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Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries
“Never had I been given a tougher problem to solve, and never had I been so utterly at my wits’ end for a solution.”
A signalman is found dead by a railway tunnel. A man identifies his wife as a victim of murder on the underground. Two passengers mysteriously disappear between stations, leaving behind a dead body.
Trains have been a favourite setting of many crime writers, providing the mobile equivalent of the “locked-room” scenario. Their enclosed carriages with a limited number of suspects lend themselves to seemingly impossible crimes. In an era of cancellations and delays, alibis reliant upon a timely train service no longer ring true, yet the railway detective has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the twenty-first century.
Both train buffs and crime fans will delight in this selection of fifteen railway-themed mysteries, featuring some of the most popular authors of their day alongside less familiar names. This is a collection to beguile even the most wearisome commuter.
A signalman is found dead by a railway tunnel. A man identifies his wife as a victim of murder on the underground. Two passengers mysteriously disappear between stations, leaving behind a dead body.
Trains have been a favourite setting of many crime writers, providing the mobile equivalent of the “locked-room” scenario. Their enclosed carriages with a limited number of suspects lend themselves to seemingly impossible crimes. In an era of cancellations and delays, alibis reliant upon a timely train service no longer ring true, yet the railway detective has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the twenty-first century.
Both train buffs and crime fans will delight in this selection of fifteen railway-themed mysteries, featuring some of the most popular authors of their day alongside less familiar names. This is a collection to beguile even the most wearisome commuter.
289 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
382 people are currently reading
936 people want to read
About the author
Martin Edwards
357 books805 followersMartin Edwards has been described by Richard Osman as ‘a true master of British crime writing.’ He has published twenty-three novels, which include the eight Lake District Mysteries, one of which was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Prize for best crime novel of the year and four books featuring Rachel Savernake, including the Dagger-nominated Gallows Court and Blackstone Fell, while Gallows Court and Sepulchre Street were shortlisted for the eDunnit award for best crime novel of the year. He is also the author of two multi-award-winning histories of crime fiction, The Life of Crime and The Golden Age of Murder. He has received three Daggers from the Crime Writers’ Association and two Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America and has also been nominated three times for Gold Daggers. In addition to the CWA Diamond Dagger (the highest honour in UK crime writing) he has received four other lifetime achievement awards: for his fiction, short fiction, non-fiction, and scholarship. He is consultant to the British Library’s Crime Classics, a former Chair of the CWA, and since 2015 has been President of the Detection Club.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews
August 2, 2019
An anthology of short murder mysteries is not my usual fare, but a friend gave me this ticket to ride a different track. I read stories by the three authors whose names were most familiar, spanning about 30 years.
They were quite good and enjoyable, and two of them referenced small towns that I know well, which is invariably fun. Even from such a small sample, and not being much of a fan of murder mysteries, there was a comfortable familiarity, and thus sometimes predictability. It seems I know the signals: nothing went off the rails, although some of the writers used their stories as a platform to explore wider ideas than I expected.
Image: “The plot has been stolen!” (Source, @TomGauld.)
Perhaps I should read more of them, to build up a head of steam and find pastures new, but I think this was a one-way trip; I doubt I’ll return.
There is a good introduction about the tradition of murder mysteries set on trains: taking advantage of confined space and the glamour of railway travel. However, only two of the three I read happened on trains; in the third, a newsworthy murder is initially discussed on a train, which is a bit tenuous. And it doesn’t explore why other small or temporarily closed communities (cruise ships, islands, offices, schools, military bases) are not equally rich veins for tales of murder.
Each story is preceded by a couple of paragraphs about the author and their writings.
Agatha Christie is notably absent (I read and watched many in my teens): perhaps hers are still in copyright and the others are not.
Image: Murder on the Orient Express, 2017 (Source.)
Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle - The Man with the Watches, 1898
This opens with lots of railway atmosphere and characters. It felt the most clichéd, which is unfair: it’s an early example, made familiar by later works that emulated it. Also, it’s entirely possible I read or watched this specific story, years ago.
During a journey from Euston to Manchester, three passengers disappear and one appears: he’s dead, ticketless, and with six valuable pocket watches. I guessed one aspect immediately, and as various characters discuss possible explanations, other dots came to mind, that could be joined in various ways. The solution is quite neat, and will especially appeal to rail buffs, but the way it was revealed was a total cop-out.
Baroness Orczy - The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway, early 1900s
The framing device is a character entranced by the story that’s about to unfold. Something of a conceit!
An affluent young woman, married but travelling alone, is found dead in a carriage. Suicide is a possibility.
The mystery explores the potential inaccuracy of eye-witnesses’ memory, the criminal advantages of being inconspicuous, and the danger of being too wedded to a solution to notice if the facts don’t match.
Dorothy L Sayers - The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face, 1928
This was by far the most intriguing story (despite not happening on a train), in part because it kept reminding me of Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray of 1891 and Lovecraft’s Pickman’s Model of a year before this (my review HERE). The writing was also more vivid and almost poetic - beyond what was required for the plot.
A body is found in a little rocky bay, where the only set of footprints are the victim’s - a man whose face has been horribly mutilated.
Lord Peter Wimsey’s closing line is a charming but shocking dilemma, and a total spoiler:
They were quite good and enjoyable, and two of them referenced small towns that I know well, which is invariably fun. Even from such a small sample, and not being much of a fan of murder mysteries, there was a comfortable familiarity, and thus sometimes predictability. It seems I know the signals: nothing went off the rails, although some of the writers used their stories as a platform to explore wider ideas than I expected.
Image: “The plot has been stolen!” (Source, @TomGauld.)
Perhaps I should read more of them, to build up a head of steam and find pastures new, but I think this was a one-way trip; I doubt I’ll return.
There is a good introduction about the tradition of murder mysteries set on trains: taking advantage of confined space and the glamour of railway travel. However, only two of the three I read happened on trains; in the third, a newsworthy murder is initially discussed on a train, which is a bit tenuous. And it doesn’t explore why other small or temporarily closed communities (cruise ships, islands, offices, schools, military bases) are not equally rich veins for tales of murder.
Each story is preceded by a couple of paragraphs about the author and their writings.
Agatha Christie is notably absent (I read and watched many in my teens): perhaps hers are still in copyright and the others are not.
Image: Murder on the Orient Express, 2017 (Source.)
Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle - The Man with the Watches, 1898
This opens with lots of railway atmosphere and characters. It felt the most clichéd, which is unfair: it’s an early example, made familiar by later works that emulated it. Also, it’s entirely possible I read or watched this specific story, years ago.
During a journey from Euston to Manchester, three passengers disappear and one appears: he’s dead, ticketless, and with six valuable pocket watches. I guessed one aspect immediately, and as various characters discuss possible explanations, other dots came to mind, that could be joined in various ways. The solution is quite neat, and will especially appeal to rail buffs, but the way it was revealed was a total cop-out.
Baroness Orczy - The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway, early 1900s
The framing device is a character entranced by the story that’s about to unfold. Something of a conceit!
An affluent young woman, married but travelling alone, is found dead in a carriage. Suicide is a possibility.
The mystery explores the potential inaccuracy of eye-witnesses’ memory, the criminal advantages of being inconspicuous, and the danger of being too wedded to a solution to notice if the facts don’t match.
Dorothy L Sayers - The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face, 1928
This was by far the most intriguing story (despite not happening on a train), in part because it kept reminding me of Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray of 1891 and Lovecraft’s Pickman’s Model of a year before this (my review HERE). The writing was also more vivid and almost poetic - beyond what was required for the plot.
A body is found in a little rocky bay, where the only set of footprints are the victim’s - a man whose face has been horribly mutilated.
