Nancy Drew with a cell phone? George an avid Web surfer? Yes, folks, the girl detective has arrived in the 21st century, just in time for a whole new crop of tween readers. In A Race Against Time, Nancy takes on a particularly mean-spirited crime: in the middle of a River Heights bike race for charity, thieves steal tens of thousands of dollars of pledge money. Torn between her desire to finish her leg of the relay and her commitment to solving crimes, our heroine decides she'll do the most good on the case. And off she goes--on bike--to investigate leads all up and down the river. Whether she's trapped in the middle of the night in a shack full of snakes, searching for her missing boyfriend (Ned Nickerson, of course!), or trying to pry information out of the crusty police chief (again), the new and improved Nancy Drew never spins her wheels. This contemporary series expands on the classic Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene, adding new dimensions to the poised teen investigator while retaining her honorable nature and sharp mind--as well as all her old buddies: tomboy George, girly-girl Bess, and sweet Ned. Don't miss number one in the sequence, Without a Trace. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter