The Mystery at Midnight (Servant Books)

The Mystery at Midnight is the fourth book in the highly successful Chime Travelers' series from Lisa Hendey. In this book the protagonists, Katie and Patrick Brady, are about to celebrate their birthday. They have a family tradition of birthday parties, but they are convinced they are too old for this lame party. Part of this has to do with the influence their friends have on them. Katie's friends want to have a nail and hair party. Patrick's friends want to have an all-night pizza and video game party. This not only sounds expensive (since they are twins and would need to essentially have two different parties), but it also sounds complicated. Before they can plan out the details of their party, Vocations Day occurs. While spending time at a monastery, Katie is transported back in time (aka chime travels).

In a happy turn of events, she is transported back to Assisi in the year 1212. If you remember, this is the exact place Patrick last chime traveled to, except he was there in 1205. Instead of meeting St. Francis, like Patrick did, Katie instead meets a young woman named Clare. Those of you who know your saints know that this is none other than St. Clare of Assisi, one of St. Francis' most devoted followers. Clare is a beautiful girl whose family wants to marry her off, like was the custom in those days. Clare has other ideas though. She wants to give up everything, leave her lifestyle, and follow St. Francis. To do this, Katie and Clare must take on a dangerous escape that nearly cost them their lives. When Katie returns, she tells Patrick of her adventure, and they plan a new twist on their family tradition of a birthday. I'll leave that for you to discover.

This fourth installment of the Chime Travelers' series introduces us to another popular saint in Clare of Assisi. Lisa Hendey has done a nice job picking the saints she chooses to write about. By giving men and women equal spotlight in the first four books, she has made this a series that will appeal to boys and girls alike. Her books have a nice pace to them and have just the right amount of holiness mixed with real world kid drama/attitude. The protagonists are not perfect saints, but their willingness to learn and grow from each of their adventures shows they are on the right path, and will provide your children with good role models. For those of you who keep asking if the Brady twins will ever chime travel together, I'd like to go ahead and assure you that it does happen in Book #5 The Strangers at the Manger. If you are a parent, teacher, or librarian, you'll want this series on your bookshelves!

This book was provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review.