A whole bunch of Trixie rereads. I vaguely remembered "The Mystery at Maypenny's". International Pine wants to build a new plant on Matt Wheeler's land, and while Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Belden are all for it, thinking of the jobs it will bring to economically depressed Sleepyside, Mr. Maypenny is against ruining the beauty and nature of the preserve. It seems the whole town is divided on just what should be done. Throw in an aggressive environmentalist, some dead ducks, and an impostor posing as Mr. Maypenny's nephew and you have a mystery! Of course it all works out in the end when International Pine is able to find the perfect location for their new factory closer to town, leaving the Wheeler's preserve intact.
I didn't really remember "The Mystery of the Whispering Witch", and I didn't really like it. I'm sort of surprised it was even published, given it's subject matter, but then again kids eat up the Goosebumps series, so what do I know? (very little, is the correct answer :)). I think what really bugged me about this one was how completely tactless Honey is the whole time. Over the previous 31 books they've harped about how polite and sweet she is, and in this book she does a complete about face. Maybe she's spent too much time with Trixie. At any rate, the girls are trying to help out a friend who is living in a haunted house nearby. Strange things happen that can't be explained, until Di notices that the priceless antique furniture is actually fake. It was easy enough for Trixie to figure out the new owner of the house was removing the real furniture so he could burn it down and collect on the insurance.
I remembered "The Mystery of the Vanishing Victim". The Bob-Whites are holding a charity rummage sale, and one of the neighbors gives them a Model A to auction off. While driving it back to Crabapple Farm, it breaks down in a shady neighborhood. A stranger helps get the car running again, and then is promptly mowed down by a van while crossing the street. Trixie is determined to find out who the stranger really is and why someone would want to kill him, putting her and Honey's lives in danger!
"The Mystery of the Missing Millionaire", is one my favorites, I love how jealous Trixie gets of Jim and Laura's relationship. Trixie and Honey are out riding one morning and find a wallet with a hundred dollar bill. They take it to Mr. Lytell's store, and he tries to call the owner in New York, but there's no answer. Later on, he calls the girls and asks them to come back to his store. There's a beautiful young woman there named Laura Ramsey. She says the wallet belongs to her father, who has gone missing and she's terribly worried. It seems he and his longtime business partner have had a nasty fall out, and the business partner is just looking for an excuse to take over. If he discovers Laura's father is missing he will do just that. Laura mentions hiring a private investigator, but doesn't have the cash on hand to do so, since all her money's tied up under her father's name. Mr. Lytell loans her some money, and Honey insists she stay at Manor House while the investigator looks for her father. Trixie is suspicious from the start, and of course it turns out for good reason. Laura and the private eye are really con men, looking to milk poor old Mr. Lytell.
"The Mystery of the Memorial Day Fire" was one I sort of remembered. I definitely remembered the monogrammed button (I was arguing with a friend about monograms not too long ago, explaining that the initial of the last name would go in the middle, with the first name on the left and the middle name on the right. He wanted to know where I'd heard such a silly thing, and I told him straight off: from Trixie Belden!
I'm right, BTW). Nick Robert's father's monogram shop is blown up during the Memorial Day parade, and he's a suspect, since he wanted out of his lease. Trixie suspects the new report in town, who is an arson expert and looking to stir up trouble.
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