Crossed Trails in Mexico - the third Mexican Mystery Stories for Girls

I finally tracked down a copy of the third and final Mexican Mystery Stories for Girls by Helen Randolph, complete with dust jacket.  I always find myself hesitating to read a book that I know to be the last book in a series, particularly when I've grown to like the characters in the stories.  In the first book, I met Peggy and Jo Ann, who were visiting their friend, Florence, in Mexico and followed along as they investigated a mysterious window and uncover a hidden treasure.  In the second book, the three girls are still in Mexico, and they are able to reunite a young boy (Carlitos) with his real family and stop a thief from stealing the boy's rightful inheritance.  While neither book was exceptional, they were both fairly decent reads, and I did rather enjoy the characters.  So, now, I've had the chance to read their final adventure together, and I would say it pretty much measures up to the previous two books.

Crossed Trails in Mexico actually opens with the three girls in the United States, making their way to Mexico with young Carlitos and his spinster aunt, Prudence Eldridge (referred to as "Miss Prudence" throughout the story).  I did like the fact that the author, Helen Randolph (the pseudonym for two women - Virginia Fairfax and Helen Allan Ripley [according to Jennifer White's webpage, Helen Randolph]), continues the continuity from one book to the next, and in this one, Randolph provides a bridge between the books, explaining how after Carlitos was rescued in the last book, his uncle Edward Eldridge, brought the young boy to Massachusetts to live with Miss Prudence and learn English (pp. 10-11).  Readers are also treated to a brief synopsis, via dialogue among the girls, as to their school year at Evanston High in Mississippi, going so far as to admit the girls are "four or five pounds heavier" (p. 9).  I found this remark rather humorous, considering most girls never want to add weight, let alone admit it!  They are returning to Mexico for their summer vacation, using the car they were able to purchase at a bargain (p. 8), which is comically named "Jitters" (pp. 7-8).  The vehicle is a character in and of itself, as the girls are always concerned whether it will make the trip or not, and remarks are made about the fact it cannot travel very fast at all.  

Jo Ann is anxious for another mystery, and sure enough, one presents itself before they even get out of the United States.  While staying overnight at a hotel in Houston, Texas, Jo Ann overhears a man's phone conversation in another room.  The man's statement - "I'm afraid I'm going to lose my life before this is over" (p. 16) - sets off alarms in Jo Ann's head, and she begins to worry about what it means.  Is he a criminal or a detective?  What would cause him to lose his life?  She gets a good look at the tall, setalwart man wearing a broad-brimmed tan felt hat (p. 16) when he steps out of his room and catches her eavesdropping!  As fate would have it, when the girls leave the next morning, Jo Ann spots the man in a car going the same direction as them; unfortunately, though, Miss Prudence forces them to turn a different route, believing it not prudent to follow after a man who thinks he will be murdered (p. 20).  So, the girls think they have seen the last of this mystery man...

A chance meeting with a coast guard who tells the girls stories about smugglers sneaking things across the border from Mexico to the United States sets the girls off on an entirely different mystery.  The guard's stories become reality when the girls have to stop the car to find water for their overheating engine and happen upon another stopped car, empty except for the large quantity of pottery and baskets in the back of the car.  Jo Ann and Florence agree that the owner(s) of the car could very well be the smugglers the coast guard was telling them about earlier.  And, of course, it turns out they are.  So, it should come as no surprise that when the girls, along with Miss Prudence and Carlitos, make it to their final destination, not only do they discover a destitute Mexican woman who is making pottery and selling it to the smugglers, but they also spot that mysterious man again (who, it turns out, happens to be a detective on the trail of those smugglers).  The girls insinuate themselves into the investigation and ultimately aid the detective in luring the smugglers into the open and capturing them.  Their invaluable assistance warrants the government buying them a brand new car to replace Jitters (which was stolen by the smugglers and ran off a cliff!) - and they christen their new car "Prudence" after their chaperone, because the car is "so shining and spotlessly clean.  And besides, that name might help Jo to be more prudent - less reckless" (p. 249).

While all three girls play a part in this mystery, I found it odd that Florence is portrayed as very timid and fearful throughout the entire book.  I do not recall her being so afraid of everything in the previous books, and while Jo Ann has always been the more gung-ho girl of the trio, Florence was never one to back away from helping out.  That aside, I did enjoy seeing the couple who initially cared for Carlitos after his parents died, and it is amusing to watch them interact with Miss Prudence, who finds the accommodations in Mexico not quite what she is used to in her New England home, and so she sets about cleaning and brightening the adobe in order to make it more "acceptable" to her.  As Miss Prudence puts it, "a peon housekeeper's ideas of cleaning and an American's are two different things" (p. 102), once again reminding readers that this book was written in a very different time period!  At least this book seems to have a lot less racial slurs as do the prior volumes in this series.  But more surprising is the author's use of brand names, as Miss Prudence lists off the items she will need for cleaning purposes:  "I must fumigate this whole house, clean it with Old Dutch Cleansor, Lysol - -" (p. 98).  These series book rarely use brand names like that, so it was a shock to find them so casually referenced.

