Fans Think that This Character is the Killer on 'Nancy Drew,' and It Makes Sense, TBH

Most of us grew up thinking about Nancy Drew as the wholesome young teenager who solved crimes in her community dressed in plaid skirts and matching cardigans. The Emma Roberts-led 2007 movie of the same name confirmed this caricature in a more modern setting as well. 

On The CW's new series, Nancy Drew, the teen detective is unlike any other rendition we've seen before and the murder at the center of the series is far more gruesome.

Fans are playing armchair detectives for the series, as Nancy (Kennedy McMann) and her pals try to figure out who killed Tiffany Hudson, the wife of a prominent businessman in town. Who's the killer on Nancy Drew? Inside the fan theory that is picking up steam, and the other suspects that the show has hinted at already.

In order to really understand the fan theory of who the killer is, we first have to dissect the murder of Tiffany Hudson itself. Nancy is living in her hometown of Horseshoe Bay and working as a waitress at The Claw while taking a gap year from college following her mother's death. Nancy and three of her co-workers at the restaurant, Bess, George, and Ace, discover Tiffany's body outside the restaurant following a shift, making them immediate suspects.

Because Nancy has a bad past with the cop assigned to the case, she's placed at the forefront of the investigation. She decides to return to being a sleuth — after retiring in the wake of her mom's illness and death —and she begins digging into Tiffany's house. 

Because Nancy was at work with the other three when the murder was believed to have taken place, it would appear as though they all have airtight alibis. But, according to this fan theory, one of them is lying.

Ace (Alex Saxon) is the prime suspect in one fan theory, because he seems like he's actually the least likely murderer after the first episode. Ace works as the dishwasher at Nancy's restaurant, and he's the only one who really has a tight alibi. He said that he was actually serving the only table of patrons when the murder occurred, and the rest of the restaurant's employees could have, in theory, been elsewhere at the time. 

Interestingly, Ace was serving Tiffany's husband, Ryan Hudson (Riley Smith), at the time of Tiffany's murder. Because the husband is always the prime suspect, it would be a very convenient alibi for Ryan to say Ace was with him during the murder. Perhaps Ryan and Ace have some sort of deal together. It's in Ryan's best interest to say Ace was serving him at the time of the murder, since each needs the other to corroborate the alibi.

Of course, Ace's immediate alibi and his suspicious character traits might just be the makings of the season's first red herring, or perhaps fans have really caught on very early as to who killed Tiffany Hudson. What we do know is nothing is as it seems in Horseshoe Bay.

The official Nancy Drew Instagram account is also playing along with fans who are trying to solve the mystery ahead of the likely Season 1 finale reveal. Nancy appears to be ruled out because she's the titular character, and it would be hard to do a second season of the series with the protagonist in prison, but her tight-knit circle of friends is at the forefront of the investigation.

First, there's Bess (Maddison Jaizani), who is also a waitress at The Claw. Her wealth and savviness have some thinking she'd have the means to commit the crime without the small town residents figuring it out. Plus she appears to have Tiffany's ring.

There's also George (Leah Lewis), who was Nancy's sworn enemy in high school. If she was the murderer, it would make sense that she tried to frame Nancy, considering their past. She's also Nancy's boss at the restaurant, so she could have had the ability to strategically set up her employees when the murder occurred. And the fact that she's apparently having an affair with the victim's husband.

Nancy's  secret boyfriend, Nick Nickerson (Tunji Kasim) is also a suspect, mainly because he's committed crimes in the past and Tiffany was the key witness that led to his manslaughter conviction. He doesn't work at the restaurant, and we don't yet know of his potential alibi. 

And, of course, there's Tiffany's own husband. Even if he was at The Claw during the murder, we'd be hard-pressed to believe that he wasn't somehow involved in his wife's demise. Especially since Nancy found clues to a murder from 19 years earlier in Ryan's own home. 

Nancy Drew airs on Wednesdays at 9 P.M. on The CW.