Book 22 - The Mystery at Mead's Mountain

From the back of the book - "As they started up the hill, Trixie tried to banish from her mind the thought of Mart lying buried under all the snow... "How long do we have, Jim?" she asked tensely. "If we can't find him in an hour, we'll have to send for help." That was all Jim would say. What he means is, if we don't find him in an hour, it may be too late, Trixie cried silently..."

The Bob-Whites are worried about affording the insurance on their car. So it comes as a relief when Mr Wheeler wants to hire them to check out the ski lodge he's thinking of buying and let him know if young people would be interested in it and what changes he might need to make to it.

Almost as soon as they arrive (minus Dan of course) Trixie gets them involved in mysterious happenings. Apparently Mead's Mountain has it's own ghost and then there's Honey's watch going missing. Add to that the mysterious old man living alone in the wilderness with a cottage stinking of alcohol and the figure with a ski mask on they see right before the avalanche, not to mention the notes to Trixie the ghost keeps leaving! Trixie gets the gang involved with criminals involved in counterfeiting, blackmail, kidnapping and petty theft!! Everything ends up fine of course, and JUST in time for the Bob-Whites to celebrate the new year with all their new friends. AWWWWW!

I had a few beefs with this book -

First the problem with the Bob-Whites not accepting the insurance money as a gift, even though it's christmas. Mr Wheeler gave them the car for nothing but now they've got a problem with accepting help with the insurance, even if it means they'll have to sell the car? Seems a bit suspect to me.

Dan being left behind once again - it's like the authors aren't even trying any more. I'd like it even if Dan went and just didn't do much, it'd be much preferable to him always missing out!

Mart's insults of Trixie were of a particularly harsh nature this time. I know he likes to rib her but she's a 14 year old girl and he practically calls her fat and ugly and dumb, what a douche! I'm usually "Team Mart" but this time I was like "Leave that bastard in the avalanche!"

The Belden kids start off saying how much they need to help their parents with stuff but suddenly they worm their way out of it and are off on ANOTHER vacation! It really annoys me when Trixie spends ages whining about having to help her parents when really, she hardly ever has to do even her most basic chores without help or managing to get out of them. Poor Mr and Mrs Belden!

Counterfeiting AGAIN! We just had a counterfeiting gang a couple of books ago with Old Telegraph Rd and now we're back to it? Geez, way to have no fresh ideas various Kathryn Kenny's!

Ok, I've vented enough for now I think :) Having said all of that I kinda liked this book. Ok, so it had a lot that annoyed me but it was good in that the mystery wasn't totally obvious right from the start, there was enough action to keep it flowing fairly well and there were enough cute little scenes that you've come to expect (like the visit to the little brain-damaged girl who makes puzzles or the trip to the vegetarian restaurant) and, other than Mart (seriously, even liked Brian over Mart this time around) most of the characters acted like you'd expect them to. I have to give props to this author, I liked this Di, she wasn't girly, scared, unsure Di, she was a bit less 2 dimensional and the idea that she wants to be an artist is introduced, I hope they keep that, it kinda suits her.

Anyway, I'd have to say, despite the negatives overall this one graded about average, likeable but not a standout.

Next up I seem to remember we're off to merry olde England for the Mystery of the Queen's Necklace! Be sure to come back!

Book 21 - The Mystery of the Castaway Children

From the back of the book - "From the backseat of the Bob-White station wagon, Mart said sharply "Watch it, Jim. Those headlights are coming up on us awfully fast...". Suddenly the whole interior of the wagon was flooded with light that blazed into Jim's eyes. "Shift that mirror!" he snapped at Trixie. Trixie obeyed, watching those freckled hands on the steering wheel and praying silently. If anyone can get us out of this nightmare, Jim can... "Dont slow down," warned Brian. "He can't miss hitting us"..."





After a heavy summer storm Trixie notices Reddy acting funny and when Brian investigates he finds a baby abandoned in Reddy's dog house. The Bob-Whites name the baby Moses and are entrusted with his care while the police search for his parents. When the babies parents are found it turns out they are missing two children, the baby and a young boy around Bobby's age, who seems to have run away. To make things more complicated a ransom note is delivered to the parents of the missing children! Now it's up to Trixie and her friends to find out if the kids really were kidnapped or whether the young boy ran away with his baby brother and someone is trying to take advantage of their distraught parents.

