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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In such books as The Necropolis Railway and The Blackpool Highflyer, Andrew Martin forged something highly original in the historical crime field (no easy task): the author’s adroit evocation of the great age of the steam locomotive was the perfect backdrop for crime narratives of genuine panache, and this long-distant (but fondly remembered) world is conjured with a consummate skill. The new book, The Last Train to Scarborough, is proof that Martin’s skills are as sharply honed as ever, and (thankfully) he has not been distracted by his burgeoning second career as an authority on household management (!) – a second career that the drily sardonic author seems bemused by.
The Last Train to Scarborough, Andrew Martin’s new excursion into the Edwardian past, has his resourceful ex-railway-worker-turned-detective Jim Stringer tackling an assignment he is not comfortable with: he is to take lodgings in a dismal off-season Scarborough. Jim is to stay at a house called (ironically) 'Paradise’, from which the last railwayman to stay there has mysteriously vanished. What is it that Jim Stringer’s chief inspector isn’t telling him about the case? And two other questions soon become very pressing: will the beguiling Amanda Rickerby put a spoke in Jim Stringer’s marriage? And will Stringer himself ever be riding the railway back to his York haunts again?
As before, this is delicious stuff, showing not an iota of tiredness with the railway detective scenario. The author’s obvious love for his atmospheric milieu, his period – and his characters – pays dividends once again. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
The latest charming and atmospheric mystery for Andrew Martin's celebrated 'Steam Detective' Jim Stringer.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have read all the reviews by readers of this series and don't understand the mixed response. Technically these books are excellent evoking a sense of the past particularly with regard to place. Characters are interesting and Jim Stringer's adventures hook me in every time. I like his character; I like the style of narration very much and recognise authentic use of colloquial working class speech in a man who is intelligent though not well educated in the early 1900s.
Of all the books and I've enjoyed every one, I think I most admire the techniques employed in Death on a Branch Line. The village is deserted except for a few quirky characters doing nothing; the illusion of heat and stillness is convincingly oppressive yet the story is a page-turner; plot is pitched against the clock as a man is about to be hanged unjustly. Events take place over a sleepy Bsnk Holiday weekend. This is brilliant control of narrative. I look forward to the next book and the one after that...
Dorothy Nelson
Of all the books and I've enjoyed every one, I think I most admire the techniques employed in Death on a Branch Line. The village is deserted except for a few quirky characters doing nothing; the illusion of heat and stillness is convincingly oppressive yet the story is a page-turner; plot is pitched against the clock as a man is about to be hanged unjustly. Events take place over a sleepy Bsnk Holiday weekend. This is brilliant control of narrative. I look forward to the next book and the one after that...
Dorothy Nelson
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just read "The Last Train to Scarborough" on holiday - and thoroughly enjoyed it - five stars as usual for a Jim Stringer detective novel.
I do see there's a wide disparity of reviews for this book - it seems it's a "Marmite" novel - people either love it or hate it (and I think that would apply to the other books in the series).The thing is I can see why - Andrew Martin's style is highly idiosyncratic and personal. Much of what the characters say seems irrelevant and almost deliberately confusing. There is heavy reliance throughout on regular italics for emphasis - except why particular words are emphasised in this way is often as big a mystery as the plot itself.
The general "feel" of the narrative is almost dream like - almost nightmarish at times. It's as if the whole proceedings are enveloped in a dense Edwardian fog so you have to concentrate hard as what is going on and why. Andrew Martin's main asset is his uncanny ability to summon up a long gone era - how does he do it? It's as if you have gone back in a time machine and you are actually there. I read Sebastian Faulks' "Birdsong" some years ago and he has the same ability to transport the reader back in time - it's almost hypnotic and it's very effective. Up to a point plot in Jim Stringer novels is secondary to atmosphere so just enjoy it as you go along - although here the plot is (eventually) understandable which isn't always the case with other novels in the series.
So - if you fancy an atmospheric unusual well written detective story - just read this. You'll love it or hate it......
