Book 9 - The Happy Valley Mystery

From the back of the book - " "We'd better get out of here in a hurry," Jim said. Trixie nodded, unable to say anything. A rush and a roar of water followed the collapse of the bridge. About fifty of seventy-five feet from them, water swirled angrily. Big tree branches floated by out in the current, the the bloated body of a cow, and half a dozen chickens. "Turn the car around as fast as you can," Honey urged, terrified. "Oh, you can't turn around, Jim! There isn't any road anymore!"..."

Book 9 leaps right into it with the Bob-Whites (sans Dan but more on that later) about to touch down in Des Moines (I won't tell you how I used to pronounce that when I was a kid), Iowa to visit the sheep farm of the Belden's Uncle Andrew. Uncle Andrew is obviously the rich one in the Belden family, with his farm, paying for all the Bob-Whites to visit, flying off to Scotland and I seem to remember that the Bob-White Cave book they're visiting his hunting lodge!

Anyway, Trixie has a mystery to look into straight away, sheep have mysteriously been disappearing from the farm. First she suspects Mr Schulz, the neighbour, then Ben the hired hand. Her suspicions are proving very wrong until the Bob-Whites are invited to a BBQ at the local high school by Ned Schulz (the handsome neighbour about their age). There the Bob-Whites are served lamb that Trixie suspects is stolen! But she's quickly distracted by a pretty girl named Dot who seems to be hanging off Jim's every word and Trixie gets jealous.

Later, back on the case Trixie decides that the theives are hiding out in the nearby Walnut Woods but no one believes her. The Bob-Whites are soon to leave for hime so Trixie convinces Honey and Jim to go for a ride to the woods to check it out and there they wind up in big trouble as the river floods and takes out a bridge. The car they are in is quickly swallowed by the flood but luckily the trio manages to escape on a boat that was tied to the roof of the car.

During the night that follows the three manage to rescue a small puppy and end up marooned on the roof of a barn. They yell themselves so hoarse that when they see a rescue boat nearby they can't get it's attention but luckily Trixie uses the clubs Bob-White whistle and MArt, in the boat hears it and rescues them.

The thieves were also trapped by the flood and with a little quick extra work Trixie finds proof of their thefts and they are locked away for their crimes! Another mystery solved by the Belden-Wheeler detective agency :)

This is one of my all time favourite Trixie books. I remember loving the awesomeness of the flood scene, it truly was scary when I was a kid!

Ned Schulz and his friends Bob and Barbara Hubbel first appear in this book and then turn up again for a visit to New York with the Bob-Whites in book 12.

Poor Dan, he only arrived int he last book and already he's being pushed aside and ignored :( Also, kinda weird- We know Mart is 14 and that in book 8 he is asked to show Dan around as they're in the same class so you'd assume Dan is 14, 15 at the most. Jim is 15 and Brian 16 and are in the same year as Jim did two years in one at his old school. This book the whole reason Dan can't come is because he's too busy studying because otherwise he'll fail and he wants to stay in the same class as Jim and Brian! Continuity problem!!!! (this is what happens when multiple authors write for the same series without checking all their facts).

Also, this writer makes Di out to be a whingey, whiney, scaredy cat cow. Stupid writer! I loves Di, make her better!!!!!!!!

The school dance solidifies Trixie's relationship with Jim a bit more, she getting jealous of him, he getting jealous of the attention Ned pays her. Jim even goes so far at the end of the book to buy Trixie an ID bracelet with his name on it cos she's his "special girl". Awwwwww!

Also, I think Ned's gay. He says he has no interest in girls and the only one he does show interest in is Trixie, cos she's such a tomboy. and then Trixie thinks (and I quote) "He's just about the queerest boy I ever met". Lol, ah, simpler times when words like gay, queer and fairy meant something else entirely :)

One last thing. Last book all the Bob-Whites were such awesome ice skaters and they're always great at riding and swimming and this book they're superstar basketballers. COME ON! Not everyone is that perfect! Oh well, just makes me want to be more like them I guess (only with less exercise and more hot lovin)

Next up we're onto The Marshland Mystery, which I don't really remember at all :)

Book 8 - The Black Jacket Mystery

From the back of the book - "There was a small branch lying at one side. It was only about 20 inches long, and someone had cut all the side twigs off it. Trixie picked it up, curious as usual. It came from a crab-apple tree. There was a dark stain on the heavy end of the piece of wood. And caught in the grain of the wood was a small tuft of gray hair. The stain could only be blood..."

This time around the Bob-Whites are preparing to host an Ice Carnival on the Wheeler's lake and asking people to donate books so they can send them to the school of Trixie and Honey's mexican penpals who's school library was destroyed in an earthquake. The Bob-Whites are such nice guys and gals. But while they're preparing Trixie just has to nose into Regan's business. She overhears him asking her Mother for advice and Bobby tells her that he heard Regan is going for a trip to the city to bring back a "Sperimen", which she and Honey deduce to mean "experiment". Regan takes his day off and Trixie sees him driving a car out to Mr Maypenny's. The next day Mr Maypenny joins the Bob-Whites on their school bus and with him is a young man around Mart's age, named Dan Mangan. Of course Trixie and Honey never even think that Dan Mangan arrives with Mr Maypenny the day after Regan starts his "sperimen" that involved visiting Mr Maypenny (hmmm, Mr Maypenny and Regan experimenting, there's some hot fanfic there!). Anyway, the Bob-Whites and Dan get off on the wrong foot straight away. With his black leather jacket, high peaked leather cap and black cowboy boots, coupled with his street tough attitude he's at odds with how the Bob-Whites are.

