Trixie Belden series 4 - 6

4) The Mysterious Visitor

Honey and Trixie are concerned about their classmate, Diana Lynch, who's grappling with an awkward problem. Di's parents have recently made a fortune, and her long-lost Uncle Monty has shown up on their doorstep from out of the blue. Now he's a permanent house guest, and an overbearing, controlling nuisance, which compounds the angst Di has been dealing with, coming to terms with her family's sudden wealth. Suspicious circumstances lead Trixie and the Bob Whites to wonder whether Uncle Monty is on the level. If he's not who he claims to be, what are his reasons for sweeping into the Lynch family? And how can they unmask him? 

* I sense Diana is more prone to melancholia and blues than Trixie and Honey. She's a non-academic, pretty girl, but she's no fool. Di recognises physical beauty for the transient asset it is. Some of her remarks and her general attitude indicates low self-worth and social anxiety. Sometimes she just feels bewildered, as the fringe-dweller who doesn't get the 'in' jokes yet. She craves acceptance and belonging, which she's beginning to get with the Bob Whites.

* Jim thinks that Diana has a phobia about being rich. I guess it takes one to know one, since Jim tends to be a bit sensitive about his own reversal of fortune, especially when he's nettled.

* Di is simply disillusioned by the pomp and pretentiousness of the new lifestyle that's been thrust upon her. She was never born to it like Honey, so all the showy bull dust is a source of grief and great loss to her. Especially now that all of her old school acquaintances (including Trixie until now) have shunned her because of the gaping difference. Although Trixie rebukes her for being depressed that she's rich, it's far more complex than simply getting over it. But Trixie doesn't really understand all the identity angst and bereavement involved. It's short-sighted of her to tell Diana how she should feel, however well intended. Trixie can be such a know-it-all at times.

* Trixie and Diana both have good reason to envy each other. Each of them has all sorts of things which the other wishes they had. It adds unspoken tension, even though they are genuinely good friends.  

* Regan is a legend! I wondered why the kids get so anxious he'll resign as Wheeler's groom, just because some opinionated stranger breezes in to give his opinion. But I think I get it. They suppose that Uncle Monty is a horse expert, and fear Regan will quit out of pessimism and insecurity if his methods are questioned. Naw, he's made of far cooler stuff than that. 

* Trixie is her over-confident, know-it-all self. Tom Delanoy warns her not to go exploring a seamy section of Sleepyside unless her brothers accompany her. So what does Trixie do? She heads straight to dodgy Hawthorne Street alone. What an eye roll. 

* As far as I see it, Trixie owes Mart big time. He saves her life! (He surely has issues of his own, feeling unconsciously lower in the Bob White hierarchy than Brian and Jim. That's probably one motivation behind his large vocabulary. It's attention seeking behaviour. And in the same vein, wearing his hair in a crew cut rather than letting it curl like Trixie's and Bobby's is all a grasp for individuality.) 

* Some of the recurring cop characters are introduced for the first time. We get Spider Webster, the popular guy, and Sergeant Molinson, who seems to be just a regular officer at this stage. Spider's crucial role in this story dates the series a bit. It was written back in the time when policemen still stood at intersections, directing traffic on foot. 

* Wow, Tom and Celia are jolly lucky to be given a free trailer! What an over-sized reward for a very small tip-off. Surely it should be more of a permanent loan than an outright gift. In my opinion, Tom should gradually pay off its new owners. (Can't identify who they are without being too big a plot spoiler.) 

* We are told the Lynches fire Harrison the butler toward the end of the book. I'm guessing that must change before long, because I clearly remember his presence in later books in this series. But seriously, do they really need a butler?

* There is perhaps a slight continuity glitch, but nothing major. The story has skipped to late October, yet there's still a feeling the Bob Whites have only just returned to school. The last book ends in late August, when they were discussing their imminent return. Now, this story clearly needs to be late October, to include the infamous Halloween party, but I think it might have worked better without the inclusion of the school assignment about how they spent their holidays. 

* Bring on more! You can surely see I'm loving all the implicit psychological subtleties motivating the Bob Whites. Who even needs to discuss the actual mysteries. 

5) The Mystery off Glen Road

Fierce gale winds destroy the roof of the Bob Whites' clubhouse in the week leading up to Thanksgiving. Only Brian has saved enough money to pay for necessary repairs, but everyone knows he'd intended to purchase a secondhand car from Mr Lytell - a once-in-a-lifetime sort of bargain. Trixie thinks hard to come up with a solution enabling them to fix their roof without Brian's sacrifice. It partly involves some gamekeeping work on Mr Wheeler's estate, since the current gamekeeper has quit in a huff. Trixie and Honey stumble across evidence that a sneaky poacher may be at work. What's more, he seems to be a weird, elusive character who rides a unicycle. How will they pin him down?

* The car that Brian plans to buy from Mr Lytell is a jalopy, a term I was unfamiliar with. It turns out it's simply what I know as an old bomb. 

* I don't really like the idea of Mr Wheeler setting up a huge game reserve where lots of lovely animals can be fed and feel at home just so he can blast through and shoot them when he feels like it. The whole set-up strikes me as very Watership Down, and this guy has more of a British Squire vibe the more I hear about him.

* Trixie's plan to win back Brian's car involves some hilarious, fake romantic play-acting on her part. Chapter 6 in particular is laugh-out-loud funny, and I actually did laugh out loud. 

