The Vince Review: Trixie Belden series 4

4) The mysterious visitor

Honey and Trixie are worried about their classmate, Diana Lynch, who is dealing with an embarrassing problem. Di's parents have recently made a fortune, and her long-lost uncle Monty appears on her doorstep out of nowhere. Now he is a permanent guest in the house and an arrogant, controlling nuisance, which adds to the anguish Di has been dealing with, coming to terms with her family's sudden wealth. Suspicious circumstances lead Trixie and the Bob Whites to wonder if Uncle Monty is on the same level. If he's not who he says he is, what are his reasons for joining the Lynch family? And how can they unmask him?

*I feel like Diana is more prone to melancholy and blues than Trixie and Honey. She is a pretty girl and not an academic, but she is not a fool. Di recognizes physical beauty for the transitory good that it is. Some of your remarks and your general attitude indicate low self-esteem and social anxiety. Sometimes she just feels confused, like the marginal resident who still doesn't understand the 'in' jokes. She longs for acceptance and belonging, which she's starting to get with the Bob Whites.

* Jim thinks Diana has a phobia of being rich. I think it takes one to know one, as Jim tends to be a little sensitive about his own reversal of fortune, especially when he's angry.

* Di is simply disillusioned with the pomp and pretension of the new lifestyle that has been forced upon her. She was never born for it like Honey, so all the showy bull dust is a source of sadness and great loss for her. Especially now that all of her old school acquaintances (including Trixie so far) have avoided her because of the blatant difference. Although Trixie chides her for being depressed about being rich, it's much more complex than simply getting over it. But Trixie doesn't really understand all the identity angst and grief involved. It's shortsighted of her to tell Diana how she should feel, however well-intentioned she may be. Trixie can be a know-it-all sometimes.

* Trixie and Diana have good reason to envy each other. They each have all kinds of things that the other would like to have. It adds unspoken tension, even if they are genuinely good friends.

* Regan is a legend! I wondered why the kids are so excited about him resigning as Wheeler's fiancé, just because some stubborn stranger shows up to give his opinion. But I think I understand. They assume that Uncle Monty is an expert on horses and fear that Regan will give up out of pessimism and insecurity if his methods are questioned. No, it's made of much cooler things than that.

*Trixie is her super-confident, know-it-all self. Tom Delanoy warns her not to explore an unpleasant 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 a lot to Mart. He saves her life! (He certainly has his own problems, unconsciously feeling lower in Bob White's pecking order than Brian and Jim. That's probably a motivation behind his large vocabulary. It's attention-seeking behavior. And in the same vein, Wearing your hair in a crew cut rather than letting it curl like Trixie and Bobby's is all about individuality.)

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

* Wow, Tom and Celia are so lucky to receive a free trailer! What a huge reward for a very small tip. It should certainly be more of a permanent loan than an outright gift. In my opinion, Tom should gradually pay off his new owners. (I can't identify who they are without being a major plot spoiler.)

* We are told that the Lynches fire Harrison, the butler, at the end of the book. I think that should change soon, because I clearly remember its presence in later books in this series. But seriously, do they really need a butler?

* There may be a small continuity gap, but nothing serious. The story has jumped to the end of October, but there's still the feeling that the Bob Whites just went back to school. The last book ends at the end of August, when they were discussing his imminent return. Now this story clearly it needs to be late October, to include the infamous Halloween party, but I think it could have worked better without the inclusion of the school assignment about how they spent their holidays.

* Bring more! You can certainly see that I'm loving all the implicit psychological subtleties that motivate the Bob Whites. Who still needs to discuss the real mysteries.

5) The Glen Road Mystery

Strong winds destroy the roof of the Bob Whites' clubhouse the week before Thanksgiving. Only Brian saved enough money to pay for the necessary repairs, but everyone knows he intended to buy a second-hand car from Mr Lytell – a once-in-a-lifetime bargain. Trixie thinks hard about finding a solution that will allow them to fix the roof without Brian's sacrifice. This partly involves some gamekeeping work on Mr Wheeler's estate, as the current gamekeeper resigned in a fit of rage. Trixie and Honey find evidence that a poacher may be at work. What's more, he appears to be a weird, elusive character who rides a unicycle. How are they going to arrest him?