Then Honey's watch goes missing and turns up at Mr Lytell's store, sold by a boy in a leather jacket! And the Bob-Whites club house is broken into and trashed and their club funds stolen and whoever did it left boot prints from cowboy boots! All signs point to Dan, not to mention he's not very polite and forthcoming with any alibis. It looks like Regans experiment has failed and Dan is going to be shipped off to a reform school. You see, Dan is Regan's long lost sisters kid and he got mixed up with a tough New York gang called the Cowhands when his parents died and it was only by agreeing to get him out of the city and out of trouble that Regan convinced a judge not to send Dan away.

Then the Bob-Whites discover that Dan's boots are much smaller than the print left in their club house and his are black and there's brown boot polish scuffed on one of their desks. Then Mr Maypenny is attacked and Dan was no where near the scene of the crime. It's not until Trixie and Bobby become lost in the woods and Bobby gets stuck in a crack in a cave that the truth is revealed. Luke, the leader of the Cowhands has followed Dan to Sleepyside and wants Dan to help him rob the Wheelers before they both run away back to the city. Of course, when Trixie asks for Dan's help with saving Bobby he accepts and helps little Bobby out but all the while they can hear the cries of a mountain lion getting closer and it's dark and snowing, will they last through the night?

Of course they do, everything works out in the end, Luke gets caught and arrested and Dan becomes a valuable member of the Bob-Whites, inheriting Mart's old BWG jacket that's too small (so he never has to wear the black leather one again) and even taking part in the Ice Carnival and winning the speed skating competition, the prize of which is flooring that the Bob-Whites can use to floor their club house.

Dan is the last official Bob-White (though some characters in later books are "honorary Bob-Whites") becomes one of my favourite characters in the series though of the Bob-Whites he's the least used. I was a bit miffed that Di only appears in this book for a page or so and then seems to disappear for most of the rest of the book. Di and Dan seem to get relegated to the background quite often from memory.

Next up - The Happy Valley Mystery where the Bob-Whites are off to visit Trixie's Uncle Andrew on his sheep farm in (I think) Iowa. It's another of my favourites! :)

The Black Jacket Mystery is another one that I remember ready in the "ugly" edition :)

Book 7 - The Mysterious Code

From the back of the book - "Mr. Stratton straightened. His smile faded "Now, who is to be spoeksman?" "I am," said Trixie. Jim was co-president of the Bob-Whites, but Trixie usually did the talking. "Trixie, the School Board doesn't want secret societies to exist in Sleepyside schools, when clubs - really gangs - can be the source of so much trouble. The board feels... that your club will have to disband." "We couldn't!" Trixie almost shouted..."

So, with the first "Kathryn Kenny" installment of the Trixie Belden series we have a very interesting book, this one actually has a mystery and villains and all that jazz (unlike books 5 and 6). Due to vandalism and thefts at the school the school board is considering disbanding all clubs unless they can show how useful they are to the community. So Trixie comes up with an idea, the Bob-Whites will put on an antique show and have all the proceeds go to UNICEF. The Bob-Whites throw themselves into the show and Mrs Wheeler says they can have any of the items in one of the Manor Houses attic rooms. There they find some nice antiques and a key with a tag on it that has a stick figure code on it. They manage to decipher the code and the key is apparently the "Key To Riches". Thanks to Trixies snooping and her temper they find the box the key fits and inside is a beautiful jewellery box and inside that is two very expensive rings. With a little bit of investigation it is revealed that once they used to belong to Jims great-aunt and so are rightfully Jim's now. he donates them to the antique show. The story of the discovery gets out and soon a newspaper covers it and that brings some unwanted attention. Trixie and Bobby visit Mrs Vanderpoel, a nice old lady, who is donating some antiques to be sold at the show and some to be shown as well. One of the antiques is a beautiful little table that Trixie takes with her, having Bobby carry it on his sled while she pulls him. On their way home they are robbed by three men who steal the table and dump Bobby in the snow and the poor little boy ends up with pneumonia. Soon after someone attempts to break into the Bob-Whites club house where the antiques for the show are being stored and a burgalar break into Mrs Vanderpoel's house in an attempt to steal her antiques but is foiled by Trixie and caught by Tad Webster (Spider Websters little brother).

Things pick up and soon it's the eve of the show and Trixie is working late in the show room, putting on price tags when she is interrupted by men who have come to steal some of the valuables. With a gun pointed at her there's no way for Trixie to call for help or even let Jim know what's happening when he briefly checks on her. Or is there? Maybe that "Mysterious Code" could come in handy!

