A review by booksare42
Murder on the Safari Star by M.G. Leonard, Sam Sedgman

5.0

 What an absolutely fantastic middle-grade mystery adventure! This was my first five star read of the year and this book is definitely going to play a starring role in my year-end wrap-ups this year. 

In Murder on the Safari Star, Hal and Uncle Nat are taking the Safari Star from Pretoria to Victoria Falls. Hal, who is still buzzing from his crime solving on The Highland Falcon and the California Comet, is secretly hoping there will be a crime for him to solve. When he sees the owner of the train acting suspiciously, he’s convinced that something nefarious is going on on the Safari Star and he’s determined to figure it out. Later on in the journey, when a passenger is found dead in their locked compartment, Hal is even more determined to figure out what’s going on. 

Hal is such a fantastic character. I love how his enthusiasm and knowledge of trains has grown throughout the series. Even though he has some mature moments, especially when solving crimes, he also has a lot of impulsive moments that remind the reader that he’s twelve. I love how he’s grown throughout the series and how he’s getting better at knowing when he should get Uncle Nat, or another adult, involved with his crime solving. I also enjoyed reading about Uncle Nat in this series, I thought he did a good job balancing the role of responsible adult while also trusting Hal. 

As far as the side characters go, Murder on the Safari Star did not disappoint. All of the Adventures on Trains books have had an interesting assortment of passengers on them who all had moments that made them a bit suspicious. The characters that stood out the most to me were Winston, Chipo, and Mr. Crosby. Winston and Chipo (a mongoose) helped Hal solve the crime. I thought they made a great team and I loved how Winston taught Hal about wildlife and conservation along the way. Chipo is currently the front runner for the best animal character of the year and I especially loved the illustrations that she was in. Mr. Crosby was a thoroughly unlikable character, he was loud, rude, and obnoxious and he caused a lot of drama on the Safari Star. There were also some fantastic female characters in this book and I loved the moment at the end where some of them came together with a business plan. 

The mystery aspect of Murder on the Safari Star did not disappoint. There were quite a few twists and turns that kept me on my toes. Lots of characters had motive and I loved the interview process after the murder took place. While I was able to piece parts of the mystery together, there were some aspects that left me guessing until the very end. 

The other thing I want to talk about is wildlife and conservation. This book had some fantastic messages about conservation, protecting endangered species, and poaching. There was a lot of talk about the black horn rhino and how critically endangered it is. I love it when middle-grade books have important messages like this because it gets kids aware and they can learn a ton. 

I also want to mention how much I love the illustrations in this book. Elisa Paganelli is a fantastic illustrator and her artwork made the story come to life. I love seeing Hal’s drawings on the page and it’s one of the many things that make this series standout. 

Overall, this was a fantastic read and I cannot wait to see what Hal and Uncle Nat get up to next.