The Arctic Railway Assassin (Adventures on Trains, 6)

Product Information

My picturebook with illustrator Daniel Rieley, The Tale of a Toothbrush, features in the new exhibition at The Story Museum ‘Brilli-ANT!’ about how small creatures can make a big difference.

A thrilling and hugely entertaining adventure story' – David Walliams on The Highland Falcon Thief, the first journey in the Adventures on Trains series. So if your young readers are fans of my stories, but haven’t read this classic, why not get them this edition in which I wax lyrical about the importance of Mole, Ratty, Badger and Toady in my life. I made a video of my adventures for each day I was there. Take a look, and if you’re wondering whether or not to go along to your local festival, I hope they pursuade you to give it a go. 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. Big news for those of you who love audiobooks. Spotify have just acquired the right to play audiobooks.The Arctic Railway Assassin can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the award-winning Adventures on Trains series written by M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. Join Hal and Uncle Nat on more stops in this thrilling series Murder on the Safari Star , Danger at Dead Man's Pass and Sabotage on the Solar Express. This fast-paced adventure story sees Hal and his Uncle Nathaniel Bradshaw involved in some dangerous detective work on board a train through some snowy landscapes. The story starts with Hal’s Uncle sending a request for Tea when Hal comes across to join him on his journey to the Arctic to see the Northern Lights. Hal has always wanted to see the northern lights, but the request for tea leads Hal to believe that his Uncle is feeling a bit stressed or worried. Hal and Uncle Nat are travelling to see the Northern Lights during the festive season, and as the title may suggest, yup, there's an assassin aboot!

The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2023, highlighting the work schools are doing to encourage a love of reading, have... Another bestselling, prize-winning Adventures on Trains series by the amazing duo M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman tells a thrilling sixth adventure! Author Guy Bass introduces SCRAP, about one robot who tried to protect the humans on his planet against an army of robots. Now the humans need his...

I am a big fan of this series and thoroughly enjoyed this new addition. Love the mystery, the travel and the relationships. I think I read somewhere that this might be the last book in the series, but I very much hope it isn’t because I would keep reading train mysteries in new locations! This is definitely the most tense and fast paced trains adventure yet- and my new favourite! In this story, we learn more about Uncle Nat’s mysterious past and it seems that danger is catching up with him. There are moments of real peril and suspense as the action builds, raising serious concerns for the safety of all involved. Much of my work is about attempting to conjure up stories that children will adore, and forges a relationship between them and the natural world, whilst desperately trying to avoid being didactic and keeping things hopeful. It isn’t easy. It was wonderful to be able to finally get together and celebrate all the wonderful people who brought these stories to life and into the hands of eager young readers. Special thanks go to Elisa Paganelli who is the artist behind Hal, and who illustrated every book, doing all the maps and covers too. Jot Davies is the talented actor who voices the audiobooks. Sarah Hughes is our incredible editor. Kirsty McLachlan is our fabulous agent. Really the list goes on and on. Despite what you may hear, making books is a collaborative process.

A high-speed train journey worth catching . . .The best yet' – The Times on Murder on the Safari StarThe 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. 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.

Yesterday, I spent a wonderful afternoon at the Natural History Museum in London with two world-renowned (and my favourite) coleopterists. Either one could be Bartholomew Cuttle from my Beetle Boy stories. The Arctic Railway Assassin can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the award-winning Adventures on Trains series written by M. G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. Join Hal and Uncle Nat on more stops in this thrilling series with: Murder on the Safari Star , Danger at Dead Man's Pass and Sabotage on the Solar Express. A thrilling and hugely entertaining adventure story' – David Walliams on The Highland Falcon Thief , the first journey in the Adventures on Trains series. It was the nineties and the record label I helped run was called Setanta Records. The label specialised in music from Ireland. It was run out of a council flat and set up by a man named Keith Cullen. The bands I worked with included The Divine Comedy, The Catchers, Edwyn Collins, The Frank and Walters, and A House.M. G. Leonard is a writer of books, poems and screenplays. She has a first-class honours degree in English literature and an MA in Shakespeare Studies from Kings College London. She works as a freelance Digital Media Producer for clients such as the National Theatre, and Harry Potter West End, and previously worked as a Senior Digital Producer at the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe. She spent her early career in the music industry running Setanta Records, an independent record label, and managing bands, most notably The Divine Comedy. After leaving the music industry, she trained as an actor, dabbling in directing and producing as well as performing, before deciding to write her stories down. Maya lives in Brighton with her husband and two sons. 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. Once again, woven into the mystery are the descriptions of the country they are travelling through and I always look forward to reading these as they really help to set the scene for me. As ever, Hal's illustrations prove pivotal to the investigations and I always love to spend time studying the detail in each one. Hat's off to Elisa Paganelli for these - they make the best accompaniment to the story; as does the map at the beginning. I do love a book map. Alex O'Connell, The Times The latest thrilling instalment of the Adventures on Trains series finds Hal and Uncle Nat on the night train to the Arctic Circle - with a sinister figure pursuing the stunning locomotive.