Just Finished Reading: The Railway Detective by Edward Marston (FP: 2004) [348pp] 

London, 1851. It was a crime that shocked the nation. For the first time a train had been stopped and the contents of its mail carriage taken away – including a considerable amount of gold and a number of mail bags. Under intense pressure from the railway company, the Royal Mint, the Post Office and the Press, Scotland Yard assigns Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck to the case – a rising star in the department. Colbeck certainly has his work cut out for him. The raid was carried out with military precision and had quickly overcome both guards and locks to gain access to the gold – something considered simply impossible. The questions, however, were piling up: how did the robbers know the train would be carrying so much gold? How did they open the twin safes so quickly? But the most perplexing question of all bothered Colbeck deeply – why, after securing the gold did the robbers delay their escape in order to derail the locomotive? Was it simple malice or a perverted desire to cause additional destruction or was it something more, something sinister? As Colbeck continues his investigation he becomes convinced that the gang will strike again and that the object of that strike will not be simply to gain more money but will be an attack on the railway itself! 

I’ve been looking forward to ‘starting’ this series for a while now after previously reading, and greatly enjoying, the 15th book back in December ‘21 because of its Christmas theme. I was pretty confident that if the author could more than hold my interest after 15 books, he should do so with the first in the series – and so it was. I REALLY like this. I was already most impressed by Colbeck's abilities from my earlier introduction to him and his world and here he hit the ground running as he, and the inevitable solid side-kick, began the investigation, ran down clues and closed in on the miscreants behind the diabolical scheme. I was also hoping that we’d be introduced to Colbeck’s wife who I fell in love with in the 15th novel. Luckily, she did indeed appear – although both were single here – so we got to see how they met and why their difference in social standing didn’t come between them (Colbeck might be a highly education Inspector, but he actually came from more humble origins). The baddies were equally well-drawn and interesting and their motivations for their crimes were understandable. Being ‘baddies’ they had few redeeming qualities, which was quite funny at times, and I was convinced that at least one of them would end up twilling his moustache menacingly at some point! Overall, this was a well-paced, intriguing and highly entraining historical mystery/crime novel and I’m SO glad that its part of a LONG running series. I’m not 100% sure if I can get around to reading all 22 of them, but I’m definitely looking at trying. Very highly recommended for all crime, historical and railway buffs. 

[Highest page count of the year so far: 348pp][+22pp]