Murder on the Canadian
Reviewed By: Japreet
Location: Surrey, BC
Rating: 5 out of 5

Murder on the Canadian is an excellent book for anyone who wants to experience a thrill of their life. Tom Austen, a young juvenile and vigilant boy is always on the lookout for an adventure and mystery indeed. This time when he boards the mammoth sized Canadian Rail, he is unexpectedly hit by a thrilling quest. This mystery is the real deal he is always been waiting for; not the ones he solves at school. Tom Austen is just enjoying his vacation, but he doesn’t know what he’s in for. Tom has never really experienced a real detective mission, but he is very interested in becoming a detective when he grows up. He loves to read Sherlock Holmes’s books, and takes a very keen significance in searching the world around him and questioning ideas. He is not like the ordinary child who wants to become a policeman or fireman; he wants to become a detective. Since the day he was born, he has wanted to become an undercover detective and explore paranormal activity. Just for starters, he likes to solve low-profile cases in his neighborhood and in school. Little does he know that in the real world, detectives aren’t always successful in their cases and they can even become the biggest targets for murderers. Being a detective also means many risks, but Tom is willing to take any of them at any cost. He soon realizes that it isn’t only him who is stuck in this situation on wheels but also the murderer himself. The murderer is ready to shut Tom’s mouth for eternity at any cost. Tom soon finds himself lying on the ground at straight gun-point. Even so Tom, a righteous juvenile boy stands up to the assassinator, three times his size, and fights back with all his might. Tom Austen is a strong-willed boy who does what he says and doesn’t give up. For example, when the cookie-woman discouraged Tom, he still did what he put his mind to. He didn’t care what the world said and kept running towards his dream. He kept his hopes high, had an excellent attitude, and patted himself on the back every step of the way. Tom worked hard towards his dream and accomplished it. My role model is Tom because he really shows the world that if you believe you can do something, you can do it no matter what. He also had to give up his friends to solve the case, because he had to assume that even his dearest friends were just another of many suspects. Like they say, “To gain, you also have to lose”. Even though Tom Austen did make mistakes while gathering proof, he learned from his mistakes. This boy really taught me a lesson worth while.

PERSONAL OPINION

I think this book doesn’t go for the contemptible thrill; instead it creates an environment in which the reader is spellbound and trapped. I found this book to be very different from other mystery stories I’ve read. This book really twists and turns but at the end the points meet up again. In my opinion, talking from the public’s point of view, a reader wants to become a part of the book and not let it go, and Eric Wilson certainly knows how to do just that. I rate this book a ten out of ten because the vocabulary is excellent and the story line is the best of the best. As soon as you read it, you won’t be able to let it go. The thing I really seem to like about Eric Wilson’s book’s are that they have a mind of their own. They create an excellent mysterious world around the reader. This book not only starts really well, but the author also wraps it up in a way that is very exclusive from other books. I think this book has the potential of being created into a movie.

THEME

The adage or morale of this story is “Anyone one can do whatever he/she puts his mind to”. Tom Austen is a young boy just like me, and he is standing up to an assassin three times his age. Even though Tom Austen goes through adversity, obstacles, and people’s taunts he keeps up his pace. People do under-estimate his capabilities, but he proves everyone wrong. It also goes to show that even a child is capable of doing whatever a grown up can do. Tom Austen is a strong-willed boy who does what he says, doesn’t look back, and keeps hitting hard no matter what. Tom didn’t give up, when the world thought he was just a young boy and discouraged him. He showed them that he could do what he said he could. He kept his hopes high, had an excellent attitude, and patted himself on the back every step of the way. Tom worked hard towards his dream and accomplished it. People are going to say many things in life, but you can’t let those effect you. People can say, “Jump off a mou
ntain”. Will you do that? In a world where people are racing towards money, they have forgotten the real meaning of achieving something with sweat and blood. Instead, they are trying to accomplish things overnight. A person can’t climb a mountain just by hanging around at the first step; he has to push harder and harder to reach the pinnacle point. Everything we do isn’t at hand’s reach, we have to reach ahead to grab hold of it. If Tom Austen could defeat a murderer, we can also do anything we put our mind to. Sometimes there is a tough test at school, or there is a soccer game you’re trying to win. You just have to give it your hardest and try your best. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose; it matters if you gave it your all. Life isn’t about dying, it’s the process in between that matters the most. If you try hard and hard, one day triumph will be yours. Did Thomas Alva Edison give up when his light bulb didn’t work the first time? Did Martin Luther King Jr. give up when his voice wasn’t heard? No, he didn’t. Both Edison and Martin didn’t give up, no matter what life threw at them. In the end Edison did create the bulb, and Martin Luther King Jr. did revolutionize America forever. When we were infants, we weren’t able to walk. We worked hard and finally got up on our hind legs. Life isn’t all about winning, but learning from your mistakes. Even though Tom Austen does make mistakes while gathering adduce and clues, he learns from his mistakes. If you try hard enough, you can even touch the stars.

