"The whistle of the Safari Star was followed by the huff, huff, huff of smoke being expelled from her chimney and the compressed hiss of pistons turning her giant wheels, as the towering locomotive heaved her carriages away from Hoedspruit through the savannah."
Murder on the Safari Star is the 3rd book in the Adventures on trains series by M.G.Leonard and Sam Sedgman. Genre-wise, it is a mixture of mystery and adventure for middle-grade children.
This story is like a Murder on the Orient Express, kids' version. There is still plenty of suspence, drama, red herrings and unpalatable characters. We encounter danger at every corner, from a venomous mamba to the deadly fight above Victoria falls.
At Christmas, Hal (Harrison) Beck is surprised by his Uncle Nat with a generous gift of tickets for the Safari Star trip, from Pretoria to the incredible Victoria Falls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Both Hal and Nat love trains, and they are super excited.
Hal is a talented young artist who enjoys sketching on his trips. He is also very observant, and dabbles in sleuthing along the way. (In the prvious two books he managed to solve two mysteries).
Before they board the train Nat introduces Hal to his old friend, Erik Lovejoy. Erik is a retired detective now.
On board the train, Hal befriends a child of his own age named Winston. Winston's mother Liana is a safari guide and an experienced zoologist, who knows a lot about the animals. Winston's pet mongoose Chipo provides a lot of chuckles with her antics.
Liana tells the assembled guests on the train, "It is my pleasure and responsibility to lead two safari expeditions on this journey. You will be seeing a rich variety of wildlife on this trip. It may seem obvious, but these are wild animals. When outside the train, in the parks, you must always follow my instructions. Nature is beautiful, but she is dangerous, and even on land fenced in by man we must be respectful and cautious at all times".
We meet a whole set of characters, including the family of the horrible media magnate Mervyn Crosby. Crosby is a powerful man, who owns several newspapers and TV companies. He's also a trophy hunter who has been shooting big game in Africa for years. Despite the fact that hunting animals on the train journey is prohibited by law, he still believes he can shoot at his own pleasure. His dream is to kill a rhino, one of the most endangered species on the planet.
He manages to antagonise everyone on the train with his outlandish remarks and rudeness.
When one of the passengers is found dead inside a locked compartment, the police comes to the conclusion that the death was a tragic accident. However, Hal's "peter-tingle" intensifies, he's convinced that something is wrong. Hal and his new friend Winston are trying to get to the bottom of the mysterious death.
Will Hal and Winston be able to discover the truth before the train arrives at its final destination?
Adventures on trains is an entertaining series, we've read almost all the books (half-way through book no.6 right now).
On the plus side:
- detailed descriptions of trains. You get to know all the details of the locomotive, and the train intinerary. We enjoy reading the descriptions of carriages and suites, the stops along the way and the food served during the journey. The love of trains is one of the distinctive attributes of the series.
- Each story follows Hal and Nat's adventures. They are the main protagonists who meet an unfamiliar set of characters as they travel. There is usually a new sidekick of Hal's on each trip.
- Each book is set in a different country: this time we see South Africa and Zimbabwe. We get a glimpse of Hwange National Park and Kruger National Park, and learn a lot about the local fauna and flora. The descriptions of nature create a convincing, atmospheric setting.
- Ethical and moral dilemmas. There is an insight into the horrible sport of safari killings, and illegal trade.
- Elisa Paganelli's charming illustrations throughout the book bring the characters to life. The map at the beginning of the book traces the train journey through the Southern Africa. Every time we look at the map, we say to each other how much we'd have liked to take a trip on a sleeper train.
On the minus side:
- Hal's behaviour at times borders on obnoxious, he is overconfident, judgmental and self-important. He says, "I've learnt to spot strange behaviour, working on previous cases... I'm a real detective. I've solved two cases in the last seven months, a jewel theft and a kidnapping". And here lies his problem, he believes he a legit detective.
The idea that children are present during an interrogation of the murder investigation and are given a prominent part is not very believable. If you found yourself in a situation where you have to give an account to a child, wouldn't you categorically refuse to indulge them?!
- In this story Hal shows that he's not caring whether his investigation might jeopardise the livelihood of the people who work on the train.
- Hal's uncle Nat is a wishy-washy man, who is not doing a good job of looking after his nephew. Hal puts himself in danger, entering a no-go zone during the safari trip against the guide's clear instructions, he is allowed to climb on top of the train, hop off the moving train, and tackle a murderer, brandishing a weapon. Nat fails as a responsible adult on all accounts. Instead he smiles benevolently every time Hal says something. He is a Disney uncle who enjoys distributing gifts, without a responsibility.
- I appreciate that I am not a target audience for this series, but we read it together with my younger son, and we come to the same conclusions.
- We enjoyed the first book, were less enthusiastic about book no.2. and found the third instalment open to discussion. Book four was my personal favourite, and the sixth is amusing as well.
Reading the series, you will have a strong impulse to go on a long train journey and discover new places.
Murder on the Safari Star is a fun cosy mystery for younger readers, a fast-paced adventure, with lots of twists and intriguing clues.
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