Baker Family Adventure Series (8-volume set)

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Baker and their four children: responsible Phil, sensible Abby, daring Andy, and inquisitive Tom. The Bakers are a Christian family who loves serving and helping others, but they have a knack for finding adventure while they’re at it!  Exciting reading for youth in the eight volumes of the Baker Family Adventures Series by C. R. Hedgcock. Recommended for ages 11-15 but make great family read-alouds too for ages 6-10.

People sometimes think a Christian’s life is rose beds and sunny skies. But when the thorns start jabbing and the sun starts burning — that’s when the true test of character comes. The Bakers must deal with mysteries, kidnappers, buried treasures, and more, with each challenge forcing them to grow in courage and learn important lessons in godliness.

The Series includes these eight books:

Book 1: SUMMER OF SUSPENSE

When Phil, Abby, Andy, and Tom Baker hear that their cousin Millie will visit their farm for the summer, little do they imagine what a dreary time they will have with the snobbish girl. But when Millie disappears, life quickly becomes anything but dreary.

What starts out as a summer of chores and horse-riding on the farm turns into a cross-country adventure, as the Bakers find themselves matching wits with a notorious jewelry thief who pulls them into her web. Aided by a seasoned detective, the Bakers confront numerous dangers in their search for Millie, all while attempting to foil the plot of a major crime ring — making it a summer they will never forget.

Filled with mystery and intrigue, Summer of Suspense contains important lessons of Christian courage, humility, submission to authority, and repentance before God and man.

Book 2: PERIL ON PROVIDENCE ISLAND

The Bakers are full of excitement as they head to the English countryside to celebrate Grandfather Wilson’s eightieth birthday.

When an elderly neighbor with Alzheimer’s disease tells a tale of treasure lost on the high seas, the Bakers are sure she has confused reality with fiction. But as they find information that supports Old Marge’s story, they begin wondering whether there is truth in it after all.

Can the discovery of an ancient treasure help Old Marge stay in her beloved cottage and out of a nursing home? This question sends the Bakers on a swashbuckling adventure of mystery and peril, following an old diary through mysterious caves and a maze of clues in search of the missing treasure. Along the way, their quest is marked by amazing providences that point to this key conclusion: God’s ways are always right and true.

Book 3: RIDDLE OF THE RUBY RING

The skies are clear, the weather is beautiful, and the Bakers are eager to welcome a new family, the Wilburs, to the farm next-door. Phil, Abby, Andy, and Tom Baker are learning how to relate to their new friends when they discover a mysterious crate hiding an ancient ruby ring which triggers strange activity on the Wilbur’s farm.

A trail of clues leads to two conflicting stories of strife in the Old West, but it seems that the theft and aggression surrounding this ring haven’t stayed in the past. When the safety of both families is threatened, it’s up to the Bakers to figure out what is going on before it’s too late.

Can the Bakers bring an end to a legacy of conflict and restore honor to a tarnished family name? Can Andy learn the secret of his older brother’s courage? And, can they solve the baffling riddle of the ruby ring?

Book 4: THE TREACHEROUS TRAIL

The Bakers and the Wilburs have become such good friends that they decide to vacation together at a lovely wilderness lodge. While the ladies and girls enjoy the lodge’s luxurious facilities, the men and boys go camping in the surrounding wild. They expect their greatest thrills to come from horse riding, canoeing, and hiking, but the trip changes when they find an injured hiker. Then the hiker disappears with most of their supplies, and they’re stranded with little food, no communication, and a long trip back to civilization. What’s more — there are some very strange things going on in this forest, and the mysterious hiker seems to be at the center of them.

Mr. Baker must get his team back to safety with no supplies or means of contact, saddled with a thief who will not speak. Phil is forced to act like a criminal when thrown into a company of bad men, and the twins must survive in the wilderness with a man they do not trust.

Who is Jigson really? What mysterious activity is going on in the forest? And will they all come out alive?

Book 5: PRISONER OF THE PYRENEES

The Bakers are minding their own business when Briosa Del Quera bursts into their lives. Briosa is an orphaned Catalan girl who is still reeling from her grandfather’s death. His last words instructed her to find people called “Baker” and get in contact with a secret agent they know — but Jigson has gone missing in suspicious circumstances and not even his agency is able to contact him.

Detective Mortimer says that Mr. Jigson was last seen in the Pyrenees mountains, and the Bakers are determined to find him and help Briosa get to the bottom of the plot against her grandfather. But as their journey through northern Spain becomes a breathless race to avoid villains and meet allies, they wonder if Briosa has really told them everything…

Book 6: ICELAND INTRIGUE

Book 7: HUNTING IN THE HIGHLANDS