OH! And one of my favourite events happens in this book. Reddy disappears and Trixie, brian and Jim all head out to find him. They find him but end up stuck in an old shed in the middle of a blizzard with nothing to eat but bird seed that Mr Maypenny stores there. I loved it, just as good as I remember.

This book also takes the idea of the budding feelings between some of the Bob-Whites and makes it more obvious. Jim's respect and like for Trixie is stated and he even sends her an orchid corsage for her to wear to Di's valentines party. Speaking of Di, things heat up between her and Mart when her little brothers make her give him a kiss as part of a game.

Then there's Tad. Over the course of the book he seems to become a nice guy and he and his brother end up moving into Mrs Vanderpoel's house. Given Tad's helping the Bob-Whites a lot and the fact that his new place is within walking distance of the Belden's it seems as if he's being set up to become a new Bob-White. Unfortunately it seems as if the author runs out of space towards the end of the book and the ending is hurried and any invitation to Tad is left out. I think that's kinda sad :( but it does leave things open for Dan to arrive :)

The boys don't pick on Trixie quite as much in this book as in the previous couple but it seems obvious to me that with the way the romance blossoms and the way the girls vs boys mentality is portrayed in this book that the author is obviously a woman with a bit of girl-power on her mind (remembering that this published in 1961, the concept of "girl-power" probably wasn't around but the general ideas of women being equal were).

Also, harkening back to the whole "racist" thing I mentioned in an earlier blog about Jimmy Crow in book 2. The Japanese brothers who are interested in the samurai swords that are being sold at the show are very stereotypical, even calling Trixie "Tlixie" lol. Nothing that bothered me, just a note, I actually found it amusing in an "Wow, that's so stereotypical it's funny" kinda way :)

Anyway, next up is The Black Jacket mystery which I remember as being one of my favourites. Probably because I loved Dan and number 8 is when he arrives on the scene. See you here for that :)

Stuff

Before I get into the rest of the stuff I want to say here I had one more thing to say about book 6 that I forgot to put in my other blog. I was amazed by how often the story just took a pause for several pages so that the characters could have long conversations detailing the history of Arizona, indians, dude ranches, and all sorts of things. Ok, maybe it was suppose to be educational but it felt kind of like there wasn't enough story and this was added for filler. Anyway, enough about that.

So - Julie Campbell Tatham. She was the one who came up with Trixie Belden and wrote the first 6 books. She also wrote the Ginny Gordon books and some of the Cherry Ames and Vicki Barr books. Crabapple Farm, where the Belden family live is actually based on a real place, Wolf Hollow, where she lived herself and Sleepyside is based on Ossining, New York. She didn't want to continue Trixie after 6 books but the publishing company ended up cutting a deal with her because though they owned the rights to the books they conceded she owned the rights to the characters. She ended up getting some sort of monetary compensation and a series of in-house authors (the various "Kathryn Kennys") took over the job.

Above and below are a couple of maps of the area that the Bob-Whites lived. The fictitious "Glen Road" that they lived on is actually Glendale Road. Catamount Hill that you can see in the map above is actually explicitly mentioned in, I think, book 1.

Aside from the obvious change in author names you can tell the later books are written by different authors because they're occasionally inconsistent. With eye colours changing, personalities being slightly different, Di's house suddenly being on Glen Rd with the others etc. I'm not saying that the various "Kathryn Kennys" did a bad job, in fact my favourite books are all Kathryn Kenny books, it's just interesting to see how things go.

Anyway the point of all this is that this blog is now departing Julie Campbell country and we have to take a slight pause and say thank you to her for giving us something we love. So, "Thank you, Julie Campbell, it's been fun, we love your work"

Next up - Umm, the Mysterious Code. I THINK this is the one where the Bob-Whites are facing being disbanded by the school and to show the club is good they hold some sort of charity event for UNICEF (again, I think). What I do know is that it's the one with the little stick figure alphabet code :)

Book 6 - The Mystery in Arizona

From the back of the book - "Trixie, feeling very wide awake, wandered over to peer out of the window which opened onto the west patio. It was as bright as day out there, except for one shadowy corner. And then she heard, rather than saw, that somebody was hovering outside in the shadows. A soft sighing sound rose and became a sob. Somebody was out there..."

So, maybe this book should be called "The Mystery of Where's the Mystery?"

So, Di's Uncle Monty (the real one, not the fake from book 4) has asked the Bob-Whites to come spend Christmas at his dude ranch in Arizona but they'll have to skip a week of school and fly out with Mr Lynch on his way to a business trip. Most of the Bob-Whites are excited except Trixie, she doubts she'll be allowed to go after the visit her parents had from her guidance councillor about her poor grade in English and the fact she's failing math. But the boys come to the rescue and Jim and Brian agree to tutor Trixie each day they're away and it's all set, they're off to Arizona!

