The Highland Falcon Thief, by M.G. Leonard

The Highland Falcon Thief, by M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman, with illustrations by Elisa Paganelli (middle grade, Feiwel and Friends, July 28, 2020) is a tremendously fun middle grade mystery!

11-year-old Hal Beck is the only kid who's a guest on the last journey of the famous steam train, the Highland Falcon. His uncle Nat is a travel writer, who's written about the star-studded history of the train. Hal is not enthusiastic, and the fancy ambience of the journey, and he certainly has nothing in common with the other guests, who are primarily a curious assortment of the rich and famous, one of whom who has brought an entourage of five dogs with her (nb the dogs will both appeal to those who love dogs, and be a source of possible, though transitory, distress, as they are not treated as well as they should be).

But then he finds he's not the only kid on board. Lenny Singh, the daughter of the engineer, has stowed away on board. And things get even more interesting when he realizes there's a jewel thief on the train as well, and the prince and princess themselves, along with a priceless diamond neckless, come on board. When the neckless goes missing, everyone on board is a suspect, but when Lenny's discovered, she becomes suspect #1.

Lenny, with her insiders knowledge of all the nooks and crannies of the Highland Falcon and her trusty tool belt, and Hal, with his keen powers of observation and artistic talent (his artist's eye is excellent at capturing important moments and people) join forces to find the real thief before the train's last stop.

For those who love detailed settings, even if they come into it uncertain about how interesting stream trains are, this is a cupcake of a book. It's awfully easy to fall in love with the Highland Falcon and all it's panoply, and mundane, but still fascinating, details of how steam trains work add even more interest.

The mystery is likewise intriguing, and readers will be kept guessing along with Lenny and Hal! We know the thief must be someone on the train, and there are lots of secrets on board as well. The build-up feels brisk, and the actually solving even brisker, and the pages turn very quickly. The mystery takes actual work and deduction to solve, and Hal and Lenny are more than up for the job. Though the grown-ups do their best, and Uncle Nat and Lenny's dad are both supportive, the jewel thief might well have gotten away with if it hadn't been for the meddling kids!

Any middle grade mystery lover should eat this up, and pounce on the next book in the series (Adventures on Trains) eagerly, not just because of the likeable protagonists and satisfying story, but because trains will now be regarded as totally satisfying settings and interesting in their own right!

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.

(The Highland Falcon Thief is eligible for this years Cybils Awards; if you would like to spend this fall reading it and many other wonderful realistic middle grade books from the past year, apply to be a panelist today!  You can also apply in other categories, like the even more awesome middle grade speculative fiction category, if you prefer your trains haunted or interdimensional.....)