I do see there's a wide disparity of reviews for this book - it seems it's a "Marmite" novel - people either love it or hate it (and I think that would apply to the other books in the series).The thing is I can see why - Andrew Martin's style is highly idiosyncratic and personal. Much of what the characters say seems irrelevant and almost deliberately confusing. There is heavy reliance throughout on regular italics for emphasis - except why particular words are emphasised in this way is often as big a mystery as the plot itself.
The general "feel" of the narrative is almost dream like - almost nightmarish at times. It's as if the whole proceedings are enveloped in a dense Edwardian fog so you have to concentrate hard as what is going on and why. Andrew Martin's main asset is his uncanny ability to summon up a long gone era - how does he do it? It's as if you have gone back in a time machine and you are actually there. I read Sebastian Faulks' "Birdsong" some years ago and he has the same ability to transport the reader back in time - it's almost hypnotic and it's very effective. Up to a point plot in Jim Stringer novels is secondary to atmosphere so just enjoy it as you go along - although here the plot is (eventually) understandable which isn't always the case with other novels in the series.
So - if you fancy an atmospheric unusual well written detective story - just read this. You'll love it or hate it......
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the first 'Jim Stringer' book that I've read and what a delight it was.
Attracted by the wonderful front cover illustration and desperate to read a crime novel that was different, I picked it up by chance. From the first page I was hooked. The quirky, blunt dialogue that occurs between the characters had me grinning all the way to the last page. Contrary to some reviewers stating their dislike for the 'jumpy' chapters, I had no qualms about the style. I thought it was well executed and added to the intrigue of the storyline.
Despite not starting at the beginning of the series, I look forward to indulging in the rest of Mr Martin's 'Jim Stringer' novels with relish.
Attracted by the wonderful front cover illustration and desperate to read a crime novel that was different, I picked it up by chance. From the first page I was hooked. The quirky, blunt dialogue that occurs between the characters had me grinning all the way to the last page. Contrary to some reviewers stating their dislike for the 'jumpy' chapters, I had no qualms about the style. I thought it was well executed and added to the intrigue of the storyline.
Despite not starting at the beginning of the series, I look forward to indulging in the rest of Mr Martin's 'Jim Stringer' novels with relish.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Another excellent book in the series!!
I first came across Andrew Martin when he did a TV documentary on the history of the railways in British literature and he mentioned he hoped his novels kept alive in a small way... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Lee Farrow
A good read -
- but it doesn't make you want to go to Scarborough! Mind you, Scarborough in the winter... Intriguing enough to make me want to read it again; and read his other books.
Published 1 month ago by Grayone
Another great read
My partner is really enjoying these books - he hasn't read all of them yet but looking forward to reading The Last Train to Scarborough and others in the series.
Published 1 month ago by A. W. Laking
Dross for the most part
This is a temporary review while I read the rest of the book. But I am doing so because I have just read the worst ever load of twaddle for an opening chapter in my life. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. J. M. Haines
Another excellent contribution to the series
Another excellent contribution to this series of historical novels. This one is set in 1914, and succeeds (as usual) in vividly re-creating the era. Read more
Published 19 months ago by pastone
An interesting, twisted style in this latest book in the series.
This is one of those stories where you really have to get your brain cells into gear to get going with the plot. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Brian
Wonderful evocation of the region
One reviewer criticised the double plot writing, but I thought this was a stroke of genius. Just when you thought you wanted to put the book down, you really needed to keep up with... Read more
Published 22 months ago by JEREMY BANYARD
Story told in a VERY confusing way
The story opens with Stringer finding himself on top of a pile of coal on a boat. How is this relevant to the rest of the story in which Stringer is sent to Scarborough to... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mortimer
Railway Terminus?
Can't help feeling the author has milked the Edwardian Railway scene too far! A very difficult plot to understand, and the literary trick of developing two plots in parallel in... Read more
Published on 29 April 2010 by Keith A. Chittenden
got this from the library
was going to put this on my christmas list but the library got it first. So very glad!!!!!!! biggest pile of dross I have ever read, yes I did battle through to the end. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2009 by Anthony P. Roddis
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