The Art Department holds a show to raise much needed funds for art supplies, but the turnout is so poor Trixie and Honey are convinced the Bob-Whites can do much better, so they organize a bike-a-thon. Trixie is surprised when Nick Roberts, one of the most passionate art students, is totally against the idea and tries to talk them out of it (surprisingly not because he's insulted by their arrogance). The Bob-Whites forge ahead anyway. One of the rest stops on the bike-a-thons trail is an abandoned house owned by Matthew Wheeler (what a lucky coincidence!). Trixie finds a partially burned Deutsche mark there while tidying up for the big day, and is convinced there are counterfeiters working out of the abandoned house (she's right, BTW). Wait...didn't we have counterfeiters in "The Antique Doll" as well? Jeez, why is Sleepyside such a haven for these types of criminals?
This one was always one of my favorites as a kid. The Bob-Whites find an abandoned baby in Reddy's doghouse one night. It doesn't take long to discover he belongs to a family nearby. Both their small sons are missing, and the parents are worried sick over a ransom note that tells them not to get the police involved. Somehow Trixie manages to talk Sergeant Molinson into letting her and Honey help out, since the kidnappers won't be expecting a couple of teenage girls to be doing a policeman's job (and for good reason...). Trixie realizes the ransom notes are fake when they still refer to "children" as being missing after the baby has been returned to his parents. It was fun to see the Bob-Whites caring for an infant, fighting over who got to feed him and take care of him. I think that's why I liked it so much as a kid, I could just see big, strong, redheaded Jim tenderly carrying around a baby. Sigh....:)
I never much cared for "The Mystery at Mead's Mountain" as a kid. Like "Cobbett's Island", it was too heavy on the sports information for me. I care so very little about skiing I was like zzz.... Mr. Wheeler sends the gang to Mead's Mountain. One of his friends is looking to buy the place and turn it into a fun resort, and he wants the young people's opinions about how much fun it would be for kids their age. Strange things happen right off the bat: Honey's watch is stolen, the girls are locked out of their room, mysterious notes keep warning them to get off the mountain. They discover a cranky old hermit in the woods and Trixie is convinced he's a counterfeiter (good God, *another* one!!). I did enjoy them eating at a vegetarian restaurant, I got a kick out of the idea of Mart actually enjoying a meatless meal.
I'm putting a question mark next to "reread" on this one because honestly, I didn't remember it at all. It wasn't one I owned as a kid, I bought it as an adult, used, online. Maybe I didn't have time to read it once I bought it? Or if I did I only read it once and it didn't stick. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Wheelers take Trixie and Mart to England with them (Brian has to work). So it's just Honey and Trixie and Mart and Jim, which was actually kind of fun. Honey has inherited a necklace from a great-aunt, and the girls are trying to figure out its history. Miss Trask is with them, and she's investigating Mrs. Wheeler's family tree, turns out her maiden name was Hart and she might have been related to Shakespeare! It was really fun and mentioned quite a lot about British history, which is another passion of mine. It was great to combine the two.
I was never a fan of this one as a kid, because Jim and Mart weren't in it, and Regan spends a good portion of the book looking guilty. What's the point if my three favorite guys aren't in it?
Regan disappears from the Wheeler's stable with no explanation after Mr. Wheeler is visited by Mr. Worthington, who owns racehorses. The girls (the boys are off at camp) discover that Regan was suspected seven years earlier of having doped one of Mr. Worthington's racehorses, and he disappeared.
Proving once again that the Wheelers have never heard the term "background check", they hired him not knowing his checkered past. When Regan hears Worthington is visiting his current employers, he leaves to go to Saratoga to clear his name once and for all. The girls follow along, convinced they can help him out. Luckily the boys show up at the end to rescue Trixie and Honey, who have once again gotten in over their heads.
I just now realized how very sexist that is. Moving on.
"The Sasquatch Mystery" was another one I never liked as a kid, because it deals with camping. Blah. The only way I'll camp is with an indoor toilet and a blow dryer. So, not at all :)
The Bob-Whites (minus Dan as usual, that poor kid never gets to go anywhere) are visiting the Belden cousins in Idaho when they see a real Sasquatch! Cap goes missing, and everyone's convinced the Sasquatch got him.
And finally, another Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins Western combo. It was fun: Caleb York got rid of Trinidad's no good Sheriff and is ready to hit the road, going to San Diego. Willa Cullen isn't any too pleased about him leaving, but then again Caleb never made any promises. Just as he's about to get on the stagecoach, the bank is robbed and the new sheriff, a friend of his, is gunned down. Caleb decides he better stay on long enough to catch the murderer and restore the funds to the bank.
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