The Flying Scotsman

Mycroft Holmes #3

by Quinn Fawcett, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Mycroft Holmes and his secretary, Paterson Guthrie, disguise themselves as journalists and board the Flying Scotsman train to protect a European prince who is the target of assassination, only to discover a host of old enemies also aboard the train

Genres: Mystery, Victorian, Historical Fiction, Scotland, Fiction, Historical

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

Quinn Fawcett is the penname of a pair of authors, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and Bill Fawcett, who also write separately.

Reviews

[Carie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not pick up if you plan to "read until bedtime".

I guarantee you will keep saying, "Just one more chapter" or "What did he mean by that? I'll put it down in a minute." Your morning alarm will ring right after you force yourself to put the book down for the night!!!

[Bethany Swafford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A European prince has been placed in the care of Mycroft Holmes to get home safely. After narrowly escaping one assassination attempt, it is decided that while two decoys fan out, the prince, holmes and Guthrie will quietly take the fastest luxury train from London to Edinburgh. Once onboard, the danger is as strong as ever and when a passenger is murdered, Holmes must determine if it is happenchance or something more sinister.

By book three, I really shouldn't be surprised at an active Mycroft Holmes, but it really does. It was also disconcerting when he said his brother would be able to make more of some details than he would! Not an admission I would expect from acknowledged more intelligent Holmes brother.

The plot was intriguing. For the majority of the narrative, the characters are confined to the interior of the train. Once the first murder occurs on the train, there is an air of tension. Who is the killer? Is he a member of the mysterious and dangerous Brotherhood? the train is behind schedule. Will this be to their benefit or detriment? This keeps the pace fast.

Guthrie manages to get himself into a major scrape and there is a very "James Bone"esque sequence of him trying to get back on the train. It was a little tiresome to have him insist he has no interest in Miss Gatsby, so it was a relief to have him finally admit he is attracted to the Golden Lodge agent.

Overall, this was a nice addition to the series. i would recommend it to readers who have read the first two and enjoyed them. This is not a series to jump into the middle.

[Cate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plus minus. Part of the problem was that I picked this up not knowing it was the third book in a series, and the entire book builds from the previous books, with much alluding and referencing previous events. In some places, it's verbose to the point of detracting from the story. I wasn't expecting a thriller, but the first half of the book is VERY slow, which is very little actual action and mostly just long conversations about how "perilous" everything is. They don't even get on the train until about halfway through the book. I'd probably like the book better if I'd read the preceding novels. However, the style is such that I'm not sure I'll go back to read them.

[Johanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Each book in this series is an improvement over the previous, but there's still too much period detail, not enough characterization, and generally slow plotting. Setting most of the book on a train is a clever idea, creating drama through limiting the space and options. Guthrie, Mycroft's secretary and the narrator, remains a lump, with little to recommend him other than a willingness to get hurt and do whatever his boss says.

[Gheeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m impressed at how much I enjoyed this—especially considering it is the third installment in an out of print series. I do rather hope I’ll be able to track down the others!!

[Jack · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book to see if Mycroft Holmes had anything going. If was fun-ish at first following the stuffy bastard and his prudish second, Guthrie, try to foil the plot of an unknown assassin. They jump on the fast train to the north but are beset by trouble and inconveniences and other murders on the train. The plot was weak, the ending was thrown together, and it was less than a fun read. I couldn't stand Guthrie. Through the second half of the book I longed for a little of the addicted, wounded, crazy that A. C. Doyle built in to his classic characters.

[She Reads What? · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it! Mycroft is every bit as clever as Sherlock! The review on the back was spot on when it described The Flying Dutchman as Sherlock Holmes meets Murder on the Orient Express. I will look for the other one in the series.

[Ravi Shekhar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent Read

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally Guthrie gets the girl. Such a sweet little nugget imbedded in mysteries and intrigue. Holmes and his crew made good again. I love these books.