Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
Meet Commander Caractacus Pott, an eccentric inventor, and his unconventional family. They are determined to find a new family car but they want an automobile that is different from the rest. When they see an old Gen 11 racing car rusting away in a junkyard, they unanimously decide to buy it. Caractacus Pott employs all his genius to renovate it. The Pott children name the car “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!”
Chitty is a locomotive marvel. It can transform into both an airplane and a speedboat. The car can also talk and feel! Members of the Pott family go on a trip of a lifetime in this magic car. They have many adventures and encounter gangsters, guns, explosions, and kidnappings. The book was originally published in three parts, and was dedicated to the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang built in 1920 by Count Zborowski.
The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton
The Great Gold Robbery of 1885 is recorded in the annals of history as one of the boldest heists of its kind. The author recreates the story based on fact in The Great Train Robbery . The protagonist is an ingenious scoundrel named Edward Pierce who has a daring plan. The story is set in England during the Victorian era and is simple in its premise – a train carrying gold, robbers eyeing the aforementioned gold, a master plan, the execution of the master plan, and the extraordinary consequences.
However, it is the way Crichton writes it, building it up to fever pitch before revealing the climax, that makes the entire experience worth every second of it. The book was later adapted for the big screen. Read “The Great Train Robbery” next time you are travelling by train, and trust us train journeys will never be the same again.
The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous fictional detective, is on a train again. This time on the Blue Train. Unhappy with her marriage to the roguish Derek Kettering, Ruth Kettering, a young American millionairess, is on her way to the French Riviera to elope with her lover, Comte de la Roche. Ruth’s father, Van Aldin, who had disapproved of her affair with the Comte in the past, now disapproves of Derek and insists on a divorce. At the same time he presents her with the famous ruby the "Heart of Fire". Unfortunately Ruth's aspirations come to an end. She is found murdered on the train with her face disfigured beyond recognition. The "Heart of Fire" is missing. Suspects are lined up and witnesses called. A classic whodunit on wheels, Poirot, with help from the mysterious Miss Grey and other witnesses, recreates the murder scene and finds out what actually happened on the blue train. Does he hone in on the murderer?
