I have fond memories of devouring my Mom's old copies of these books from the 1960's. I enjoyed them so much as a child and am thrilled that a new generation will now be able to read this beloved series in a new edition with brand new cover art. I have a feeling these will fly off the shelves.

"The Secret of the Mansion" is the first in the Trixie Belden middle grade mystery series which was originally published in 1948. For this edition, the cover is updated to an almost graphic novel illustrated image (which made me think at first that it was an updated reboot as a graphic novel series). Trixie is a young teenager who is earning money by babysitting her little brother. When her grumpy old neighbor ends up in the hospital, she thinks it's the perfect time to search for the hidden treasure that people have been talking about for years. A new neighbor, Honey, a girl Trixie's age moves in and Trixie convinces her to search with her, even though Honey is a bit more nervous and scared.
The novel is fairly dated which makes sense since it was written in the late 40s. Some of the information about how to treat a snakebite has been debunked (don't use a tourniquet and suck out the poison), but the story itself is fine and readers who enjoy Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys will probably enjoy this series as well. This book felt a bit slow in the mystery department, but that could also be since it is the first in the series and fleshing out the character of Trixie. A suggested purchase for middle grade collections where Nancy Drew is still very popular.