The Disappearing Friend Mystery: Volume 30 (Boxcar Children Mysteries)

The Boxcar Children decide to raise money to help the Greenfield hospital. At Beth's suggestion, they form a service called The Boxcar Helpers -- to babysit, wash cars, mow lawns, and care for pets. But Beth keeps disappearing. And then other things start to go wrong. Is someone trying to put them out of business?

The Boxcar Children Series was created by Gertrude Chandler Warner, a teacher, when she realized that there were few, if any, books for children that were both easy and fun to read. She drew on her own experiences in writing the mysteries. As a child, she had spent hours watching trains near her home, and often dreamed about what it would be like to live in a caboose or freight car. In each story, she chose a special setting and introduced unpredictable, unusual or eccentric characters, to help highlight the Aldens' independence and resourcefulness. Miss Warner lived in Putnam, Massachusetts until her death in 1979.