Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and The Express Train to Nowhere (Book 2)

When I first read Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Secret of the Grande Chateau, I had a small hope in the back of my mind that this would make a fun series; but, being a parody as it is, I didn't really expect to ever see any more GHAC books by Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills.  I figured that the one fun romp of adventure with J.J. and Valentine Watts (are they really brothers?) and their mystery-solving partner, Trudi de la Rosa was going to be it.  So, color me surprised when I was scrolling through Amazon and came across this second book starring the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club!  It was quite literally a dream come true!  With another beautifully painted '50s-style cover by Paul Mann, this time showcasing J.J., Valentine, and Trudi staring right at the reader, this was an instant buy for me - as well as an instant read!  Usually I try to read the books in the order I buy them, but for this one, I just couldn't wait.

Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Express Train to Nowhere follows the format of the first book, in that Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills introduces the story and the characters (much as Alfred Hitchcock did back in the early Three Investigators books).  Of course, Mills reminds readers that he is only in this for the money, and that the success of the first book prompted this second book for young adults, a genre he clearly does not like (particularly since he considers J.J., Valentine, and Trudi to be complete and utter idiots - but wait!  Isn't he writing them?  So, if he's calling them idiots, then why doesn't he simply write them a different way?  Or is it, perhaps, that they are not really idiots, and he's just trying to cover up the fact that he has created some wonderfully lovable characters that readers enjoy?  Or, just maybe, it's a simply attempt at humor, poking fun at his own breaking of the fourth wall in this book....)  In any event, he finally shuts up and allows this second adventure to begin!

The story picks up not long after the events in the first book.  Trudi is an official members of the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club, and J.J. has set up the Club's First Inaugural Leadership Summit!  As luck would have it, he managed to snag three tickets on the Harborville Express, headed to New Troutstead.  He has plenty of projects, assignments, and team-building exercised planned for the three of them, to better their skills as detectives and as a team.  But, as with any good mystery, fate has other plans.  Soon enough, Siobhan Sweeney, the boy's sworn nemesis, shows up at the door of their train cabin, throwing Valentine completely off-balance.  Then they discover she is working as security for a museum curator who is transporting a priceless ruby jewels to another museum.  Only to find out the jewels are on loan from a small country of which no one has ever heard.  Which turns out to to in very bad relations with a neighboring country who claims the jewels are rightfully theirs.  And thrown into the mix is the local baseball team enjoying a ride on the train, as well as a group of train nerds enthralled with the Harborville Express!  And when the necklace disappears during a short trip through a dark tunnel, the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club is on the - - well, they would be, if Inspector Sandor Horvath didn't happen to also be on the train and take over the investigation.

It's definitely another kooky mystery, which, quite frankly, might even stymie the most die-hard Christie or Doyle fans!  J.J., Valentine, and Trudi are positive Siobhan stole the jewels with the help of her quiet but loyal partner, Luther.  But the Inspector is haphazardly making his way through the suspects (he might as well be named Inspector Clouseau - and if you don't know who that is, then go google it - I'm not telling you!), and the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club happen to be in his sights.  The next thing you know, the train ends up broken down in the middle of Nowhere - and no, I did not capitalize that word by mistake - that's the name of the abandoned town where the train happens to get stuck (hence, the name of the book!).  And it's there that all the craziness really begins, as we soon learn that half the people on the train are not who we thought they were, and our intrepid sleuths finds themselves in one danger after another - from collapsing buildings, to booby-trapped caves, to train-roof chases, to burning train cars - you name it, these kids face it!

I think this book features more self-awareness than the first one, particularly since "Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills" happens to be writing this very book on the same train that the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club are on!  Trudi confronts the author with questions, while Valentine does not have time to deal with him when he happens upon his creator.  And Mill's decision to kill off one of the major characters in the book takes a surprising twist at the end (and even leads you to wonder how in the world the book was able to come to such a satisfying conclusion after the death occurs!).  I just hope that Mills' statement in the epilogue that this is the very last Ghost Hunters Adventure Club book is a misdirection, as I want - no, I DEMAND - to see these characters return and solve more mysteries, catch more criminals, and have many more adventures for me to follow.  J.J., Valentine, and Trudi are just way too much fun to be put away and fade into obscurity.

So, I will keep my eye on Amazon and keep my fingers, toes, and eyes crossed that book 3 will eventually appear...

RATING:  9 existential fights at The Whistle Stop out of 10 for offering up a parody series like no other, that combines Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and the Three Investigators with the humor of John Byrne's She-Hulk and Marvel's Deadpool films!