The Arctic Railway Assassin (Adventures on Trains, 6)

Product Information

From here they continue their journey, but what is happening. Who is the man? Lars they decide is the man in Hal's drawing - he looks like The Shadow but he's not. The White Ravens represents a selection of international children's and youth literature made by the Internationale Jugendbibliothek in Munich, Germany. Every autumn, at the Frankfurt Book Fair, they publish an annual catalogue of The White Raven books from the International Youth Library. All compiled titles are introduced at the book fair in Bologna the following year. You can learn more about it HERE.

This time Hal and his uncle are heading to the Arctic circle to see the Northern lights. As usual, they are caught up in a case and discover an assassin on the train. What an exciting adventure! The characters continue to enchant and it was lovely to see Mum come out of the house and become a person in her own right. The plot twists and turns and there’s enough uncertainty to make it fun. The landscape descriptions surprised me in their detail and how they really created an atmosphere. I felt I could really be on the train looking out at the lilac sky.Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap... The Adventures on Trains series is published in the UK and US by Macmillan, and is licensed to more than fifteen countries around the world, including China, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Latin America, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Spain and Sweden. It scarcely seems possible that the sixth book in this amazing series is here and yet it is. Having followed Hal’s adventures since Book 1, the news that this is the last in that series has come as a bit of a nasty surprise to me but having read this I can tell you that this is, like the titles that precede it, an incredible adventure that will not leave fans disappointed and a brilliantly written ending to the stories which have thrilled so many.

I love the fact that at the end of the book the authors take the time to explain which elements of their story are truth and which are fiction. They also give a bit of history on the train, railway line, and the country in which the story is set.But the mystery of Morti's disappearance continues with them. There is someone on board that wants something and they suspect Hal and Nat have it. On the night train to Narvik, Uncle Nat and Hal realise they are being followed by a sinister figure and Uncle Nat’s past catches up with him. Special guest feature from Hal’s mum!

Hal and Nat want a quiet trip, but as with previous books that will not be the case, only this time they have another helper. The setting is of course a train, however the descriptions of the places they go, people they see and where they are are always written so brilliantly, you barely need the wonderful illustrations this book comes with, however this book is enriched and brought to life by the artwork throughout.

Hal meets Morti and finds out about a bit of a mystery surrounding her former husband who had been arrested two years before by secret service police and she'd destroyed all of his work. And yet all of a sudden mysterious things had started happening to her. However, they had plenty of time to talk as she was joining them on the train. RTE (the Irish BBC) have made a half-hour programme about the label, which I was pleased to take part in. They were happy years for me and I learned a lot. Hal’s drawings continue to be essential in his crime-solving abilities. He uses them as time to think and as evidence of what he’s observed. Elisa Paganelli’s illustrations are a huge part of what makes this series so special. She has cleverly helped Hal to grow in maturity and skill with each book. A high-speed train journey worth catching . . .The best yet' – The Times on Murder on the Safari Star