This was cute and truly laugh out loud funny at times, though the story sometimes suffers as a result of that.

While overall I liked the snappy dialogue and humor of this, the plot tends to take a backseat to it, and that leaves the book feeling a bit messy when it doesn’t need to be. Additionally as an adult reader, I felt the humor occasionally careened into something a bit too try hard and vaguely obnoxious. My kids, however, seemed wholly entertained by that component of the book though, so perhaps the tone is less of an issue for the younger (and presumably target) audience.

I also thought the play along at home aspect of this was pretty good, using a puzzle/riddle interactive element very effectively which isn’t usually all that successful when deployed in books for this demographic.

I enjoyed this book a lot with its very particular humour and vibe in general, I love that youtubers can effectively branch out to things that are unique in their own way

An absolutely fun and campy time. This was exactly the self-aware mystery I was hoping for. I can’t wait to continue in the series.

Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills has done it again. The Ghost Hunters Adventure Club is full of adventure, mystery, satire, and an ongoing meta narrative that is inventive and yet reminiscent of authors like Lemony Snickett. Being a fan of Agatha Christie, this train mystery was right up my alley of fun reads. It’s a great way to do a mystery book with a bit of comedy intertwined. I loved it and it’s fun twists and turns!

Honestly my new favorite mystery comedy series, the level of fourth wall bending and incorperation of it into the story narative is my favorite thing. Had me laughing everytime the "engineer" was involved, she was probably my favorite character of this edition. Great suspence, and definately kept me on my toes with each plot twist and turn. Look forward to more adventures with the GHAC!

This book, just amazing. Loved it. I don’t know if Cecil is going to continue but by god I hope he does. You just can’t stop genius. 10/10 #teamcecilhhmills for life

I wanted to like this book so much, I really did! I love the cover, I love the description, I love the nostalgic throwback. I just really struggled to get into the book. There were some fantastic, witty parts that I really enjoyed and some action that was fun, but also some parts where I felt like we were meandering through the storey far more than I liked.

I did enjoy the characters in the story and how they meshed together. There were some fun twists I wasn't anticipating that kept me reading, even though I wasn't 100% all in.

Overall, I felt kind meh about the book. There was definitely some fun but it was just not enough to truly hook me.

Cecil H.H. Mills' Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Express Train to Nowhere is a delightful mystery novel.

Another fun entry in this series that takes the Three Investigators and brings them into the 21st century. Love the cover art and illustrations, banter between the main characters and the fun mystery at hand.

A lot to enjoy for all ages, this one gets 4 stars.

This is a bit of tongue-and-cheek and homage to teenage detective series like The Three Investigators, Nancy Drew and Scooby Doo. It is clever and fun. Both younger and older readers can enjoy it. Though, younger readers probably won’t recognize some of the devices the “author” uses such as addressing the reader in the story at times.

A decent story in and of itself. I like the characters, the setting and the mystery. But I definitely had added enjoyment because of the extras. A bit like find “easter eggs” in games.

Enjoy. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I’ll start this review off with this. To be given the delightful opportunity of following the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club members Trudi de la Rosa, J.J. Watts. and Valentine Watts is a treat and one I appreciate. Now onto the review.
I really enjoyed the second book, a definite step up from the previous installment. Maybe I just wasn’t paying full attention or I suck at murder mysteries, or both but the reveal of the mastermind was a bit too out of left field for me to catch. However the characters and fourth wall breakings were enough to carry it all the way to the finish line. While I might have given that one a 3.5/5? I’d definitely give this a 5/5. I had a great time, from start to finish. It was a rollercoaster and I was enthralled the entire time.
Dr. Cecil H.H. Mills’ unique writing style and personality comes forth and is even stronger as he’s more comfortable with this world and the characters he’s conjured up, although I’m sure he’d give me a verbal lecture about how these characters are idiots. Whereas in the last book I’d consider the asides and character interacting with Cecil himself to be fourth wall breaks, this time it’s fourth wall obliteration and it’s glorious to see, set up from the first few pages.
Every new character introduced in the novel is a good addition. Two in particular are a delight and more than make up for the loss of Deputy Park who I wonder what he would have brought to the interactions but his replacement is just as good….anyway I….hang on, there’s someone outside my house, at the edge of the woods. He’s holding….something, metal I think from the gleam. I’ll be back, I’m going to see just what the heck is going on around here.

To say I was stoked to get an advanced copy of the new Ghosthunters Adventure Club, is an understatement. These stories are undeniably fun. The language is ego driven and oozes fun. You can literally hear Arin Hanson in the back of your head if you're a Game Grumps fan. If you're not, then you're in for a Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew readalike that has a bit more of a snarky undertone.