Lord Peter Wimsey’s closing line is a charming but shocking dilemma, and a total spoiler:
July 9, 2018
EXCERPT: The guard marched up and down the platform looking into all the carriages to see if anyone had left a halfpenny evening paper behind for him, and opening the door of one of the first class compartments, he noticed a lady sitting in the further corner, with her head turned away towards the window, evidently oblivious of the fact that on this line Aldgate is the terminal station.
'Where are you for, lady?' he said.
The lady did not move, and the guard stepped into the carriage, thinking that perhaps the lady was asleep. He touched her arm lightly and looked into her face. In his own poetic language, he was 'struck all of a 'eap'. In the glassy eyes, the ashen colour of the cheeks, the rigidity of the head,there was the unmistakable look of death.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Blood on the Tracks celebrates the classic railway mystery. Trains and rail travel have long provided evocative settings for tales of murder and mayhem, and succeeding generations of crime writers have made ingenious use of them.
"Never had I been given a tougher problem to solve, and never had I been so utterly at my wits’ end for a solution.”
A signalman is found dead by a railway tunnel. A man identifies his wife as a victim of murder on the underground. Two passengers mysteriously disappear between stations, leaving behind a dead body.
Trains have been a favourite setting of many crime writers, providing the mobile equivalent of the “locked-room” scenario. Their enclosed carriages with a limited number of suspects lend themselves to seemingly impossible crimes. In an era of cancellations and delays, alibis reliant upon a timely train service no longer ring true, yet the railway detective has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the twenty-first century.
Both train buffs and crime fans will delight in this selection of fifteen railway-themed mysteries, featuring some of the most popular authors of their day alongside less familiar names. This is a collection to beguile even the most wearisome commute.
MY THOUGHTS: Although I wasn't on a 'wearisome commute', I was mostly beguiled by this collection. I have fond memories of, as a teenager, catching the railcar on a Friday night to the next town south to go stay with my friend Susan's grandmother for the weekend. We no longer have that option as trains no longer stop here. The train station and waiting room is now a trendy restaurant, the railway café a display of rugby memorabilia. The turntable is gone, ripped up to be relocated who knows where, or scrapped, and the engine sheds are falling down, the tracks fenced off to prevent people who no longer seem to have even a vestige of common sense from straying onto the tracks and being mowed down by one of the increasingly infrequent trains that still pass through our town.
Anyway, enough of my rant. Back to the purpose of this review - Blood on the Tracks, which is a beguiling collection of Golden Age detective fiction short stories, all set on or around the railway. This is a diverse and mostly entertaining collection showcasing the work of some very famous authors, and some whom I had never previously read and, as a result, I have some new authors to follow up on.
Definitely recommended if you are a railway enthusiast, enjoy Golden Age detective fiction, short stories or like a historical read. Even if you are none of these things, there is probably something in this collection that will please you.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Blood on the Tracks collated by Martin Edwards. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.
This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
'Where are you for, lady?' he said.
The lady did not move, and the guard stepped into the carriage, thinking that perhaps the lady was asleep. He touched her arm lightly and looked into her face. In his own poetic language, he was 'struck all of a 'eap'. In the glassy eyes, the ashen colour of the cheeks, the rigidity of the head,there was the unmistakable look of death.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Blood on the Tracks celebrates the classic railway mystery. Trains and rail travel have long provided evocative settings for tales of murder and mayhem, and succeeding generations of crime writers have made ingenious use of them.
"Never had I been given a tougher problem to solve, and never had I been so utterly at my wits’ end for a solution.”
A signalman is found dead by a railway tunnel. A man identifies his wife as a victim of murder on the underground. Two passengers mysteriously disappear between stations, leaving behind a dead body.
Trains have been a favourite setting of many crime writers, providing the mobile equivalent of the “locked-room” scenario. Their enclosed carriages with a limited number of suspects lend themselves to seemingly impossible crimes. In an era of cancellations and delays, alibis reliant upon a timely train service no longer ring true, yet the railway detective has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the twenty-first century.
Both train buffs and crime fans will delight in this selection of fifteen railway-themed mysteries, featuring some of the most popular authors of their day alongside less familiar names. This is a collection to beguile even the most wearisome commute.
MY THOUGHTS: Although I wasn't on a 'wearisome commute', I was mostly beguiled by this collection. I have fond memories of, as a teenager, catching the railcar on a Friday night to the next town south to go stay with my friend Susan's grandmother for the weekend. We no longer have that option as trains no longer stop here. The train station and waiting room is now a trendy restaurant, the railway café a display of rugby memorabilia. The turntable is gone, ripped up to be relocated who knows where, or scrapped, and the engine sheds are falling down, the tracks fenced off to prevent people who no longer seem to have even a vestige of common sense from straying onto the tracks and being mowed down by one of the increasingly infrequent trains that still pass through our town.
Anyway, enough of my rant. Back to the purpose of this review - Blood on the Tracks, which is a beguiling collection of Golden Age detective fiction short stories, all set on or around the railway. This is a diverse and mostly entertaining collection showcasing the work of some very famous authors, and some whom I had never previously read and, as a result, I have some new authors to follow up on.
Definitely recommended if you are a railway enthusiast, enjoy Golden Age detective fiction, short stories or like a historical read. Even if you are none of these things, there is probably something in this collection that will please you.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Blood on the Tracks collated by Martin Edwards. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.
This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
August 10, 2018
Another collection of mystery stories curated and introduced by Martin Edwards. In this outing, they all relate in some way to Britain’s railway system or London’s Underground. Some of the authors were part of the Golden Age mentioned in other collections. I found well over half of the tales were very successful, even for a jaded modern reader like me who has been reading mysteries since childhood. A few initially seemed a bit dry with nothing special to offer, but the pace picked up and I found the quality and interest I’m used to.
Among my favorites were stories by Dorothy Sayers and Michael Innes. The stories with a surprise or irony or a special clever twist caught my attention since I have read so many over the years. And there were more than a few here.
Once again I recommend a mystery story collection from Martin Edwards and Poisoned Pen Press to all who enjoy mysteries and stories. This is a great series.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Among my favorites were stories by Dorothy Sayers and Michael Innes. The stories with a surprise or irony or a special clever twist caught my attention since I have read so many over the years. And there were more than a few here.
Once again I recommend a mystery story collection from Martin Edwards and Poisoned Pen Press to all who enjoy mysteries and stories. This is a great series.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
April 23, 2018
Editor Martin Edwards has collected short stories dealing with trains and railways from a sampling of well-known and obscure writers — with the obscure more deserving of accolades. Ironically, it has taken a swift-moving train story to nudge me to revisit an author whom I had dismissed.
As with all anthologies, there are gems, mediocrities and one loser. (Martin, a mystery author in his own right, has remarkably limited it to one. Kudos to him!) First the famous. Dorothy L. Sayers delights with “The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face,” featuring Lord Peter Wimsey at his most philosophical. Michael Innes soars with “Murder on the 7.16” (how is it I’ve only read one John Appleby novel?), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Man with the Watches” doesn’t rise to the level of Sherlock Holmes, but it’s enjoyable. Baroness Orczy’s “The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway” was enjoyable, but not enough for me to check out her other mysteries. I had read Freeman Wills Crofts’ lackluster Mystery in the Channel, but “The Case of Oscar Brodski” has inspired me to give the scientific Inspector French another chance.
Now for the obscure, I liked Matthias McDonnell Bodkin’s “How He Cut His Stick” enough that I will try to find his Dora Myrl series books; the same goes for T. Tennyson Jesse’s Solange Fontaine from Jesse’s wonderful, paranormal “The Railway Carriage,” R. Austin Freeman’s Dr. Thondyke series based on “The Level Crossing”, and Sapper’s Ronald Standish, featured in “Mystery of the Slip-Coach.” Ernest Bramah’s “The Knight’s Crossing Signal Problem” did not induce me to change my mind about the irritating Max Carrados. There are a few other short stories that will probably also nudge me to new horizons. Thanks so much, Mr. Edwards!