Things take a turn for the worse as soon as they arrive when Uncle Monty tells them that unfortunately he's going to have to send them straight home. The family he employs to work at his dude ranch has run off without a word, leaving only their daughter in law (the cook, Maria) to help Monty take care of the ranch, he managed to hire a young indian girl, Rosita, to help out but even so he isn't sure he's going to be able to manage to keep his ranch open during the holiday season, let alone have the Bob-Whites stay. Trixie comes up with a solution, the Bob-Whites can help out, the boys can help in the kitchen and dining room and the girls can take care of the cleaning. At first the other Bob-Whites are hesitant but once they realise that together they'll be able to get their work done and still have time each afternoon to have fun they all agree and the matter is settled.

So Trixie now has to balance her work as a maid, the math tutoring, work on her english report about Navajo indians and still have time to have fun. Not to mention she wants to solve where the Orlando family disappeared to (the family that was working for Uncle Monty), especially after Maria's little boy Davey threatens to run away to join them. She also wants to know why Rosita dropped out of school to work for Monty and why, if she's a daughter of a Navajo silversmith where all her jewellery is and why does the cowboy, Tenny, speak like a cowboy only when people can hear him? On top of that there's three guests at the ranch that don't seem to be having any fun that Uncle Monty asks for help with. But, no criminals or real mysteries for Trixie to solve this time around.

So, the boys "tutoring" Trixie, hmmm. I should totally get a job as a tutor because apparently all you do is tell the student to do problems in a math book and then get angry when they get the answers wrong, end of tutoring job. Brian and Jim are total buttheads to Trix over this.

Jim and Trixie - We get to see another small glimpse of the feelings there when Trixie is obviously pleased to be Jim's partner for the square dance.

The Mystery in Arizona was the last book by Julie Campbell Tatham, the original author of the Trixie series. From here on out the series is written by a bunch of different authors, all working under the name of "Kathryn Kenny". When I return to the blogosphere (probably later today) I'm going to write a short blog about this stuff and some other stuff. And then we're on to the Mysterious Code!!!! Be here for all the excitement!

Book 5 - The Mystery Off Glen Road

From the back of the book - " "Don't be silly," Trixie cried impatiently. "I'm not going to go far enough away to get lost." She darted off along the narrow path and, a few minutes later, found herself in another small clearing. There she came upon a scene that was so frightening she couldn't even scream. She just stood there, staring with horror, then turned and raced back to Honey..."

Finished Book 5 pretty quickly! I heart Mr Maypenny! He's only in for a few pages but he's teh awesome!

Everyone enjoys Celia and Tom's wedding (the Wheeler's maid and chauffeur) but afterwards a huge storm hits and blows down trees and power lines all around the neighbourhood. The mess is enough to make the Wheeler's gamekeeper quit (like he was doing a good job anyway) and a tree crashes through the Bob-Whites clubhouse!! None of the Bob-Whites have the money to repair the clubhouse except Brian but that money was supposed to buy his first car from Mr Lytell (the store owner) and if Mr Lytell doesn't get the money he'll sell the car to a used car dealer. Of course, Brian donates his money to the club, like the good man he is. The Bob-Whites consider taking on the job of gamekeeper until a new one can be found to earn money for Brian's car but that still won't stop Mr Lytell selling Brians car before they get paid. So Trixie comes up with a secret plan! She'll pretend she's fallen in love with Honey's cousin Ben Riker, who's visiting, so she can be girly enough for her dad not to suspect anything when she asks for the diamond ring that Jim gave to her (during book one, it had belonged to Jim's great-aunt and he gave it to Trixie because he figured she earned it with all the help she gave him) THEN she can use the ring as security to make Mr Lytell hold the car til the Bob-Whites get paid for game keeping.

So, Trixie's got to act like a young lady in love (totally against her tomboy nature) and in love with Ben Riker at that! (Ben's a douche bag practical joker) At the same time she's got to balance school, gamekeeping, finding out about Mr Maypenny the hermit, keeping people from realising the ring she's wearing is a fake she borrowed from Honey, keep herself from suffering the vengeance of Bobby when she loses his compass and help keep the boys free time free so they can work on the club house before another big storm hits. To top it all off, she and Honey are out patrolling the game preserve when they start finding evidence that there's poachers!!!

So, Ben Riker was introduced in book 2, as a little bit of a distraction at one of the boys camps to keep their visits from being too similar I think and now he's back and annoying the crap out of everyone, except Di, who seems to find him attractive and Bobby, who loves anyone, especially Ben who's as childish as the 6 year old is. Here we start seeing the underlying feelings Jim has for Trixie. It's not OBVIOUS but you can see the way he acts that he's upset at thinking Trixie likes Ben. Oh, Jim, she's not worth it! I'm here for you (when you age a few years at least)! lol

I was a little shocked at how truly mean to Trixie ALL of the boys were on several occasions in this book. I remember them picking on her but not this much, they really gave her hell quite a lot and she was so busy trying to do so much for everyone without wanting to take credit for it that I thought they were being dicks, Jim and Brian in particular. you kind of expect Mart to tease her but Brian and Jim were a bit over the top and past teasing and onto meanness in my opinion.

