Solve Your Own Mystery: The Transylvanian Express

Illustrated by Louise Forshaw
Paperback
$8.99 US
| $12.99 CAN
On sale Oct 13, 2026 | 224 Pages | 9798217143344
Age 8-12 years | Grades 3-7

A fantastically imaginative interactive detective story for middle grade readers. With hundreds of paths to choose from and no dead ends, you’ll solve the mystery every time!

Welcome to Haventry, a town where the ordinary and extraordinary collide! With ghosts, werewolves, and zombies living side by side, trouble is always brewing. And when a fiendish crime is committed, YOU are the detective in charge of the case.

All aboard the Transylvanian Express! You and your yeti boss Klaus are headed to Castle Ursprung, home of the infamous vampire Count Fledermaus. But before you get there, you have a mystery to solve: Night Mayor Franklefink has vanished from the train.

Someone on board must have played a role in his disappearance, but who has the strongest motive? Could it be Franklefink’s archnemesis, Bramwell Stoker? Or is Sandra Rigmarole, elf district governor and colleague of the Night Mayor, a more likely suspect? Or perhaps Franklefink’s monster wife has suddenly turned against him?

But you better solve the mystery quickly—the train will be arriving at the castle soon and the count expects everyone to be there. The one thing worse than a missing person? An angry vampire!
Gareth P. Jones is the author of many books for children, including the NINJA MEERKATS, PET DEFENDERS and DRAGON DETECTIVE series, and THE CONSIDINE CURSE, for which he won the Blue Peter Book of the Year 2012. He lives in south London with his family. Visit www.garethwrites.co.uk | @jonesgarethp View titles by Gareth P. Jones

About

A fantastically imaginative interactive detective story for middle grade readers. With hundreds of paths to choose from and no dead ends, you’ll solve the mystery every time!

Welcome to Haventry, a town where the ordinary and extraordinary collide! With ghosts, werewolves, and zombies living side by side, trouble is always brewing. And when a fiendish crime is committed, YOU are the detective in charge of the case.

All aboard the Transylvanian Express! You and your yeti boss Klaus are headed to Castle Ursprung, home of the infamous vampire Count Fledermaus. But before you get there, you have a mystery to solve: Night Mayor Franklefink has vanished from the train.

Someone on board must have played a role in his disappearance, but who has the strongest motive? Could it be Franklefink’s archnemesis, Bramwell Stoker? Or is Sandra Rigmarole, elf district governor and colleague of the Night Mayor, a more likely suspect? Or perhaps Franklefink’s monster wife has suddenly turned against him?

But you better solve the mystery quickly—the train will be arriving at the castle soon and the count expects everyone to be there. The one thing worse than a missing person? An angry vampire!

Author

Gareth P. Jones is the author of many books for children, including the NINJA MEERKATS, PET DEFENDERS and DRAGON DETECTIVE series, and THE CONSIDINE CURSE, for which he won the Blue Peter Book of the Year 2012. He lives in south London with his family. Visit www.garethwrites.co.uk | @jonesgarethp View titles by Gareth P. Jones
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