[LISTENED TO: December 2012] It Happened on a Train
After the raging success of Brixton Brothers Books 1 and 2 we were thrilled to get to Book 3.
Twelve-year old Steve Brixton has given up on being a detective. His hero, the author of the Bailey Brothers mysteries has proven to be a thief and a liar and he wants nothing to do with the man anymore. So he has bundled all of his Bailey Brothers books–his favorite books in the world–and put them in the trash.
His chum, Dana, is not that upset about the closing of the agency, especially since he has now been dating a girl named Dana (“other Dana” as Steve calls her). Other Dana has gotten Dana into a book series about wizards and dragons which Steve simply cannot believe.
This 3rd novel proves to adhere well to the title–it does all happen on a train. Well, most of it anyhow. The boys have been invited to the Model U.N. meeting in San Diego. After last book’s fake debate club ruse, Steve’s mother is very suspicious of the Model U.N., especially since no one has ever heard of it. [It turns out that my school had a model U.N., but most of us had no idea what they did either–imagine my surprise to see that very organization appear in an episode of Community!] The story checks out and Rick (jerk) takes this as an opportunity to bond with Stevie Brix (what, you don’t get it) by tagging along for the nine-hour train ride.
Before the train ride gets underway, Steve is approached by a surfer dude who is looking for help. Steve hears the man’s case but tells him that he has retired (a recurring joke). It took us a while to get to the end of the story and we had all but completely forgotten about this plot point by the time we got to the end.
Anyhow, on the train, Steve winds up talking to a girl, Claire, whose uncle is a private detective. The girl is nice but thinks it doesn’t make sense that 12-year-old Steve is retired. Steve is annoyed by her, and has mixed feelings about her. But he sees that she has left her book behind, so he finds her to give it back. But she is nowhere to be seen.
Steve, ever observant, noticed that the final car of the train looked different from the others. When he went to go into the car, the conductor told him there was no way in–it was a freight car. But that proves false. Especially when Steve and Dana are discovered by investigating the car by a man with a huge scar. They are brought inside the car.
The car belongs to the Vanderdraaks, a wealthy couple who love riding by train. They have their own car with a ton of amenities–personal chef, sauna, luxurious furniture (the only way to travel, thinks Steve who was quite disappointed by coach). Mr Vanderdraak is also a car collector. He has some of the rarest cars in the world, including a version of the very car that the Bailey Brothers drove in their books. But the problem is that someone keeps stealing them from him. So he hired a detective (Claire’s uncle) to watch the latest car which they are transporting via train. When Vanderdraak realizes who Steve is (he read about him in the paper), he asks Steve to help with the case.
But how could someone steal a car from a train? An easy case right? Until Steve is trapped in a sauna and then gets into a fight on the top of the (moving) train (which the Bailey Brothers said would be inevitable). Steve thinks he has the case figured out (and Claire is not going to like the answer) until he finds himself in the back of the car as it is being stolen.
In true Brixton Brothers style, once the car moves off the train, the double crosses fly as fast as a haymaker. But this time, Steve has two helpers–Dana, who, despite his best intentions is really quite good at sleuthing and Claire, who has learned a thing or two from her uncle. The ending is super exciting. It is also very funny, especially when Rick discovers what they’ve been up to.
Another nice feature of the book is that the end of each book mentions the next book (even though it hasn’t been published yet) so you know what’s coming next. We’re pretty excited to hear Book 4, although it has not yet been released in audio form yet. Speaking of audio, Arte Johnson is once again awesome as the narrator–he really has the thug voice down perfectly.
When I found the print books in the library I saw that there are some great illustrations in the books and I suspect I’ll want to read them myself sometime in 2013, just for the joy of seeing this stuff in print. (Mac Barnett, you rule!)
A funny note: whenever Steve makes a list of suspects, he includes Rick, with the motive: Jerk. So Tabitha, our five-year old, has been getting big laughs from us by saying “Rick…jerk.” The other day a policeman stopped by our house (long story) and when he said his name was Rick, Tabitha said, “Rick and then started giggling.” Close call there. Close call.
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