Trixie and Honey discover a lost wallet near Mr Lytell's store, which turns out to belong to Anthony Ramsey, a wealthy man who owns a chain of grocery stores. He has disappeared and his daughter, Laura, is worried sick about him. She borrows money from Mr Lytell to hire a private detective, leaving her flashy car as collateral. But will the Bob Whites trump the professional, Mark McGraw, when it comes to getting to the bottom of Anthony's disappearance?
* Mr Lytell is at his cantankerous worst in this book. His caustic nature is given free reign. Trixie is terrified to even enter his shop for fear of a harsh rebuke, and sure enough, that's just what she gets. He's the sort of adult who assumes he can treat kids and teens like dirt, just because they're young. Would his snappy behaviour extend to adults? Would he bark at Peter or Helen Belden for stirring his irritation? I doubt it. A man of character would make up his mind to treat everyone who crosses his path with courtesy and composure.
* Having said that, I wouldn't say that he has no cause for being grumpy at all. Trixie finds orange, grape and cola soft drinks in his display fridge, and asks, 'Do you have any strawberry, Mr Lytell?' Perhaps she should use a bit of the deduction she prides herself on. If he did, wouldn't she expect to see a few cans out there for sale? In his place, I might fight the impulse to roll my eyes and reply, 'Does it look like it?' But I wouldn't pay her out in such a nasty manner.
* Mr Lytell does his business on an old typewriter with a slip of carbon paper between the two documents he wants copies of.
* Brian expresses his belief that Mart usually can't wait to spill all his secrets to him, but this time he's keeping quiet about whatever is exciting him. Hmm, does Brian really think that extends to everything? I suspect there's a bit of older brother naivety occurring here.
* Bobby likens Snow White's Seven Dwarfs to the Bob Whites. As well as having the same number in their group, they share a similar agenda. The Bob Whites aim to help people, just as the dwarfs helped Snow White. I like the analogy. I guess Trixie and Honey could be re-named Nosy and Tactful. And how about Muscly, Doc, Smarty, Busy and Pretty for Jim, Brian, Mart, Dan and Di respectively.
* When Laura Ramsey describes how much she loves to read, Di remarks, 'I wish I did.' And she goes on to say that she'd sooner sit in a shady spot without a book than with one. If all this is true, is she really the girl for Mart then? I get the feeling Di is misrepresented in this passage. Although she struggles with her grades in school, I never before had the impression that she hates reading in general. How about the occasional romance novel or Lucy Radcliffe book?
* Having studied an English major myself, I think Trixie's reasons for suspecting Laura's credibility are unreasonably stringent. She finds it strange that Laura, an English major at Columbia University, doesn't recognise a line from Shakespeare when she hears it. Well, I didn't recognise it either! It's far more remarkable that Mart, a fifteen-old-year High School boy, can quote from Shakespeare's Henry V off the cuff to suit the occasion, than it is that Laura Ramsey, an English major, doesn't recognise it.
* The name of Uncle Mart, who had to go into hospital for tests at the end of The Mystery at Bob White Cave pops up again. It seems he always gives his namesake Mart a subscription for a boys' magazine which he's long since outgrown. I get the impression of a clueless but well-meaning elderly relative who just goes on his merry way, and nobody wants to offend. Ah well, the magazines might suit Bobby down the track.
* We are back to Mart having a room of his own and not sharing with Brian. He retreats to do his secret business there, which would surely be impossible to hide if it was common ground for the pair of them.
* Trixie is very formal with the census taker who comes knocking. She reports that Peter is 39, Helen is 37, Brian is 17, Martin is 15, she, Beatrix is 14 and Robert is 6. She doesn't add that they've somehow plunged into a time warp, since they've all been stuck at these same ages for two or three years worth of events, haha.
* Trixie and Honey are excited about having the chance to work with a real private detective, Mark McGraw. Sadly, he's brusque and businesslike and criticises their novice methods of handling the wallet they picked up. This does nothing for Trixie's self-confidence.
* Trixie's insecurities are stirred up again. She's jealous of Laura Ramsey partly because Jim seems to be attracted to her. That lonely, vulnerable voice she sometimes grapples with demands, 'What about me?' Whenever she's in this sort of mood, proving her own importance through mystery solving seems to gain huge significance. She claims her dislike of Laura runs deeper than possessiveness over Jim, but I'm not convinced that's true.
