Now here's a murd'rous tale of woe, See a hero misbehave. For it shows a valiant soldier go By railway to the grave. Yorkshire 1855. Colonel Aubrey Tarleton is a man respected by his neighbours in the small Yorkshire village of South Otterington - as much for his heroic feats in the army as for his social position. So the community is left stunned when Tarleton, deliberately, walks into the path of a speeding train. He is crushed to death on the track, but it is not his broken limbs that attract the attention of the train driver; rather, it is the note pinned to his chest, fluttering in the breeze: 'Whoever finds me, notify Superintendent Tallis of the Detective Department at Scotland Yard'. The famous Railway Detective, Inspector Robert Colbeck, finds his superior officer in great distress when he arrives at the Yard the following morning. Tallis is clutching a letter from his now-deceased friend. In it, Tarleton makes it clear that he no longer wishes to live if he has to do so without his beloved wife, who has disappeared. When the news arrives that a man's body has been found on the track near Thirsk, the coincidence is too great. Was Tarleton responsible for his wife's disappearance, and was his suicide the act of a guilty man? Tallis cannot believe that to be the case and sets out for Yorkshire, accompanied by Colbeck and his trusty Sergeant Victor Leeming, determined to uncover the truth.
Railway to the Grave
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'A grand romp very much in the tradition of Holmes and Watson. Packed with characters Dickens would have been proud of. Wonderful, well written' Time Out
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
By James Eves
Format:Hardcover
I always look forward to a new outing of the famous Railway Detective Robert Colbeck and Sargeant Victor Leeming and i am not disappointed.In this new case we find them in Yorkshire looking into the suicide of a old friend of his boss Superintendent Tallis,but this is only the start of the intrigue as the wife of the dead man is missing and the locals believe that the dead man had killed her.This is a grand romp with lots of railway interest,that has been throughly researched and has a fast-moving plot with meny twist and turns that has you guessing to the end.If this is your first excursion with Robert Colbeck it will not be long before your looking for the rest of the time table.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Jenesis
Format:Kindle Edition
I enjoy the Railway Detective series and I've read them all through. This is much of the same, and I enjoyed the story. However this far in there are some glaring problems with Marston's writing.
The most obvious is the use of Deus Ex Machina plot resolution points. For e.g. in this one, without spoiling too much, the plot is resolved in the last 10 pages of the book by the chance discovery of some letters, the contents of which have never even been hinted at before. The discovery is made 'off-camera' as well. There is also the usual sense of rushing, in every Railway Detective book it's very much "And they found the murderer, the end!" All the exciting trials and arrests happen, again, 'off camera'. Marston prefers to tell rather than show when it should be the other way round.
That said, I finished the story and I enjoyed it, but I can't help feeling the author is somewhat running out of ideas. Apart from anything else, this plot is only tangentially related to railways at all (and again, that tenuous link is brought in in the last chapter as an "oh by the way, the dead man had xyz link to the railways").
If you've read the others and enjoyed them, by all means get this one too, the story is still good (if overly familiar by now!) and the pace keeps up.
The most obvious is the use of Deus Ex Machina plot resolution points. For e.g. in this one, without spoiling too much, the plot is resolved in the last 10 pages of the book by the chance discovery of some letters, the contents of which have never even been hinted at before. The discovery is made 'off-camera' as well. There is also the usual sense of rushing, in every Railway Detective book it's very much "And they found the murderer, the end!" All the exciting trials and arrests happen, again, 'off camera'. Marston prefers to tell rather than show when it should be the other way round.
That said, I finished the story and I enjoyed it, but I can't help feeling the author is somewhat running out of ideas. Apart from anything else, this plot is only tangentially related to railways at all (and again, that tenuous link is brought in in the last chapter as an "oh by the way, the dead man had xyz link to the railways").
If you've read the others and enjoyed them, by all means get this one too, the story is still good (if overly familiar by now!) and the pace keeps up.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another typical Edward Marston detective novel. Extremely well written and for me highly enjoyable.
Follows the pattern of previous books and is imediately readable. Couldn't put it down. More please.
Follows the pattern of previous books and is imediately readable. Couldn't put it down. More please.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Railway Detective
The books in this series are lite reads. They bring to life the era of Victorian Railways. They hve good characters.
Published 16 hours ago by Odin
5.0 out of 5 stars
My first Fiction! Love it!
I have always read non fiction as a rule and could never really get my head around reading anything made up! (no imagination - I know! Read more
Published 1 month ago by ianb
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Master storyteller on his best form
One of, if not the, best of the Railway Detective Series. The identity of the villain is held secret until virtually the last page. Read more
Published 2 months ago by bajwins
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THE STEAM TRAIN IS MAGIC
THE STORY IS JUST SO OLD FASHINE,THE PEOPLE OF ALL CLASSES TALES ME THE HARD AND EASY LIFE THEY DID HAVE,AND HOW LUCKY YOU WHERE TO RIDE A STREAM ENGINE TRAIN,ENJOYED WHAT WENT ON... Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars
THE RAILWAY DETECTIVE SERIES
EDWARD MARSTON TICKS ALL THE BOXES AS HIS INVESTIGATIVE SKILLS AND CHALLENGES ARE INTERWOVEN WITH MY OTHER FASCINATION, THE RAILWAYS
Published 2 months ago by STUBBSENCO
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Atmospheric Easy Read.
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I write this review regarding the Railway Detective series as a whole - having read them all so far I have started my own collection. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Eurona Phillips
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Another fine saga from the king of railway fiction. This story sees you being taken up to Yorkshire to a place where the victim is a friend of Superintendent Tallis. Read more
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England 1855, and Inspector Robert Colbeck finds himself separated from his new fiancee by the surprising suicide of a former army colonel friend of his chief, Tallis. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Crux Roesia
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