User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Check out my spoiler-free interview with authors M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman: https://youtu.be/UM60KFWBqfo
I did not see that coming!
The Highland Falcon Thief is the first book in a brand new series - Adventures on Trains. I do like trains, and I like mysteries, and I like mysteries set on trains, so already I knew I was going to have fun with this one. And reader, I had so much fun!
We follow Hal who joins his uncle on the last journey the Highland Falcon is ever going to make. Not only that, but he is the only child allowed on board due to the journey also being part of the royal tour. Jewellery begins to go missing and Hal is the prime suspect due to him being the only child on board - but Hal swears he has seen a young girl on the train! Thus begins an adventure and a rather exciting mystery.
M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman wrote this novel together, and they write so seamlessly I can't tell who wrote what! They're literally writing partners (in crime) made for one another. I loved the way they wove the characters into the mystery. It's a tricky thing to surprise me when it comes to mysteries - but wow, this was such a clever mystery that I could not predict for one second. I had theories - but I'm so glad I was wrong by the end, and it all made sense! How could I not see it before? Gah, I'm kicking myself now. But it was actually well thought-out and unpredictable and it really did keep me on the edge of my (train) seat. Okay, I'll stop with the bracket puns.
I'm looking forward to more books in the Adventures on Trains series and seeing what Leonard and Sedgman cook up next. I'm looking forward to seeing these characters again and if they can surprise me with the mystery the second time around. All in all, one of the best middle grade mysteries I have read yet!
Rating: really liked it
7.57 on CAWPILE
Rating: really liked it
Trains and mysteries really do make a great combination.
Hal has been sent to stay with his uncle Nat while his mum has a baby. Uncle Nat is a travel journalist who specialises in train journeys, and he's taking Hal on an extra special trip - the final royal tour of the beautiful Highland Falcon steam train. Onboard are all of high society, and a jewelry thief. Can Hal and his new stowaway friend catch the thief?
This had distinct Orient Express vibes, which made me love it all the more. It feels very different for a children's book in that we get a lot of details about the working of steam trains and the journey itself, mixed in with this really interesting mystery. It all unfolds in a really satisfying way. I also really enjoyed exploring the Scottish countryside and getting a glimpse of Balmoral - even if it's very fleeting.
I also found the characters really interesting. Hal starts the journey as quite an anxious, timid boy. He's worried about his mum having a baby, and he's shy around this group of eccentric adults. However, through the course of the story and with his determination to solve the mystery he overcomes this shyness to climb moving trains, speak to a room full of adults, and hopefully solve a crime. His uncle Nat is the strong guiding hand that Hal needs, ever present yet always calm and collected. And Lenny is the daredevil, the companion to bring out the brave in Hal. They all work so well together.
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this, and sped through the story in a day. It's fast paced, tightly plotted and ultimately a really rewarding read. I'm really excited to see where the series goes.
Rating: really liked it
All aboard!
Uncle Nat is a travel writer who loves trains and is thrilled to be a passenger on the Highland Falcon’s final journey. It’s the summer holiday and Hal is not looking forward to spending four whole days on board a train with his weird uncle.
‘I don’t like trains. They’re boring.’
Hal isn’t bored for long as it turns out there’s a jewel thief on board and he’s quickly caught up in the action.
‘Often the best place to hide something is in full view.’
On board the Highland Falcon and potential suspects are:
🚂 Harrison (Hal) Beck - 11, enjoys drawing
🚂 Nathaniel (Nat) Bradshaw - Hal’s mother’s older brother, a travel writer
🚂 Sierra Knight - a film star who is friends with the princess
🚂 Lucy Meadows - Sierra’s personal assistant
🚂 Countess of Arundel, Lady Elizabeth Lansbury - onboard with her dogs (Trafalgar, Viking, Shannon, Fitzroy and Bailey), her husband recently died
🚂 Rowan Buck - the Countess’ gentleman-in-waiting/dog handler
🚂 Ernest White - was the head steward on the royal train for 47 years, allergic to dogs
🚂 Baron Wolfgang Essenbach - friend of the prince
🚂 Milo Essenbach - the Baron’s youngest son
🚂 Steven Pickle - reality TV star, entrepreneur, runs a train company called Grailax
🚂 Lydia Pickle - Steven’s wife
🚂 Isaac Adebayo - the royal photographer
🚂 The prince and princess
🚂 Marlene (Lenny) Singh - 11, the train driver’s daughter
🚂 Mohanjit Singh - train driver, Lenny’s father
🚂 Gordon Goulde - head steward on the royal train
🚂 Graham - train guard
🚂 Amy - waitress
🚂 Joel Bray - fireman
🚂 Daniel and Kerry - the night shift.