In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, British Library and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.
As with all anthologies, there are gems, mediocrities and one loser. (Martin, a mystery author in his own right, has remarkably limited it to one. Kudos to him!) First the famous. Dorothy L. Sayers delights with “The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face,” featuring Lord Peter Wimsey at his most philosophical. Michael Innes soars with “Murder on the 7.16” (how is it I’ve only read one John Appleby novel?), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Man with the Watches” doesn’t rise to the level of Sherlock Holmes, but it’s enjoyable. Baroness Orczy’s “The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway” was enjoyable, but not enough for me to check out her other mysteries. I had read Freeman Wills Crofts’ lackluster Mystery in the Channel, but “The Case of Oscar Brodski” has inspired me to give the scientific Inspector French another chance.
Now for the obscure, I liked Matthias McDonnell Bodkin’s “How He Cut His Stick” enough that I will try to find his Dora Myrl series books; the same goes for T. Tennyson Jesse’s Solange Fontaine from Jesse’s wonderful, paranormal “The Railway Carriage,” R. Austin Freeman’s Dr. Thondyke series based on “The Level Crossing”, and Sapper’s Ronald Standish, featured in “Mystery of the Slip-Coach.” Ernest Bramah’s “The Knight’s Crossing Signal Problem” did not induce me to change my mind about the irritating Max Carrados. There are a few other short stories that will probably also nudge me to new horizons. Thanks so much, Mr. Edwards!
In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, British Library and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.
January 31, 2021
Great collection of different mysteries dealing with railways.
May 9, 2018
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital galley of this collection.
Martin Edwards, in conjunction with the British Library Crime Classics, has edited another wonderful collection of fifteen short stories; the theme of which is crime associated with the railroad. This book has one great advantage for signaling readers predictable enjoyment by including so many easily recognizable authors from the time of classic detective fiction. Edwards states that the stories are presented in more or less chronological order. I have listed the title, author and any well known featured detective.
The Man with the Watches, Arthur Conan Doyle (not a Sherlock Holmes story)
The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel, L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace, featuring John Bell
How He Cut His Stick, Mathias McDonnell Bodkin, featuring Dora Myrl
The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway, Baroness Orczy, featuring The Old Man in the Corner
The Affair of the Corridor Express, Victor L. Whitechurch, featuring Thorpe Hazell
The Case of Oscar Brodski, R. Austin Freeman, featuring Dr. John Thorndyke
The Eighth Lamp, Roy Vickers
The Knight's Cross Signal Problem, Ernest Bramah, featuring Max Carrados
The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face, Dorothy L. Sayers, Lord Peter Wimsey
The Railway Carriage, F. Tennyson Jesse, featuring Solange Fontaine
Mystery of the Slip-Coach, Sapper, featuring Ronald Standish
The Level Crossing, Freeman Wills Crofts
The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage, Ronald Knox, a Sherlock Holmes pastiche
Murder on the 7.6, Michael Innes, featuring Sir John Appleby
Handicap, Michael Gilbert, featuring Patrick Petrella
As is evidenced by the title of the collection and the titles of most of the stories these are all mysteries which take place on a train or crimes which are solved after the train incident had happened. I found all the stories most enjoyable and had only read one of the stories previously. There are some very good "impossible" or "locked room" stories because of the confining nature of a railway car. This is one collection where I can say I liked each of the stories, probably because so many of the authors are writers I chose to read when I'm looking for a good mystery novel.
Martin Edwards, in conjunction with the British Library Crime Classics, has edited another wonderful collection of fifteen short stories; the theme of which is crime associated with the railroad. This book has one great advantage for signaling readers predictable enjoyment by including so many easily recognizable authors from the time of classic detective fiction. Edwards states that the stories are presented in more or less chronological order. I have listed the title, author and any well known featured detective.
The Man with the Watches, Arthur Conan Doyle (not a Sherlock Holmes story)
The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel, L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace, featuring John Bell
How He Cut His Stick, Mathias McDonnell Bodkin, featuring Dora Myrl
The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway, Baroness Orczy, featuring The Old Man in the Corner
The Affair of the Corridor Express, Victor L. Whitechurch, featuring Thorpe Hazell
The Case of Oscar Brodski, R. Austin Freeman, featuring Dr. John Thorndyke
The Eighth Lamp, Roy Vickers
The Knight's Cross Signal Problem, Ernest Bramah, featuring Max Carrados
The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face, Dorothy L. Sayers, Lord Peter Wimsey
The Railway Carriage, F. Tennyson Jesse, featuring Solange Fontaine
Mystery of the Slip-Coach, Sapper, featuring Ronald Standish
The Level Crossing, Freeman Wills Crofts
The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage, Ronald Knox, a Sherlock Holmes pastiche
Murder on the 7.6, Michael Innes, featuring Sir John Appleby
Handicap, Michael Gilbert, featuring Patrick Petrella
As is evidenced by the title of the collection and the titles of most of the stories these are all mysteries which take place on a train or crimes which are solved after the train incident had happened. I found all the stories most enjoyable and had only read one of the stories previously. There are some very good "impossible" or "locked room" stories because of the confining nature of a railway car. This is one collection where I can say I liked each of the stories, probably because so many of the authors are writers I chose to read when I'm looking for a good mystery novel.
April 30, 2018
A selection of stories, all with a railway background all set in a particular time and setting very reminiscent of Briish colonial times!
It was nostalgic to read this collection of stories. All mysteries, some murders some could be solved very easily, some inexplicable, and some were sheer genius in the solving.
A book ideal not just for readers of crime, but also for those who love the railways!
Very well put together, extremely entertaining
It was nostalgic to read this collection of stories. All mysteries, some murders some could be solved very easily, some inexplicable, and some were sheer genius in the solving.
A book ideal not just for readers of crime, but also for those who love the railways!
Very well put together, extremely entertaining
June 4, 2018
An uneven, but mostly enjoyable collection of short stories compiled by Martin Edwards.
"The Man with the Watches" by Arthur Conan Doyle - A mysterious death on a train is solved when a letter from abroad arrives.
"The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel" by L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace - The death of a signalman casts suspicion upon a railway worker. Before investigators arrive on the scene, they find another corpse in almost the same location. Science solves the mystery.
"How He Cut His Stick" by Matthias McDonnell Bodkin - A thief gets off a train traveling at full speed. Dora Myrl figures out how.
"The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway" by Baroness Orczy - A look back at an unsolved murder about a woman poisoned on a train.
"The Affair of the Corridor Express" by Victor L. Whitechurch - The son of a wealthy Londoner is kidnapped on a train while in the care of a school official, disappearing before the destination is reached.
"The Case of Oscar Brodski" by R. Austin Freeman - Forensic evidence helps solve the crime.
"The Eighth Lamp" by Roy Vickers - More suspense than mystery. A signalman sees a circle line train running after hours. Still enjoyable, even if the mystery element is not strong.
"The Knight's Cross Signal Problem" by Ernest Bramah - A signalman performed his duties but an oncoming train sees a "go ahead" resulting in a crash. A blind detective figures out what happened.
"The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face" by Dorothy L. Sayers - A corpse with a mutilated face appears on a beach with no clues to the victim's identity left. While riding a train, the detective overhears Lord Peter Wimsey's theory, leading to the victim's identification.
"The Railway Carriage" by F. Tennyson Jesse - Solange Fontaine boards a train headed for London in Merchester. The occupants of her third class car speak of the execution of a young man that morning. The train crashes. With the next car aflame, a young man appears urging them to get out, but then he disappears.