* Mart's insecurities are stirred in this story too. Since his plight turns out to be a smaller echo of the main mystery, I'll just brush over the details, except that he's taken advantage by unscrupulous people who play on his enthusiasm and vulnerability. And his dad says that since those crooks might be more cluey than Mart when it comes to deception, he has nothing to be ashamed of.
* Trixie actually gives Mart an apology. 'I'm sorry for bursting in like that. I really am.' (Yet as she obviously isn't sorry at all, I'm not sure we can take that one.)
* All the crooks who appear in this story are class acts. Their devious activity is sneaky all round.
* A suitable quote of the book was hard to choose. The boys keep saying noble things. For example, Mart tells Trixie, 'I don't want to just go to school and study agriculture on Dad's money and then become a teacher using Jim's. I want to contribute something too.' And later Jim declares, 'I'm not going to let what someone else is change what I am. I hope I'm nice to everybody.' These are both worthy contenders.
* But the quote of the book is this exchange between Trixie and Burt, the census man, because it made me laugh. Trixie: My mother's name is Helen. She's thirty-seven. Burt: Does she work outside the home? Trixie (uncertainly): Well, she has a big garden.
35) The Mystery of the Memorial Day Fire
The whole of Sleepyside is out enjoying the festivities of Memorial Day evening when a deafening explosion rips through town. It was set in the basement of Mr Roberts' trophy shop and discovered to be the work of an arsonist. Poor Mr Roberts is accused of the heinous crime for the purpose of collecting insurance. But what other mischief is afoot? Is the presence of Jane Dix-Strauss, a journalist who specialises in arson, at all coincidental? Can Trixie and the Bob Whites figure out who really started the fire?
* From here on out, I've read none of these remaining books of the series. In my teens I collected and devoured the first thirty-four and went for years thinking that was it. Then suddenly in my twenties, I saw these extra ones at the bookshop which had been published in the mid eighties. I couldn't believe it! I grabbed them of course, but since I was busy with babies and other stuff, I put them aside and never got around to reading them. Until now!
* I've got to admit I started this with a bit of trepidation. After such a big gap, I had no idea how many inconsistencies might pop up. Quite early on, Regan was referred to as the Wheelers' chaffeur, which didn't augur well.
* The Bob Whites are enjoying the 117th annual Memorial Day parade together. It sounds like a pageant in which local businesses can observe the season, promoting themselves in the process.
* Jane Dix-Strauss is the newest addition to the staff at the Sleepyside Sun, keeping up the tradition started by Paul Trent of rubbing Trixie up the wrong way. She starts by snapping a surprise photo of the Bob Whites at the parade, then pokes fun at Trixie's startled reaction. That wouldn't be a problem in our era. Journalists like Jane would be required to ask subjects' permission first. No way could she simply blind subjects with her flash and then demand their personal details for her feature article.
* The sheep mentality of the crowd in the wake of the explosion disgusts the Bob Whites. People are so curious to find out what happened that they surge forward en masse, blocking the fire vehicles from getting to the scene.
* The Bob Whites have another clubhouse crisis. Urgent repairs are needed but their treasury is empty.
* Honey complains about her bad grades and says that she needs to study, or she'll have to do summer school during the holidays. Now that's an inconsistency. She's always been the smart, conscientious one. Trixie and Di are the only strugglers when it comes to school grades.
* Oh dear, Sergeant Molinson has done it again. He's jumped the gun, interrogating somebody who should be above reproach with insufficient evidence. In The Midnight Marauder it was Mart. In this instance, it's Mr Roberts.
* It doesn't ring true for me that Trixie (and others) would be able to snoop around the grounds of the explosion site a mere day or two after it happened. Surely it should be cordoned off with tape and KEEP OUT notices for safety reasons! Even back in the eighties.
* We're told the action takes place in the first week of June. In that case, Mart should have just celebrated his 16th birthday on the first day of the month. Kathryn Kenny doesn't mention it, so I thought I would. It appears he has a learner driver's permit. You need to be 16 for that where I come from, so I hoped this was an indication that time has started ticking again at last. But nope, Trixie and Honey are still apparently 14, so my theory falls flat.
* Mr Roberts comes across as his usual taciturn, uncommunicative self, although in all fairness, we only ever see him in the pages of these books when his business and family life are under great stress. Perhaps he's quite a jolly guy at other times.
