Hoofbeats on the Turnpike: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Hoofbeats on the Turnpike, credited to Mildred A. Wirt Benson, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Hoofbeats on the Turnpike by Mildred A. Wirt Benson. Read in English by Cheryl Adam Penny Parker is a teen-aged sleuth and amateur reporter with 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 HOOFBEATS ON THE TURNPIKE, Penny is drawn to a remote hill community by a tantalizing tale of a headless horseman who ranges the countryside at night. While investigating the bizarre tale, Penny and her best friend Louise Siddell encounter a quirky array of hill folk, including a feisty "granny woman" who is at war with a wealthy landowner. The headless horseman seems to be targeting the landowner, who has ignored repeated warnings that the dam he owns is unsafe. The tale takes an unusually serious turn when the dam breaks, flooding the community. Trapped by the flood, Penny heroically does what she can to help the community and to get the story out to the world. - Summary by Cheryl Adam

Recording facts

• Recording title: Hoofbeats on the Turnpike
• Author credits: Mildred A. Wirt Benson
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 25
• Listed recording duration: 4:41:26

Catalogue topics

• Mystery
• ghost story
• detective story
• headless horseman
• penny parker
• girl detective
• young adult mystery
• flood

Opening tracks: first 24 of 25

1. 01 - Old Man of the Hills — 11:20
2. 02 - Plans — 12:26
3. 03 - Into the Valley — 13:14
4. 04 - A Stranger of the Road — 16:01
5. 05 - Sleepy Hollow Estate — 11:21
6. 06 - Ghosts and Witches — 15:10
7. 07 - Bed and Board — 14:27
8. 08 - A Rich Man's Troubles — 10:19
9. 09 - Straight from the Shoulder — 11:25
10. 10 - Barn Dance — 10:02
11. 11 - The Headless Horseman — 10:21
12. 12 - Premonitions — 8:22
13. 13 - Rain — 12:11
14. 14 - A Moving Light — 12:36
15. 15 - Into the Woods — 10:48
16. 16 - A Fruitless Search — 8:10
17. 17 - Accusations — 13:42
18. 18 - Flood Waters — 8:30
19. 19 - Tragedy — 9:34
20. 20 - Emergency Call — 13:56
21. 21 - A Mystery Explained — 11:14
22. 22 - Wanted--a Wire — 11:01
23. 23 - Toll Line to Riverview — 8:07
24. 24 - A Big Story — 6:58

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.