We are on an elegant steam train roaring through wild snow flurries, where a crime has occurred. But no, fortunately no murder. And no, the train isn’t on its way from Istanbul to Calais either, and it’s not investigating a little mustachioed Belgian named Hercule Poirot either. However, it is obvious that Hannah Peck, the English author of the children’s book “A Case for Kate”, was inspired by Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express”. However, apart from the setting and the fact that a crime has to be solved, there are several deviations from the original. The most important: It is not a private detective who is investigating, but a prospective journalist and a rodent who are investigating.
Kate, her talking mouse Rupert and Kate’s father are on their way to the Arctic. They want to visit Kate’s mother, a famous polar explorer who is “on the verge of making an insanely exciting discovery about algae.” A number of strange characters travel with them: for example, the gaunt Madame Maude and her grumpy cat Master Mimkins, the friendly but clearly overwhelmed conductor Simon, or the two twins with the red pigtails, Zoe and Chloe. When the trophies of Miss Bonbon, the “beguiling queen of bars and parallel bars”, disappear and immediately afterwards the beloved ginger biscuits of the conductor Simon, Kate makes a decision. She wants to do the same as her great role model, the famous reporter Catherine Rodriguez, and clarify the case together with Rupert. The fact that the valuable scrolls of a Russian priest disappear shortly afterwards only makes things even more mysterious.
The conclusion towards the end of the novel is as fantastically whimsical as a book about a steam train bound for a pink arctic destination should be. The novel is announced by the publisher as a detective story – and of course the ingredients for one are there. But the focus is clearly on the humorous narrative style, the weird, crazy characters and the completely unpredictable twists and turns. It is therefore difficult to puzzle out who the perpetrator is. Nevertheless, eight-year-olds will enjoy the novel – also because of the illustrations. These also come from Hannah Peck and bring the completely exaggerated characters of the text to paper with successful pen strokes. (from 8 years)