"Mystery of the Slip-Coach" by Sapper - A bookmaker's corpse lies in a railway coach with egg splattered upon the door. A bullet killed him. One passenger's luggage contains a firearm, but the bullet doesn't match.
"The Level Crossing" by Freeman Wills Crofts - After a stock deal, a man is found dead at a railway crossing.
"The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage" by Ronald Knox - A Sherlock Holmes mystery written by someone other than Doyle.
"Murder on the 7.16" by Michael Innes - "Not a real murder" on "not a real train." Different!
"The Coulman Handicap" by Michael Gilbert - A woman under surveillance gives her tail the slip in a case involving precious jewels.
This review is based on an advanced electronic copy received from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an unbiased review.
"The Man with the Watches" by Arthur Conan Doyle - A mysterious death on a train is solved when a letter from abroad arrives.
"The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel" by L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace - The death of a signalman casts suspicion upon a railway worker. Before investigators arrive on the scene, they find another corpse in almost the same location. Science solves the mystery.
"How He Cut His Stick" by Matthias McDonnell Bodkin - A thief gets off a train traveling at full speed. Dora Myrl figures out how.
"The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway" by Baroness Orczy - A look back at an unsolved murder about a woman poisoned on a train.
"The Affair of the Corridor Express" by Victor L. Whitechurch - The son of a wealthy Londoner is kidnapped on a train while in the care of a school official, disappearing before the destination is reached.
"The Case of Oscar Brodski" by R. Austin Freeman - Forensic evidence helps solve the crime.
"The Eighth Lamp" by Roy Vickers - More suspense than mystery. A signalman sees a circle line train running after hours. Still enjoyable, even if the mystery element is not strong.
"The Knight's Cross Signal Problem" by Ernest Bramah - A signalman performed his duties but an oncoming train sees a "go ahead" resulting in a crash. A blind detective figures out what happened.
"The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face" by Dorothy L. Sayers - A corpse with a mutilated face appears on a beach with no clues to the victim's identity left. While riding a train, the detective overhears Lord Peter Wimsey's theory, leading to the victim's identification.
"The Railway Carriage" by F. Tennyson Jesse - Solange Fontaine boards a train headed for London in Merchester. The occupants of her third class car speak of the execution of a young man that morning. The train crashes. With the next car aflame, a young man appears urging them to get out, but then he disappears.
"Mystery of the Slip-Coach" by Sapper - A bookmaker's corpse lies in a railway coach with egg splattered upon the door. A bullet killed him. One passenger's luggage contains a firearm, but the bullet doesn't match.
"The Level Crossing" by Freeman Wills Crofts - After a stock deal, a man is found dead at a railway crossing.
"The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage" by Ronald Knox - A Sherlock Holmes mystery written by someone other than Doyle.
"Murder on the 7.16" by Michael Innes - "Not a real murder" on "not a real train." Different!
"The Coulman Handicap" by Michael Gilbert - A woman under surveillance gives her tail the slip in a case involving precious jewels.
This review is based on an advanced electronic copy received from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an unbiased review.
April 27, 2018
Reading this book is like visiting a very old relative in a home for retired gentlefolk. They have some amusing and interesting stories to tell but somewhat tame compared to the more recent escapades of your younger friends. Their slightly crude stereotyping of class, gender and nationality makes you cringe at times….
Okay, so I don’t mean to be ageist as this relative does not exist. The stories in Blood on the Tracks are mostly around 100 years old and, while valuable for those interested in the development of the detective story (and there are plenty of editor’s notes on this), were not particularly memorable for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the review copy.
Visit my blog at https://mypertopinions.blogspot.co.uk/
Okay, so I don’t mean to be ageist as this relative does not exist. The stories in Blood on the Tracks are mostly around 100 years old and, while valuable for those interested in the development of the detective story (and there are plenty of editor’s notes on this), were not particularly memorable for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the review copy.
Visit my blog at https://mypertopinions.blogspot.co.uk/
April 14, 2018
There was much to interest, amuse, and intrigue all but the most seasoned of mystery readers in this volume which consists of fifteen stories and an Introduction by the editor, Martin Edwards. Each item has a brief preamble, some with biographical and bibliographical information.
The stated aim of the collection is to celebrate the classic railway mystery. All the authors were British-based and only four are women. The earliest story dates from 1898, the latest from the 1950’s.
The selection includes:-
1. The Man with the Watches: A. Conan Doyle (1898)- Interesting mystery of a body found on a train with two solutions proposed.
2.The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel: L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace (1898)- John Bell investigates two mysterious deaths using his scientific knowledge. This feels dated in a way that the Conan Doyle does not.
3.How He Cut His Stick: M McDonnell Bodkin (1900)-Slight and somewhat far-fetched tale of Dora Myrl solving a railway robbery.
4.The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway: Baroness Orczy (1901)- the Old Man in the Corner is one of my favourite “armchair detectives” and here he gives his solution to a death in a railway carriage.
5.The Affair of the Corridor Express: Victor L Whitechurch (1912)- Thorpe Hazell, the original railway detective, solves a kidnapping case in this well-known tale.
6.The Case of Oscar Brodski: R.Austin Freeman (1912)-Dr. Thorndyke investigates a death on the railway tracks in what is considered to be the first “inverted” detective story. This gives it historical interest, although it is not a personal favourite.
7.The Eighth Lamp: Roy Vickers (1916)-Neat short story of murder, conscience, and a ghost, set in the London Underground.
8.The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem: Ernest Bramah (1913)- Max Carrados solves the mystery surrounding a serious rail accident in this enjoyable story.
9. The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face: Dorothy L. Sayers (1928)-Interesting Peter Wimsey murder tale with two solutions. Only tenuously is it a railway mystery.
10. The Railway Carriage: F. Tennyson Jesse (1931)-Curiously atmospheric tale of a railway accident involving Solange Fontaine, the “occult sleuth”.
11.Mystery of the Slip-Coach: H.C.McNeile aka“Sapper“(1933)-Ronald Standish, “gentleman detective”, works out the solution to a murder in a train carriage,Rather unexpectedly enjoyable.
12. The Level Crossing: Freeman Wills Crofts (1933)- Not quite an inverted murder story, showing the power of circumstantial evidence.
13. The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage: Ronald Knox (1947)-Pleasant Holmes pastiche but only incidentally a railway mystery.
14.Murder on the 7.16: Michael Innes (1956)-Sir John Appleby in a whimsical piece about a killing on a film set.
15. The Coulman Handicap: Michael Gilbert (1950’s)-Patrick Petrella gets his man in this neat tale which has only a slight link to railways.
I must admit to a slight personal disappointment that so many of the stories were familiar.
I had read several of these elsewhere. One of the original delights of these British Library themed collections was that they included stories by neglected authors or shed new light on the well-known ones by publishing hard-to-find items. This was not so much in evidence this time.
It would be useful to have sources, follow-up reading or further reading suggestions included in anthologies, even given that a lot of information can be found on the internet
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC.
The stated aim of the collection is to celebrate the classic railway mystery. All the authors were British-based and only four are women. The earliest story dates from 1898, the latest from the 1950’s.
The selection includes:-
1. The Man with the Watches: A. Conan Doyle (1898)- Interesting mystery of a body found on a train with two solutions proposed.
2.The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel: L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace (1898)- John Bell investigates two mysterious deaths using his scientific knowledge. This feels dated in a way that the Conan Doyle does not.
3.How He Cut His Stick: M McDonnell Bodkin (1900)-Slight and somewhat far-fetched tale of Dora Myrl solving a railway robbery.
4.The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway: Baroness Orczy (1901)- the Old Man in the Corner is one of my favourite “armchair detectives” and here he gives his solution to a death in a railway carriage.
