Just Finished Reading: The Necropolis Railway by Andrew Martin (FP: 2002) [231pp] 

London, 1903. It was young Jim Stringer’s dream – to be an engine driver on the railway. Not quite there yet but on his way, he has been transferred from his home company in Yorkshire to the London and Southwest Railway at Waterloo. The climb from a provincial porter to a cleaner in the Capital might not seem like much, but cleaners can progress to the footplate and then, given time, to driving the train itself. Trying desperately to fit in, Jim fails to impress the other men and it’s made that much worse when they discover that he has been hand-picked by a Senior Manager for his job. Suspicion that Jim is a spy, planted amongst them, grows along with his constant questioning regarding a series of accidents plaguing the station and the crews of the Necropolis Railway – the specialist trains delivering the great and the good to London’s largest cemetery. Jim himself is unsure of his role and when his sponsor dies in mysterious circumstances, he’s on his own. Surrounded by enemies, out of his depth and expecting the hammer to fall at any moment Jim is going to have to unravel quite a mystery to avoid an early arrival at a recently dug grave. 

It’s funny that I’ve been picking up two sets of railway detective stories recently – by this author and by Edward Marston. I’ve read one Marston so far (loved it) and this is my first by Andrew Martin. Although broadly similar – in that trains figure heavily in both (naturally) - they are very different, and not only because Martin’s books are deeply Victorian in tone whilst this series takes place in early Edwardian England. Jim Stringer is a young train enthusiast who, through circumstance alone, is drifting away from his intended path into that of a steam detective. He is, in every sense, an amateur. The detective in Martin’s books is not only fully mature – Jim stands out as VERY naïve and provincial – but is a fully profession detective with all the resources that implies. Jim is very much on his own, using only his natural wit and intelligence, plus both his practical and (mostly theoretical at this point) knowledge of the railways. 

Although I found this first novel in the series rather slow, I did enjoy both the character development as Jim became much more self-confident and mature by the end of the book than when his arrived in London only months before. Even more so I enjoyed the author’s world-building as we were exposed to aspects of Edwardian England, from the pervasive over-exaggerated adverts EVERYWHERE to the steam trains on the Underground (which must have been horrendous for those waiting on the platforms never mind those stuck in the long tunnels). I have the second novel scheduled for early(ish) next year and I’m looking forward to seeing Jim get involved in more crime solving and, maybe, becoming a professional detective. I’m also looking forward to seeing more of Edwardian England. Reasonable but with much promise. 

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