The Highland Falcon Thief by MG Leonard and Sam Sedgman

The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is such a lot of fun. I went into The Highland Falcon Thief thinking well, I am ancient and absolutely have no interest whatsoever in trains, and I came out and realised that I loved it. There is a scene, for example, where they fill up the train with water (this is a thing!) and it is pretty much one of the best scenes I have read for a long while. It’s breathless, visceral and genuinely good storytelling – and one that actually made me look up steam-trains on Youtube for the first time in ever.

Harrison Beck has been invited to join his Uncle Nat on the final journey of the royal steam-train: The Highland Falcon. Things go awry, as they do in all stories, and suddenly Harrison finds himself making friends and investigating the mystery of the Highland Falcon Thief. Told by MG Leonard and Sam Sedgman, this is such a vibrant and well-crafted story and one that gives you an incredibly rich mystery/adventure in the process. Mystventure? Forgive me, I am fond of tenuous portmanteaux.

Evocative of Robin Stephens’ delicious mysteries, with a side-order of Agatha Christie – and a little bit of Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure – the Highland Falcon Thief is the perfect title for confident, independent readers. If they’re not, then it’s perfect for a bedtime read as well but be warned – you’ll have to deal with a fair few ‘just one more chapter’ requests. And, I suspect, not all of these requests will come from the child…

Vibrant, fun and just really really good storytelling, this is one of the best books I’ve read for a while. I loved it.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

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