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!

Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and The Secret of the Grande Chateau

This is a book that I saw posted by someone on Facebook. The cover is extremely reminiscent of the old Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys book covers from back in the day, and even the title hearkens back to the children's mystery series books of yester-year. The book was highly recommended, so even though it appears to be a one-off and not the part of any real series, I thought I'd give it a try. When I actually got the book from Amazon.com, the synopsis on the back of the book pretty much told me that I was in for a weird ride with this book - I mean, let's face it, any time the author of a book talks directly to you and says that "[t]his book is about two idio wannabe detective-types" and their friend who is "a wannabe detective-type too, but honestly, she's less of an idiot than the brothers," you know something is up!

Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and The Secret of the Grande Chateau is toted as The First Official Novel from Game Grumps.  Now, I'll be the first to admit. I have no idea what Game Grumps is, having never heard of it before in my life. Thanks to the handy-dandy thing called the internet, I found their website and discovered that Game Grumps is a comedy gaming show with its own YouTube channel, as well as a game publisher and touring act.  They sell quite a bit of "nerd" type items on their website, include t-shirts, hats, socks, tote-bags, stickers, etc. related to their brand.  And, this book does appear to be the first and only prose novel published by the company (they do have a graphic novel that they have published, but it is unrelated to the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club).

That being said, the first thing we can get out of the way is the bit about the author - Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills. While the book is shown to be authored by Dr. Mills, and the back of the book even features of a picture of the supposed Dr. Mills, it is quite obvious that Dr. Mills does not exist.  He is little more than a pen name (sort of like Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon, so really, there's nothing for people to get upset about - except, for maybe, the fact that CK and FWD never interrupted their stories to insert their own thoughts and comments about the characters, nor did the characters actually contact the authors within the context of their own mysteries!) and is just as much a "character" in this book as the members of the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club.  It may be a bit unusual, but for me, this added to the enjoyment of the story and made it that much quirkier.

Now, as for the story itself - author Arin Hanson ... er, I mean, Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills ... actually provides an intriguing whodunnit that is not so easily solved. The reader, along with brothers J.J. and Valentine Watts (are they really brothers?  that is a question throughout the entire mystery, and although never outright answered, there are some hints about it) and their newfound friend, Trudi de la Rosa, must figure out the clues that will not only lead them to the identity of the killer, but also to a long-lost treasure hidden somewhere on the grounds of the Grande Chateau!   Now, J.J. and Valentine, who are the self-proclaimed "finest brother detectives and private investigators" of their hometown Harborville, are called up to the Grande Chateau to solve a mystery by the mysterious author, Wallace P. Gross.  He has spent three years at the Chateau trying to write his latest novel (which is well overdue!), but he has been bothered by a ghost - someone, or something, that has been watching him. But he has finally put together the clues of who is trying to steal his manuscript - and that is when his head is blown away right in front of the boys! (No, literally - someone shoots Mr. Gross, and his head explodes!)

Definitely a dark and bloody way to start a mystery, but hey - no one said murder was pretty.  The brothers manage to talk their way into a free stay at the hotel while they solve not only the mystery of who killed Wallace P. Gross, but what happened to the manuscript he is alleged to have been writing, and what secrets did it hold regarding the treasure at the Grande Chateau?  Could it have been his ex-wife, who was strangely staying at the hotel as well?  Or was it Gross's agent, who doesn't seem overly broken up over his client's untimely death? Or was it the ghost of the man who built the hotel, the one who hid his treasure within the Chateau, leaving cryptic clues to its location?  With the aide of the front desk clerk, Trudi, the boys begin to investigate, and soon enough they tick off the hotel manager, the ex-wife, the agent, and Police Deputy Park (who is used to being ticked off by these boys, who have bungled more mysteries in Harborville than any police officer ever could!), as well as pretty much everyone else stuck in the hotel.  And yes, I said, "stuck," because as luck would have it, a heavy snowstorm has stranded everyone in the hotel - with a killer on the loose!

Tons of red herrings, a lot of fun puzzles to solve, an underground catacomb of tunnels, a kidnapping, a firing, and more than plenty of squabbling along the way leads to a rather exciting conclusion with the surprising revelations regarding the killer and the treasure!  The book truly is a joy to read, and the internal illustrations by Rachel L. Allen give the reader the sense of reading a children's mystery from days gone by.  It's a shame that this is just a one-off venture by the Game Grumps gang - perhaps if the book sells well enough, they will delve into the world of the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club again!

Highly recommended for anyone who loves mystery, adventure, and fun reading!!!

RATING:  10 dumb fedoras stolen from the lost-and-found out of 10 for mystery, murder, and bumbling detectives that manage to get the job done in a way that's truly enjoyable to read!