Line #34 Literature/AdventuresOnTrains


1	Adventures on Trains is a middle-grade detective fiction series by the award-winning British young adult novelist Creator/MGLeonard and her collaborator Creator/SamSedgman. The illustrations, which form an important part of each story, are by Elisa Paganelli.
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3	ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: each story is set on or around a [[ThrillerOnTheExpress railway journey]], in a different country each time. The books are notable for [[ShownTheirWork showing their work]] regarding the real-life railway journeys, with an appendix to each book detailing any AcceptableBreaksFromReality.
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5	[[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Harrison Beck]], known as Hal, starts the first book as an unwilling passenger on a British vintage steam train, the Highland Falcon, tagging along with his [[CoolUncle Uncle Nat]], a travel writer whom he doesn't know all that well. Hal and Nat soon bond and when a crime is committed, they form a detecting team, aided by Hal's [[ChekhovsSkill talent for drawing]] and near-photographic observational skills.
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7	As of 2023 there are six books:
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9	* The Highland Falcon Thief
10	* Kidnap on the California Comet
11	* Murder on the Safari Star
12	* Danger at Dead Man's Pass
13	* Sabotage on the Solar Express
14	* The Arctic Railway Assassin
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16	!Tropes in the series as a whole
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18	* ArtShift: In-universe, the illustrations in the books are drawn by Hal as he solves the mystery. Sometimes he gets new art materials or tries a different style, and the illustrations reflect this. In general, the style becomes more realistic as the series progresses.
19	* CoolTrain - of course.
20	** Book 1 has the Highland Falcon, an A4 Pacific steam engine with vintage Pullman carriages.
21	** Book 2 has the California Comet (Zephyr in real life) - a commercial sleeper service with a billionaire's luxe railcar, the Silver Scout,p attached.
22	** Book 3 has Janice, a 35NC steam locomotive.
23	** Book 4 departs from the formula and features a number of European trains, including the Eurostar, and a Class 99 tank engine.
24	** Book 5 has the Solar Express, a prototype hydrogen-fuelled locomotive, plus guest appearances by The Ghan, the Indian Pacific and Puffing Billy.
25	** Book 6 has the Arctic Circle sleeper train from Stockholm to Narvik.
26	* CoversAlwaysLie - with few exceptions, the beautiful cover art shows Hal and his current KidSidekick clinging to the outside of a locomotive as it sweeps towards us. This rarely represents a scene from the book.
27	* CozyMystery - because this is MiddleGradeLiterature. It also owes an acknowledged debt to Creator/AgathaChristie.
28	* FairPlayMystery - with a very few exceptions, the reader knows what Hal knows.
29	* JustTrainWrong is ''heavily'' averted - the authors strive to be as accurate as possible and provide a great deal of [[ShownTheirWork authentic detail]].
30	* MoreHateableMinorVillain: if a character is really horrible to Hal, he's probably not the culprit of the title crime.
31	* MostWritersAreWriters: as well as Uncle Nat, who's a travel writer, we meet several journalists and a novelist who writes cozy mysteries herself.
32	* NiceToTheWaiter - Hal always is, and it often pays off.
33	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: many characters, although most draw inspiration from more than one celebrity.
34	** Steven Pickle, English businessman - has aspects of Alan Sugar (irascible host of Series/TheApprentice UK) and travel tycoon Richard Branson (as in [[PunnyName Branston Pickle]]).
35	** "The Prince and Princess" are clearly Prince Harry and Princess Meghan, who were still working royals at the time of writing.
36	** Sierra Knight is a film actress whose name owes something to Sienna Miller and Keira Knightly.
37	** August Reza, tech billionaire, looks not unlike Steve Jobs and his interests overlap with Elon Musk's.
38	** Mervyn Crosby seems to be a cross between Rupert Murdoch (media empire and non-US roots) and Donald Trump (appearance and personality).
39	* NotAllowedToGrowUp: averted. Hal is eleven in the first book and his twelfth birthday is an event. By the time of the sixth book he's about to turn thirteen, and is visibly taller in the illustrations. Supporting character Marianne also looks a little older on her second appearance.
40	* PutOnABus - apart from a few, most characters don't recur from book to book. This is particularly noticeable with Lenny Singh, a major character in book 1, who announces that [[SequelHook she's going to make sure they keep seeing each other]] - and then doesn't reappear, and is only mentioned once. [[JustifiedTrope To be fair, she lives in Torquay, which isn't anywhere near Hal's home in Crewe.]] On the other hand, unless Hal didn't keep his promise to share the silver whistle, he must have contacted her in order to get it back for book 4.
41	* SequelGoesForeign - the first book is set in the UK, the second in the US.
42	* SequelHook: at the end of the first book, Uncle Nat mentions that he's been asked to go to the US and invites Hal along, which forms the plot of the second book. Undeveloped sequel hooks include Hal and Lenny's ongoing friendship and an open invitation to visit [[spoiler: Japan]].
43	* SpotTheImposter - five out of six books involve characters using fake names and disguises.
44	* SteamNeverDies - [[DiscussedTrope discussed]]. The Highland Falcon is vintage rolling stock taking a special last trip before being sent to a museum. Janice the 35NC belongs to a heritage line, and keeping her going is a full-time job. The unnamed Class 99 is owned by a rich hobbyist. All the other locomotives mentioned are diesel, electric or hydrogen/solar powered.
45	* TemptingFate: in the occasional moment of GenreBlindness, Uncle Nat is given to saying that ''this'' time surely they'll have a peaceful journey with no crimes. Wrong!
46	* TravelCool - all the trains are awesome in their different ways.

Context Literature / AdventuresOnTrains