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

*I really don't like the idea of ​​Mr. Wheeler setting up a huge game reserve where lots of adorable animals can be fed and made to feel at home just so he can blow up and kill them whenever he wants. The whole scenario feels very Watership Down to me, 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 a hilariously fake romantic act on her part. Chapter 6 in particular is very funny, and I actually laughed out loud.

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

* Honey's cousin Ben Riker appears again. Although most people get hurt by his pranks, he's not really a bad guy, and seems to get burdened with a lot more than his fair share of caring for Bobby Belden, as far as I can see.

* Uh oh, Trixie and Honey are already at it. That is, they make occasional condescending comments about Di Lynch, like, '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.) Sometimes their treatment of Di is no different than the way they tricked Bobby. And so, they assign her some hard work to relieve the pressure! (Entertaining Ben and babysitting Bobby.) If this is his delicate way of making Diana feel valued, it serves a dual purpose. In fact, they are using her and telling each other that they are doing her a favor.

* Mr. Lytell has the hots for Miss Lytell. Trask. I don't think it will be released.

* To quote from the book, I choose the moment when Brian discovers his sister's schemes in his name and says, 'Of course I'm crazy, you idiot. Crazy with joy.

* It's a satisfying ending, but did that mystery itself manage to launch? Or disappeared? I can not decide. Anyway, it doesn't matter, because I really liked it.

6) The Mystery in Arizona

It's almost Christmas and Diana's REAL uncle Monty makes good on his promise to host the Bob Whites at his Dude Ranch in Arizona. But they arrive to find that most of their team has simply disappeared without warning. It was a family unit that he hired as a whole, and now they've taken off. The Bob Whites offer to pick up the slack from cleaning, cooking and waiting tables. The place has no shortage of mysteries to solve. Is the resident cowboy an imposter? Is there something suspicious about Rosita, the young Indian maid who has just got a job? And how about three very troublesome guests who are reluctant to leave their rooms? Above all, why the hell did the Orlando family shoot like that? Trixie hears suggestions that they were threatened.

*I had to Google the term 'Dude Ranch'. It turns out to be a ranch catering to paying guests and therefore part of the tourism industry. What a great place to visit.

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

*Aha, put your money where your mouth is, honey! She insists that she herself will not ride in the Arizona desert if her best friend Trixie has to miss the opportunity. But when the moment actually arrives... it's a totally different story.

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

*I first read this book as a teenager, in the mid-1980s. Since then, my corner of the world must have become much more international. At the time, I had no idea what tortillas, guacamole, and pinatas were, and this story probably enlightened me. Now I wonder how ignorant I could have been! Now they are quite common sights on menus and at parties.

* Avocados are called 'alligator pears' for obvious reasons. I really like!

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

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

* We learned lots of other interesting facts too, like the many uses of a cowboy's bandana.

* Jim always laughs and pretends to be meek when he is actually furious. The others have grown to recognize danger signs that he is getting hot under the collar. He always cools down quickly, but Jim can be an angry young man. Your moods are very funny.

* Are we getting an early sign when it comes to choosing square dancing partners, of how these kids might graduate in the future? "Jim grabbed Trixie's hand, Brian bent his arm toward Honey, and Mart bowed in front of Di."

*As for my quote from the book, I love it when Mart challenges the girls to find the correct answer to the tongue twister 'Peter Piper picked up a peck of pickled pepper', and Di responds that Peter Piper couldn't have done that anyway , because 'peppers don't grow pickled, they pickle after being picked'. Brilliant, but this girl thinks she's stupid.

* The festive season is described beautifully, Julie Campbell, the initial creator, ends her contribution to the series. She assembled strong characters, took them for six months, from June to the end of December, and is now passing the baton. From now on, the pen name 'Kathryn Kenny' will include several ghost authors willing to write a Trixie Belden mystery or two. Bravo, Julie Campbell! I didn't notice any continuity issues as a kid, but that was a long time ago, and I'll soon discover how smooth the transition really is.

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

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