So... next up I'm onto the Mystery in Arizona, which is the last of the books by the original author, so after I finish it and blog about it I might take a quick break to give a blog some general Trixie thoughts before I dive into book 7

Book 4 - The Mysterious Visitor

From the back of the book - "THe folding doors at this end of the gallery had been pushed back as far as they would go. Trixie grabbed one of the brass handles to steady herself and something big and black and horrible with skinny, wiggly legs sprang at her. It dropped on her outstreached hand, then slithered to the floor at her feet..."

So, book 4 introduces Di Lynch, who's been friends with Trixie since kindergarten but since her father struck it rich and became a millionaire Di had become distant from all her old friends. Sweet little Honey sees this when school starts up for the Bob-Whites again and quickly invites Di to come stay with her overnight to help pull her out of the funk she's in. It's not long before all of the Bob-Whites have embraced the beautiful Di as one of their own and she becomes a Bob-White too, jacket and all.

But Di's only problem isn't that she's suddenly rich and doesn't know how to deal with it it's that her mother's long-lost brother, Monty has suddenly appeared and he seems to be doing all he can to make Di's life a living hell. He encourages her mother to buy clothes for Di he knows she hates, tries to ruin her halloween party and then, when he finds out Trixie suspects he's an impostor and not really Di's Uncle Monty at all, he tries to drive a wedge in their friendship. It isn't long before Di realises she's been tricked, Trixie is her true friend and Uncle Monty IS an impostor! But they have no way to prove it :(

Meanwhile, the Bob-Whites have been working hard to restore the gatehouse (from book 3) so they can use it as a club house. Unfortunately one of the Wheeler's maids sees the work they've done and asks the Wheelers if she and the chauffeur can move into it when they are married and Mr Wheeler says yes because he was not aware the kids were working on it and wanted it. It looks like the Bob-Whites are going to be out of a clubhouse!

Needless to say to get the evidence they need about Uncle Monty, Trixie takes it upon herself and unintentionally put herself in danger and Uncle Monty ends up kidnapping her in the Lynch's red trailer (the Robin from book 2) after Mr Lynch sees what he's doing to his daughters life and gives Monty the trailer and $50,000 to get out of their lives. Luckily Mart believes Trixie when she claims Uncle Monty's an impostor and has his own plan to gather the evidence needed and is hiding in the trailer when Trixie is kidnapped. Together they manage to catch the attention of "Spider" Webster, a local police officer, and "Uncle Monty" is arrested and the truth comes out.

As a reward Di's father decides to give the Bob-Whites (well, Mart and Trixie anyway) the red trailer. THe Bob-Whites decide they can't accept such a big reward but decide that they could give it to Celia (the maid) and that way they can keep the clubhouse! Yay, everything works out in the end.

Oh and the police discover that Fake Uncle Monty knew so much about the Lynch's because he'd met the REAL Uncle Monty in Arizona and Mrs Lynch finally gets in contact with her real brother :) And because it's all thanks to the Bob-Whites, Real Uncle Monty invites them out to Arizona to his dude ranch during the christmas holidays, thus setting things up for book 6 - The Mystery in Arizona. But before that we've got book 5 coming up :)

Di Lynch. Hmmmm... What is there to say about Di? Well, she's apparently very beautiful and has blue-black hair and violet eyes, and this is apparently because Elizabeth Tailor was such a prominent actress at the time (1954 was the first publication) that Di was modelled after her in looks. At first glance Di seems to be suffering from a variety of problems, low self esteem, some kind of bi-polar maybe? But really I think she's just a very nervous and insecure young girl who isn't really the sharpest tool in the shed either. Despite her problems and the fact she's a bit gullible, Di is a sweetheart and fits in well with the other Bob-Whites. There seems to be no glimmer here of the feelings i remember being between Di and Mart but maybe because it's too soon. Maybe Mart having such an active role in the climax is an indication that he wanted to be part of this one especially.

Also, at one point Trixie tries to use portraits of Mrs Lynch's parents to prove that Fake Monty couldn't be their son if they both had blue eyes and his are brown. I remember this helped me know a bit more about recessive genes and things before we did them in school :)

Next up - The Mystery Off Glen Road! Which is when I think Mr Maypenny, the gamekeeper is introduced :)

BTW - Here is the cover for the "ugly" version (as collectors tend to call this set of hard covers). This is the cover I remember having my first read through all those years ago. You can see Trixie is wearing her red Bob-White jacket. In earlier publications these seem to be nice, almost formal jackets by todays standards but I remember thinking of them rather like sports jackets or more like letterman jackets (is that the word I'm thinking of, "letterman"?). Anyway, just wanted to include it because it brings back memories.

Book 3 - The Gatehouse Mystery

From the back of the book - "A thick wall of blackness surrounded her on all sides and Trixie felt as though she couldn't breathe. She could only stand there, listening for someone was coming quietly down the back stairs. Now he was pushing open the swinging door. The beam of a flashlight cut through the darkness and Trixie whirled around, stifling a scream..."

