⚠️Triggers: Violence, blood

The murder mystery theme hooked me initially but I lost engagement. The younger me would probably have loved this as I didn’t realise this was a kids book. Happy to read kids books of course but I should have twigged from the front cover.

I really like the character breakdown and the glossary at the end but found there were a lot of characters to keep track of.

This is based on Agatha Christie’s novel the Orient Express but I haven’t read any of her books. Maybe that is where I went wrong...

Daisy and Hazel find themselves on the Orient Express, and what better setting for a mystery! Once more, Stevens plays with the tropes of the genre to great effect. Lots of potential suspects, all contained in a small space with no escape. Our girls are hot on the case, although continually stymied by grown-ups wanting to keep them away from danger...

I’m not the targeted audience for these books, and yet, I do love them. I guess it is because of the continuing references to Christie’s work (and other Golden Age of Crime Writing authors), the nostalgic world of the 1930s, and our two heroines. In this instance, I particularly enjoyed seeing Hazel with her father and witnessing their changing relationship. And yes, I would LOVE to travel once on the famous Orient Express :O)

A fun, comfort read. Daisy and Hazel take a ride on the Orient Express, Hazel's father's idea of keeping them prim and proper. Obviously, our favourite Detective Society members find themselves (delightedly) in the midst of a suspicious set of characters, spies and then a murder. Robin Stevens herself calls it a tribute to the Agatha Christie classic and you can find quite a few references to that book. I enjoyed the book immensely. I thoroughly enjoy books set in such closed transportation means, and Stevens does a good job of putting in a set of interesting characters to spend time with.
The murder plot itself was well done and there are enough red herrings to divert us till the finale. I liked that you are given all the information to work out the murder puzzle for yourself, like the golden age detective fiction. This wasn't too difficult a puzzle to solve and you enjoy the ride. It was great fun!!

Read for 52 Book Club Challenge 2022 June Mini-challenge - Suitcase on the cover.
An enjoyable homage to Murder on the Orient Express.