Mystery at the Station Hotel:

The Railway Detective #23

by Edward Marston

Shrewsbury, 1866. Julian Lockyer is an imposing gentleman in his late fifties. Having reserved a room for the night at the Station Hotel, he asks to be called early in the morning because he has a train to catch. Repeated attempts are made to wake him but there is no response. After forcing the door, the horrified hotel staff discover the bloodied corpse but with the knife still in his hand ... could he have killed himself in such a brutal manner?

The Railway Detective is summoned by his boss Tallis to journey to Shrewsbury and investigate. If it is a simple case of suicide, Colbeck believes that he may be back home that same evening and no need to trouble his sergeant. But when he reaches Shrewsbury, one mystery is solved. The stationmaster tells Colbeck that the dead man is a director of the Great Western Railway company and he was due to takeover as Chairman. Colbeck wonders if this was a case of murder rather than suicide ...

Genres: Crime, Historical, Historical Mystery

335 pages, Paperback

Published July 24, 2025

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

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story but not as good as others in the seried

I don't think this was as strong a storyline as others in the series. No real surprises. Should be proof read better as words missing. Not sure how far you can go with more Colbeck stories.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where to start? I’ve been reading this series from the very beginning and always enjoyed each instalment. This one however irritated me. I criticised the previous book for concentrating too much on Colbeck’s domestic affairs.
In this book Colbeck has started to come across as a self-satisfied, smug bore. Tallis yet again comes across someone he doesn’t like. The “art theft” sub plot is distracting and Caleb Andrews needs to wind his neck in. The Lydia/Hinton romance is just blah.
Proof reading seems to be very minimal - poor Inspector Crabbe is demoted to sergeant at least 3 times.
Mr Marston is a prolific writer with several series on the go - I suggest it’s time he ends this one as he’s obviously run out of steam

[JOHN BARLOW · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absorbing read with the Colbeck family involved in solving two mysteries. A well developed plot professionally mastered by Edward Marston.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3

Found this to be an okay mystery story. Starts well moves along at a nice pace, locations and characters drawn nicely. Interesting murder setup.
For me though it didn’t get above an average read tbh, it wasn’t bad just not as interesting mystery as I wanted it to be.
The pacing felt off to me as well, the plot was progressing nicely, the lead characters had multiple lines to follow when suddenly, at least it felt that way to me, they had an answer of who the killer was, who hired them and why.
It all happened too quickly I thought, either the book was 30-50 pages too short or the pacing/planning for the final quarter of the book was off. Perhaps if the secondary storyline wasn’t present the writer would have had more page count to deal with the main plot in a more satisfying way - for me at least.

Overall then an okay read, nothing groundbreaking or really memorable. I did think it better than the last few titles in this series I have read.
Perhaps the series should be put to bed as it seems played out to me, at least based on the last couple of books.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having enjoyed virtually all of the previous books in the Railway Detective series I had great expectations for this, the 23rd in the series. Sadly it wasn't as good as I had expected. I found it very repetitive and lacking action or excitement. The sub plot which followed the Inspector's wife trying to track down someone who was copying and selling her paintings was distracting and not that interesting. Both the main and sub plots were below par

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Promising story, ruined by the continuing appearance of Madeline Colbeck, her father, Lydia Quayle and Alan Hinton. Ho hum...

[Helen Marsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I am falling out if love with these books. It's all a bit too contrived.

[Thebooktrail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discover the locations in the novel here


Oh how I enjoy this series. It's like reading novels how they used to be written - old fashioned and with memories of a simpler time. Of course they are in parts as this one is set in 1866. Each novel in the series involves a murder on or involving the railways. A man is killed in a hotel room near a station and all hell breaks loose. Why was he even there? What is his link to the railways?

I just also liked the subplot about the wife and her painting. Seemed odd at first, but it was different!

The characters and settings are what bring me back to this series. So very easy and enjoyable to read. This would make a lovely TV drama for a Sunday evening. I learn so much about the history of the railways too which is  something I never thought I would be interested in. Just lovely.

[Martin Hollands · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've missed this series of books and was glad to get stuck into this one.

It is very light reading, but quite compelling at the same time.

I have been under the weather for the past week and needed something to pick me up and this duly arrived yesterday.

The characters continue to develop, and I can relate to them even though they are from an earlier age. There is less "Railway" detail in this but that may be good for those who aren't railwy officianados.

I sort of struggled to put it down and have read it cover to cover well inside 48 hours.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the twenty third outing for the railways detective and varies slightly from the others in as much as the victim is not killed on a train but rather in a hotel linked to the railway station in Shrewsbury. As I have said in previous reviews, the series is quite formula driven, so much of what you would expect appears in this offering. As a side story, Inspector Colbeck's wife, Madeleine. is on the hunt for a mysterious woman who appears to be copying her paintings and selling them as her own. Though I have to say I found the conclusion to this section very uninspiring.

[Jan Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story but didn’t see the point of the art theft bit. It was the cover that fascinated me, as every time I looked at it all I could see was Ken Dodd coming through the door shouting ‘How tickled I am’
Sorry for those outside the UK that don’t understand the reference!!

[Jill Stirling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific. All well resolved.

[Christopher moule · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb

Another superb story line, with a parallel story running along side it. Involving a good range of characters, but, at the same time did not distract from the main story.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story in this long running series

[B J Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story

I have read all the Railway Detective stories and this is in the same excellent mould as the others but as I have past said I do wish Caleb wasn't such an old twerp

[Phillip Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy read

A fairly standard story from Marston,reasonably fast paced, with a slightly off tangent plot about his wife. Entertaining still though.

[Elsa Wolf · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would make a good show, but was quite slow and predictable as a book. There was too much repetition. The painting mystery thrown in did not add to the murder investigation.

[Annette O'grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this book this author is really good have read most of the different series of his

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Helen Birkbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is very formulaic by now but I still enjoy reading them as a comforting distraction from stress. We have the usual ingredients of good location description, Victor not liking trains, Tallis disliking people, regional police resenting them, pillars of society with secret lives, Alan and Lydia still not getting together (tiresome now), but at least Madeleine has a bit of an adventure this time. It's a shame she is a bit priggish now as she was a good character to start with, and her father is a caricature now with no subtlety. But the pace is good and although it's not hard to guess something of the victim's past, the motive isn't as obvious as it seemed at first.