Kidnap on the California Comet – M. G. Leonard, Sam Sedgman Free Audiobook

Written by M. G. Leonard, Sam Sedgman
Read by Jot Davies, M. G. Leonard
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Adventures on Trains Series, Book 2
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release date: February 23, 2021
Duration: 06:49:12

In this second audiobook 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.

Gr 5 Up-Hal Beck returns for another rollicking train adventure, this time set in the United States. Hal’s uncle Nat has been asked to travel across America on the California Comet in order to cover an important press conference held by entrepreneur August Reza. Hal and Uncle Nat encounter a curious cast of characters as they board and travel the Comet. There’s Uncle Nat’s charming rival, Zola D’Ormond; August Reza and his equally eccentric daughter, Marianne; the mimic Mason and his younger sister Hadley; and shy Ryan with his boisterous, sports-obsessed father Gene. The plot kicks into high gear when Marianne is kidnapped. Can amateur detective Hal solve the mystery before they reach the end of the line? This smartly woven story is complex enough to capture the interest of young adults but written with approachable language suitable for a middle grade audience. The mystery is crafted in the vein of an Agatha Christie novel, with clues laid out for readers so they may solve the caper before detective Hal figures it out. VERDICT A suspenseful mystery ideal for readers transitioning from middle grade to young adult titles.