessful".<ref>{{cite book|last= Mitchell |first=Claudia|title=Girl Culture: Studying girl culture : a readers' guide|year=2007|publisher= Greenwood |isbn=978-0-31333909-7|page =450|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=arQy0v_PBx4C&pg=PA450}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Nancy Drew is updated – and dated|url= http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AK&s_site=ohio&p_multi=AK&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EE780A8128CB7B9&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|access-date=3 February 2013 |newspaper=Akron Beacon Journal |date= September 21, 1995}}</ref> Carolyn Carpan commented that the series was "more soap opera romance than mystery" and that Nancy "comes across as dumb, missing easy clues she wouldn't have missed in previous series".<ref>{{cite book |last=Carpan|first= Carolyn|title= Sisters, Schoolgirls, and Sleuths|year= 2009 |publisher= Scarecrow Press|isbn= 978-0-81086395-8 |pages= 135–36|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8kdbbiIqVbsC&pg=PA136}}</ref> The series was also criticized for focusing more on romance than on grades or studying, with one critic stating that the series resembled collegiate academic studying in the 1950s, where "women were more interested in pursuing… the [[MRS Degree|'MRS' degree]]."<ref>{{cite book |last= Johnson |first= Naomi |title= Consuming Desires: A Feminist Analysis of Bestselling Teen Romance Novels |year= 2008 |publisher= University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |isbn= 978-0-54932477-5 |page= 18 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DB01qubusloC&pg=PA19 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 1997, Simon & Schuster announced a mass cancellation of ''Nancy Drew'' and ''Hardy Boys'' spin-offs, except for younger children.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} The ''Files'' series ran until the end of 1997, while both the ''Super Mystery'' and ''On Campus'' series ran until the beginning of 1998.{{Original research inline|date=March 2024}}