There is an instance in the story, though, that reminds of the later Stratemeyer books, where Harriet [Stratemeyer Adams] persisted in putting educational diatribes throughout the books she wrote.  When the girls are discussing the mine owned by Mr. Eldridge, Jo Ann mentions how eager she is to see how the "malacate" works.  When asked what that is, Jo Ann goes into an explanation of how that is "a windlass arrangement that draws the ore up out of the mine.  A rawhide bag is tied to the end of a long cable and let down into the shaft.  Using electricity is a vast improvement over the old way" (p. 179).  In English, the word translates to a "winch" or "spindle."  

For as beautifully painted as the cover art is, that sole interior illustration (in the Saalfield edition, which is what I have), which is intended to mimic the cover, is far from beautiful.  It is a half-hearted attempt to recreate the cover at best.  And since these books rarely identify the cover and/or interior artist(s), we do not know who to blame for the lesser quality work.

It's a shame the series ended with this book.  While definitely not the best series I've ever read, it was nowhere near the worst.  The three main characters are likable, with distinct personalities, and their adventures are rather enjoyable.  But, having put a stop to the smuggling ring, Jo Ann, Peggy, and Florence reached the end of their sleuthing career, and they will forever remain a memory of the distant past...

RATING:  7 pairs of Mexican sandals out of 10 for rounding out this series with a fairly decent mystery in keeping with the Mexican theme.

The Mystery of Carlitos - the second Mexican Mystery Stories for Girls

It's been more than a year since I read Helen Randolph's first mystery stories for girls set in Mexico, and after reading that book, I was not sure if I would ever find the other two books in this series.  But not so long ago, I managed to pick up the second book in the series for a very small price!  Once again, this book is the Saalfield edition, as is the first book that I own, so it doesn't have the higher quality paper or the glossy internal illustration; but it does still have the same great story as the original A.L. Burt edition, so I'm happy with that!

The Mystery of Carlitos continues the adventures of JoAnn, Peggy, and Florence during the stay with Florence's parents in Mexico.  In the first book, Peggy and Florence helped JoAnn solve a mystery surrounding a window in the house where they are staying that has no visible way to get to, and it leads them to uncover a long lost treasure.  In this mystery, the girls have climbed up into the mountains with Florence's mother to help revive the mother's health in a clean, calm environment.  The girls encounter an extremely poor family, and JoAnn is convinced that one of the young boys in the family has blue eyes, which the others scoff at, claiming she is just looking for another mystery to solve.  Of course, it turns out the boy does have blue eyes, and there is, indeed, a mystery involving his true identity and why this family is trying to hide him up in the mountains.  They learn the boy's name is Carlitos (hence, the title to the book), and the family is protecting him from someone that is merely referred to as the "mean boss" of the coal mine where Jose works.  The girls learn that the boy's father disappeared in the mines, and the boy's mother fell sick not long thereafter and died.  Her dying wish was that Jose's wife, who was her nurse, take the boy and protect him, which they did.  But the question on the girls' minds is - protect him from what?  Why did the coal mine's boss want the boy so badly?

The excitement of the mystery is very slow to build, much like the last book, with more than the first half of the book spent in JoAnn, Peggy, and Florence meeting the family, helping provide the family with food, and even saving the life of the real son (in a somewhat incredulous way, where Florence provides CPR to the boy who has basically collapsed from both malnutrition and sunstroke).  JoAnn's questions about the boy's identity are repeated quite often, until they finally gain the family's trust, and the mother reveals the truth to the girls.  It is here that the girls determine to find any remaining family Carlitos may have in America and restore him to his rightful family.  Randolph provides a few side-stories, such as a bear that has attacked the ranch of a nearby family, taking their pigs, as well as stealing the girls' own store of bacon they had kept near a creek in order to keep it cold.  Unlike other children's mysteries of the day, Randolph has no problem with her protagonists carrying and using a gun, because JoAnn ultimately proves herself to be quite the sharpshooter, taking out the bear in the dead of night!

The climax of this mystery is actually rather exciting, as JoAnn and Florence are kidnapped by the boss, along with Carlitos, and are taken along a dangerous, steep trail during a horrific storm, destined for an unknown fate at the hands of the villain.  Of course, rescue arrives just in the nick of time, and the girls are able to unite Carlitos with an uncle he never knew he had.  

Once again, as with this first book, this one is replete with stereotypes and racism when it comes to the native Mexicans.  The girls often refer to the poor Mexicans as "peons," and continually discuss how "ignorant" the people are, and how they must rescue Carlitos from these people.  At one point, when Carlitos shows up all dirty and covered in soot after helping his father with the charcoal, Peggy remarks, "Say, Jo, your little blue-eyed Mexican seems to have turned into a little nigger" (p. 176).  I actually took a double-take on that line!  But, again, this book was copyrighted in 1936, just one year after the first book, so one must take into consideration the attitudes and beliefs of that day and not judge the author based on today's standards.  I had to remind myself of this many times while reading the book, to avoid disliking the main characters based on these disparaging views of the people of Mexico.

