Peril on the Royal Train

The Railway Detective #10

by Edward Marston

The driver and fireman of a goods train are speeding along near the Scottish border. As they take a sharp bend, they can see that the track ahead has been ripped up. With no time to break, there s no way to avert disaster. Before they know what s happening, the engine has veered off the rails and plunged into the lake below, taking the wagons and men with it.Summoned north by the Caledonian Railway Company, Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming learn that the sabotage might be the work of a rival company. But as they proceed, a larger conspiracy seems to be afoot. The targets: the Queen and Prince Consort en route to Balmoral.The legions of Railway Detective fans will be treated to an appearance by Queen Victoria in this the tenth Railway Detective novel.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Historical Mystery, Crime, Historical, Mystery Thriller

383 pages, Hardcover

First published April 29, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

A pseudonym used by Keith Miles
AKA A.E. Marston

Keith Miles (born 1940) is an English author, who writes under his own name and also historical fiction and mystery novels under the pseudonym Edward Marston. He is known for his mysteries set in the world of Elizabethan theatre. He has also written a series of novels based on events in the Domesday Book, a series of The Railway Detective and a series of The Home Front Detective.


Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Crime Through Time
. Perfectly Criminal

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not normally read review`s before i read my book,but for some reason i did this time,and when you have fans of the character not very happy with the new outing,i open my book fearing the worst.I start by saying that i agree that this is not the best of the Railway Detective,but at the same time it is still a good read.This is a formula that works for me and by the end i did not feel disappointed,we have all the ingredient`s of a Edward Marston who done it,many red herring`s and lots of dead end`s and in the end we have our hero Robert Colbeck getting down and dirty.If this would be your first outing with the Railway Detective you will not be disappointed and you still have the joy of all the other stories to catch up with,if you are already a fan,i in my humble opinion, think you will have one or two bone`s to pick,but you will not be disappointed and i for one will be looking forward to the next outing of the Railway Detective.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't get this one in the Railway Detective series on audiobook, so I had to read it with my eyes instead of my ears! And although I enjoy the audiobooks, I think it probably was easier to follow while reading it normally. I certainly enjoyed this greatly - especially further relationship developments - seeing Madeleine as Mrs Colbeck was fun - after so many books waiting for Robert to first propose and then set a wedding date!.

[David Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Edward Marston book and I enjoyed it. A nice easy read set in Victorian times, with well developed characters, and plenty of twists and turns in the plot.

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Railway Detective, Inspector Robert Colbeck, and his trusty sidekick Sergeant Victor Leeming are called up to Scotland to investigate a fatal rail crash. But they are not well received by the local constabulary who feel that Londoners should not be required to solve a local incident.

The duo have to overcome this prejudice, and they do so with a mixture of smooth operating and harsh words but then they have to uncover the perpetrators of the crash and work out why it was carried out.

There are a number of suspects, including a rival railway company, a group of committed sabbatarians who feel that Sunday should be a day of rest and railways should not be running and a number of folk who have personal vendettas against the railway to pursue.

Colbeck and Leeming's superior in London, Superintendent Tallis, feels that the investigation is going nowhere and wants the duo to return to London. But fortunately Inspector Colbeck's wife and father-in-law discover some revealing information that turns the investigation on its head and puts an entirely different perspective on it.

It would seem that the main point of attack was to be the Royal train when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were making their visit to Balmoral. This information sets Colbeck and Leeming off on a different tack. And fortunately, after meetings with the royals, and various hair-raising adventures they discover the perpetrators just in time. Tallis is suitably chastised for ever doubting them by his superiors and Colbeck and Leeming return to London as heroes and to the bosom of their respective families.

It is another exciting and page-turning tale of the Railway Detective.

[Ivana Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange entry to the Railway Detective series. A book of two halves really, as the Royal Train doesn't feature for at least the first half (and even then, the title is rather misleading). There is no mystery to this book, and the main villain is only introduced at the end of the penultimate chapter, which I hate. The wildly o.t.t characters from previous books are largely absent in this one - the main cast are all as dull as the plot ( even a cameo appearance by Buckmaster doesn't brighten things up much). Admittedly, it's still a quick read, but there are better ones in the set.

