Mike Mason, The Violet Flash

The Violet Flash

Mike Mason

David C. Cook, Jun 1 2011, $9.99

ISBN: 9781434765253

While their dad Reverend Cholmondeley lies in a coma, Chelsea the amateur sleuth tells her brother Chesterton that the excessive wind is being caused by a hole in the sky and not just Porter’s Store where Sky Porter makes deliveries. Zac Smith arrives with the newspaper whose headline is a plane crashed caused by a missing second; at least that is what Dr. Stromway insists occurred; a phenomenon that happens every 1,400,000 years. Iris and Sky join the siblings Zac. When a tear occurs in the Blue Umbrella, a horrified Ches watches his pain in the butt sibling vanish inside the canopy.

Ches learns that the atomic clocks stopped beating for a second three days in a row. In those flash moments accidents have happened around the globe; some deadly. Ches wonders if his sister’s disappearance and the missing seconds are related. On a quest to rescue Chelsea, he needs to better understand time so he visits Myron Stinchcombe the clockmaker and Sky the world’s greatest authority on anything at least in Ches’ opinion. However, instead of comfort from what he learns, Ches pieces together clues of a plot to destroy the world; to save the planet may cost him the return of his sibling.

Though Ches has recovered emotionally from Evil Dada stealing his years, he remains ignorant on so much taken for granted by his friends like Grand Central Station. That naivety he brings to the story line makes the sequel to the Blue Umbrella a terrific whimsical thriller as he tries to make up for lost time in a search for Chelsea. With a super support cast adding to the fun, young adult readers will enjoy The Violet Flash as the hero knows time is running out.

Harriet Klausner