5.The Affair of the Corridor Express: Victor L Whitechurch (1912)- Thorpe Hazell, the original railway detective, solves a kidnapping case in this well-known tale.
6.The Case of Oscar Brodski: R.Austin Freeman (1912)-Dr. Thorndyke investigates a death on the railway tracks in what is considered to be the first “inverted” detective story. This gives it historical interest, although it is not a personal favourite.
7.The Eighth Lamp: Roy Vickers (1916)-Neat short story of murder, conscience, and a ghost, set in the London Underground.
8.The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem: Ernest Bramah (1913)- Max Carrados solves the mystery surrounding a serious rail accident in this enjoyable story.
9. The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face: Dorothy L. Sayers (1928)-Interesting Peter Wimsey murder tale with two solutions. Only tenuously is it a railway mystery.
10. The Railway Carriage: F. Tennyson Jesse (1931)-Curiously atmospheric tale of a railway accident involving Solange Fontaine, the “occult sleuth”.
11.Mystery of the Slip-Coach: H.C.McNeile aka“Sapper“(1933)-Ronald Standish, “gentleman detective”, works out the solution to a murder in a train carriage,Rather unexpectedly enjoyable.
12. The Level Crossing: Freeman Wills Crofts (1933)- Not quite an inverted murder story, showing the power of circumstantial evidence.
13. The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage: Ronald Knox (1947)-Pleasant Holmes pastiche but only incidentally a railway mystery.
14.Murder on the 7.16: Michael Innes (1956)-Sir John Appleby in a whimsical piece about a killing on a film set.
15. The Coulman Handicap: Michael Gilbert (1950’s)-Patrick Petrella gets his man in this neat tale which has only a slight link to railways.
I must admit to a slight personal disappointment that so many of the stories were familiar.
I had read several of these elsewhere. One of the original delights of these British Library themed collections was that they included stories by neglected authors or shed new light on the well-known ones by publishing hard-to-find items. This was not so much in evidence this time.
It would be useful to have sources, follow-up reading or further reading suggestions included in anthologies, even given that a lot of information can be found on the internet
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC.
December 16, 2018
I enjoyed every story in this collection. That is rare you usually have one or two that is not as good as the other's.
This collection has Conan Doyle, Dorothy L Sayers, Michael Innes, Michael Gilbert and so many other phenomenal writers.
I have just recently began collecting this British Libary Crime Classics, but I have accumulated a good number already.
If you enjoy great short stories, and mysteries this in the book for you.
This collection has Conan Doyle, Dorothy L Sayers, Michael Innes, Michael Gilbert and so many other phenomenal writers.
I have just recently began collecting this British Libary Crime Classics, but I have accumulated a good number already.
If you enjoy great short stories, and mysteries this in the book for you.
September 28, 2024
In order of enjoyment:
The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face … 5/5
The Case of Oscar Brodski … 4/5
Mystery of the Underground Railway … 4/5
The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel … 4/5
The Man with the Watches … 3/5
How He Cut His Stick … 3/5
The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem … 3/5
The Railway Carriage … 3/5
Mystery of the Slip-Coach … 3/5
The Coulman Handicap … 3/5
Adventure of the First-Class Carriage … 3/5
The Affair of the Corridor Express … 2.5/5
The Level Crossing … 2/5
Murder on the 7.16 … 2/5
The Eighth Lamp … 1/5
The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face … 5/5
The Case of Oscar Brodski … 4/5
Mystery of the Underground Railway … 4/5
The Mystery of the Felwyn Tunnel … 4/5
The Man with the Watches … 3/5
How He Cut His Stick … 3/5
The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem … 3/5
The Railway Carriage … 3/5
Mystery of the Slip-Coach … 3/5
The Coulman Handicap … 3/5
Adventure of the First-Class Carriage … 3/5
The Affair of the Corridor Express … 2.5/5
The Level Crossing … 2/5
Murder on the 7.16 … 2/5
The Eighth Lamp … 1/5
February 18, 2024
Martin Edwards and the British Library Crime Classics series give train enthusiasts and classic crime enthusiasts fifteen stories that can satisfy both. Trains have been the scene of murder and mayhem quite often in classic crime novels--from Murder on the Orient Express by Christie to numerous novels by Freeman Wills Crofts. Here we are treated to short stories featuring the railway. We have a non-Holmes story by Conan Doyle and a Holmes pastiche by Ronald Knox. We have murders, thefts, and a few stories with a touch of the supernatural. My favorites are "The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway" and "The Knight's Cross Signal Problem," but all are worth a look. ★★★ and 1/2 [rounded up here]
"The Man with the Watches" by Sir Artur Conan Doyle: Three people on a train disappear from two compartments while an unidentified dead man (with six expensive watches in his pockets) appears in one of the abandoned first-class sections. The police are baffled until a letter arrives from one of the missing men. (one shot)
"The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel" by L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace: A signalman and a second man are both killed in the same spot at the mouth of the tunnel. The first death looks like it might have been the result of a deadly love triangle, but that theory falls apart with the second death. (one hit on head; one poisoned)
"How He Cut His Stick" by Matthias McDonnell Bodkin: Lady detective Dora Myrl solves the case of the theft of five thousand pounds in gold and notes from a locked, moving railway carriage. And saves the reputation of the young clerk charged with its transport.
"The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway" by Baroness Orczy: The Old Man in the Corner solves the mystery of the young woman who was poisoned on the underground train. (one poisoned)
"The Affair of the Corridor Express" by Victor L. Whitechurch: A multimillionaire's son who disappears from a moving train. Hazell retraces the journey to find the boy before it's too late.
"The Case of Oscar Brodski" by R. Austin Freeman: An inverted train mystery--the reader already knows who did what and gets to watch Dr. Thorndyke spot all the clues that will reveal the truth. (one strangled)
"The Eighth Lamp" by Roy Vickers: A signalman for the underground railroad has a spooky experience when extinguishing the eight lamps for his section of the track. Each night when the eighth lamp goes out, he hears a train coming at him--when no train should be coming down the line. (one heart failure)
"The Knight's Cross Signal Problem" by Ernest Bramah: When a train accident occurs, the signalman swears that the signal showed red for danger and the engineer swears it was green for proceed. They are both right and Carrados proves how this can be.
"The Unsolved Mystery of the Man with No Face" by Dorothy L. Sayers: An unidentified man, his features disfigured beyond recognition, is found dead on a deserted beach. Lord Peter solves the murder using clues provided in the discussion amongst his fellow train travelers. (one strangled; one suicide)
"The Railway Carriage" by F. Tennyson Jesse: Solange Fontaine, a female detective who can sense evil, enters a railway carriage with an elderly woman dressed in black and a man in a gray felt hat. She immediately feels uneasy...and then there is a train crash. But Solange's unease had nothing to do with the crash... (one stabbed; one hanged; one natural).
"Mystery of the Slip-Coach" by Sapper: A moneylender is found shot in his compartment with the door and window shut. The only clue...a broken raw egg. (one shot)
"The Level Crossing" by Freeman Wills Crofts: A man plans to do away with his blackmailer...using the nearby train crossing in his (he thinks) fool-proof plot. But fate takes a couple of unexpected turns... (one hit by train)
"The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage" by Ronald Knox: Knox tries his hand at a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. A servant consults Sherlock Holmes when she has cause to believe her master is planning to commit suicide. Holmes quickly spots that there is more going on than meets the eye.
