Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the 99 Steps

So I am trying to fill out my Goodreads challenge of 550 books this year and I was a bit behind, so decided to reread all the Nancy Drew books I've been collecting for  the last ten years but haven't actually read since circa 1990!
I've just finished Book 3 - or Book 43, OR something considering the weirdness of Nancy publishing... WTF! The numbered books on my shelf are NOT official order. Luckily the ghosties didnt really give a crap about continuity anyway, which  leads us fans to endless hours of fruitless speculation and argument!
So, plot: Nan gets a mystery that takes her to France. An old lady is having bad dreams about 99 steps. Whoop
Nancy and her squad head off to France after being threatened by villains- quelle surprise? Blah blah, Carson *daddy dear* is dealing with his own personal case of "the frightened financier". Msr Neuf (hint:bad guy with pseudonym) contunues to harass Nance and her mates; bops them on the head, sends dodgy messages... aka Villian Moves 101! Luckily Nancy is smarter than me, as this mystery involved alchemy... Red Lions, Green Kings (aside: I work in hospitality in the UK, and these are PUBS Nancy, dammit!) amd we end up with a usual swindle... coal to gold baby! I mean WTF ... when has that EVER been an actual thing? Silly Financier!
Nance et al to the rescue, no Ned Knickerless, sorry, Nickerson in this mystery, merely a charming Frenchman named Henri who did nothing to further.the mystery! PS: The bad dream was childhood trauma memory - the dreamers' governess took the girl with her whilst meeting her honey (Msr Neuf - before he was bad?) the kid was blindfolded and basically nearly fell down the 99 stairs #childhoodtrauma
In the appropriate historical vein, some nice info on Versailles, Chateau Chambord, and Joan of Arc. However Carson loses  BIG points for saying that Henry V of England was crowned  at Notre Dame Cathedral!!!!! Lies, that was his son Henry VI - Henry V was never considered King of France, only its heir!

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