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Trusted confidant [of Nancy]. Lacks judgement, but displays above average intuition. Easily manipulated, but her candid nature makes her an unlikely target after any individuals attempting to influence Kestrel.
Cathedral Archives on Bess[source]
This page is for the video game character. For the character in the novels, see Bess Marvin.

Elizabeth "Bess" Marvin is one of Nancy Drew's best friends. She and her maternal cousin George frequently help Nancy with her cases. They are most frequently reached together on the phone.

Personality[]

Bess has an interest in fashion and boys. As a person who loves to flirt, she tends to ask Nancy if any of her suspects are cute. She is very friendly and thus talks easily with all sorts of people, which she can use to her advantage.

To her cousin George's exasperation, Bess is rather naive and prone to believing the supernatural over more logical explanations. Although she supports Nancy's detective work, Bess herself tends to freeze up when asked to perform any sleuthing herself. Even so, when the chips are down, Bess will do what it takes to help her friends.

History[]

Stay Tuned for Danger[]

Due to her love of daytime soap operas and soap opera hunks (i.e. Rick Arlen), Bess helps Nancy with her investigation.

Message in a Haunted Mansion[]

Bess is hosting George while the latter is having her room redone.

Treasure in the Royal Tower[]

Bess stays in River Heights, but asks Nancy to check up on the status of her crush, skier Jacques Brunais. She is disappointed to find out he is engaged.

The Final Scene[]

Bess alerts George and Ned about Maya's kidnapping. She is also a fan of Brady Armstrong.

Secret of the Scarlet Hand[]

George and Bess play "Go Fish" while it rains outside. They are later visited by The Hardy Boys.

Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake[]

Bess brags about her new Caller ID to anyone who calls her. She uses it primarily so she can see if the boys who call her are cute enough to warrant answering the phone. She also has a mild long-distance crush on Jeff Akers.

Nancy also mentions to Red that Bess got a digital camera for her birthday, and they learned how to use it together.

The Haunted Carousel[]

Bess' mother has made her get rid of her Caller ID, because she was annoyed by all the times Bess would not answer the phone. Bess is now desperately waiting for a phone call from Matt, a cute boy who works at the movie theater. By the end of the game, they get a date.

Danger on Deception Island[]

Bess is driving George crazy as usual by cooking (mostly burning) meals from a cooking show, because the host is cute.

The Secret of Shadow Ranch[]

Bess and her cousin George were supposed to go on a vacation with Nancy to Shadow Ranch, a place in Arizona that their Uncle Ed and Aunt Bet owned. However, they had to take different flights.

Unfortunately, their plane got delayed to Omaha because of technical problems. After getting another flight, their next plane had to stop in St. Louis because of bad weather. When they finally make it to the ranch, Nancy has already solved the case without them. But she couldn't have done it without George's help with a book about nineteenth century clothing.

In The Shattered Medallion, it is revealed Bess briefly dated Dave Gregory while visiting. He took her to a county fair.

Curse of Blackmoor Manor[]

Bess and George go to a sailing camp that doesn't allow cell phones. Bess believes that the snobby Maxwell twins, who are going to the same camp, should be disqualified for being too tan and setting a bad example to the younger campers when it comes to skin care.

The Secret of the Old Clock[]

In 1930, Bess has to battle with her neighbor, Mrs. Farthingham, to use the phone.

Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon[]

With Nancy off on her train trip, Bess has roped George into helping her repaint her room, because she'll be grounded if it isn't finished soon. She isn't focusing very hard on her work and often accidentally gets "adobe beige" paint on George.

A week earlier, George had told Bess she had a crush on a guy in a candy shop. However, even though George told her not to tell, Bess disregarded this and told him immediately. George reveals that Bess prefers Joe over Frank.

Danger by Design[]

Bess reluctantly goes on a jog with George and is not happy whenever George lets slip the word "run". She also begins using the word "rude" in a positive way, after hearing that Minette does it.

Legend of the Crystal Skull[]

Carson Drew and Mr. Marvin agree to send Nancy and Bess to New Orleans for a short getaway trip. While Nancy goes to check on Ned's friend, Henry Bolet, Bess stays at their hotel in the Frech Quarter. When Nancy stumbles onto another mystery (and cannot leave the house), Bess helps by investigating a nearby curio shop, interviews a suspect, and even infiltrates a secret society called the Jolly Roger Krewe. When her phone goes off during one of the Krewe's meetings, she gets thrown into a sack and shoved into another room to be interviewed by the Krewe's leader. Unfortunately for him, an angry Bess isn't afraid to talk her way into getting information from him. For the first time in the series, Bess is a playable character.