Lenny, with her enthusiasm and tool belt, was always going to be my favourite character, especially when she was described (with a smile) as “the most disobedient girl ever to be born”. The surprise stand out for me was Uncle Nat, who turned out to be a lot more fun than I expected him to be. From his six watches, because “It’s good to remember that there are other places on the planet, filled with wonderful people”, to his love for trains, Nat is the person I’m most looking forward to spending more time with as the series progresses.
‘This will be a journey you’ll remember for the rest of your life.’
With a mystery unfolding and a group of mostly rich people with various agendas on board, this was a fun adventure. Train enthusiasts will enjoy the information about how steam trains operate and detectives in training will have their work cut out for them separating the red herrings from the clues, which are found in the text and in Elisa Paganelli’s illustrations. The details in the illustrations matched the text most of the time.
I was personally upset by how the (view spoiler)
[dogs were treated at various times during the story, especially when a dog was kicked, but was relieved to know the dogs all went on to live happily ever after (hide spoiler)].
I’ll definitely be on board for Hal and Uncle Nat’s next adventure.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Books, an imprint of Pan Macmillan UK, for the opportunity to read this book.
Rating: really liked it
I absolutely adored this one. It's one of those middle grade books that will stick with you and you probably will always keep in your heart. It's a tale of friendship, mystery, bravery and loyalty.
I absolutely adored the mystery part, it reminded me a lot of murder on the orient express without the murder and with smart 12 year olds that will make you question your intellect as leads.
I can't wait to keep reading their adventures on their beloved trains, and I'm really happy I finally read this.
read for grade E of comc.
Rating: really liked it
Wow! I really loved this book! What a great story full of mystery, adventure, & an amazing train! It’s The Highland Falcon Thief’s last journey before becoming a museum. Hal’s mom is sending him to take its last journey w/his Uncle Nat who is a journalist, while she prepares to have his baby sister. Hal thought he was going to be bored to tears-boy was he wrong lol He makes friends w/a girl named Lenny who is a stowaway lol People are complaining about their jewelry going missing, so he & Lenny decide to investigate. Hal can draw amazingly, & his drawings help them along the way. He realizes how amazing trains are, & how amazing his uncle is. He becomes close to an uncle he barley knew before this, makes a lifelong friend, has a new world opened up to him, & finds his inner courage when it matters most. Such great story telling, amazing characters, a great mystery, & a grand adventure. I highly recommend this, & can’t wait to start the 2nd book. An absolutely beautiful cover w/beautiful illustrations all throughout the book as well!💜
Rating: really liked it
This is such a lot of fun. I went into The Highland Falcon Thief thinking well, I am ancient and absolutely have no interest whatsoever in trains, and I came out and realised that I loved it. There is a scene, for example, where they fill up the train with water (this is a thing!) and it is pretty much one of the best scenes I have read for a long while. It's breathless, visceral and genuinely
good storytelling - and one that actually made me look up steam-trains on Youtube for the first time in ever.
Harrison Beck has been invited to join his Uncle Nat on the final journey of the royal steam-train: The Highland Falcon. Things go awry, as they do in all stories, and suddenly Harrison finds himself making friends and investigating the mystery of the Highland Falcon Thief. Told by MG Leonard and Sam Sedgman, this is such a vibrant and well-crafted story and one that gives you an incredibly rich mystery/adventure in the process. Mystventure? Forgive me, I am fond of tenuous portmanteaux.
Evocative of Robin Stephens' delicious mysteries, with a side-order of Agatha Christie - and a little bit of Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure - the Highland Falcon Thief is the perfect title for confident, independent readers. If they're not, then it's perfect for a bedtime read as well but be warned - you'll have to deal with a fair few 'just one more chapter' requests. And, I suspect, not all of these requests will come from the child...
Vibrant, fun and just really really good storytelling, this is one of the best books I've read for a while. I loved it.
Rating: really liked it
Such an amazing mystery! Fans of Agatha Christie's
Murder on the Orient Express will love this fun middle grade adventure.
