The Hudson River Mystery

## Plot

When Trixie sees a shark fin in the Hudson River, no one believes her.  Brian's lab partner, Loyola Kevins, suggests Trixie talks to a friend who knows a lot about the Hudson and she tells Trixie and Honey that sharks are quite common in the Hudson.  But Trixie has other mysteries to solve when Brian becomes ill from cyanide poisoning and she makes impulsive accusations when she realises the source of Brian's poisoning, only to find she has jumped to conclusions.  Trixie is eager to solve the shark mystery and stop her friends from doubting her, but when she and Honey stumble on the truth they find themselves trapped in a car, sinking in the Hudson River.

## Characters

* Trixie Belden
* Jim Frayne
* Honey Wheeler
* Brian Belden
* Mart Belden
* Diana Lynch
* Dan Mangan
* Helen and Peter Belden
* Bobby Belden
* Loyola Kevins
* Pat Bunker
* Ken & Carl
* Thea Van Loon
* Sergeant Molinson

## Chapter Titles

1. A Strange Presence
2. Disturbed Dreams
3. Brian in Trouble
4. A Shocking Confession
5. Brian's Surprise Party
6. Still More Surprises
7. Trapped!
8. "Honey, Help!"
9. A Serious Mistake
10. Sharks Again!
11. More Laughter at Trixie's Expense
12. Unexpected Clues
13. A Recurring Nightmare
14. Growing Suspicions
15. Halloween Terror
16. Danger on the Hudson
17. River Reward

## Trivia

* The book begins on a Sunday in October as a hurricane approaches.  The concept of spoonerisms is introduced in this book and are sprinkled throughout the story.  Bobby finds them particularly amusing.
* Dan is described as 'thin and quiet with long black hair and sideburns' (p. 18).
* Trixie describes Loyola to Dan as a 'short black girl with steel-rimmed glasses.  Very skinny and really smart' (p. 21).  On a few occasions throughout the book, the author refers to her as 'the black girl' and she is the only 'black' person to appear in a Trixie Belden novel.
* Dan, Trixie and Honey go to Killifish Point to pick up Brian and Loyola, but there is no mention of how they got there to begin with!  Every other visit to Killifish Point is in Brian's jalopy so it must be too far to walk (p. 25-28).
* Loyola's parents are dead and she lives with her eighty year old grand father in a small apartment in Sleepyside (p. 34).
* Is Dan the same age or in the same year as Brian and Jim?  Dan goes home to study after Brian reminds him of the next day's chemistry test (p. 40).
* Thea Van Loon is staying in an apartment on Wentworth Avenue in Sleepyside (p. 57).
* Brian's birthday is on a Wednesday and he is a Libran (p. 75).  It must be his eighteenth birthday, but this isn't mentioned.  Counting back from Halloween (which is on a Friday), his birthday must be October 22 (p. 175).
* The ghost writer manages to sneak her name into the book.  Pat Bunker's dead partner's name was Lawrence Krull, and his ex-wife's name was Kathleen Krull (p. 155).  Bunker reveals at the end of the book that Kathleen died last year (p. 206-207).
* Mart has a friend named Mary Brendan who takes a stage craft class and helped him make his and Di's Halloween costumes (p. 180).  He went in a paper mache shark costume, Di was a Bob-White and Trixie and Honey swapper clothes and went at Whixie Helden and Boney Treeler.
* The book concludes with 'A Word to Our Readers' about cyanide poisoning and apple seeds (p. 211).

## References

1. ↑ "The Hudson River Mystery." Trixie-belden.com. N.d. Retrieved September 5, 2021 from http://www.trixie-belden.com/books/series/book28.htm