So, I made quick work of book 3 and enjoyed every minute of it. While I remembered the basics I'd forgotten most of the details so it was a lot of fun to read it. Trixie and Honey set out to explore an old run down, abandoned gate house on the Wheeler property and there (mostly thanks to Bobby) they find a large diamond in the dirt floor. Rather than hand it over to the adults or the police Honey and Trixie (well, mostly Trixie) decide that because of the circumstances that the diamond must be stolen and fairly recently too so they'd better try solving the mystery themselves. Despite wanting to keep it to themselves Jim soon discovers what's going on and then Mart and Brian arrive back from camp and soon all five of them have formed their own little club (the Bob-Whites of the Glen or B.W.G. for short), decided they're going to all earn money to fix up the gatehouse for a clubhouse AND they're all going to help try to figure out where the diamond came from and who originally stole it before losing it in the gatehouse. Is the thief the new, shrivelled, old gardener, could it be a passing tramp or is it the Wheelers new chauffeur who seems to be nice to everyone except Trixie who he's exceptionally rude to?

Along the ride the diamond disappears, only to reappear in the spot Honey had been hiding it (thanks to a trip around the Belden and Wheeler properties in Bobby's pocket) and ends up being sewn into a strawberry shaped pin cushion and hidden in Mrs Belden's sewing kit.

In the end Trixie puts everything together and solves the case just in time and ends up putting herself in a lot of danger and is rescued by Jim and Regan (the groom). Of course the others realise that Trixie's intuitions were right all along and they should have listened to her but then of course, they don't listen to her the next 30 books either lol.

Mart was as funny and cool as I remember him, I loved that he got so upset when the chauffeur was rude to Trixie. Regan was awesome, I can't believe he's only like 22, I remember thinking he was a lot older than that.

Something to note - this is the book that taught me how easy it is to forge a signature when you know no one is going to look at it too closely. Thanks to this book I believe that my high school had a lot of notes signed by my mum that weren't really LOL! Putting the things I learnt from Trixie to evil uses, I'm so bad!!

Next up... The Mysterious Visitor!!! One of my favourites, we get impostors, Di joins the Bob-Whites, the Robin (the red trailer from book two) makes an appearance, Mart and Trixie put their physical similarities to good use, Trixie gets kidnapped and it sets things up nicely for book 6 with the trip to Arizona. (also I think book 4 has the first appearance of Spider Webster? Maybe?) Anyway, I'll be back with more soon!!

Things I'm looking forward to in book 3

Well, I'm about to start book 3 (after I do a little housework and see to the puppies) and I thought I'd just say the things I'm looking forward to because book 3 is a pretty significant book...

Mart and Brian returning. You know I have to think that despite the fact I loved all the bob-whites and the fact it was Jim and Regan I had crushes on (and Dan too) it was Mart who was always my favourite of the main characters. He made me laugh, he was cool, he was obviously in love with Di (who I think was equally smitten), he teased Trixie mercilessly (I seem to recall him making her cry on at least one occasion) but he was fiercely loyal and it was obvious he would die for his "almost twin" sister (Mart and Trixie are 11 months apart). I can't wait for him to return from camp. As for Brian, I remember he wanted to be a doctor and he was always the goody-goody of the group (they were all good guys but Brian was always the one that wanted to go to their parents about everything and stuff) but not overly much else. OH! Brians jalopy!!! That's like book 5? Right? I can't wait!

The Bob-Whites of the Glen - Oh man, the group forms the Bob-Whites in book 3, with the gatehouse for a clubhouse, their own secret whistle, their own jackets. I remember reading those books and wishing I was a Bob-White or at least belonged to a club that was even half way as cool. lol!

Book 2 - The Red Trailer Mystery

From the back of the book - "The clouds of dust created by the struggle made the air in the loft almost unbearable. If I can't cough or clear my throat soon, Trixie thought in agony of suspense, I'll choke to death. And then Honey sneezed. Frozen with fright to the edge of the loft, the girls stared downward as the man's bushy-haired head fell back and his foxlike face turned up to meet their gaze..."

So, book two takes off not long after the end of book one, the Mansion at Ten Acres has burnt to the ground, Jim has run away and it's up to Honey and Trixie to track him down. Under the eyes of Miss Trask (Honey's governess) they set off in the Silver Swan, a luxury trailer home, to investigate some boys summer camps that Jim had mentioned hoping to get a job at. Along the way they run into the Darnell family who have "borrowed" the Robin (the eponymous Red Trailer) and are there when Joeanne Darnell runs away. Now they've got Jim to track, Joeanne to track, the Darnell family to find again not to mention trailer thieves to foil, a stolen locket to find and all that, plus dealing with a pair of unruly dogs all to do in just a few days.

At the end of Red Trailer we find that it's almost comical in how close people came but just missed each other the whole way through the book until the very end.

Once again the book puts in place a number of things for the coming books - Brian and Mart returning is mentioned (book 3), the Robin belongs to Di Lynch, a girl Trixie knows (book 4), Ben Riker, Honey's cousin appears (book 5), the Robin is the trailer Trixie gets kidnapped in (book 4), the overgrown gatehouse on the Wheelers property is mentioned (book 3).