[Ramona Cantaragiu · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's nothing wrong with the book, except for the fact that it put me to sleep faster than a smack to the head. The narrative is decent, but there is no spark, no life in these characters and I couldn't care less about the derailed train mystery. For a good detective story you either need a very charismatic or intriguing detective or a very well constructed mystery. This book had neither.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating story! Looking forward to the next one in the railway detective series! 3.75

[Tim Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. One of the best in the series yet.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

another great book by Marston, the identity of the suspects was hidden until towards the end which I did enjoy in this book. The Lack of a suspect was very interesting

[Tony Gothard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent easy read as usual

[Craig Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story, great characters. Was wonderful to meet the railway detective again, in a story that was enthralling, interesting and certainly not predicatable! In being summoned to an accident on the Caledonian Railway against his superior's wishes, having found that the accident is in fact foul play, he has to take his pick of the culprits, which include displaced railway workers and Presbyterian Sabbatarians. Being made far from welcome as an Englishman sorting out Scotttish business in Scotland, and a Metropolitan Police officer amongst "Company" men, He has to try and find the culprits before being sent back to London in disgrace... When another threat emerges, the plot twists and turns, but is Colbeck going to be the hero that saves the day, or is he powerless to stop the inevitable?

[Iris Pusemuckel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked the books quite well until a new narrator popped up.

What a dull, lame, awful nasal reading. No distinction between characters. Often I did not know who was speaking. DNF. This is the end to the Railways Detective Audiobooks. With this narrator, it is torture.

And there are the endless repetitions which were in this episode extremely annoying. From book to book its getting worse and worse. Leeming always coming up with his damned family and his complaining about riding a train. The idiot of a father in law who is an impudent, sadistic fool. 1/2 of the book is filled with repeated events and antics of annoying characters.

[Rob Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a 3.5, this one was a plodder until nearer the end.
Caleb Andrews and Edward Tallis were particularly annoying in this installment, doing their best to tick off their list of usual tropes.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a number of strands to this plot: local agriculturalists opposed to railways, local sabatarians anxious to cancel train operations on Sundays, agents of other railroads and, once the timetable of the royal train came into play, the possibility of a foreign spy or agent. The characters who fit the various strands are all introduced and we even hear them planning their actions although the actual nature of the actions are not revealed so we have to decide for ourselves how guilty the individuals are likely to be. Here is where the spoilers appear.
We don't actually meet the guilty persons until we're almost on top of the event so we don't have them in our sights. If we had paid attention to the date we were given at the beginning we might have suspected who it would be, especially after the suspects in the murder of the burglar were described. The one man, who appeared to be in charge, was the one who didn't speak and who was darker complected than the other. Why didn't he speak? There had to be more about his speech than just a regional accent and an accent from India would certainly fit that. The Sepoy Rebellion and the Crimean War were both in the immediate past so those two events would certainly have provided suspects for any security service, although the idea of people from "foreign parts" may well have been given little credibility.
I wish the plotters had been given greater visibility since they had such huge arguments behind their actions and while their concerns were presented (especially the ultimate in military punishment) not too much was made of the very real injuries suffered by the people of India. It might have resulted in a different book if the balance had been different, though. Nobody ever seems to have been concerned about the injury done to those who are dragged into the military, whether by patriotism or by poverty, when they are exposedd to the reality that is war. Perhaps it is enough to have said that these motives are and were real however the general public might have considered them.
It was interesting to read this at the time when announcement has been made that the British royal train is to be decommissioned.