It's an updated take on the genre and very fun

Like the first book, the second Ghost Hunters Adventure Club was a fun read! As a fan of Game Grumps & Arin Hanson, I was eager to read the book. However, I was pleased that the book was a good read in and of itself. I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't keep the tempo from the first book, but that wasn't the case. The mystery to solve is a bit different, but the fun writing is still there. I found myself reading some of the book in Dr. Cecil's voice, making it even more fun.
I'm glad that I can say that I genuinely enjoyed this book. It satisfied my mystery tinge without being overly dramatic or deep like older adult mystery books. If you're looking for a lighthearted but fun read, do give this book a shot. You don't need to read the first one to understand what is going on, but you might want to because it gives some background on the characters, and that is also a good read.

3.75 stars

At first I was going to start with the "eh"s, but I decided upon finishing this book that I want to sandwich the "eh"s between some good. So instead, I want to start with clarifying that although this is a YA mystery, and maybe you'll be bored or skin at times, and maybe you'll roll your eyes, it's so much more than that if you give it a chance.

Now onto the "eh"s. There were some formatting issues on my Kindle, especially when it came to the song and, for some reason, the last 25% of the novel. There were also some awkward sentences - for example, "which one of these are ours?" and "a phrase got caught in Trudi's ear." As well as instances like "secondclass" then "first class" in the same sentence. Generally a few similar typos. These all interrupted my immersion, but I understand this is an ARC and they are simple fixes that should be smoothed over moving forward.
Similarly, there was also a bit of repetition. It can help keep readers consistent on what's happening, but reminding us that they're handcuffed to each other three or four times in the same amount of pages is a bit excessive.
For the majority of the book, there seemed to be a lack of teamwork and planning within the club. But by the end they were working together which felt like a great and endearing payoff. Even when working mostly independently, each character does bring their own strengths and weaknesses so "teamwork" works in that way.
Okay, officially onto the positives! I love the humour - Dr. Cecil really makes you feel like you're specially invited along for the ride. Interestingly enough, acknowledging the limits of a YA mystery and the very illegal actions of its protagonists helped immerse me more, perhaps because I was prepped to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the journey - for example, a licensed (?) inspector allows a group of teenagers to help him. Maybe also because Dr. Cecil's insults to his own work lowered the expectations. And - it's hard to explain - there were serious moments sprinkled throughout the book, and the lighthearted nature of the majority of the story really made those moments more spine-tingly. There were also a couple of plot twists I was surprised to see, despite it being a mystery, since it was quite lighthearted. It's written for the current generation, with its particular slang phrases and pop culture references as well as a - even if you have to squint to see it sometimes - message about destiny and change. I did not read the first one (but of course, now I want to) and this one worked well, with references to the first that were explained so I wasn't lost.

Overall, I think if you have a sense of humour, like YA fiction, and are willing to suspend some belief, you'll get to enjoy a unique, lovable, somewhat cheesy, and satirically self-aware ethical meta-mystery with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Game Grumps for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This new addition to the Ghost Hunters Series is not just the same story that has been reskinned as a sequel, as I’ve seen is common in young adult mystery series. Instead, the Express Train to Nowhere keeps the same style of narrative, comedy, and sense of mystery as the first book, but with a completely different conundrum to solve. Where the first novel focuses on puzzle solving, this new addition focuses on a more classic who-dunnit mystery, and shows more about the characters that we came to know and love in the first book. Overall, it is a great sequel and a great novel.

For those of us who grew up reading Nancy Drew or the Hardy boys, the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club is a romp right back into that world. If I had had the time to sit down and read this all in one setting, I absolutely would have. The characters are utterly charming and mysterious enough to keep you interested. The mystery is clever and eventful, with all the twists and turns a good mystery needs. I really enjoy Dr. Mills inserting himself into the stories it brings a lighthearted fun to the narrator,, which can often be stuffy and boring. I would highly recommend reading the previous book, but it is not necessary to enjoy this one. Well done Dr. Cecil H. H. Mills!

I received an advance copy of this book at no charge in exchange for an honest review.

The TL;DR: Good book. Needs a little work, but would recommend. Now, onto the real review:

As always, I'll start with the good.

The book has incredible little gems of humor that made me chuckle out loud. These are frequent and often appear as one-liners rather than paragraphs of dialogue (which I'll cover later.) The author clearly knows how to be funny and always punches up, never down. This is so relieving to see in a world where humor often attacks those who can't defend themselves, or uses cliches to grab a laugh.