Of course at the end of The Red Trailer Mystery we get to finally meet Honey's parents and Jim finally finds himself a new home with a little sister (here it finally gets mentioned that Matthew Wheeler and Jim have similar colouring). Even Honey's mum seems to be happy with the arrangement for Jim to become part of the Wheeler family and both parents seem to be quite happy with the effect Trixie and Jim have had on Honey.

Oh, also the traile rthieves get foiled, Joeanne is reunited with her family and everyone gets the ending they deserve.

One more thing before I move on and start reading book 3 later today - Until Donna mentioned it in comments I had forgotten all about the crow but once she mentioned it I was like "Oh, wow, how did I forget that?" and a few pages later in the book, there he was. But, seriously, I get that the book was first published in like 1950 or something but "Jimmy Crow" SERIOUSLY? Wow. This was within the lifetime of our parents (or mine at least) and this sort of thing wasn't even commented on as being racist, in fact it was in a kids book! Now I have no problem with the book but it just made me think how recent things really are in some regards.

Anyway, I'll catch you all back here when I finish The Gatehouse Mystery. or maybe beforehand if I have more random thoughts :)

Random Trixie thoughts...

So, just a couple of quick thoughts before I do my Red Trailer blog...

Jim - His attitude in the first book is very different to what I remember. I always remember him to have a quick temper but in book one he seems a little more sullen and ragey than normal. BUT I think this is understandable with the abuse that he had from Jonesy before Trixie and Honey met him. I never really thought about that abuse when I first read the books and the effects it would have on Jim in later life but this time around it saddened and shocked me. At one stage Jim tells of Jonesy tying him, hand and foot to a bed to keep him there after his first run away attempt. It makes me like his character more that he can go through that and still be the honourable, kind person he is at his core and it makes me happier for the life he ends up having.

Bobby Belden - I never realised it before but the age difference between Bobby and Trixie is almost the same as between me and my sister, Donna (the one who introduced me to Trixie). Add to that I'm the baby in a family of four :) I wonder if my sister ever felt as exasperated with me as Trixie got with Bobby? It helps me "get" Bobby a little more understanding that :)

Anyway, the Red Trailer....

Current thoughts...

So, I've had The Red Trailer Mystery sitting here beside me for a while now and on one hand I really want to pick it up and read through it because I'm excited to get to number three for Mart and Brian to get home and for them to form the Bob-Whites and then to get to number 4 for Di to join, and then to 7, 8 and 9 for the stick man code, Dan to arrive and the flood and then 11 and 12 and... well, I think you get the point by now. What's holding me back? I want to enjoy the read, to savour each book that little bit extra because it's almost as if I'm reading them again for the first time, though I remember a lot of important bits, there's so much I don't remember :)

Ah, stuff it, I'm off to read at least a few pages of the Red Trailer Mystery right now!!!

Book One - The Secret of the Mansion

From the back of the book - "Trixie sucked in her breath. In the bright moonlight, she could distinctly see the head and shoulders of a man rising above the thicket. He was moving stealthily across the clearing, like a cat stalking it's prey, and she felt a little shiver run up and down her spine..."

So, this book introduces us to Trixie, Honey and Jim (who are really the core of the main group of characters) and of course most of the major supporting characters of the series like Ms Trask, Bobby, the Belden parents, Regan, Reddy, Mr Lytell etc.

What do I remember from my last reading of it YEARS ago? I remember Trixie being bored because Mart and Brian are away at camp, I remember the snake bite, the "mad dog" and the fiery climax. I also remember the basics - Jim has run away from his cruel stepfather to find his uncle who is his only living relative but Mr Frayne (Jim's Uncle) is an old miser who is laying in hospital, unconscious and almost dead. Trixie and her new friend, Honey meet Jim and believe the local tale of half a million dollars is hidden in Mr Fraynes run down mansion. And that really is the basic plot.

So I started reading the book this morning and am already done. They really are fairly small books when you're used to much bigger "adult" sized books but even in the short tale that it is it manages to fit in a whole lot of story. Aside from being fairly fast paced it actually gives you some character development, especially for Honey, who starts out as a poor little rich girl but quickly grows beyond that thanks to Trixie and Jim. I remember Trixie and Jim being my favourites but this time it was Honey, she really was just so much more than I remember her being and so willing to try out new things and face her fears. At first it seemed that Trixie was a bit meaner to Honey than I remembered but then I thought about it and Honey's world and attitude and stuff is probably as alien to Trixie as Trixie's is to Honey so it's no wonder there's that bit of misunderstanding at first but because we only see things from Trixie's side really we don't get the same insight into what Honey is thinking about Trixie :)

Couple things I found strange - I remember that in the books it gets commented on later on that Jim and Mr Wheeler have such similar hair and eye colour (red/green) that they are easily taken for real father and son but at no time does Honey mention to Jim that her father has red hair and green eyes too and Mr Lytell doesn't mention it either when he runs into the three of them out riding. Also, I seem to remember Regan having red hair but this wasn't mentioned either.