[Christopher Dove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book in the Railway Detective series. Apparently I have jumped in with the 10th book of the series and there are plenty of references in the text to what I assune are previous novels. What makes this detective series stand out from the rest is that it it set in Victorian Britain and the featured detective, Inspector Robert Colbeck, specialises in cases involving the burgeoning Victorian railway system. Like all the best detectives, Colbeck has an assistant in Sergeant Victor Leeming. In this novel they set out to foil an assassination attenpt on Queen Victoria. The plan is to blow up rocks close to the railway line the Royal train takes to Balmoral, thus causing it to crash. Colbeck and Leeming are an engaging pair, but they don't give the impression of being particularly good detectives. At several key points in the novel, they seem to make progress by sheer luck rather than either dogged detective work or logical brilliance. I liked the novel, because it was entertaining and it's quite unusual settimg. However, I won't be going out of my way to seek out the rest of the series. An enjoyable novel, but as already mentioned, too much seemed to depend on luck and happenstance

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Inspector Colbeck mystery and a classic one! A train crash which could be called an accident but not really. Tallis tries to get in the way, Leeming alternates between being very efficent and being led astray (I did find it hilarious that he and the Inspector manage to capture many other criminals before getting to the ones they were wanted), Madeline is helpful, her father is less so and everything turns out alright in the end.

I did enjoy this one. Colbeck is always a fun character to get behind as he evades various obstacles and puts everything together. I enjoyed the variety of false leads and how it all became connected later on. However, I wasn't such a huge fan of the fact that we didn't meet the people behind it earlier on in the story, or at least I don't remember them. Not to mention the fact that they had an incredibly sympathetic reason which was brushed under the rug. We were told it was because of Britain's imperial ambitions destroying lives and killing Indians and it's brought up in the last ten pages and then not mentioned at all. It did leave a bad taste in my mouth.

3.5 stars!

[BeesReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 10 of the Railway Detective series set in the mid-19th century, Victorian era. This was the first book in this series that I read, before reading the first 5 last year. The books can be read 'stand alone' though if you don't mind switching between him being married and not married and so on.
Our hero, Inspector Colbeck, with a cast of supporting characters is investigating a deliberate incident on the Caledonian Line which results in a derailment and the death of 3 train company employees, and is made aware of a much deeper plot behind it. Needless to say he goes on to save the day - again with MUCH assistance from others.
A good read, quite tense at times. I have, now, after reading 6 or 7 books in this series come to the conclusion that the protagonist Robert Colbeck is the kind of guy that if you worked in an office with him you would pull faces behind his back. He is a know-it-all and patronising git. Nonetheless, he does know his stuff.

[Olga · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Peril on the Royal Train" is another book in the Railway Detective series. The novel begins with an introduction of Jamie Farr, a shepherd who is unhappy with the train cutting through his field and killing his flock. Then, there are the sabbatarians, who believe that the railway company should not be running trains on the Holy day and are trying to do what they can to stop this. After a train is derailed, Inspector Colbeck is summoned to find the person (or people) responsible. The royal train doesn't come in until a little more than halfway through the book, and at that point, I felt like I was reading two different books. I think the plot and subplots were drawn out here so it also took me a lot more time than usual to get into this book. I think I'm going to go with two stars - I didn't love the book, it took too long to get into, and some of it felt too drawn out for me.

[Clark Hallman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peril on the Royal Train (The Railway Detective #10) by Edward Marston – I have read all nine of the previous Railway Detective books and enjoyed them very much. I was eager to read this one, which is set in the Spring of 1858. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are asked by the Caledonian Railway Company to investigate a train wreak near the Scottish border. Their investigation takes many twists and turns and eventually reveals a surprisingly nefarious scheme to target members of the British royalty. Unfortunately, this novel seemed to be rather disjointed and difficult to follow, unlike the previous Railway Detective novels. In addition, I was taken aback by the Queen’s role in this novel, which seemed to be rather superfluous. Anyway, there was something about this novel that didn’t satisfy me as well as the previous novels in this series. However, maybe I just need to take a break from Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming for a while.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if it's the fact that I've moved on as a reader or that this series is getting more formulaic and by-the-numbers, but I'm finding myself not enjoying these nearly as much as when I started the series back in 2005-06 and happened to see The Railway Detective on the shelf at the KC library. As I read, the plot twists and potential solutions I was inventing in my head ended up being much more imaginative than the actual solution, which was "dudes that don't show up until the final 50 pages did it". It's still enjoyable fluff, but the series seems to have gotten more fluffy and less enjoyable as it has gone on, and it compares unfavorably to the Charles Lenox series, where there are side characters that are more-thoroughly developed and the main protagonists grow and change over time.

[Cliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Railway Detective and his faithful sidekick, Sergeant Leeming, get sent to Scotland much against the wishes of Superintendent Tallis to investigate an accident caused to a goods train on the line between Glasgow and Carlisle. It becomes clear that the accident was caused maliciously and was a rehearsal for a much more serious incident which the title to the book reveals. After following many red herrings the plucky duo manage to foil the proposed attack and earn plaudits all round. The book faithfully represents the slowness of rail travel at the time with the journey taking 12 hours including lengthy station stops for food and comfort breaks, there being no corridor trains with such facilities in 1858. The cover art, however, appears to show the famous Genfidden viaduct being crossed by a 20th century train!

[Steven Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spring 1858. The route of the Caledonian Railway through the Scottish countryside is disrupted by a fatal crash. The Railway Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck and his trusty Sergeant Victor Leeming are called from London to investigate, and must contend with old enemy Superintendent Rory McCurk to uncover the criminals behind the disaster.

The motive for the crash is unclear, with suspects including the North British Railway, a group of sabbatarians and those with personal vendettas to pursue. Can Colbeck and Leeming crack the case before the Royal family makes their train journey to Balmoral?

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story got more interesting towards the end but was a bit of a slow start. Think there were a lot of characters that didn't really get developed much & would've been better having less IMO. The rankings seemed pretty odd too - a Superintendent assigns himself the case ahead of Inspector Colbeck but realistically, I don't think a Supt would have time to do manual policing work...
Also the title is fairly misleading, as the main case is solving the sabotage of the Caledonian railway and the royal train doesn't even come into the story until half way through!

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2013, 'Peril on the Royal Train' is the 10th in the popular 'Railway Detective' series of Victorian murder mysteries, and the title tells you the gist of the plot. The detail of the plot is as convoluted as always, livened by some great characters. I did feel that the author is increasingly contriving reasons to involve DI Colbeck's wife Madeleine and her father in the plot, as they are so limited in scope as characters compared to many of the others. Minor criticism aside, it was really enjoyable and quick to read.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 1 out of 5]

The absolute worst in the series thus far. So bad I had trouble making myself pick the book back up. It took FOREVER to finish. And the ending simply cemented the 1-star rating. Plenty of red herrings throughout the book, but the guilty party is not even mentioned until the very end where Colbeck is attempting to catch the criminals. Kind of hard to puzzle out the mystery if the culprits aren't even introduced until the end of the book. I am going to take a break from this series. "Peril on the Royal Train" was simply awful.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many coincidences and too much involvement from a sheepdog gave silly undertones to what could have been an intriguing investigation. While the story was interesting, the anamosity between some characters and arguments between others lessened my enjoyment of this novel. Most of the Railway detective books that I have read so far have been a pleasurable, comfort and believable read. Let's hope this series doesn't continue on the down-line.

[Shajila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found that I didn't enjoy this one as much as normal - there could be 2 reasons - 1 I read it out of order, and 2 it took a long time before there was a mention of 'royals' and considering that's the title, it was really annoying. Lastly I don't think women are treated or portrayed well in this book at all, although Colbeck is usually charming and polite it upset me that he basically told Madeline off for chasing after him. I'm sure I'll enjoy the rest of the series if I remember to read it in order!

[Christopher Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic novel. The characters just sprung to life in this mystery.
The only chritism that I had was with the ending. I loved the action and even the conclusion, but the way it got there was very misleading. Finding out who the perpetrators were; I felt slightly disappointed.

I can not wait to read the next!

[N Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, easy read set in Victorian times. Lots of humour and adventure, and plenty of twists and turns in the plot. The villains aren't introduced until a long way in, and you can have some sympathy with some of their motives. I picked this up from a book-swap on holiday. It was an amusing way to pass the time on the plane, but it wouldn't make me hunt out the rest of the series.

[Michael John Paul McManus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another enthralling entry in the Railway Detective series. This time Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming try to stop an attempt to blow up the Royal Train on its way to Balmoral. Filled with great characters and a few red herrings to keep you guessing, it's another winner by Edward Marston.