The Haunting of Castle Malloy[]

Bess is attending the Dunhill's birthday pool party with George back in River Heights. They swoon over all the guys with abs cooking on barbecues. They inform Nancy that Ned has wisely gone into hiding from Deirdre Shannon due to Nancy's absence.

Ransom of the Seven Ships[]

Bess wins an online sweepstakes for a five-day vacation in the Bahamas. She decides to bring George and Nancy along, but Nancy arrives a day late due to a father-daughter banquet she had to attend. When Nancy arrives, a frantic George informs her that Bess had been kidnapped. The whole contest was a hoax to get Nancy on the island and find a long-lost treasure for the kidnappers. Players get to see Bess for the first time at the end of the game.

Resorting to Danger![]

Bess and George appear in the opening cut scene when George gives Nancy a device for detecting bombs and Bess points out it can fit into Nancy's purse (obviously annoying George).

Warnings at Waverly Academy[]

Bess and George are visiting mutual relatives in Wisconsin. Nancy can reach Bess by voice mail.

Trail of the Twister[]

Bess is spelunking with George and Ned at the Carlsbad Caverns. Nancy was originally supposed to join them, but was called to Tornado Alley.

Shadow at the Water's Edge[]

Nancy and the gals

George, Nancy, and Bess.

Bess and George travel to Kyoto, Japan to attend the Technology of Tomorrow Today expo; Nancy is also in Japan for a vacation offered by P.G. Krolmeister, whom she assisted in Trail of the Twister. She and George meet Yumi Shimizu, the local Bento booth owner who is coincidentally a member of the family who owns the Ryokan Nancy is staying at. They become good friends and have a lot of fun together; Nancy can receive many purikura phone pictures of the three.

Bess helps Nancy distract Logan Mitchell, the assistant of Savannah Woodham, a paranormal investigator, whom Logan will not let speak to Nancy. It must have gone well because Bess and Logan develop a mutual crush on each other. By Alibi in Ashes, Bess and Logan are not together anymore. In The Silent Spy, it is revealed that Logan was a Cathedral agent or ally who used this relationship to gather information on Nancy and her investigation into the Shimizu family.

Alibi in Ashes[]

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Bess with Ned and George in front of the River Heights Police Department.

Nancy gets arrested for an act of arson that she did not commit. Bess, George, and Ned all have to work together to get her out of jail for most of the game. One of the suspects, Toni Scalari, has a soft spot for Bess. The ice cream shop that Toni owns, Scoop, is a favorite hangout of Bess's. She used to love eating lots of ice cream there, but after eating bowlful after bowlful as a cover to spy on anotheect, Deirdre Shannon, Bess never wants to see another ice cream cone again.

Tomb of the Lost Queen[]

With George at a new job, Bess watches many Egyptian movies and actually plays an Egyptologist on a television show, although she has no idea what her character is saying. She naturally becomes worried about Nancy after hearing that the water supply is gone, thinking it may be due to a curse.

Possibly foreshadowing The Silent Spy, Bess mentions Nancy's mother (and the way that she died) is why she thought Nancy solved mysteries.

Ghost of Thornton Hall[]

With Nancy on another case, and George away at her internship, Bess has become extremely bored. Thus, she is hanging out with Ned (although she claims she has "kidnapped" him). They are watching otter videos, planning a road trip to see George, and worrying about Nancy on Blackrock Island. They also went to see The Relation-Shipwreck, which made Bess too emotional.

The Silent Spy[]

When Ned asks why he has to break into Nancy's house, she mentions Bess and George are out of town. Her code name at Cathedral is "Magpie".

A younger Bess is seen in a flashback. Through walkie-talkies, she states that she got grounded (although why is unknown). Overhearing Kate and Carson Drew arguing, she asks Nancy what's wrong and encourages her to eavesdrop on them.

BessMED

Bess on the cover of The Shattered Medallion.

The Shattered Medallion[]

Bess successfully enters George and Nancy in George's favorite show, Pacific Run. Bess comes along with them to New Zealand, where the show is taking place that year. When George falls off a bridge and gets injured, Bess reluctantly steps in as Nancy's teammate even though she is terrified of being hurt herself.

