The Red Trailer Mystery

Thirteen-year-old Trixie Belden, and her best friend, Honey Wheeler, couldn't have been more upset when their new acquaintance, Jim Frayne, ran away from Sleepyside, in the hopes that he would not be caught by his abusive stepfather. Unfortunately, Jim took off right before Trixie had the chance to tell him that he was the heir to a huge fortune. Now Trixie and Honey, along with Honey's Governess, are on a trailer trip through upstate New York to locate Jim. However, during their trip they meet up with a family in a red trailer, who couldn't look more upset, and when their eleven-year-old daughter runs off through the woods, Trixie and Honey decide to try and find her as well. But when the two girls meet up with a couple of trailer thieves, they have to try and save themselves, protect all trailer owners, get the trailer thieves arrested, and find Jim and the lost little girl before it's too late. If only the two girls had known that their little trailer trip would turn out to be so full of surprises. I am a longtime reader of the NANCY DREW series, so when I stumbled across the TRIXIE BELDEN series, I knew that I had to give it a try. I read the first book in the series a few months ago, and loved it, so I decided to get the second book in the series. To my surprise, I loved it even more than the first. Julie Campbell is a marvelous storyteller, whose characters couldn't be more fun and exciting to read about. Trixie is an upbeat girl, who is always getting into trouble; while Honey is more shy, but at the same time loves a good mystery. Fans of mysteries will adore Trixie Belden, and find themselves grappling to read the next book in the series. Erika Sorocco Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

The good news is that Jim Frayne has indeed inherited money from his great uncle and will have a new guardian appointed. The bad news is that he left Sleepyside before he could find out. So Trixie, Honey, and her governess, Miss Trask, set out in the Wheeler's trailer to find him. The first night out, they stop next to a mysterious red trailer. The family stays inside with the curtains closed. When they arrive in upstate New York, they learn that trailer thieves are operating in the area. Will Trixie and Honey be able to find Jim before he leaves New York for good? What is going on in that mysterious trailer? And have the girls stumbled on the thieves' hide out?This book picks up minutes after the first book in the series ended. This is unusual in kid's books, and I rather enjoyed it. There's enough of a recap that anyone new to the story will feel right at home, although it's obviously best to read book 1 first.The first time I read the story, I knew the ultimate outcome of their search for Jim. However, the sub-plots kept me interested the whole way through. Trixie and Honey are more themselves then in the last book. And, like the last book, so much happens that it's hard to put the book down. This book also contains one of my all time favorite scenes from the series. I always laugh when Trixie and Honey are trapped in the loft by Al. Honey especially is funny while being perfectly in character.Julie Campbell took her time setting up the characters and events of the series, so these first books are really needed to fully enjoy what follows. But that's no trouble since they are so much fun to read. I've been reading them for years, and I don't plan to stop in the near future.

I started reading Trixie's books when I got bored of "perfect" Nancy Drew. Trixie was like me - sibs that got on your nerves, friends you liked to hang with, volunteering and having fun. And, hey, if an occasional mystery fell in her lap, who could complain if she solved it ? Except the police, of course!Although the books are "dated" they're great - not too scary, make you use the old gray matter type books.I can't wait to share them with my children - I have the complete set!

I first discovered Trixie Belden when I was 11. Now, 27 years later, I still love these books as a great friend from childhood. All of my shool girl friends read about Trixie, the Bob-Whites of the Glen and all of their adventures. I wish these books were still available in print or even in the public libraries so every girl or boy could read and fall in love with them and their adventures like I did. These books are a great stepping stone into the Nancy Drew series or even as companion books. They open the eyes of the reader and make them think as they see the mystery unfold. Plus, the BWG's make a great set of friends for anyone to have.

The Trixie Belden Mysteries are the perfect gift books for the young reader searching for an independant, bright, and forthright young heroine to be friends with. In the Red Trailer Mystery, Trixie, her friend Honey, and Honey's former teacher set out in a trailer home to find Jim, the young runaway who they met and befriended in the first book of the series. Jim has disappeared from the abandoned mansion where he was hiding, not knowing that Trixie and Honey have discovered a secret about his past that will change all of their lives forever. Will Trixie, Honey, and Miss Trask be able to find Jim, or has he disappeared for good?The Trixie Belden Mysteries are aimed at the pre-teen and early teenage girl reader, and do a great job of showing a funny, hot tempered, and smart young woman solving the kind of mysteries that Nancy Drew would have wished to come across. The contrast between the hot-tempered Trixie and the introspective Honey creates a partnership which characters in the books describe as a female Holmes and Watson. Trixie herself is independant, career oriented, and not without the small faults that will make her appealing to the young reader. Thanks to Julie Campbell's vivid writing, Trixie's home of Sleepy Hollow, NY, also comes to life. The descriptions of the area are mouth-watering, and will make even the most devoted mall-rat want to take up horseback riding. Although slightly dated, The Trixie Belden Mysteries are realistic in their willingness to include characters with less than perfect personalities and occasionally problems in their past. As all good mysteries should, the Trixie Belden books will come to a climax which pits Trixie and her friends against a problem that will require them to work as a team, trust each other, and think ahead (which is not always Trixie's strong point). As a final recommendation, the earlier books of the series are definately the most worthwhile, as they feature the strongest characterization and most unique storylines, but devoted fans will not be able to resist utilizing their detective skills to find every volume of the series.