The Clock That Froze the City
Primary locations
Central Park
Columbus Circle
A family-owned clock repair shop
The city traffic-control observation center
Summary
Every evening at 6:03, a large public clock near Central Park stops for exactly four minutes.
At the same time, nearby self-driving cars slow down, turn around, refuse passengers, or report that streets no longer exist.
The city’s artificial-intelligence traffic system reports no problem.
The children become suspicious when Elowen notices that an old-fashioned bicycle courier is always nearby when the clock stops.
The Three Investigators
Roland BennettRoland is a patient, logical boy who loves maps, puzzles, detective stories, timelines, and handwritten notes.
He notices patterns other people overlook and usually serves as the group’s planner. He keeps track of suspects, locations, clues, and unanswered questions.
His weakness is that he sometimes spends too much time thinking when he needs to make a decision.
Elowen RiveraElowen is confident, observant, and highly inquisitive. She has an excellent memory for faces, voices, clothing, conversations, and small details.
She is the best interviewer of the three and can often tell when someone is hiding something or avoiding a question.
Elowen usually notices the human clues—a nervous glance, a strange phrase, muddy shoes, an unusual accent, or a detail in someone’s story that does not fit.
Her weakness is that her curiosity sometimes pushes her ahead before Roland and Killian are ready.
Killian ParkKillian is inventive and fascinated by computers, robots, electronic systems, drones, and artificial intelligence.
He builds simple gadgets from discarded electronic parts and helps the group understand the advanced technology surrounding them.
His weakness is that he sometimes trusts technology too much and overlooks ordinary explanations.
Over the course of the series, Killian learns that even the smartest machine can be fooled.