* We are introduced to a new recurring character, Mr Maypenny, a senior gentleman who lives a semi-reclusive lifestyle on a small patch of land surrounded by the Wheelers' game reserve which his own family has actually owned for generations. 

* Honey's cousin, Ben Riker appears again. Although most people get browned off with his practical jokes, he's really not a bad guy, and seems to get saddled with way more than his fair share of looking after Bobby Belden, as far as I see it.   

* Oh oh, Trixie and Honey are already at it. That is they make occasional condescending remarks about Di Lynch, along the lines of, 'Oh, she's not good enough to come with us, so let's think of something else for her to do, to make her feel important.' (Not in those words of course, but that's the gist of it.) Sometimes their treatment of Di is no different from the way they'd fob off Bobby. And then, they assign her a few arduous jobs to take the pressure off themselves! (Entertain Ben and babysit Bobby.) If that's their tactful way of making Diana feel valued, it serves a double purpose. In effect, they're using her and telling each other they're doing her a favour.

* Mr Lytell has the hots for Miss Trask. I don't think that one's going to launch. 

* For quote of the book, I choose the moment when Brian discovers his sister's schemes on his behalf and says, 'Of course I'm mad, you lame-brained idiot. Mad with joy.' 

* It's a satisfying ending all round, but did this mystery itself manage to launch? Or did it fizzle out? I can't quite decide. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I thoroughly enjoyed it.  

6) The Mystery in Arizona

It's almost Christmas time and Diana's REAL Uncle Monty makes good on his promise to host the Bob Whites on his Dude Ranch in Arizona. But they arrive to discover that the majority of his staff has just disappeared without notice. It was one family unit he hired as a whole, and now they've taken off. The Bob Whites offer to pick up the slack with cleaning, cooking and waiting on tables. The place isn't short of mysteries to solve. Is the resident cowboy a phony? Is there something suspicious about Rosita, the young Indian housemaid who has just acquired a job? And how about three very problematic guests who are reluctant to leave their rooms? Most of all, why the heck did the Orlando family shoot through like that? Trixie overhears suggestions that they were threatened.

* I had to google the term 'Dude Ranch.' Turns out it's a ranch that's oriented toward paying guests, and therefore part of the tourism industry. What a great place to visit. 

* The tension of the subplot can be cut with a knife. Trixie is struggling with a couple of school subjects, and Brian and Jim have volunteered to spend time tutoring her so she won't have to miss the trip to Arizona. Friction escalates, because Trixie thinks they're too demanding and they're convinced she's slacking off. This really garners reader sympathy for Trixie, who sheds some frustrated tears over the boys. Her insecure schoolgirl persona is refreshing. 

* Aha, put your money where your mouth is, Honey! She insists that she won't go riding in the Arizona desert herself if her best friend Trixie has to miss out and swot. But when the moment really comes... it's a whole different story. 

* There is now some cohesive inner structure within the Bob Whites. Jim and Trixie are co-presidents, Honey is vice president and Mart is secretary and treasurer. But what's Brian's role? (And Diana's, for that matter?) 

* I first read this book as a young teenager in the mid 1980s. Since then, my corner of the world must have grown far more international. Back then, I had no idea what tortillas, guacamole and pinatas were, and this story probably enlightened me. Now I wonder how I could possibly have been ignorant! They're now quite common sights on menus and at parties. 

* Avocadoes are called 'alligator pears' for obvious reasons. I like it a lot! 

* At this stage, Di is certain she wants to become an air stewardess like Babs, who they befriend on their flight west. (And Trixie suggests that she's not smart enough! Di cops a lot of straight talk from Trixie.) 

* I like all three challenging guests; rich, bossy Mrs Sherman, lonely, sullen Miss Jane Brown and wistful, sad Mr Wellington. Jane Brown discovers that reality may not live up to rosy expectations, but decides that you have to work at having fun, along with everything else. Fun doesn't necessarily just fall in your lap. Who says you can't learn good life lessons from books such as the Trixie Belden series? 

* We learn lots of other interesting trivia too, such as the many uses of a cowboy's bandanna.

* Jim always laughs and pretends to be meek when he's actually fuming. The others have grown to recognise danger signs that he's getting hot under the collar. He always cools down quickly, but Jim can be an angry young man. His moods are very entertaining.

* Are we getting an early sign when it comes to choosing square dance partners, of how these kids may pair themselves off in the future? 'Jim grabbed Trixie's hand, Brian crooked his arm at Honey, and Mart bowed low in front of Di.' 

* As for my quote of the book, I love it when Mart challenges the girls to come up with the correct answer to the 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,' tongue twister, and Di responds that Peter Piper couldn't have done it anyway, because, 'peppers don't grow pickled, they're pickled after they're picked.' Brilliant, yet this girl considers herself to be dumb. 

* The festive season is described beautifully, Julie Campbell, the initial creator, wraps up her input in the series. She's set up strong characters, taken them through six months, from June to late December, and now she's passing the baton on. From now on, the pseudonym 'Kathryn Kenny' will comprise several ghost authors willing to have a shot at writing a Trixie Belden mystery or two. Bravo, Julie Campbell! I noticed no continuity issues as a kid, but that was a long time ago, and I'll soon find out how smooth the transition really is. 

Catch my thoughts from last month on books 1 to 3. 

And please join me next time for books 7 - 9 in the series.