The Mysterious Visitor (Trixie Belden)

Rating:
Summary: New Member, New Mystery
Review: Diana Lynch and Trixie Belden used to be friends. Ironically, they stopped spending much time together once Di's family because rich and moved out of town closer to Trixie's family. But Honey Wheeler notices that Di is lonely, so she starts to makes friends with the girl. Soon, Di is coming back out of her shell and all ready to join the Bob-Whites. Everything is going well, except for one thing.

Di's long lost uncle has recently shown up from Arizona. He insists on making her life as miserable as possible, even embarrassing her in front of her friends. Trixie and the gang want to help out, but Trixie thinks there's something sinister going on here. What is it? And can Trixie prove it?

This is another gem in the series. The only mystery here is if Trixie will be able to prove her theory, but getting there is so much fun. Plus, there's a great sub-plot involving the new clubhouse. The boys don't get much attention as the spotlight has shifted to Di, but since this is her introduction, that's perfectly understandable. The final scene, once again involving the Red Trailer from book 2, is a classic, referred to many times throughout the series.

With six of the seven Bob-Whites introduced, the series is beginning to have all the characters and really hit its stride. Not that the first three are bad by any stretch of the imagination.

Rating:
Summary: New Member, New Mystery
Review: Diana Lynch and Trixie Belden used to be friends. Ironically, they stopped spending much time together once Di's family because rich and moved out of town closer to Trixie's family. But Honey Wheeler notices that Di is lonely, so she starts to makes friends with the girl. Soon, Di is coming back out of her shell and all ready to join the Bob-Whites. Everything is going well, except for one thing.

Di's long lost uncle has recently shown up from Arizona. He insists on making her life as miserable as possible, even embarrassing her in front of her friends. Trixie and the gang want to help out, but Trixie thinks there's something sinister going on here. What is it? And can Trixie prove it?

This is another gem in the series. The only mystery here is if Trixie will be able to prove her theory, but getting there is so much fun. Plus, there's a great sub-plot involving the new clubhouse. The boys don't get much attention as the spotlight has shifted to Di, but since this is her introduction, that's perfectly understandable. The final scene, once again involving the Red Trailer from book 2, is a classic, referred to many times throughout the series.

With six of the seven Bob-Whites introduced, the series is beginning to have all the characters and really hit its stride. Not that the first three are bad by any stretch of the imagination.

Rating:
Summary: A good'un, with a thrilling conclusion!
Review: This one introduces Diana Lynch to the Bob-Whites club, as she despairs of her recently arrived obnoxious uncle. Di doesn't bring much but bubbleheadedness to the party, but she does make Trixie look like a rocket scientist in comparison. And we get to see some of Trixie's snarky side as she makes sarcastic comments to Di on the school bus at the beginning of the book (but Trixie does come around later, thanks to Honey's gentling influence).

If you can find a copy of the old Deluxe (aka "Tall") edition illustrated by Marvin Besunder in 1965, note especially the ominous picture of Trixie alone on a field investigation to a seedy neighborhood. (For a discussion of the various illustrators, editions, and authors, check out some of the Trixie Belden websites, such as trixie-belden or the trixie belden home page.)

This book climaxes with one of my two favorite scenes from the entire series (the other being in the Mystery of the Blinking Eye). Let's just say that it can be advantageous to stay on good terms with one's occasionally annoying siblings.