I really enjoyed this book, the mystery was interesting, the characters, both regular and new, were real enough to get me involved and all of the Bob-Whites acted as I expect them to. Di was wonderful in the way she cared for "Moses" and Bobby made me smile and I even laughed out loud once (when Jim asked Brian if being nuts ran in the Belden family).

One thing I found out of place was Trixie ignoring so many clues. She ignored the moving rug, the open fridge, the small change left for the food, the funny noises and shadows etc. It was so annoying that she made nothing of it when normally she can make huge mysteries of the smallest happenings.

While I remember this book being one of my favorites I'm not sure anymore. I think it was an above average entry into the series but it doesn't quite match my memories. Don't get me wrong I really loved it and powered through it quickly because I was really enjoying it, it just didn't have that same spark for me this read through. Out of ten I'd still give it a nine :)

The next book in the series is the Mystery at Meads Mountain. I remember the avalanche but not much else, I do remember really enjoying it though, we'll have to see if I enjoy it as much this time, I certainly hope so :)

Book 20 - The Mystery Off Old Telegraph Road

From the back of the book - "Trixie walked over to her best friend and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing Honey to look at her. "What is it, Honey?" she asked. "What happened?". "Oh, Trixie," Honey wailed, "I just got the most horrible phone call. H-He said I should call off the bikeathon. He - he said if I didn't - if the bikeathon went on as scheduled next Saturday - that something awful would happen. 'You can be sure of it,'he said..."





Trixie and Honey attend their schools art fair and see how underfunded the art department is. The Bob-Whites decide to do something about it and hold a bikeathon through the Wheeler game preserve to raise funds. Nothing about that seems too mysterious but Ben Riker (Honeys cousin) is back in town and this time he's hanging out with a bad crowd. Then there's Nick Roberts, an art student who should be happy about the bikeathon but isn't, he even rips down one of the posters for it! Add to that the fact Trixie is out scouting the route the bikeathon will follow when she discovers some foreign currency that turns out to be counterfeit and things are looking like starting another mystery for the Belden-Wheeler detective agency. And then Di's bike tires get slashed and Honey receives a threatening phone call and so does Mrs Vanderpoel (who has volunteered her yard as a pit stop for the bikeathon) and it looks like the bikeathon may be called off!

Of course the bikeathon goes ahead, the counterfeiters are caught and everyone has a happy ending, after Trixie puts herself in danger once again :)

I'm a bit up in the air about this book. While it has the makings of a fun mystery there's a few things that detract from it in various ways.

Ben Rikers reappearance annoyed me. I'm not sure what his purpose in this book is, other than maybe the author wanted to bring him in as a new regular or maybe even a new Bob-White. They TRY to make him a red herring about the counterfeiting with his "forgery" of the arrows but seriously, as if anyone really thought he had anything to do with the real criminals. He served no REAL purpose.

Of course, talking of Ben, we have to mention Trixie and Honey's fight, as Ben was really the cause. While I really felt bad for Trix when she and Honey fought the whole thing felt forced (maybe to try justify Bens appearance) and like it was just there to add a bit of angsty drama to the mix. They make up much too quickly for me, it could've been an interesting subplot but just becomes another distraction in a book with too many already.

Then there's the silk screening. There's a couple pages devoted to silk screening out of no where. It's almost like the author sold some advertising to a silk screening company or was trying to make the readers interested in doing some silk screening, it was just bizarre.

Of course there was plenty of stuff I did like :). Marts attitude to Trix this time around showed just how loyal and loving he is when it comes to his "almost twin". Marts feelings for Di are mentioned once again (yay) as are Jims and Trixies for each other.

All in all I guess I'd have to say this book is about average, it's fun and all but just not brilliant but I did enjoy it :)

Next up is Castaway Children, another of my favorites, where the Bob-Whites find an abandoned baby in Reddys doghouse. See you here when I finish it.

Book 19 - The Secret of the Unseen Treasure

From the back of the book - "The light shining Honey's palm made the hand look reddish and bony. "Point your flashlight at the ground and let a little more light out," Trixie said. "If we can find our footprints then we'll know which way to go.". As Honey directed the light downward, a pair of beady little eyes gleamed redly nearby..."