The humor is also effortless. The lines that hit the mark do so without trying, and some of the metaphors are really clever, as well.

I think the book hits its stride around chapter 7, where things become interesting and the mystery becomes purposely convoluted. I like the muddying of the waters. A good mystery should have a few red herrings and pointless detours to get the reader thinking. That's why readers love mysteries, after all! If there's nothing to think about or no logical way to solve the case, you have Danganronpa. And no one wants that.

Except Danganronpa fans, I guess.

My favorite part, though, is the fourth wall breaking. I always love cartoons where the character wanders out of the story and gets into an argument with the animator, and it works well in books, too. Minor spoiler here, but I thought it was especially funny when Trudi wandered into the doctor's train car, he mentioned that he'd do his best to describe the engine, and then the entirety of the description of the engine was "it looked exactly how you'd expect an engine compartment to look." And then the following footnote later, which simply read "correct," also made me laugh.

The sections where the actual narrator/author supplies meta to the story are actually the best, and give the narrative an almost Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy feel. I wish the entire book would have been written like this, rather than (as I'll cover later) switching between character points of view. When purposely writing an omniscient narrator, the author does very well, and achieves the tongue-in-cheek tone of the story. I think this could have been used to great effect had the narrator taken the reigns throughout the story, and delved into different characters' motivations individually with each chapter.

I loved the fact that the author was part of this story, and I won't say more to keep this review mostly spoiler free. But whether this book was humor or not, the message was clear, and I hope to be able to talk about it with other readers at some point.

Anyway, I get it now, and while I personally wasn't a fan of the marketing for my own reasons, I understand why Cecil has to be both the author and a character.

Now for the not-so-good.

There are severe formatting issues with the ebook version. This could be a problem with the website distributing the review copy, though, but it's something to look into. The initial caps always appear two lines above the first paragraph, for example, and after 5 or 6 paragraphs, the paragraphs all just jam together, making the story difficult to read.

The author should look out for redundancies or unnecessary word use. It's important to look for places where words can be cut while still conveying the same idea. This isn't just to keep word count in check, it's also to help the narrative flow better, and sometimes adding extra words can dull the point that's trying to be made.

For example, in the first chapter: "The three crashed to the floor of the train compartment they were now safely aboard." This would have been a more powerful statement had the last modifier (they were now safely aboard) been cut. It's already understood that they're aboard the train; "The three crashed to the floor of the train compartment" provides a more interesting punch of emotion to the reader.

Similarly, word choices should be examined to make sure they work with chosen sentence structure. Some choices are awkward, and some are used too often. "Big ticket" words like "compatriot" should be used very infrequently, as they take a reader out of the story, diverting their thoughts to their prior encounters with that word. In the case of "compatriot," it's used multiple times in the same chapter.

I do love the humor of the narrative, and it often succeeds. But it's important to watch that it doesn't become too excessive or overwhelm the story. Subtlety is always best, and sometimes the long, humorous monologues (Generally a trait of J.J.) become a little grating. The dialogue becomes unnatural and stilted at times, which, again, pulls the reader out of the story.

To be clear, monologues are okay, but they should be used to punctuate important parts of the narrative. Even though they seem to be one of J.J.'s defining traits, I don't think it works as well as the author might have hoped. After writing a section like this, it might help to read the entire thing out loud. If it seems unnatural to speak, it's going to seem unnatural to the reader.

Cutting down on the monologuing can also reduce the risk of your readers skimming the text and missing something. Having your beta readers tell you when they're tempted to skim can really help eliminate the worst of these moments.

Lastly, I'd like to cover a few major structural issues. Addressing these things specifically, even if everything above is left alone, will make for an infinitely better third book in the series. If you take nothing else from this review, please consider the following:

The entire early plot of this book hinges on a plot device called "Could Have Avoided This." In short, this means that in order to advance the plot, the author has taken away some of the characters' agency. Readers want to see their characters take an active interest in their lives, and they can tell when this ability is stripped from them. When in doubt, remember: Your characters should be directing change; change should not be directing your characters.

(With a few exceptions. But those don't relate to this plot.)

In the case of Express Train to Nowhere, the excuse used to stop characters from having agency is the phrase "modern social politics." This is sort of a nebulous catch-all to excuse why a character won't do something. As a reader, though, I found this off-putting; with every interaction the characters had with Siobhan, I just wanted the characters to tell her "no," which, unfortunately, would have brought a quick end to the plot.