* Helen Belden says, 'I think I have the four best children in the whole wide world.' Well, since the older three carry the weight of all those chores on their shoulders, she has a fair case. And Bobby, stuck in his perpetual six-year-old mindset, is still oblivious that he doesn't have a chore, he is one.
* My biggest question is where the heck was Regan the night the Wheelers' stables were set on fire?!! His personal digs are practically right on the spot. And he's always been super vigilant about his equine friends. So when an arsonist sets the stables ablaze, those beloved horses are threshing and neighing with terror, and the fire department arrives on the scene, are we meant to assume that he just sleeps through it all? No way, Jose!
* Quote of the book goes to Jim. 'Trixie has enough energy to power a locomotive, if there were only some way to harness it.'
36) The Mystery of the Antique Doll
* We're told that Dan is the only Bob White who doesn't attend Sleepyside Junior Senior High School. Huh, since when? He has always been there with them before, and we never heard he'd stopped. In fact, I'd assume he'd have to be there still, if he aims to be a New York City cop. Surely you need to graduate from school to get into police academy. Kathryn Kenny, more information please.
* Dr Ferris asks Trixie and Honey if they'd mind doing some light housework after school some nights for Mrs De Keyser, who has fallen over and broken her arm. They're happy to, since she lives next door to the new antique barn they've been anxious to check out. In fact it's her property, and she's Mr Reid's landlord.
* Mrs De Keyser teaches the girls to make a terrific stew which sounds like it could rival Mr Maypenny's legendary stew, the way they rave on about it. I'd like both recipes in my dream series cookbook, of course.
* She has a mischievous dog named Willy who seems to be even more of a handful than Reddy. For at least Reddy doesn't attempt to bolt from the door the moment he sees an opening.
* Trixie originally thinks Mr Reid, the proprietor of the antique barn, seems a bit fishy because he obviously knows zilch about the antique business. Her father tells her that in his line of work, he sees people who know nothing about their products go into business all the time. But come on Pete, do they really know absolutely nothing, as this guy seems to?
* This story takes place the week after Halloween. If we are splitting hairs then, Brian should have just turned nineteen by now. Just saying. (Of course he's no doubt still seventeen in Bob White time.)
* Trixie and Honey are finalists in the regional spelling bee. It gives them quite a bit of stress.
* The narrator tells us that although Mart is the smartest of all the Belden children, he has a lot of trouble with spelling. Hmm, that's a bit of a blanket statement for something that's highly relative. How about Brian? While Mart is clearly our most creative humanities and literary guy, Brian always takes first place in mathematics and science. And arguably their sister may surpass them both with sixth sense and intuition. ('I don't think up things that are fishy, Honey Wheeler. I only notice them.')
* Jim, Brian and Mart will be taking over cooking for Mrs De Keyser while Trixie and Honey are in Paris, and the two girls wonder if they can even cook. Honey says (sort of disparagingly, I think) 'Jim is actually a pretty good cook. There's no reason why Brian and Mart can't learn something useful too.' Then Trixie agrees, 'You're absolutely right. This will be a broadening experience for them.' That's a bit of a continuity glitch, since the boys are actually excellent cooks. Way back in Mystery in Arizona, they were the only ones Maria the chef would trust to take over her kitchen when she got ready to go AWOL. In fact at the time, she groomed Brian, Mart and Jim to roll out top quality cuisine on demand.
* Trixie's not above a bit of boasting to Mr Reid, who rubs her up the wrong way. 'We happen to be flying to Paris in Mr Wheeler's private jet, Mr Reid,' as she holds her nose at a lofty angle. Well, la-di-da, Miss Belden. I doubt her parents would approve of her boastful behaviour. Oh well, it comes back to bite her, when he asks them to do him a special favour.
* This story introduces a stereotypical bumbling detective, Marcel Patou from Paris. With his awkward, fumbling fingers, I don't know how he ever made it as far as he did.
* (Slight spoiler alert) Bobby's role in the disappearance of you-know-what is unbelievably far-fetched to me. We're expected to believe that little Willy, a dog he's never seen before, carries it all the way from his own house to Crabapple Farm, where he's never been! What are the odds?
* Quote of the book goes to Mrs De Keyser. 'When you get to be my age, an antique is just something that used to be brand new when you were young.' (Her comment is ironic since my set of Trixie Beldens were brand new books when I bought them in my teens, and now I've seen some appear on the shelves of antique shops themselves.)
Catch up on Series 31 to 33
Stay tuned for 37 - Finish
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