I love stories set on trains. There is something about the mode of transportation that fascinates me, and I think it's the perfect setting for a great mystery. The limited range of suspects, the fact that everyone is stuck together and cannot escape... I live for these adventures. So it is no surprise that I absolutely loved this one. The atmosphere was perfect. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, trying to figure out who could have committed the crimes.
The story was perfectly crafted. I doubted every person on the train at least once, including characters that I thought could not have done it. The big reveal at the end took me completely by surprise, and I gasped on several occasions because of the information we found out. I loved the final scene, where Hal, our main character, reveals how he figured everything out. It felt very Hercule Poirot-esque, and I loved every second of it.
I had such a great time reading this book and I cannot wait to pick up the sequel!
Rating: really liked it
The Highland Falcom Thief has all the components of a classic children's adventure story.
It's got trains, mystery, stowaways, friendships, a quirky cast of characters and kids outsmarting adults. It's cosy, action packed and such a lot of fun.
My only qualm with this book was the fatphobia aimed towards one character that I was incredibly disappointed by. It was (as all fatphobia is) utterly unnecessary, dated and frustrating.
That being said, over all I had a huge amount of fun with this book. It was a delight to read can't wait to continue with the series.
TW: fatphobia (unchallenged)
Rating: really liked it
This is a fun little mystery novel for middle grade readers. Hal is invited to join his uncle, a travel writer, on the last voyage of a historic steam train. He's apprehensive at first since there are not supposed to be any other kids and he can't use his electronics. Then he makes a friend who's not supposed to be there and gets caught up in a mystery when a jewel necklace goes missing. This will be a great read for kids who love trains or mysteries.
I read a digital ARC of this via Net Galley.
Rating: really liked it
This book about Harrison Beck and his Uncle Nat who are on a the Highland Falcon, which is Britain's most famous steam train.
There are many high profile and super wealthy persons in this train and the women wears expensive jwellery. And one by one the jwellery starts disappearing.
It can mean only one thing: there is a thief in the Highland Falcon.
It is upto Harrison and his friend, Lenny to find out who is the thief.
✨✨
I absolutely loved this book okay. I loved it so much.
Firstly, this book feels like a love song to all the train lovers. I do not like trains but you can tell from reading this book that the author truly loves trains, passionately. By the end of this book, even I fell in love with trains just by reading this book. 😂
What makes reading this book even better are the illustrations. There are beautiful illustrations throughout the book.
All the characters were interesting and the plot was very intriguing. I was so hooked by the story and wanted to know who stole the jwellery.
Even though the mystery was predictable, I absolutely enjoyed how the two kids solved the robbery. The two kids are so pure and precious, and also incredibly smart and brave. The friendship between Harrison and Lenny was so genuine and real, I felt such warmth in my heart by seeing how much the two would do for one another.
I got teary eyed twice towards the end with happiness. This book made me so freaking happy okay. I love middle grade books for this reason. 😭 They are so pure and fills my heart with joy.
I need to read the second book ASAP.
Overall, this was a fantastic middle grade mystery book. Everyone but especially children will have a blast reading this! I'll highly recommend this book!
Rating: really liked it
This was a really fun mystery heavily inspired by Agatha Christie's books, and I'm happy to say that it took me a while to start piecing together the details and work out who the culprit was. I love both trains and Agatha Christie, so I can see this becoming a favourite series of mine.
Rating: really liked it
A brilliant read from start to finish with fab illustrations!
Rating: really liked it
This was so much fun! A book I did not know I needed but now I am craving more! I am so glad this is part one in a series because I have a feeling it might become a favourite. The writing flows perfectly, the characters are all intriguing and the illustrations compliment it all wonderfully.
I didn't see all the twists coming and those I did just made me read on to see if I was right. Throughly enjoyable read which I highly recommend. Agatha Christie for kids! :)
Rating: really liked it
Reading this was like nose diving into a cozy middle grade version of an Agatha Christie novel. Well made middle grade mysteries that ISN’T scary are in fact rather unusual. This one manages to make a good mystery with unexpected twists and turns, a powerful story about friendship AND have it all mixed up with facts about trains! I would probably recommend this to kids who like reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stones, because there might not be any magic, but the feeling of solving a mystery and discovering a new world is similar.
Concerning representation there’s some scenes where a couple of POC-characters clearly get accused for being the thief because of their origin and that’s a disappointment. There’s also no queer representation, which is sad. I probably would have fainted from happiness if there was. Still, this is an amazing middle grade mystery!
