In this second book of the middle-grade Adventures on Trains series, amateur sleuth Hal Beck travels to the U.S. with his uncle to ride a famous train—the California Comet—and stumbles on a new mystery to solve, in M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman's Kidnap on the California Comet... After his adventure on the Highland Falcon, amateur sleuth Hal Beck is excited to embark on another journey with his journalist uncle. This time, they're set to ride the historic California Comet from Chicago to San Francisco. Hal mostly keeps to himself on the trip, feeling homesick and out of place in America. But he soon finds himself drawn into another mystery when the young daughter of a billionaire tech entrepreneur goes missing! Along with new friends—spunky 13-year-old Mason and his younger sister, Hadley—Hal races against the clock to find the missing girl before the California Comet reaches its final destination.

Board the California Comet and help Harrison Beck to solve another heart-stopping mystery in the second Adventures on Trains story, Kidnap on the California Comet, from bestselling authors M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. After the excitement of his adventures aboard the Highland Falcon Thief, Harrison Beck can't wait for the opportunity to go on another amazing train journey. So when his Uncle Nat invites him aboard the California Comet, the iconic three-day train journey from Chicago to San Francisco, he leaps at the chance to travel. But when the daughter of billionaire entrepreneur August Reza goes missing en route, Hal finds himself with another mystery to solve. Can he uncover the kidnapper before the journey's end? Kidnap on the California Comet can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the Adventures on Trains series. Join Hal and Uncle Nat on more stops in this thrilling series with: The Highland Falcon Thief, Murder on the Safari Star, Danger at Dead Man's Pass and Sabotage on the Solar Express. Praise for the Series: 'Like Murder on the Orient Express but better!' – Frank Cottrell-Boyce on The Highland Falcon Thief 'A thrilling and hugely entertaining adventure story' – David Walliams on The Highland Falcon Thief 'A first class choo-choo-dunnit!' – David Solomons on Kidnap on the California Comet 'A high-speed train journey worth catching . . .The best yet' – The Times on Murder on the Safari Star 'This series just gets better and better' – Maz Evans on Danger at Dead Man's Pass

In this third book of the middle-grade Adventures on Trains series by M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman, amateur sleuth Hal Beck travels to South Africa with his uncle to a ride a famous train...and stumbles onto a murder mystery! Following his adventure on the California Comet, artist and amateur sleuth Hal Beck is looking forward to another railway journey with Nat, his journalist uncle—this time riding the historic Safari Star through South Africa. Then the already eventful journey becomes even more so when one of their fellow passengers dies on board! Accident . . . or murder? With help from a new friend, Winston (and his mongoose, Chipo), Hal is determined to figure out if a murder has really taken place and, if so, who among a long list of suspects is the killer—all before the Safari Star arrives at its final destination.

In The Highland Falcon Thief: Adventures on Trains #1, a middle-grade series starter from MG Leonard and Sam Sedgman, a young boy is swept up in an investigation to uncover the perpetrator of a jewel theft. When eleven-year-old Harrison "Hal" Beck is forced to accompany his travel-writer uncle on the last journey of a royal train, he expects a boring trip spent away from video games and children his age. But then Hal spots a girl who should not be on board, and he quickly makes friends with the stowaway, Lenny. Things get even more interesting when the royal prince and princess board for the last leg of the journey—because the princess's diamond necklace is soon stolen and replaced with a fake! Suspicion falls on the one person who isn't supposed to be there: Lenny. It's up to Hal, his keen observation, and his skill as a budding sketch artist to uncover the real jewel thief, clear his friend's name, and return the diamond necklace before The Highland Falcon makes its last stop.

Embark on a thrilling fourth adventure in the bestselling, prize-winning Adventures on Trains series - Danger at Dead Man's Pass, from M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman, as Harrison Beck investigates an ancient family curse high in the German mountains. Illustrated in black-and-white throughout by Elisa Paganelli. A mysterious letter from an old friend asks Hal and Uncle Nat to help investigate a spooky supernatural mystery. Legend has it the Kratzensteins, a family of rich and powerful railway tycoons, are cursed, but there is no such thing as a curse, is there . . .? Hal and Nat take the night train to Berlin and go undercover. From a creaking spooky old house at the foot of the Harz mountains, they take the Kratzenstein family's funeral train to the peak of the Brocken Mountain. Can Hal uncover the secrets of the Brocken railway and the family curse before disaster strikes? Danger at Dead Man's Pass can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the Adventures on Trains series. Join Hal and Uncle Nat on more stops in this thrilling series with: The Highland Falcon Thief, Kidnap on the California Comet, Murder on the Safari Star and Sabotage on the Solar Express. Praise for the Series: 'Like Murder on the Orient Express but better!' - Frank Cottrell-Boyce on The Highland Falcon Thief 'A thrilling and hugely entertaining adventure story' - David Walliams on The Highland Falcon Thief 'A first class choo-choo-dunnit!' - David Solomons on Kidnap on the California Comet 'A high-speed train journey worth catching . . .The best yet' - The Times on Murder on the Safari Star 'This series just gets better and better' - Maz Evans on Danger at Dead Man's Pass

'If you can imagine it, it exists ... somewhere.' The new spellbinding fantasy adventure from the bestselling, award-winning author of The Last Wild trilogy. 1945. They have survived the Blitz, but when Simon, Patricia, Evelyn and Larry step through a mysterious library door, it is the beginning of their most dangerous adventure yet. They discover the magical world of Folio, where an enchanted kingdom of fairy knights, bears and tree gods is under threat from a sinister robot army. The many stories of the Library are locked in eternal war, and the children's only hope is to find their creator - a magician who has been lost for centuries. What they find will change not just their own lives, but the fate of the world, for ever ... An ode to the world of Narnia, The Lost Magician is a classic in the making from one of the UK's most talented children's authors. Praise for Piers Torday: 'the new master of books for children who like magic and modernity with their lust for adventure' - The Times

When twelve-year-old Kat Wolfe starts a pet-sitting agency, she soon finds herself unraveling a mystery, in this first book of a new middle-grade series from award-winning author Lauren St. John. After a break-in at their London home, Kat Wolfe and her veterinarian mum decide it’s time to move to the country. Dr. Wolfe’s new job on England’s Jurassic Coast comes with a condition: They have to adopt Tiny, a huge Savannah who resists Kat’s best attempts at cat whispering. Kat starts a pet-sitting agency to make pocket money, but then the owner of her first client, an Amazon parrot, vanishes from his gadget-filled mansion. Only one person shares Kat’s conviction that he’s the victim of foul play: Harper Lamb, an American girl laid up with two broken legs thanks to her racehorse. Kat and Harper team up, but what starts out as mystery-solving fun turns deadly for the duo. When all clues point to a nearby army base, can they count on their unruly animal friends to save the day—and their lives?