"Murder on the 7.16" by Michael Innes: A film director is found murdered in the railway carriage on the set of his latest film. What was he doing in the train so late at night? And who was with him? (one hit on head)
"The Coulman Handicap" by Michael Gilbert: The police know that a woman is passing stolen goods and using the underground as part of her plot. But catching her red-handed proves more difficult than anticipated.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
"The Man with the Watches" by Sir Artur Conan Doyle: Three people on a train disappear from two compartments while an unidentified dead man (with six expensive watches in his pockets) appears in one of the abandoned first-class sections. The police are baffled until a letter arrives from one of the missing men. (one shot)
"The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel" by L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace: A signalman and a second man are both killed in the same spot at the mouth of the tunnel. The first death looks like it might have been the result of a deadly love triangle, but that theory falls apart with the second death. (one hit on head; one poisoned)
"How He Cut His Stick" by Matthias McDonnell Bodkin: Lady detective Dora Myrl solves the case of the theft of five thousand pounds in gold and notes from a locked, moving railway carriage. And saves the reputation of the young clerk charged with its transport.
"The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway" by Baroness Orczy: The Old Man in the Corner solves the mystery of the young woman who was poisoned on the underground train. (one poisoned)
"The Affair of the Corridor Express" by Victor L. Whitechurch: A multimillionaire's son who disappears from a moving train. Hazell retraces the journey to find the boy before it's too late.
"The Case of Oscar Brodski" by R. Austin Freeman: An inverted train mystery--the reader already knows who did what and gets to watch Dr. Thorndyke spot all the clues that will reveal the truth. (one strangled)
"The Eighth Lamp" by Roy Vickers: A signalman for the underground railroad has a spooky experience when extinguishing the eight lamps for his section of the track. Each night when the eighth lamp goes out, he hears a train coming at him--when no train should be coming down the line. (one heart failure)
"The Knight's Cross Signal Problem" by Ernest Bramah: When a train accident occurs, the signalman swears that the signal showed red for danger and the engineer swears it was green for proceed. They are both right and Carrados proves how this can be.
"The Unsolved Mystery of the Man with No Face" by Dorothy L. Sayers: An unidentified man, his features disfigured beyond recognition, is found dead on a deserted beach. Lord Peter solves the murder using clues provided in the discussion amongst his fellow train travelers. (one strangled; one suicide)
"The Railway Carriage" by F. Tennyson Jesse: Solange Fontaine, a female detective who can sense evil, enters a railway carriage with an elderly woman dressed in black and a man in a gray felt hat. She immediately feels uneasy...and then there is a train crash. But Solange's unease had nothing to do with the crash... (one stabbed; one hanged; one natural).
"Mystery of the Slip-Coach" by Sapper: A moneylender is found shot in his compartment with the door and window shut. The only clue...a broken raw egg. (one shot)
"The Level Crossing" by Freeman Wills Crofts: A man plans to do away with his blackmailer...using the nearby train crossing in his (he thinks) fool-proof plot. But fate takes a couple of unexpected turns... (one hit by train)
"The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage" by Ronald Knox: Knox tries his hand at a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. A servant consults Sherlock Holmes when she has cause to believe her master is planning to commit suicide. Holmes quickly spots that there is more going on than meets the eye.
"Murder on the 7.16" by Michael Innes: A film director is found murdered in the railway carriage on the set of his latest film. What was he doing in the train so late at night? And who was with him? (one hit on head)
"The Coulman Handicap" by Michael Gilbert: The police know that a woman is passing stolen goods and using the underground as part of her plot. But catching her red-handed proves more difficult than anticipated.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
May 6, 2018
This is a good collection of mysteries that all revolve around the British railway system. Some of them rely on the railway for a solution, others for the setting, and others for atmosphere, but all rely on it. There are stories here from well-known authors and some who have been forgotten. There are murders, thefts, disappearances, and ghosts. I would have rated it higher, but I persally wasn't fond of serval of the stories.
So here are my thoughts on those stories.
The Man with the Watches by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Three passengers catch a train, all three disappear, and in their place is found a dead man. Who is he? No one knows; or do they?
I really liked the way we were offered so many possible solutions before the real one came out. Do you think he was hinting that one solution was supplied by Holmes himself? I like to think so.
The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel by L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace
This one is spooky. People are dying, but how? Why? This one relies heavily on atmosphere. It has it all, remote location, tunnels, solitude, night, and speeding trains.
How He Cut His Stick by Matthias McDonnell Bodkin
The atmosphere of this one is not so dark and makes a nice contrast with the former. It also varies from the standard formula as it has a woman detective and no murder. It’s just a fun little mystery.
The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway by Baroness Orczy
A woman is found dead at the end of the line. Her reputation is shattered, her killer suspected, but is it all as it seems? What does the Old Man in the Corner think?
The Affair of the Corridor Express
How can a child disappear from a speeding train? Is it a childish prank or something more sinister? This is one of the easier ones to figure out, but still fun.
This one has one instance of vulgar slang.
The Case of Oscar Brodski by R. Austin Freeman
As with any inverted mystery, this one builds suspense not by guessing who did it, but by attempting to get away with it. Has he done it? Has he shifted all blame to the railway, or will Dr. Thorndyke catch him in the end?
The Eighth Lamp by Roy Vickers
This one plays on our fears of the dark, solitude, and the unknown. From there it just gets stranger.
The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem Ernest Bramah
This one takes the most technical knowledge to understand, but don’t be discouraged. I got through it, and I don’t know anything about trains or railways. I did enjoy it more for the detective than I did for the mystery though, probably for that reason.
The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face by Dorothy L. Sayers
This one has the most swearing, and a rather unsatisfactory ending. It may not be that way for everyone though. I just like my endings a bit tidier. It starts out with a few gossips discussing a recent murder and ends with a vindication of the theory put forward there.
The Railway Carriage
What a grotesque little story! At first, I wanted to go find the rest of this series, but after that, I’m not so sure I will, but then I’m not all that fond of .
The Coulman Handicap by Michael Gilbert
That is the most unusual of the stories in this collection. It almost feels as if is part of a larger story, but it’s still completely satisfying as a short story. The use of the trains in this one is quite unique and really very clever. Unfortunately, it also has one use of offensive slang.
The Mystery of the Slip-Coach Sapper
This has, what has to be, one of the most unusual clues I’ve ever read. It’s a murder mystery, but with that as a clue, it’s almost lighthearted. It makes an excellent ending to the collection.
Received free from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. No favorable review was required. These are my honest opinions.
So here are my thoughts on those stories.
The Man with the Watches by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Three passengers catch a train, all three disappear, and in their place is found a dead man. Who is he? No one knows; or do they?
I really liked the way we were offered so many possible solutions before the real one came out. Do you think he was hinting that one solution was supplied by Holmes himself? I like to think so.
The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel by L.T. Meade and Robert Eustace
This one is spooky. People are dying, but how? Why? This one relies heavily on atmosphere. It has it all, remote location, tunnels, solitude, night, and speeding trains.
How He Cut His Stick by Matthias McDonnell Bodkin
The atmosphere of this one is not so dark and makes a nice contrast with the former. It also varies from the standard formula as it has a woman detective and no murder. It’s just a fun little mystery.
The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway by Baroness Orczy
A woman is found dead at the end of the line. Her reputation is shattered, her killer suspected, but is it all as it seems? What does the Old Man in the Corner think?
The Affair of the Corridor Express
How can a child disappear from a speeding train? Is it a childish prank or something more sinister? This is one of the easier ones to figure out, but still fun.
This one has one instance of vulgar slang.
The Case of Oscar Brodski by R. Austin Freeman
As with any inverted mystery, this one builds suspense not by guessing who did it, but by attempting to get away with it. Has he done it? Has he shifted all blame to the railway, or will Dr. Thorndyke catch him in the end?
The Eighth Lamp by Roy Vickers
This one plays on our fears of the dark, solitude, and the unknown. From there it just gets stranger.
The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem Ernest Bramah
This one takes the most technical knowledge to understand, but don’t be discouraged. I got through it, and I don’t know anything about trains or railways. I did enjoy it more for the detective than I did for the mystery though, probably for that reason.