One interesting thing I noted about this edition of the book - the cover depicts the scene where JoAnn and Florence discover little Carlitos and his kidnapper hiding in a small cave during the storm.  The line drawing frontis piece, which is supposed to depict the same scene taken from page 215 of the story, shows Florence and JoAnn peering into the cave, like on the cover, and it shows the back of the kidnapper the same as the cover.  However, where young Carlitos is shown sitting in the background, behind the fire, on the cover, a rather seductive, villainous woman seems to have taken his place on the internal illustration (even though the line below reads "Jo Ann could see that the man and Carlitos were still crouched around the fire").  Not sure why the internal artist substituted a woman for Carlitos in that drawing, and even more confused as to how the publisher let that slip through for publication!

Overall, other than the stereotyping, it's a pretty good story.  Now, I just have to track down that third book to see how the girls finish up their stay in Mexico!

RATING:  7 candy and cake-filled pinatas out of 10 for a mystery filled with liars, kidnappers, and bears - oh, my!

The Secret of Casa Grande - the first Mexican Mystery Stories for Girls

I picked up this book because I really liked the cover; however, I didn't realize until after I read it and did some research online that this is actually the first book in a series (albeit a short, three-book series!).  Thanks to Jennifer White's very informative website on series books (Series Books for Girls) I discovered that the author of this book, Helen Randolph (a pseudonym for Virginia Fairfax and Helen Allan Ripley, according to White's website), actually wrote two more books under the "Mexican Stories for Girls" banner - although the book I own is actually a reprint by Saalfield Publishing, which relabeled the series the "Randolph Series," according to Jennifer's website.  Regardless, the book did pique my interest, so I've already begun my search for the other two books!

The Secret of Casa Grande tells the story of two young girls - Jo Ann and her friend Peggy - who are visiting Peggy's friend, Florence, in Mexico.  Jo Ann is an impetuous and inquisitive girl, always looking for adventure and not afraid to jump in without thinking, while Peggy is much more reserved and thinks before she acts.  Florence and her father have lived in Mexico for a while, and she is constantly doing what she can to make sure her friends adhere to the customs and traditions of the people in the village.  While exploring the village, Jo Ann notices a window in Florence's house - a window on an upper floor that is not visible from inside the house.  Thus, a mystery is sparked as to what lies behind that window - is it a secret room?  An unused room that was walled-off?  Or something much darker?  Jo An is determined to find out, despite her friends' concerns.

 

The first half of the book follows Jo Ann as she tries to figure out how to get to the window, when there is no visible way on the side of the house to climb up the wall to get to the window and peer inside.  It is relatively tame when compared to most mysteries of that day, which were filled with a bit more adventure and action.  Once Jo Ann manages to figure out a way to get to the window and discovers what lies inside, that is when the mystery actually picks up pace, and the three girls actually share a rather enjoyable adventure (enjoyable to read, that is - probably not as much enjoyable for them!).  I do appreciate the realism provided by the author, as it is not exactly an easy task for the girls to reach the window, and it results in Jo Ann suffering a terrible sunburn from remaining on the roof under the hot sun for hours, as well as scraped knees and elbows that the girls suffer when the must make their way up and down the wall - not to mention that their journey into the tunnels below the house result in torn and filthy clothing, which is what one would expect from a trip into unknown underground tunnels.

 

What I did find to be somewhat off-putting, although not necessarily surprising for the time that the book was written (the copyright date is 1936), is the amount of racism that is blatant throughout the book.  Florence makes a number of off-hand remarks about the Mexican villagers, including the housekeeper and driver in her own home, disparaging them and their way of life.  It is clear that as a relatively well-to-do white girl, she feels superior to the villagers, and she pretty much says so in no uncertain terms!  Jo Ann even make several comments in the book that confirms her own view of superiority over the "lower class" people.  Now, I realize I have to view the book in terms of when it was written, and not judge it based upon our more enlightened views and understandings of today - but it still places a bit of a damper on the story, because I really wanted to like the main characters, but found it difficult to do so when they carried such racist opinions of those around them.

Outside of that one issue, the story itself was enjoyable, and while not an overly exciting mystery, it is one that builds the reader's interest gradually until you find yourself just as hooked as the three girls in finding out exactly what lies behind that window, and how it ultimately all connects to the small, crumbling church behind Florence's house.  Plus, the authors do give some rather nice descriptions of the Mexican architecture and locales, which is likely based on Ripley's own personal experience in Mexico (once again, info gleaned from White's wonderful and very informative website!).  Now I need to locate the other two books in this series and see how they compare with this first one.

RATING:  6 golden candlesticks out of 10 for a not-a-run-of-the-mill mystery set in a locale that may not be as familiar to most readers.