The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene (April 1930, revised 1959, 1987) Part 3

“Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.” - Meg Cabot

Fear, a small word but can cripple hopes and dreams if it is allowed to be in our lives and hold us back from our true potential. It's okay to feel afraid and be fearful of something, but at some point we have the realization there is always something bigger than the fear and it can become almost non existent. Emotions are one of many things that we possess making us human and create our individuality. Courage and bravery are not something that you can just take a pill for, then your invincible to do what you need. These are developed over time through moments in life and experiences that are unique for each and every person.

Nancy and the caretaker of the Topham's property were on a speed chase with the thieves. They report them to the police and continue to pursue the men while the caretaker went back to the property. After no luck upon reaching a cross road, things seem to become hopeless. On Nancy's return home she notices a small inn. She decides to see if the men stopped there for the night. Her findings were correct and she attempts to locate the clock inside the moving van. After searching in the van, she locates the clock. Almost being captured a second time, the men decide to leave. Nancy makes her way through the dark making her way back to her car with the clock. Before going for help, she wants to see if the clock has any clues to Josiah Crowley's will. She does indeed find an old blue journal.

After going to the police to report that the men were not far, the police are able to catch up to the van and arrest the thieves. A policeman drives Nancy back to the station, and then she returns home very late that night. Carson Drew was not home when she went back, but Hannah their housekeeper woke up and made Nancy some food. After telling Hannah everything that happened, she decides to stay up until her father returns home. While waiting, she looks through the blue journal to find a small key to a safe deposit box at a bank. When her father returned, she told him everything that happened. He did not appreciate that she was in danger, but was grateful that she was home safe. They were going to speak with the bank in the morning to see if they could go look inside the safe deposit box.

After a great breakfast made by Hannah, Nancy goes to her father's office to meet with him, then go to the bank to meet with the trust officer. On the way her father tells of a story similar to theirs. When they arrive they show their findings to the bank in the journal and the key. They allow the Drew's to look inside the safe deposit box. And they find a will dated newer than the one revealed by the Topham's. After authenticating the will, the following day the family is called to the Drew resident to hear the readings of the new will. The family members were present along with the Topham's whom brought their own lawyer to detest the new will as a fraud. After the hearing of the will, most of his belongings were all divided among the family member's and very little money was given to the Topham's. After they decide to try to fight it, their lawyer says its not worth it, and their case will never hold.

The following weeks, the Topham's attempt to hire several different lawyers to hold the case in court to detest the will Nancy had found. Running low on funds and going into debt, the Topham's give up. After all was finalized, Nancy is excited to tell all the family members that the will was now in affect and they would be receiving their inheritance soon. The Hoover girls' surprise Nancy with a special reward for helping with the case of Josiah's will. Nancy planned on keeping this item as a momentum to remember her first case being a detective.

Looking back, I cannot believe this was my first mystery book that I read when I was little. I am so grateful that my mother introduced this series to me as young as I was. This has impacted the choices of books and movies that I prefer to read and watch to this day. It's always fascinated me to know the ending the clues and the investigation along the way. Often times I compare my work to a mystery, feeding through documents to find one small piece of information that helps me with what I am currently working on. Others whom enjoy this genre describe there is a satisfaction in knowing that you have solved the mystery and everything is known around it and complete. Very rarely have I ever gotten that, reading any other genre of books.

Even though this series is considered to be a third grade reading level, it deals with a lot of circumstances that are more for adults to understand like legal affairs and being trapped by criminals. However, this shows young girls about problem solving, being fearless, always keep learning and know when to ask for help. Sometimes we are afraid to ask for help, but there are things we aren't able to do by ourselves and we need others to help us to solve what were doing. At times my anxiety battles me to ask for help every now and then, but I remind myself that I am asking for help because I am looking for an answer to help solve my mystery in front of me.