If the reader can see an incredibly simple way out of a situation and your characters aren't doing that thing, it's time to look at potentially re-writing that segment of plot.

Not much would have had to change with the actual story, but giving the characters specific motivation to be around Siobhan and at the scene of the crime (other than social politics) would have driven the story much more naturally. Having Trudi somehow be a fan of Siobhan's singing may have worked. Having J.J.'s curiosity over the jewel case overwhelm what good sense he had may have worked. Using Valentine's fear of Siobhan to force them together did not work, and robbed Valentine of his agency.

It also may have worked better for Siobhan to be less passive. A good villain makes a good story. Bribery is a great plot device. So is blackmail. If Valentine is afraid of her, he might have done anything to rid himself of her lurking, and she clearly knows this. Utilizing her power over him in more direct ways would have made the inciting incident of the jewel theft more interesting.

The passivity of both sides caused a huge missed opportunity for a humorous situation or two. Characters want to be active! Let them be active!

Second--and most critical--the characters' voices could have been much stronger had the author stuck to one point of view per chapter. In chapter 6 alone, the POV switched among J.J., Valentine, and Trudi several times over, which made it hard to get to know them.

This could have even been achieved with an omniscient narrator. Although challenging, I think this book might have been right for it.

Anyway. Challenging yourself to remain in a single point of view creates a richer story, where characters may become frustrated that they don't know things. It means characters must share information with each other for the reader to know it. When a story switches between POVs whenever it's convenient, it robs the reader of some of the tension and drama. It's always okay to do this between chapters as the reader's mind resets and they are open to a change in POV, but changing the primary character between paragraphs can be confusing and frustrating.

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In summary: the book is good, but it needs some work. The general structure is there, and putting in more effort can make the story shine. (I know, I say "more effort" when I'm probably looking at AT LEAST a tenth draft here. Writing is hard.) I also know the temptation to read all the five star reviews and brush this one off is probably pretty strong right about now, but I hope you at least keep what I've said in mind. I'll be anticipating the next book so I can see if you have.

I do understand what this book is trying to achieve. It's clearly parody, and not meant to take itself seriously. It's reminiscent of kids' mystery novels from the 1970's and 80's, and it's a fun trip down nostalgia lane. The plot is fun. It has a unique, humorous voice. But we're all always improving, and I hope at least part of this review is helpful.

One more neutral observation I have is that I don't know if I'd classify this book as a combination of mystery/thriller and YA, because the book is missing important elements that would qualify it as "young adult." The genre would be better described as humor first, then mystery/thriller. Yes, even if the characters are young adults. This just isn't the right format for that genre.

This review is more critical than I hoped it would be. I originally intended for it to be less so, and almost thought to post a review along the lines of "It's good. Read it." But after all the cheering up the Grumps have done for me over the past couple years, I feel like I owed it to them to offer the honest review I promised in hopes that I could return the favor.

'Til next time.

I have to say it was the cover of Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Express Train to Nowhere that first caught my attention. It reminded me of the covers of old Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and The Happy Hollisters books. (Yes, I am really showing my age, lol.) And then I read the book blurb, in which the heroes of the book are described as “three idiot wannabe detectives” and instantly knew I was all. I honestly don’t know what genre this book should fall into, perhaps mystery satire would fit best, but I can tell you the book is really fun. I will say the description of the three heroes as idiot wannabes isn’t completely accurate, as the female member of the group, Trudi, is actually quite smart. While the story mostly revolves around the members of the adventure club being setup to take the fall for a crime that occurs onboard the train, the story is interrupted on a number of occasions by the author…who is a character in the story…actually he’s on the train writing the very adventure that you’re reading about…and he has no compunction about frequently breaking the 4th wall and talking directly to the reader, telling us of his reasons for writing these books (money) or of telling the characters in the book that they are in fact characters in a book. Very meta and very funny. I don’t know if this will appeal to more traditional mystery readers, but I thought it was a blast and look forward to more adventures. Thanks so much to Permuted Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Ghost Hunters Adventure Club and the Express Train to Nowhere.

Teen sleuths, train setting, nemesis, secret identities, jewel robbery - what's not to love about this book? It's funny, it's like a modern Hardy Boys, it's self-referential.

I want to read the first volume of the Ghost Hunters Adventure Club as well as check out other Arin Hanson works.

I enjoyed this novel, it made cackle a few times and had a decent story. The author’s introduction cracked me up and I read it in the voice of Dr. Cecil HH Mills. I look forward to more from Arin Hanson.