This time it's Mrs Elliot who benefits from Trixie's investigative skills. Mrs Elliot's flowers were once enough to support her but since her husband died a few years ago she's been finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. Her stepson has returned to live with her and help out but now it's not just making ends meet that's worrying her. Someone tries to burn down her barn, steal her social security cheque, destroy her flowers, sabotages her water pump and even tries to convince Social Security that she's been defrauding them!

When I first picked this book up this morning I couldn't remember anything about it. It didn't take long for me to remember the cheques turning up in the lake and the fact that Mrs Elliots savior was a new breed of plant in her garden but that's all I could remember so imagine my surprise when Trixie and Honey discover a marijuana crop!!! And then the discussion about hemp and the act some states were trying to legalize it (over 30 years ago)! Certainly not what I expected from a Trixie book!

Once again I'm happy that all of the Bob-Whites get a look inn this book, though for a chunk of it Brian and Jim are away, which leaves Mart in the starring male role for a little while (totally awesome for a Mart fan like me). Dans experiences in his gang days once again help shed some light on the mystery and I have big props for Di, even though she's scared out in a strange place in the middle of the night she's brave enough to keep doing what needs to be done.

It was really easy to imagine how pretty the flowers etc at Mrs Elliots were and I'm glad it had a happy ending for everyone, except for the villain of course.

My only beef this time was the timeline. Last book the Bob-Whites are fresh back at school for the start of a new year, this time it's the start of the holidays again, a whole school year disappeared and no one aged a day, I guess this I'd where the timeline starts going screwy and the agelessness of the characters starts pushing beyond belief.

Join me next time for the Mystery off Old Telegraph Road, which, if I remember rightly, has counterfeiting and a bikeathon!

Book 18 - The Mystery of the Phantom Grasshopper

From the back of the book - "The heavy front door closed solidly behind Trixie... The long corridor that ran past thew stairway was dark and gloomy-looking, and the stillness of the old building made Trixie feel she should walk softly... She had almost reached the stairs when she saw the door directly across the stairway open slowly. A tall man backed out into the hall and soundlessly closed the door. Turning, he saw Trixie..."

This time Trixie and the gang decide that they'd like to help pay for the town halls weather vane to be re-coppered and decide they'll host a walkathon. before they can really get their plans rolling Hoppy (the grasshopper weather vane) is stolen from his home on top of town hall, where he's lived for over a hundred years! And then the extensive and very expensive coin collection in the care of their new social studies teacher, Miss Lawler, disappears. With Trixie and her friends on the case you know that things will all work out in the end :)

Another book that's a bit of fun and by the end you think that maybe a huge brass grasshopper could be kinda cute. The scene where it is revealed Bobby has been taking riding lessons on a shetland pony was adorable and I LOVED Trixie for staying behind and taking him riding with her. Bobby's riding and his new treehouse play a role in helping Trixie find where the grasshopper was hidden and then there's the St Louis songs on the radio which were the only thing I really remembered, they were used by the criminals as signals.

I really powered through this book in quick time because it really flowed well, one thing led to another to another so there really wasn't any "slack time" that made me want to put it down. While I didn't find this book up to the standards of some of the others I still enjoyed it. Dan and Di took a serious background once again this time and Mart's polysyllabic vocabulary really went into overdrive, there were a number of words even I didn't understand as a 30 year old! neither Brian nor Jim really did too much this time around, both were really just there as chauffeurs, poor guys. It's interesting to note that they've been back at school for a couple of weeks, meaning that chronologically this book is set about a year after book 4. From here on out I think the books get a bit muddled, time-wise and no one progresses to age any further.

Next book on the list is The Secret of the Unseen Treasure. I remember nothing about it, we'll have to see how it goes. See you here for that soon :)

Trixie Belden Mystery Quiz Book 1

Wow, that was quick! Lol! I had a fun time reading this, it's fun and full of quizzes, cartoon mysteries, short mysteries and a short story. Ok, so the short mysteries and comic mysteries (the clues to solve them were mostly obvious) were pretty easy as were most of the quizzes but they were still fun and there were even a few that I really enjoyed like the logic puzzles, the cryptic code stuff, there was one quiz where you sometimes had to answer correctly and sometimes incorrectly and one quiz that was nursery rhymes told by Mart with his polysyllabic vocabulary and you had to work out what they were.