The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face by Dorothy L. Sayers
This one has the most swearing, and a rather unsatisfactory ending. It may not be that way for everyone though. I just like my endings a bit tidier. It starts out with a few gossips discussing a recent murder and ends with a vindication of the theory put forward there.
The Railway Carriage
What a grotesque little story! At first, I wanted to go find the rest of this series, but after that, I’m not so sure I will, but then I’m not all that fond of .
The Coulman Handicap by Michael Gilbert
That is the most unusual of the stories in this collection. It almost feels as if is part of a larger story, but it’s still completely satisfying as a short story. The use of the trains in this one is quite unique and really very clever. Unfortunately, it also has one use of offensive slang.
The Mystery of the Slip-Coach Sapper
This has, what has to be, one of the most unusual clues I’ve ever read. It’s a murder mystery, but with that as a clue, it’s almost lighthearted. It makes an excellent ending to the collection.
Received free from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press. No favorable review was required. These are my honest opinions.
July 3, 2018
How much fun is this book? As a collection of older short mysteries, all having to do, in one way or another, with railroads, this is a spiffy and very pleasurable read. Martin Edwards, the editor, is well-known for his excellent collations of stories, and he has done himself proud with this one.
The gang’s all here in this volume. Included are stories by such luminaries as Conan Doyle, Dorothy L Sayers, R Austin Freeman, Sapper, and Baroness Orczy. Some well-known sleuths are The Old Man in the Corner, Lord Peter Wimsey, Doctor Thorndyke, and Max Carrados. Not only can you not go wrong, choosing a favorite story is the hard part. I admit that for myself, I was delighted to find a Lord Peter Wimsey story that I either had never read or which I had forgotten, and I was pleased to renew an old acquaintance with Doctor Thorndyke.
There were some nice surprises in this book. I had heard of Victor Whitechurch, but not his detective Thorpe Hazell, and Sapper’s Bulldog Drummond is, of course, famous, but I was unfamiliar with another of his creations, Ronald Standish. I enjoyed these stories very much. In fact, with the exception of one story which I found rather sad, I liked everything I read.
If you are interested in older mysteries, or railroads, or just looking for something great to read, let me recommend “Blood on the Tracks.” This was most enjoyable, and my only complaint is that I wanted more stories.
The gang’s all here in this volume. Included are stories by such luminaries as Conan Doyle, Dorothy L Sayers, R Austin Freeman, Sapper, and Baroness Orczy. Some well-known sleuths are The Old Man in the Corner, Lord Peter Wimsey, Doctor Thorndyke, and Max Carrados. Not only can you not go wrong, choosing a favorite story is the hard part. I admit that for myself, I was delighted to find a Lord Peter Wimsey story that I either had never read or which I had forgotten, and I was pleased to renew an old acquaintance with Doctor Thorndyke.
There were some nice surprises in this book. I had heard of Victor Whitechurch, but not his detective Thorpe Hazell, and Sapper’s Bulldog Drummond is, of course, famous, but I was unfamiliar with another of his creations, Ronald Standish. I enjoyed these stories very much. In fact, with the exception of one story which I found rather sad, I liked everything I read.
If you are interested in older mysteries, or railroads, or just looking for something great to read, let me recommend “Blood on the Tracks.” This was most enjoyable, and my only complaint is that I wanted more stories.
April 30, 2018
Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my copy of this book! I enjoy very much the short stories selected by Martin Edwards. Just like in another short stories collection by the editor, “Foreign Bodies”, I’m amazed by the fantastic selection in “Blood on the tracks”. I enjoyed “The affair of the corridor express” and “Murder on the 7.16” the best. I enjoyed the theme of the book, which reminded me many times of one of favorite Murder mysteries, “Murder on the Orient Express”. Every short story is unique in its own way and at the same time, cleverly selected so there’s a link between them. This is a really great book.
April 13, 2018
Another excellent anthology by Martin Edwards - this one is about crime linked with trains. If you like reading books written by authors up to the Golden Age, this book will be very welcomed. Again a mixture of writing styles and stories, and again very enjoyable. There was only one I did not enjoy but that is personal taste, the book does give a good mix of story some of which I have encountered previously, some were new to me.
June 1, 2018
This review can also be found on my blog
I have to say I love the sentence “In an era of cancellations and delays, alibis reliant upon a timely train service no longer ring true”. Clearly, nobody has been hit harder by the decline of the railways than poor mystery writers who have lost such a great plot-device…
While one might think that ‘railway related mysteries’ limits the type of stories one can include in this book there is some variety. In many cases, they are simply a sub-set of locked-room mysteries: somebody (or something) disappeared from a moving train (but the how is different every time). Sometimes the train provides the murder-method (or the means of masking the murder) and sometimes the train is mere coincidence (The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face opens in a train but the actual crime had been committed somewhere else and was in no way connected to a train or the railway).
Of course, the stories also vary in quality. No matter how popular railway mysteries were, not every writer did his best work in (short) railway fiction. (Sayer’s story is nowhere near as brilliant as her long fiction). My personal preferences also play a role (I’m not a big fan of mysteries told from the POV of the killer. Or of occult detectives).
Arthur Conan Doyle – The Man with the Watches
Between two stops three passengers disappear without a trace and a dead body turns up. Many try to explain this but all of their attempts are quickly debunked. It takes years until an unexpected letter throws light on the mystery.
I know I’m now adding a few more spins to the anyway constant spinning ACD does in his grave but it’s hard to not compare his other stories to his most famous creation. Especially when a comparison offers itself up so obviously: in Holmes stories, it was occasionally brought up that legal/illegal and morally right/wrong are not always the same thing and Holmes does sometimes let somebody get away with a crime or shows his disapproval of someone who did nothing illegal. Well, and this story makes a judgment call along those lines but unlike in the Holmes stories, I disagree with it. Also, there is no genius detective…or any kind of detective who follows clues…just a guy who witnessed the crime and who writes a letter explaining what happened.
L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace – The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel
A man is found dead in a railway tunnel and the case seems clear-cut: he’d gotten engaged the day before and his fiancee also had a second admirer who threatened revenge. But when another body turns up it becomes obvious that there is more to it. John Bell, a ‘wealthy skeptic and exposer of ghosts’ gets called in to consult on the case.
There isn’t much to say about this story because Bell remains rather colourless throughout. He follows the clues, he solves the case but nothing he does or says makes him stick out. The mystery itself is the similar: nice and somewhat intriguing but not overwhelming. If I come across another John Bell story I’ll read it but I won’t go out looking for one.
Matthias McDonnel Bodkin – How He Cut His Stick
A bank clerk is tasked to transport a huge sum of money across the country. Even though he is locked into a train compartment he gets attacked and the money stolen. The police suspect that he himself is involved. Dora Myrl has another idea.
The plot itself is nothing special: a variation on a locked room mystery with a slightly outlandish solution. The distinguishing feature of this story is the female detective. And even more so the fact that it’s not made a big deal. When the clerk’s boss comes to her because he’s worried that the police have reached their conclusion to quickly he doesn’t question he qualification (and neither do the police). Dora then does all the sleuthing on her own, sets up the trap for the bad guy and then threatens him with her gun to make sure that he doesn’t run away. Her (temporary) male assistant with a Rugby player physique is needed because she can’t tie up the villain and keep him in check with the gun at the same time.
I don’t think I’ve read any story from that era (by male or female writers) that treat female sleuths in such a way. And after I already enjoyed Bodkin’s Inspector Beck-stories I’m now even more convinced to read more by him.
Baroness Orczy – The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway
All Polly wants is have lunch in peace, when a random stranger – the old man in the corner – suddenly demands that she should describe a man who has been sitting next to her and has now left. When she fails the random stranger laments the unreliability of eyewitnesses and how they are the reason a murderer went free. Then he tells her about the case in question and how only he knows the truth (but has no proof, hence the murderer remains free).
