Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Uninvited Guest

I recently read two Trixie Belden books for the same reasons, so both reviews will be ninety percent the same.

My cousin, J, gave me these, claiming her mother, my late aunt, had read them. J said my late aunt had written notes in them, and wanted me to have them "since I like books". She handed them to me with some other books of my late aunt's. J had been apparently hanging onto these books since her mother's death ten years ago. For some people, that's heartbreaking. For my cousin...this is yet another example of her being a huge jerk for reasons that are beyond this book review. Each book was helpfully marked with the little--I had to look up what these were called. Post-it flag stickers. As I read both books, I realized my cousin show more had stuck them onto pages capriciously. J has...a history of...she uh...inflates or downplays things severely, according to her worldview and mood. My aunt had actually written no notes. She had underlined things on three pages total in the first book I read. J and me have not spoken for ten years, and only started to a few months ago. She does not know what kinds of books I like and does not care. My cousin just wanted these books off her hands and wanted to tell herself she was doing a nice thing. .

I first heard about Trixie Belden because a librarian mentioned liking her books as a kid. This was a few months ago, and we were talking about library book sales. "Oh, so like Nancy Drew, but earlier," I piped up. The librarian frowned a little.
"She sounds interesting," I assured the librarian, out of social nicety really. I'd outgrown Nancy Drew books and was uninterested in returning, as it were. Then my cousin dropped off books at my apartment. Two Trixie Belden ones and three Xtian romances from the 80s. Each heaped with the little post-it flag stickers.
I read these two Trixie Belden ones because I wanted to know more about my aunt. She would have read and enjoyed these as a kid, maybe even a teenager.

The Mystery of the Uninvited Guest: This holds up after all this time! There's some instances of trying to make fetch happen that are increasingly annoying: "gleeps" again. The rivalry between cousins has probably been around since prehistorical times and haha, it reminded me a little of me and my cousin. This was a far darker book than I had been anticipating. I'm glad I got to read it.. show less

I loved this series when I was growing up; I thought Trixie was a lot more fun than Nancy Drew, and these were some of my all-time favorite books. I read them as an adult, though, a few years ago, and found that they haven't, IMO, stood the test of time well. They are obviously dated, and there are some messages that I don't think are appropriate anymore (mostly the way Trixie is treated differently - and often poorly - because she's a girl).

It's cousin Juliana's wedding, and there's this weird invalid lady, Miss Ryks, hanging around that no one knows. No one can get a straight answer out of her, either, as to who she's related to. Meanwhile, Dan has disappeared, Trixie's cousin Hallie is visiting (lots of cousins, all of a sudden) and Bobby is acting very odd. Even worse, food is disappearing at an alarming rate out of Mrs. Belden's larder. I always wondered who the redhead was on the cover. Is it Jim? Regan? Mr. Wheeler? Too many redheaded men running around Sleepyside to know for sure :)

Trixie fights a lot with her cousin, but they come together in the end. Juliana's plan for a very simple wedding is taken out of her control, as varies people make it more elaborate. Poor Bobby is tricked and threatened.

A childhood favorite re-visited.

Is the story as good as I remember? – Yes

What ages would I recommend it too? – Ten and up.

Length? – Most of a day’s read.

Characters? – Memorable, several characters.

Setting? – Real world, pre - computer and pre - cell phone.

Written approximately? – 1977.

Does the story leave questions in the readers mind? – Ready to read more.

Any issues the author (or a more recent publisher) should cover? Yes. A slight mention of the time frame of the story - as the teens are given far more freedom to come and go as they please than would be safe today. Also, the absence of computers, cell phones.

Short storyline: Trixie's cousin Hallie visits during preparations for Julianna's wedding. Trixie spends a lot show more of time on understanding her problems with her cousin, whom she is very much like , and they work together (and against each other at times) to solve Dan's disappearance, a rash of burglaries, and who the unknown person is who invites themselves to Julianna's wedding.


Notes for the reader: A great mystery! No violence (only referred to from the past), no murder. show less