She develops such a deep infatuation with Sonny Joon, she almost has an existential crisis. All her usual natural ease with boys vanishes as soon as she sees Sonny.

Trivia[]

  • The last four digits of her phone number (4468) spell out the word HINT, probably because she gives Nancy hints in many of the games.
  • She has an Uncle Zak who hunts birds. She doesn't like him much.
  • According to Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, Bess is born in the Spring.
  • In The Haunted Carousel, Bess admitted to watching Oprah.

Quotes[]

The Final Scene[]

  • "If there's one thing your detective work proves every time, it's that old buildings are the keepers of secrets."
  • "All in favor of men who slay dragons, say aye!"
  • "When has the lack of an invitation ever stopped Nancy Drew before?"

Secret of the Scarlet Hand[]

  • "George and I are in the middle of a heated game of 'Go Fish' and I'm winning."
  • "No peeking at my cards, George."

Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake[]

  • "He sounds like my Uncle Zak. He's into birds. Only he doesn't watch them, he hunts them, then shoots them. I never really liked my Uncle Zak."
  • "Dog's don't attack houses."
  • "Somebody's trying to poison you with arsenic?!"
  • "Sometimes I think they follow you around."
  • "And if anything does happen, run! No wait -- call us first, then run."
  • "Telepathy, of course. Just another one of my many talents."

The Haunted Carousel[]

  • "Not all those calls were from losers. Sometimes, I was just playing hard to get."
  • "Ugly people have chips on their shoulders and are more likely to commit crimes, George. I read that somewhere. Either read it or saw it on Oprah."
  • "What is with all this 'we' stuff?"
  • "Someone tried to kill you? Ouch."
  • "You wouldn't dare."

Danger on Deception Island[]

  • "Oh, no, my roux! It's ruined!"
  • "Whale be in touch!"
  • "My gosh, George. Is there anything else Nancy should know about this so-called friend of yours? ((George: Katie's fine. She just has a few edgy little quirks, that's all.)) Great. That's probably what they said about Lizzie Borden."
  • "One should always be suspicious of a suspect."

Secret of Shadow Ranch[]

  • "Of all the times to get stranded in some stupid airport. Look, you just better keep up posted, Nancy Drew. That's all I gotta say."
  • "That does it, George. We're suing the airline!"
  • "That does it, George. We're suing the airline and the airport!"
  • "Okay, George, we're suing the airline, both airports, and the weather service!"
  • "I'm tempted to ask you to wait until George and I get there, but I know that'd be like asking an Olympic speed skater to slow down."
  • "Try Frank and Joe. They're used to being bored."

Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon[]

  • "Cute and pathetic. Just my type!"
  • "George, I kid you not. You should seriously think about doing some major highlights with that color. ((Nancy: What color is it?)) ... Adobe Beige. ((Nancy: Nice try, Bess.))"
  • The conversation about crushing on Joe Hardy:
    • BM: I knew it! You're just as big a sucker for those boyish good looks as I am.
    • ND: You're not going to say anything to him, are you?
    • BM: Me? My lips are sealed.
    • GF: The way they were when I told you that I liked that boy who works at the snack shop?
    • BM: That was different.
    • GF: How was it different?
    • BM: I... was younger then and had less self-control.
    • GF: It was last week, Bess.
    • BM: Right.
    • GF: Don't worry, Nance. If she starts to say anything to Joe, I'll just stomp on her foot.
    • BM: Ow! Hey, what'd you do that for?
    • GF: Just practicing.

Danger by Design[]

  • (very fast) "So where are you? What've you seen? How do you like Paris? What's Minette like? Have you learned to design clothes?"
  • "George, three words: prepaid phone card."
  • "Wait a minute, I'm all those things. How come I'm not a famous model?"
  • "Maybe he wears a mask too, only he wears his on the inside."
  • "She threw a plotted plant at you? Before she even knew you? That was rude."

Legend of the Crystal Skull[]

  • "Great... I'm going to be chatting up Jack the Ripper."
  • "I'm not good at that sneaking around stuff, Nancy. I get nervous, my tongue gets all knotted up, my palms sweat -- to say nothing of my armpits-"
  • "A gumbo to go, please!"