The short mysteries kinda reminded me of Encyclopedia Brown and the comic ones kinda reminded me of another series I used to read as a kid that had short mysteries, always with a visual clue illustrated by a boy named Hawkeye, wish I could remember the name of those books.

Ok, ok, so tis book wasn't *essential* reading for the series but it DID bring back memories, I remembered several of the mysteries from reading it as a kid. I can't wait to read the second mystery qui book as I never read it as a kid so it'll be exciting and new :)

Anyway, my next blog will be the Phantom Grasshopper, I'm in such a Trixie mood after finishing Uninvited Guest that I think I'll even start it when I go to bed (am reading another series as my "bedtime" book at the moment but going to pause it for tonight)

See you here again soon!

Book 17 - The Mystery of the Uninvited Guest

From the back of the book - "When Trixie could stand the waiting no longer, she went after Bobby. The instant she opened the kitchen door she was grabbed. She just had time to scream before a voice growled, "shut up, or you've had it!". A hand was clamped over her mouth..."




So, book 17 was one of my favorites the first time around and it's easy to see why again this time. This book picks up a few weeks after the last (though they were published 7 years apart) with Juliana and Hans' wedding fast approaching. Aside from the fact the Bob-Whites are all involved with the wedding, Trixie has more stress on her mind when her cousin Hallie arrives. Trixie and Hallie haven't seen each other for years and they didn't get along as kids and Trixie has those memories foremost in her mind. At first Trixie is really not nice to Hallie at all, for no other reason than their childhood rivalry. But Trix is a good person at heart and eventually Hallie and her become friends.

The mystery this time has to do with a gang of thieves. They rob the Lynch family and several others and the wedding, with it's presents seems a likely target. Then there's the fact that Juliana's engagement ring disappears, only to be found in Dan's stuff! It looks like Dan may be slipping back onto old ways, especially when it's found out that his old gang is hanging around. Poor Dan can't even defend his honor because he goes missing once the ring is discovered. And then there's "Miss Ryks" a wheelchair bound elderly lady who insists on being invited to the wedding, though no one seems to be able to work out if she's friends with Hans' family or Juliana's. Add to all this that poor Bobby seems to be out of sorts and food keeps disappearing from the Belden house and it's got the makings of a fun mystery.

All of the Bob-Whites are there this time and all of them have some sort of contribution to the story and mystery, even if it's small. Bobby even plays a decent part in this one and Hallie is one of my favorite honorary Bob-Whites so the characters this time around make me smile :)

The bad guys are also different this time, it's not just Dan's gang but Oliver Toliver/Miss Ryks and their workings aren't your average villains. Of course, you'd think the adults, particularly sergeant Mollison would have seen through the disguise. But it's a mystery for younger people, of course the young characters are going to be the heroes.

The obvious interest between Dan and Hallie is cool, because they're two of my favorites, ok, I admit, I often wished I was Hallie in my younger days, lol! I wish The next book had've kept Hallie around but we don't get to see her again until The Sasquatch Mystery :(

I really got emotionally involved in this book more than others. I felt for poor Bobby, worried about Dan and then Hallie when they disappeared, was filled with joy for Juliana and Hans and felt all gooey over Dan and Hallie and Jim and Trixie :)

All in all it was a favorite the first read and now, all these years later, the Mystery of the Uninvited Guest is still a favorite, it always will be :)

The next book is the Phantom Grasshopper the only thing I ever remember about it is the grasshopper is a weather vane. BUT! Before I read book 18, I think I might take a break and read the first Mystery Quiz Book :). I'm going to include a review of it in this blog too. See you here for that :)

<3

Book 16 - The Mystery of the Missing Heiress

From the back of the book - "The commotion inside the house became bedlam... a combination of falling furniture, cries of "Where are the lights?". Bobby's shrieks, doors slamming and rushing feet. "Where are you Trixie?" her fathers voice called. "Trixie!" Brian echoed. "The lights are out all over the house. What is happening?" "He must have cut the wires"..."

