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Crystal Blake #4
Crystal's Mill Town Mystery
Crystal Blake has a lot on her mind. The mystery of opening an old safe to solve. A huge rodeo competition coming up. And mixed feelings over new friend, Shawn Sorensen, to figure out. And then there's the conflict with Teresa Patterson. Will she be able to overcome her anger and jealousy? And why is she being threatened by men who claim to represent the Snake River Lumber Company? Crystal Blake and her friends discover a locked safe in a burned-out lumber mill and find they are not the only ones interested in its contents. Why is the Snake River Lumber Company offering Crystal a huge reward for an old safe no one can open? Crystal and Shawn are determined to discover what’s inside. Now, if only they could figure out the combination. With the mystery of the safe to solve, Crystal’s finding it hard to concentrate on the upcoming rodeo in Pendleton, Oregon, her biggest rodeo yet.
159 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1986
About the author
Stephen Bly
127 books72 followersStephen Bly (August 17, 1944 - June 9, 2011) authored 100 books and hundreds of articles. His book, THE LONG TRAIL HOME, (Broadman & Holman), won the prestigious 2002 CHRISTY AWARD for excellence in Christian fiction in the category western novel. Three other books, PICTURE ROCK (Crossway Books), THE OUTLAW'S TWIN SISTER (Crossway Books), and LAST OF THE TEXAS CAMP (Broadman & Holman), were Christy Award finalists. He spoke at colleges, churches, camps and conferences across the U.S. and Canada. He was the pastor of Winchester Community Church, and served as mayor of Winchester, Idaho (2000-2007). He spoke on numerous television and radio programs, including Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family. He was an Active Member of the Western Writers of America. Steve graduated summa cum laude in Philosophy from Fresno State University and received a M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary. The Blys have three sons: Russell (married to Lois) and father of Zachary and Miranda (married to Chris Ross) and mother of Alayah, Michael (married to Michelle), and Aaron (married to Rina Joye) and father of Keaton and Deckard. A third generation westerner, Steve spent his early years working on ranches and farms.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 3, 2014
The Crystal Blake Series continues with the fourth installment, Crystal's Mill Town Mystery. This story is a tad more of a “traditional” juvenile mystery, in the vein of the first book, which would have been quite bad if this had meant that authors Stephen and Janet Bly had deviated from the overall narrative of the series. In fact, this is the opposite of what they have done, as the mystery elements take up a smaller place in the story than the other elements. It is woven in as a secondary story with the other plots.
In the story, Crystal and Shawn Sorenson, her new friend and crush, are riding their horses when they decide to go onto an abandoned piece of property where an abandoned, burned-down mill used to be. On the property, they find buried under a wall, an old wall safe, and there the mystery begins. It turns out that the mill had been purchased by a large company in the Northwest, who were always suspected of burning down the mill themselves, so as to cover up the fact that they closed down a profitable venture to get a windfall by writing off the mill as “business expenses”. This was to avoid Idaho laws stating that the folks would have to be paid compensation by the company.
After the newspaper runs a story on the discovery of the safe, various people try to sneak onto the Blake land, or confront Crystal. They want the safe, and they want it now. This time, it seems like they are truly more dangerous than anyone else Crystal has come across. Has she gotten herself into more than she can handle this time?
Along with the above plot, things are becoming strained with Shawn. She and Shawn are still friends, but she is worried and scared. She wants to be more, but isn't sure. Shawn is in the same quandary, and that's even if their parents allowed someone as young as them to date. Thankfully, things get patched up, but what happens, and how the two deal with it, is very realisticly portrayed.
There are other issues, ranging from how to live for God in our relationships, and issues of racism, that were handled with respect, and care for the target audience. I would argue that they were handled with care for any audience. There was no sensationalism, but instead the issues were handled with realism.
This book is probably the best of the series so far, and this series is one that ought to be picked up and read. I know some might not want to read such “children's stories”, but that is a silly reason for not reading something. To not read a good tale out of some sense of wanting to seem, or be, “mature” is the height of immaturity. The lessons of faith, trusting in God, and serving Him and others, are well-worth absorbing. Plus, it's a great, quick read.
Highly Recommended.
In the story, Crystal and Shawn Sorenson, her new friend and crush, are riding their horses when they decide to go onto an abandoned piece of property where an abandoned, burned-down mill used to be. On the property, they find buried under a wall, an old wall safe, and there the mystery begins. It turns out that the mill had been purchased by a large company in the Northwest, who were always suspected of burning down the mill themselves, so as to cover up the fact that they closed down a profitable venture to get a windfall by writing off the mill as “business expenses”. This was to avoid Idaho laws stating that the folks would have to be paid compensation by the company.
After the newspaper runs a story on the discovery of the safe, various people try to sneak onto the Blake land, or confront Crystal. They want the safe, and they want it now. This time, it seems like they are truly more dangerous than anyone else Crystal has come across. Has she gotten herself into more than she can handle this time?
Along with the above plot, things are becoming strained with Shawn. She and Shawn are still friends, but she is worried and scared. She wants to be more, but isn't sure. Shawn is in the same quandary, and that's even if their parents allowed someone as young as them to date. Thankfully, things get patched up, but what happens, and how the two deal with it, is very realisticly portrayed.
There are other issues, ranging from how to live for God in our relationships, and issues of racism, that were handled with respect, and care for the target audience. I would argue that they were handled with care for any audience. There was no sensationalism, but instead the issues were handled with realism.
This book is probably the best of the series so far, and this series is one that ought to be picked up and read. I know some might not want to read such “children's stories”, but that is a silly reason for not reading something. To not read a good tale out of some sense of wanting to seem, or be, “mature” is the height of immaturity. The lessons of faith, trusting in God, and serving Him and others, are well-worth absorbing. Plus, it's a great, quick read.
Highly Recommended.
Displaying 1 of 1 review