Book 5, 2025

Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Castaway Children by Kathryn Kenny

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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In the wee hours of the morning, I finished the book Trixie Belden and the Castaway Children by Kathryn Kenny. It's the 21st Trixie Belden mystery.

A summer rain storm brings more than just cooler weather to the Belden household when they discover a baby in the dog's house! The Beldens leap into action to care for the malnourished infant, calling in reinforcements from the neighbors who provide clothing, formula, and bottles. The police are content to allow the Beldens to continue taking care of the baby while they begin searching for any reported missing children. When they discover that both a young boy and a baby went missing from a family, they learn the baby belongs to the Dodges, but no one knows what has become of the older son...until a ransom note appears in the mail. Trixie soon dives into the mystery, finding clues the indicate the older boy is still in the area and traveling on his pony. No one seems to know if kidnappers actually have Davy or not, but as their demands escalate, everyone in the Belden household may be in danger.

The plot in this one got convoluted, but it did keep me engaged. Familiar characters are portrayed well, and even the new/transient characters came across as fully realized.

Favorite line: "Shouldn't he have a name?" // "If we didn't already have a Bobby, we could name him Bob White," Honey said. // "We don't have a Clancy," Mart said impishly. // "Nobody names a three-month old baby Clancy!" Di exclaimed. // "I should hope not," Mart told her. "Most of the Clancys I know were named months earlier than that."

Cute story, four stars.