Book 16 is sometimes viewed as the end of a "Trixie cycle" and I can see why, other than the contents there was a gap of 7 years between it being published and the next finally coming out, the longest gap between Trixie books. The book also brings things full circle, giving Jim the blood relative he's been wanting since we first met him in book 1 and finally Jim's evil stepdad, Jonesy, gets his comeuppance.

This book starts with some swamp land near the Belden and Wheeler properties planned to be drained by the state as it's last known owners died many years ago. It turns out that the owners were Jim's mothers sister and Dutch her family, so Jim could lay a claim to it. With the help of Trixie it is discovered that Jim's family isn't dead as first thought, his cousin survived!

Jim's cousin, Julianna, arrives in Sleepyside and ends up staying with Mrs Vanderpoel (remember her from book 7? She donated some antiques?). Despite her best efforts Trixie just can't seem to make herself like Julianna. Trixie is quickly distracted from Julianna by "Janie" a lady at the hospital where Trixie and Honey volunteer. Poor Janie was in some kind of accident and she is now suffering from amnesia.

Eventually it is revealed (through Trixie's dedication) that Julianna is an imposter, brought in by Jim's evil stepdad who knew about the family and was hoping to cash in on the situation. Janie is the real Julianna! Due to the fact he tried to kill Janie multiple times it looks like old Jonesy is finally going to go away for a LONG time. Also involved with Jonesy's plan were the Thompson's, the bad guys from book 7!

Of course everything works out and the book ends with the real Julianna and her fiancé, Hans, deciding to get married in Sleepyside, with Trixie as Julianna's maid of honor and Jim as Hans' best man.

This book is a good fun one, it has a little mystery, a little action, a little humour, Dan and Di both appear (though neither are essential to the story), most of the regular cast of extras act just as they should, everything seems just normal and, bonus, Spider Webster makes an appearance. All in all it's a good fun book, it's probably not the best but it's still one that really encapsulated what the books are all about.

Next book is the Mystery of the Uninvited Guest where we get to see Hans and Julianna's wedding :). Make sure you're here for that :)

Book 15 - The Mystery on the Mississippi

From the back of the book - "Heavy feet mounted the steps... nearer... nearer... nearer. A key was inserted into the lock. it opened, and a man's bulk filled it. The morning light shone full on his sneering, wicked face. "Still alive are you?" he said, grinning maliciously. Trixie looked hopelessly into Honey's eyes. It may be the last time I'll ever see her, she thought. The last time I ever see anyone I love."

Yay, finally got through it!!! (told you I was still reading and doing this blog!)

Well, this one wasn't up to the standard of the others, unfortunately. Fresh back from their trips to New York, Cobbet's Island and Virginia the Bob-Whites are off to travel down the Mississippi in Huck Finn country. Somehow Trixie decides there's a mystery in some papers she finds and amongst running up and down the river and everywhere the Bob-Whites end up with Trixie and Honey being kidnapped by arms dealers. Mart spends the entire book whining about how he's not getting to do the things he wants, even though he ends up getting to do most of them, Honey makes best friends with the villains and Brian and Jim do nothing except occasionally drive. The only redeeming feature of this book is that Dan's in it. Unfortunately Di is off somewhere else this time.

No wonder I don't remember reading this book, it was pretty terrible. There were a couple of ideas (like the map and it's "cryptograms") that could have been great but the book was too disjointed and didn't really do enough to suck the reader in. Poor Trixie, having an adventure like this to her name :(

Next up, two of my favourites, the Missing Heiress, which brings back Jonesy (Jim's evil stepfather) and gives Jim an actual living blood relative and then Uninvited Guest, with Haley and a wedding, I can't wait to get reading!!

A Quick note

So, my blog has been delayed lately but it's still going. I've taken a break to have a read of a couple of other books that I got from eBay that I'd been hunting for years.

Also, I just (yesterday) won books 35 and 36 on eBay! YAY! (and this time I wasn't bidding against my sister) So my collection is nearing completion! WOOT!

I'm almost finished the book I'm reading and then I have one more book to read and then I will be back to Trixie, alternating between a Trixie book and other books each time.

See you soon for the Mystery on the Mississippi!