SETTING

The book I’m reading, “Murder on the Canadian”, mainly takes place in the sleek passenger train “The Canadian” which travels through British Columbia, Canada and neighboring Alberta, Canada. Most of the story is in broad daylight. In the advent, the story takes place at the train station. The scene of the crime takes place in a petite passenger room inside the train. The train is ancient and makes many mysterious sounds. In some parts of the story, the setting is located at the train stations where passengers depart and board the train. It also takes place in room C of the train, where the story takes a whole new twist. The place where one of the conflicts arises is at the train station, one of the train room’s, the dining facility of the train, and last but not least the dark tunnel that cover’s the train tracks. From the technology and places presented in the book, it seems it takes place in the advent of the 21st century. Other small settings include the Café on the way to the destination, a railway scooter, and a meter or two away from the train. The suspense takes place in the tunnel where the protagonist, Tom Austen, is taken hostage and put at gun point. The ending basically takes place on the train station, where the central character is released from the grasp of the villain.

CONFLICT

This story includes a wide variety of conflicts, but the divergences are basically in a human verses human environment. In the advent of the book, Tom Austen, a juvenile and vigilant boy is always on the lookout for an adventure and mystery indeed. This time when he boards the mammoth sized Canadian rail he is unexpectedly hit by an exciting adventure. But his enjoyable vacation turns into havoc right in the starting. Tom Austen meets his friend Dietmar in an unusual and unexpected way. Dietmar plays a prank on innocent Tom by placing a package labeled “BOMB”. Tom Austen, without thinking twice, causes a stir in the public. At the top of his lungs he alerts everyone. The conductor comes running to see what’s wrong, but the only thing inside the parcel is a toy. It’s a terrible start for Tom, and that’s just the beginning of conflicts yet to come. Even though Tom’s shameful conflict is over, there’s much more to precede and pave the way. Almost everyone in the train
thinks that Tom is a ridiculous and nuisance young boy, but little do they know about the intellectual and bright side of Tom Austen. Everyone has a set a very terrible expression of Tom in their mind. Because of his so called friend, Dietmar, he has to suffer the consequences. People treat Tom in a bias way; not affording him with fudge or cookies, when the root of the problem, Dietmar, is receiving all the goodies. Thus, the real conflict and the turning point in this book has yet to come; these conflicts are all adjunct to the final course. Even though Tom may think that becoming a detective is pleasurable, being a detective also means taking risks, traveling on death defying missions, and bringing justice to man kind at any cost. Being a detective isn’t child’s play, but Tom is willing to change that saying. Trying to bring the murderer into gallows, Tom encounters many conflicts. First of all, he bumps into a mental conflict where he needs to use his mind and instincts, and it isn’t always easy for a 12 year-old to cope with himself; a detective requires patience. Even so, Tom bit by bit gathers adduce and glues it together. But that isn’t all. A true detective not only requires brains but also physical strength. Both go hand in hand and are affiliated with one another. At a 12 to 27 ratio there is a big difference. Suddenly the story takes a whole new fast-paced twist and Tom is at gun-point. The assassin grabs hold of Tom, and a clash between both parties (villain and hero) arises. But along with other quarrels, Tom has a conflict with himself, when he doesn’t know where he fits in, in this world. He cannot understand himself and cannot seem to pull himself together. But in the end, Tom realizes that he has not only helped bring justice to the innocent, but has also helped himself become confident and ready to become a real detective one day. In conclusion Tom is the hero of the day, and like many other comical fictions the forces of evil are deteriorated.

CLIMAX

The part when this book reached its pinnacle point and took a whole new twist, was when Tom Austen (the central character), was put at gun-point by the assassin, Mrs. Ruggles. Tom Austen tried to capture Mrs. Ruggles, but was caught by his own plan absent mindedly. Mrs. Ruggles gave Tom a taste of his own medicine. Tom was just doing the duty of a true detective, but he had forgotten that a detective always had to stay vigilant and one step ahead of the murderer. Tom was beneath the murderer’s revolver, and had no way to get out because he was trapped from all corners and it was pretty hard for him to retaliate to a person three times his size. What could a poor modest boy do? But this boy wasn’t a coward; he could have followed the murderer’s commands, but instead fought back with all his might. He was ready to give up his life fighting, but it was a train scooter that saved his life. Just imagine yourself with a murderer who has put a gun to your head. Would you run, or stand up? Tom Austen was saved, but it wasn’t because he ran to the cart himself, but because of his fate. At the end of the book, all of the points join together.