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.
Amazon Home