This book ends with the setup for the next book - Jim's run away again and Trixie and Honey are going off to find him and tell him he doesn't have to go back to his cruel stepfather and that he really has inherited half a million dollars. Coupled with the fact that this book establishes Mart and Brian as future characters and I remember in the next book the Red Trailer belongs to Di Lynch's family it really is obvious that the first lot of books (1-6) were written by the original author (Julie Campbell Tatham) and she obviously had a general idea of where the story was going for those books.

Anyway, next I'm on to the Red Trailer Mystery and I'll post more after I have at least made a start on it

IT BEGINS!!!!!!

So, there they are, all 34 books, laid out and ready to be read :) Going to start on the Secret of the Mansion today :)

Part 1 Trixie Memories

So, in the next few days I hope to start reading the Trixie Belden series again from the beginning. In case you don't know about Trixie Belden here's a quick run down - Trixie is a young girl (I think 13 or 14) who lives with her family on a farm near the Hudson River in upstate New York (I think) that is too far out of town for her to see many of her school friends outside of school times. Then one day the Wheelers, a rich family, moves into the mansion on the hill near the Beldens farm and Trixie becomes fast friends with Honey Wheeler (a girl her own age) and together they soon find themselves embroiled in a series of mysteries along with a bunch of their friends and family. I know, I know, you're thinking what makes that different to that other, more well known girl detective? (you know the one, Nancy what's her face) Well, I'll tell you, Trixie is just an average girl, she's not beautiful, she's not rich, she's not super smart, she does chores at her farm, looks after a little brother, has a totally undisciplined dog and in general is just a fairly "real" kinda girl (despite the fact that over the 4 decades of the books being originally published she only ages like 1 year) who you can easily identify with when you're a young teenager.

I haven't read the series since I was a teenager so I want to compare my love back then to what I think now as I read each book. I'm going to be starting with the 34 "basic" books in the series (I don't yet have the "mystery quiz" books or the rare numbers 35-39 but I hope to eventually have them too) because they are what I have after YEARS of trying to get a collection together. Books 35-39 are like the Holy Grails for Trixie collectors and I've seen them going for around $50+ PER BOOK. Out of those 5 I only ever read the one with the fire (35 I think).

I thought, before I start reading these books again I'd take some time to remember how I started reading them, why I loved them and what my memories of them are like so that after I read them again I can compare what I used to think with what I think now.

So, here goes with a walk down memory lane...

I must have been maybe 11 or 12 when I first picked up a Trixie book. My older sister had left her copy of 'The Sasquatch Mystery' sitting in the lounge room when she was out one day and I was fascinated with bigfoot, yetis, loch ness monsters and other cryptids so I naturally HAD to pick it up and have a read through it. I remember that by the time my sister got home I was hooked and I wanted to finish the book and had to wait a couple of days til she'd finished it but she said I could borrow it and then afterwards, if I was keen, she'd let me borrow the other books she had in the series. So a few days later I got and finished reading through 'The Sasquatch Mystery' and then started on an adventure starting from book 1. I think maybe the fact that 'The Sasquatch Mystery' was my first Trixie book was the cause of Hallie being one of my favourite characters (even though she's only in two books that I remember) and the fact that something seemed to be between her and Dan made me think Dan was cool, even though he's probably the least used of the main characters.

Anyway, my sister was kind enough to start lending me the books in order and I devoured them and fell in love with the world of Trixie and Jim and Honey and the other Bob-Whites. It wasn't until much later that I realised that the first books in the series were written originally in like the 1940s so that's probably why the characters seemed like they were just such nice people, they came from a simpler time yet they were easy to identify with, they were far from perfect and seemed to be the first book characters I could see myself in.

So, my memories of specific books I'll try to keep in posts about those books as I re-read them and I'll talk about the characters as they are introduced in the series but there's a few memories I'll put here now to see if the books end up matching them...

The events of the books I remember clearest are the BIG things - the fire at the Frayne's mansion in book 1, the flood in 'The Happy Valley Mystery' (that terrified me the first time), Trixie being kidnapped in the Lynch's caravan that kinda thing. I also remember Trixie's slide down the log chute and her hands being sliced up by pine needles in 'The Sasquatch Mystery', their adventures in Bob-White Cave, the prophecy from book 12, Bobby being bitten by a snake and attacked by a mountain lion or cutting his knee on a diamond in various books, learning that chewing apple seeds is poisonous in large quantities, the cool stick figure code, the stale air almost suffocating Trixie in the one with the Emeralds, the avalanche at Meads Mountain, the LMN tree (lol), Jims cousin and her marriage and didn't Hallie get tied to a bed in that one?

We mostly had the paperback "oval" covers and a few in what most collectors call the "short and uglies" (I remember having 'The Black Jacket Mystery' and 'The Mystery of the Blinking Eye' in the short and uglies quite clearly) and just looking at those covers brings back memories from most of them but for some I look at them and can't remember them at all.

Anyway, I'm going to blog about each book as I read them, starting with a bit about what I remember of the book and then what I think as I read them so if you were a Trixie fan feel free to comment on each blog as it comes :)

Also, I think that Jim is the reason that today I find strapping red heads quite distracting (if you know what I mean)