It Happened on a Train Quarterback Season Glamour Dragon's Oath Riddles and Danger Under His Spell My Boyfriend Bites Cleared for Takeoff The Full Moon The Lost Heiress The Hidden Coronet The Margrave The Flight of Dragons Mallory's Super Sleepover The Meaning of Life...and Other Stuff Passion The Road's End Watch Wolf Phoenix The Case of the Missing Moose Power Play Cryptic Cravings Spaceheadz Twisted Horrid Henry Wakes the Dead The Craving Sammy Keyes and the Night of Skulls No Such Thing as Ghosts Rogue

Steve Brixton has sworn off detecting. His best friend (and trusty sidekick) Dana has a girlfriend, leaving Steve out in the cold. Steve and Dana get lured back into the biz by a mysterious millionaire with a private train compartment and a love of classic automobiles. Rex's black-and-white illustrations heighten exciting moments in the entertaining story.

This is as much an adventure story as a detective story. Steve and his friends don’t just put clues together; they face many exciting and dangerous situations—involving stowaways, kidnapping, and explosions. Mac Barnett works humor into every possible facet of the novel. The characters, the plot, the dialogue—as well as many throwaway gags—will keep readers laughing: “The goon was standing . . . by the driver-side door. Steve could tell he was a goon right away because he was wearing a stocking over his face. That was pretty much standard-issue goon wear.” Claire is a welcome addition to the cast. Her intelligence and resourcefulness come in handy as she (unlike the reluctant Dana) eagerly helps Steve with his sleuthing. While Claire and Steve’s budding romance is endearing, their crime-fighting partnership is even more compelling. Adam Rex’s droll illustrations, and the inexact captions that accompany them, effectively mimic those found in the Hardy Boys—the series that the Brixton Brothers parodies.