Book 1, 2022
Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Phantom Grasshopper by Kathryn Kenny
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Embracing Auld Lang Syne, my first read of the year was The Mystery of the Phantom Grasshopper, which is the 18th book in the "Trixie Belden" series of mysteries for young adults. This one was written by Kathyn Kenny.
Trixie and the rest of the Bob-Whites are planning a fundraiser to bring in the money needed to re-copper the town's old grasshopper weather vane atop Town Hall. Locals refer to the weather vane as Hoppy, and it's said that Hoppy will bring good luck if you greet him on your way by Town Hall. However, it seems Hoppy's luck has run out when he turns up missing after a storm. When a search doesn't locate the grasshopper nearby, it's presumed someone stole it. After all, Hoppy is an antique and rumored to have been created by a renowned coppersmith. Trixie is convinced that the stranger she's seen around town had something to do with Hoppy's disappearance and that one of her favorite teacher's aides, Miss Lawler, may be in cahoots.
This story wasn't as smooth-flowing as other Trixie Belden mysteries have been. It didn't help that there was no blurb on the back cover to summarize what the story was about. Instead, the back cover featured a teaser scene, like one expects to read inside the front cover. It was still interesting to see how Trixie got involved and put her mind into puzzling out what happened to Hoppy.
Favorite line: "It was a awful big huge a-nor-mous giant bug!"
Lame, but nothing really jumped out at me...hopped out at me? Hee!
A lite, entertaining read, if not all that great. Average score.