A series of girl detective mysteries with a western theme.  Sixteen-year-old Linda Craig is an orphan who lives with her eighteen-year-old brother, Bob, and Grandma and Grandpa Mallory (who goes by the nickname Bronco) on a ranch, the Rancho del Sol, in California. Her first name is actually Rosalinda, after an ancestor who came from Spain, but people call her Linda for short. She shares this first name with her mother and grandmother. When Linda and Bob were younger, they lived in different countries because their father was in the Air Force, and they used to move with him to different postings. Because of their Air Force upbringing, Linda and Bob can speak different languages, including Spanish. When the series begins, their parents are already dead, and the kids are living in California.

Linda’s best friend is Kathy Hamilton, and both of the girls own horses. Linda has a palamino called Chica d’Oro (which means Golden Girl in Spanish), and Kathy has a paint horse called Patches. Of the two girls, Linda is the one who is really most interested in horses. Kathy likes to ride with her friends, but Linda likes to take part in horse shows.

Bob’s best friend is Larry Spencer. Both of the boys also ride in horse shows. Bob’s horse is named Speedy.

The series was produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the author pseudonym Ann Sheldon. Some of the books are available online through Internet Archive.

There was also a later series based on the original but with some changes to the characters called The New Linda Craig Adventures. In that series, Linda’s horse is named Amber.

Books in the Series:

#1 The Palomino Mystery (1962)

#2 The Clue on the Desert Trail (1962)

A small horse statue and the mysterious man who wants it lead Linda and her friends into a mystery about smugglers.

#3 The Secret of Rancho del Sol (1963)

#4 The Mystery of Horseshoe Canyon (1963)

#5 The Mystery in Mexico (1964)

#6 The Ghost Town Treasure (1964)

#7 The Haunted Valley (1982)

#8 Secret of the Old Sleigh (1983)

#9 The Emperor’s Pony (1983)

#10 The Phantom of Dark Oaks (1984)