- Hardcover: 512 pages
- Publisher: Headline Review; First Edition edition (13 May 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 075535818X
- ISBN-13: 978-0755358182
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.2 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 685,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Signal Red
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Impeccably researched...he captures the times and the camaraderie of the robbers perfectly' (Bruce Reynolds )
Product Description
Bestselling author Robert Ryan tells the story of the most ambitious robbery of the twentieth century, when seventeen men risked it all in their quest for adventure, success and fame.
1963: an unarmed gang led by the dapper Bruce Reynolds holds up a Royal Mail train at a remote bridge in Buckinghamshire, escaping with millions. The group lay low in a nearby farm but, panicked by the police closing in they clear out, leaving behind numerous fingerprints. Outraged by the gang's audacity and under political pressure for quick arrests, the police move into top gear. As huge quantities of money start to turn up in forests and phone boxes, dumped by nervous middlemen, Scotland Yard begin to track down the robbers, one by one...
1963: an unarmed gang led by the dapper Bruce Reynolds holds up a Royal Mail train at a remote bridge in Buckinghamshire, escaping with millions. The group lay low in a nearby farm but, panicked by the police closing in they clear out, leaving behind numerous fingerprints. Outraged by the gang's audacity and under political pressure for quick arrests, the police move into top gear. As huge quantities of money start to turn up in forests and phone boxes, dumped by nervous middlemen, Scotland Yard begin to track down the robbers, one by one...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blood on the Tracks,
By Zenkoji (York, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Signal Red: A Novel Based On The Great Train Robbery (Paperback)
Crime fiction is not my normal area of interest, but having read a very brief recommendation for this book in the Sunday Times Culture section, I was sufficiently intrigued to buy it. Normally these days after the first few pages, I find it difficult to pick a novel up, so when I say that I have found it difficult to put this story down, well, that is not just cliche. The book is superbly researched, with telling use of period detail, and deft characterisations of the major players, on both sides of the law. It neither glamorises nor demonises the criminals, and it carefully suggests the undercurrent of violence which eventually resulted in the severe beating given to the train driver.
If you enjoy the novel as much as I did, you might find yourself wondering why this novel has no reviews posted on Amazon, while another well-researched historical novel, dealing with perhaps more obvious material, Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, can win the Booker Prize. Signal Red is an intelligent book, based on historical fact, but introducing a fictional character into the gang of robbers. In other words, it is not just a yarn; it is a thoughtful, imaginative and highly dramatic piece of story-telling. Bob Dylan once sang 'To live outside the law, you must be honest'. Read the book, and make up your own mind.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY-FACT AND FICTION,
By bibliophile (essex) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Signal Red: A Novel Based On The Great Train Robbery (Paperback)
A book like this is difficult to write-we all know the ending,and what happened to the main characters. This was an enjoyable read,and gave a good insight into the social and cultural climate that existed in the 1960's.It gives an insight into the murky and devious role of the police in those days. The police and the criminals do not seem to be too far apart from each other,and as it states in the book there is a certain respect on both sides towards each other. The book does illustrate that the crime was too big for everyone-the criminals they got away with too much money,what if they had done the raid earlier as it was originally intended-the establishment-the government- the British public-it was all too much.
I thought the afterword by Bruce Reynolds summed up everything in relation the crime very well,and gave further insight into the main protagonists The book used the use of real and imaginary characters well, and it was possible to do this because the real characters have become so well known,we still retain a morbid interest in the lifes. Good page turning read that will make a boring train ride or a daily commute pass much quicker.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Read about the Great Train Robbery,
By
This review is from: Signal Red: A Novel Based On The Great Train Robbery (Paperback)
This is a really excellent, pacy read. Based on the Great Train Robbery and including many real episodes that are hard to believe weren't invented, the narrative races along. It evokes the 60s really well and offers fascinating insights into the times and the Establishment's reaction to the crime. The huge sentences meted out to the offenders, even for those on the periphery, add to the tension; we get to know a lot of the characters and we, the readers, know exactly what is in store for them. Fascinatingwell researched and well written.
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