Shadow at the Water's Edge[]

  • "The two of you! I swear! If we were being chased by a dinosaur, you two would be too busy debating about the fossil record to run away. Where is your sense of panic?!"
  • "Why are you still there? You've lost your mind. You know how in the scary movies you always want to yell "DON'T GO IN THAT DOOR!" but they never can hear you? Well you can hear me, so DON'T GO IN THAT DOOR! Call this mystery a wash and come stay at our hotel which has a nice ghost-free view and ghost-free pool and tiny, overpriced ghost-free packets of peanuts."
  • "You should get on board with my lifestyle. Way less stressful."

Alibi in Ashes[]

  • "Chic Boutique's Chic Week door buster was kicking off at ten and I was late. Nancy, it was a travesty."
  • "I've already had all the flavors on the menu. If this investigation doesn't stop soon, forget the sun dress I got. I won't be able to fit into my house."
  • "All I want to do is snoop through her stuff and she's making that impossible!"
  • "I don't think she's on to me. On a related note, I have no idea what she's doing."
  • "Well, she solves crimes so there be some hard feelings from the people she's gotten into trouble."
  • "If I don't make it, tell my parents... I died of... ice cream poisoning."
  • "Suspect.. loves... snacking."
  • "I'm not spying on you!"

Tomb of the Lost Queen[]

  • "That's bad. How bad is that? Hang on. *typing into her phone* How long before you die in a desert with no water, question mark."
  • "I know it's unlikely, but if aliens ever did really come to earth, I think they'd like me. ((Nancy: What? Why?)) Dogs love me. Kids love me. I just think we'd be pretty sympatico is all."

Ghost of Thornton Hall[]

  • "I was in the middle of trying to convince Ned to grow a bad mustache so we can hang out in Brooklyn ((Ned: Not going to happen.)) Someone has to, Ned! And George already said no. It was a really angry no, too."
  • "I, on the other hand, have been watching videos of otters. So good at stacking things. Additionally, I have kidnapped Ned."
  • "All I want is to see the screen, and to not deal with jerks, to have a movie style romance, and for no one to get hurt, ever."
  • "Put that on a billboard."
  • "You met a weirdo who has an obvious affinity for ghost kidnappings during the course of your investigation of a ghost kidnapping, and you didn't tell anyone?! Ned, say something to uncrazy your girlfriend!"
  • "I have trained you well. Now go, Nancy, tattle like the wind!"
  • "Ned, do I have permission to do a spit-take in your living room?"
  • "I've never been a mom, but I have owned my fair share of fish."
  • "Where's he fall on the cute-to-guilty spectrum?"
  • "You're just going to have to find a way to tell me that balances the public's need to know with Ned's presumably fragile ego."
  • "Nancy, describe Colton's looks using the International Ned Cuteness Unit. We talkin' half a Ned? Two Neds?"
  • "Someone has a crush on Nancy!"
  • "If that's the case here, once you figure out what the deal with the ghost it, I bet it'll point right to Jessalyn. And if the ghost is real, then case closed. A ghost did it. If that turns out to be the case, please don't tell me. I like living in a world where ghosts are probably not real. I already have to vault into bed after every scary movie for fear of ankle grabbers."

The Shattered Medallion[]

  • "I'm going to die here."
  • "Don't bother telling me what happened because I was stalking you both. *mopes forever and then dies*" - A text message from Bess
  • "You've reached the voice mail for Bess Marvin. She has left the conversation due to confusion."
  • "He asked 'Can I help you?' And I just repeated it back. Only louder."
  • "Shouldn't I have some big life plan? Everyone else does."
  • "I can't make friends. I get tongue tied around Sonny. I don't even know how to hold a conversation for a minute. What if this is my new life? ...Nancy, you don't get it. This is all I have to offer. I'm not smart, like you. I'm not sporty, like George. I'm fun. That's it. And if that goes away, then what?"
  • "Don't use your logic voice on me if you're not going to use your logic... logic."
  • "It was a fair, you know, so animals, scam artists, flirting with food poisoning. But then I found myself looking at a cow. And she was looking at me. We had a really long cow slash human moment. We got into... not a staring contest, more of a staring cooperation. I think I was there for hours."
  • "I'll bust out my feminine wiles!"
  • "I can almost picture him with a puppy and it's perfect."
  • "I will try again. The Marvin Mojo is legendary."
  • "He's like one of those tall, beautiful things they have in Italy... A barista."

Teaser[]

  • "Sorry, George... Don't give me that look!"
  • "Let's hear it for Nancy and Greg! And also me because I'm coming along too. Hooray for Bess."

Gallery[]

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