These CDs will play in any CD/DVD player at home or in your car.

The Clock Strikes Thirteen

Mildred A. Wirt Benson
 (1905 - 2002)

Penny Parker is a teen-aged sleuth and amateur reporter who has an uncanny knack for uncovering and solving unusual, sometimes bizarre mysteries. The only daughter of widower Anthony Parker, publisher of the "Riverview Star," Penny has been raised to be self-sufficient, outspoken, innovative, and extraordinarily tenacious. Her cheerful, chatty manner belies a shrewd and keenly observant mind. Penny was the creation of Mildred A. Wirt, who was also the author of the original Nancy Drew series (under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene). Wirt became frustrated when she was pushed to "tone down" Nancy Drew and make her less independent and daring. With Penny Parker, Wirt had a freer hand and received full credit. Wirt once said, " 'I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is." In "The Clock Strikes Thirteen," Penny is confronted by two mysteries that ultimately converge. First there is the odd extra chime from the Hubell Clock Tower at midnight and the inexplicable replacement of the dedicated old clock tower caretaker by a shiftless friend of a real estate developer. Then there is a series of terrorizing attacks of local farmers, including a barn burning. The attacks appear to be the work of a band of thugs known as the "Night Riders." With the help of her friend Louise, Penny works to solve the dual mystery before an another attack and to save an innocent man from jail.

Read by Cheryl Adam

Run Time 4 Hours 33 Minutes in 4 Audio CDs

Section ----- Chapter ---- Run Time
1 01 - Sandwiches for Two - 13:36
2 02 - Night Riders - 11:36
3 03 - A Black Hood - 09:51
4 04 - A New Caretaker - 13:04
5 05 - Old Seth - 14:22
6 06 - Tall Corn - 08:49
7 07 - Mr. Blake's Donation - 10:30
8 08 - Publicity by Penny - 11:32
9 09 - Jerry's Party - 09:13
10 10 - In the Melon Patch - 14:28
11 11 - Penny's Clue - 09:53
12 12 - Adelle's Disappearance - 11:13
13 13 - An Extra Stroke - 12:35
14 14 - Through the Window - 09:37
15 15 - Tracing Ben Bowman - 09:29
16 16 - A Familiar Name - 08:31
17 17 - False Records - 13:52
18 18 - Adelle's Accusation - 10:20
19 19 - Trailing a Fugitive - 10:22
20 20 - Clem Davis' Disclosure - 08:52
21 21 - A Broken Promise - 09:50
22 22 - The Man in Gray - 10:11
23 23 - A Trap Set - 10:14
24 24 - Timely Help - 14:03
25 25 - Special Edition - 07:13

Public domain books

A public-domain book is a book with no copyright, a book that was created without a license, or a book where its copyrights expired or have been forfeited.

In most countries the of copyright expires on the first day of January, 70 years after the death of the latest living author. The longest copyright term is in Mexico, which has life plus 100 years for all deaths since July 1928.

A notable exception is the United States, where every book and tale published before 1926 is in the public domain; American copyrights last for 95 years for books originally published between 1925 and 1978 if the copyright was properly registered and maintained.