Christian Book Notes

Bradley, Miriam Jones.  The Double Cousins and the Mystery of the Missing Watch.  Enumclaw:  WinePress Publishing, 2009.  $11.95.  Purchase at Amazon for $10.16 or less.

Introduction

Miriam Jones Bradley based this story loosely on experiences she and her siblings and cousins had as children. The mystery does come from a true-life event–her great-great-grandpa Jones left home to find work and never returned. She also informs the reader that, “when siblings marry siblings, their children are double cousins-” a fact I personally had never heard of until reading this book. She blogs at doublecousins.wordpress.com.  This is the first book in the series (there are at least four more planned).

Review

The Double Cousins takes place in modern day Nebraska where Max and Carly and Dorie, Chad and Molly spend a summer at their grandparents’ house. Grandpa decides to give the children a mystery to solve while they are on the farm. His grandpa’s twin brother, Zachary, left home at eighteen and was never heard from again. The only clue grandpa has is his grandpa’s pocket watch that matched Zachary’s.

Added to the fun of the mystery, Slim, a homeless man, comes to live on the ranch to give a grandpa during hay season. The children are bound and determined to solve this mystery but have no idea where it will take them. They do learn along the way that even the intrigue of a mystery does not allow them to have a bad attitude or intrude on others. Ultimately, they discover the answers to the mystery and learn valuable lessons about faith and trust and evangelism along the way.

Recommendation

The Double Cousins is a nice, clean read. It is easy to find yourself on the farm with cousins visiting your grandparents. While the mystery is what makes the story move along, there is always the underlying reality of living a life of holiness as a believer in Jesus Christ. On page 83, there is a gospel presentation through conversation and then a real-life depiction of how one may respond to that.

I would recommend this book to any child looking for a good mystery to solve or to any family looking for a good book to read together in the evenings.  You can read more about the book at its website.