You might notice that I am not a big fan of Baroness Orczy. Even though The Scarlett Pimpernell is a fun story, I always have a hard time with how stupid the female characters in it are. Her The Old Man in the Corner stories aren’t much better. And while this isn’t the worst of the lot, I just can’t deal with the Old Man’s condescension.
Victor L. Whitechurch – The Affair of the Corridor Express
A boy disappears during a train journey. His teacher immediately alerts the conductor and they search every corner of the still moving train. There is no way he could have left a train driving at that speed but he is nowhere to be found. The teacher goes to ask Thorpe Hazel for help ‘a train enthusiast, who was regularly consulted by railway companies about the bewildering task of altering their timetables’ (and doesn’t he sound like a fun person to be around?)
Similarly to The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel, this story has an average detective solving a not very outstanding mystery. The difference is that I couldn’t help thinking about how in real life this child would have been severely traumatized by the events but in the story just went ‘Jolly-ho thanks for finding me, bye’. And this is perhaps unfair – many mysteries are more about the puzzle than the people and few authors included things like trauma in their stories. But the severity of it, combined with the fact that it’s about a child made it hard for me to forget it.
R. Austin Freeman – The Case of Oscar Brodski
Silas is a thief but not a murderer. That is until chance brings a diamond merchant with a valuable quarry right to his doorstep. The murder doesn’t quite go as planned but Silas knows how to improvise. So he has gotten away with it – or has he? Thorndyke finds a few things Silas has missed.
Freeman claims this is the first ‘inverted’ crime story i.e. where the reader knows everything and the detective nothing. I’m not sure if that is really true but I was impressed by the psychology. At first, the focus isn’t so much on Silas plan but on his inner fight – should he let the man go or should he kill him, steal the diamonds and have enough money to retire? I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s making the killer sympathetic but he doesn’t paint him as a pure villain, either.
The second part of the story is a normal Thorndyke-story with lots of focus on real science, which is something you either enjoy or you don’t. (I do enjoy it).
Roy Vickers – The Eight Lamp
A railway worker keeps seeing a train that shouldn’t be there. He doesn’t dare to talk to his superiors about it for fear of being thought crazy. But the train keeps appearing.
This is more a ghost-story than a mystery. But the atmosphere was rather dull and ‘ordinary’ so that I kept expecting a mundane explanation for the events and felt rather dumbfounded at the final reveal.
Ernest Bramah – The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem
A train-crash leaves more than 30 people dead. The cause seems to be a human error: the train-driver swears the signal light was green, the signalman swears it was red. While trying to figure out who is lying Carrados soon discovers that much more sinister forces are at play.
I already knew this story from a different anthology and didn’t like it back then. This hasn’t changed. It’s a story about scary brown people…
Dorothy L. Sayers – The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face
On a train-journey, three strangers who share a carriage find themselves discussing the recent murder of a man whose face has been cut up so badly that identification has been impossible so far. One of the strangers has some ideas how the victim might be identified and also offers an explanation for the other curious facts of the case, like the fact that there were only the victim’s footprints on the scene.
Spoiler: the stranger’s name begins with a P and ends with eter Wimsey. The dear reader figures that out pretty quickly but still has to suffer through several pages in which he is only called ‘the first class passenger’. The other passengers are also only called by some epithet relating to their appearance that I began having flashbacks to all the fanfiction with ‘the tall man looked at the dark-haired man’. In fairness to Sayers, she sticks to one description but I still found that harder to remember than actual names so I had a hard time keeping up.
Apart from that this is one of those detective stories where the detective does (nearly) no detecting. Wimsey is just so brilliant that he figures everything out (almost) on the spot and these stories make me roll my eyes a lot. But it’s still a Lord Peter Wimsey story and it’s hard not to like him 😉
F. Tennyson Jesse – The Railway Carriage
Two mysterious traveling companions wake Solange Fontaine’s ‘spiritual intuition’. Something has to be wrong with them, she is sure of that. Then tragedy strikes and the story turns into an unexpected direction.
Solange is an occult detective. Meaning that a) this story has supernatural elements and b) our detective has…well…spiritual intuition that tells her that something is wrong. No boring observing of her surroundings and putting things together. She knows because magic which doesn’t make for a particularly interesting approach to detecting – no matter if ghosts are involved or not.
Sapper – Mystery of the Slip-Coach
A man is found shot in a locked railway carriage. The murderer has to be one of the people traveling in the same carriage. But why is there a cracked raw egg lying next to him? The inspector who investigates the case wants to dismiss it but Ronald Standish is convinced that it’s the key to the mystery.
A very Holmesian mystery with a sleuth who isn’t quite as eccentric but also with a solution that is even more absurd than some Holmes-stories. It’s still a fun story and the first of the previously unknown authors in this collection I want to check out.
Freeman Wills Crofts – The Level Crossing
Dunstan Thwaite decides that five years of blackmail are enough. He is going to stop John Dunn who has been after him for so long and demanding more and more.
I am not a big fan of crime stories written from the POV of the murderer. I enjoyed the Austin Freeman story in this book that did it because it managed to make the killer still interesting. Besides, it was fun trying to figure out what kind of mistakes he was making while trying to cover up his crime. But the killer in The Level Crossing was a just deeply unpleasant person I didn’t care about. So even though the victim was also deeply unpleasant, I couldn’t bring myself to care, or secretly wish that he succeeds and gets away with it.
Ronald Knox – The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage
A maid visits Sherlock Holmes and tells him about the tensions between the couple she works for and how she fears for the husband’s life. Holmes wants to contact the man but he disappears without a trace during a train journey.
I don’t doubt that this author loved Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately, that alone doesn’t make a good pastiche-writer. First, we get two pages that consist mainly of Watson mentioning a number of cases that sound appropriately Holmesian (like The Tattooed Nurseryman) but then saying that he’s not going to talk about those now. In the actual story, Holmes’s deductive powers are only used to explain that the maid must be an interesting person because of the way she writes her j’s and w’s in the letter she sent Holmes.
Michael Innes – Murder on the 7.16
There has been a murder on a train. Or rather a fake train that has been part of a film set. The body, however, is undoubtedly real.
This story was too short to say anything more than ‘that was fun’. It’s only a few pages and perhaps you get more out of this story if you know Inspector Appleby better but since I never met him before he remained distant.
Michael Gilbert – The Coulman Handicap
The police are on the trail of a woman who sells stolen goods. But when they try to follow her to the person who’s behind it all she suddenly vanishes into thin air.
I enjoyed this story. Surveillance doesn’t always make for the most thrilling reading but the author pulled it off really well. And while I had a suspicion about part of the solution it didn’t take away much. If only it hadn’t been for the ending. You see the women is German and it’s mentioned that she’s been part of the resistance against the Nazis and had never been caught. When the police discuss the case at the end we are treated to this gem:
Because, famously, the Gestapo wasn’t much of a bother for anybody…
I have to say I love the sentence “In an era of cancellations and delays, alibis reliant upon a timely train service no longer ring true”. Clearly, nobody has been hit harder by the decline of the railways than poor mystery writers who have lost such a great plot-device…
While one might think that ‘railway related mysteries’ limits the type of stories one can include in this book there is some variety. In many cases, they are simply a sub-set of locked-room mysteries: somebody (or something) disappeared from a moving train (but the how is different every time). Sometimes the train provides the murder-method (or the means of masking the murder) and sometimes the train is mere coincidence (The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face opens in a train but the actual crime had been committed somewhere else and was in no way connected to a train or the railway).
Of course, the stories also vary in quality. No matter how popular railway mysteries were, not every writer did his best work in (short) railway fiction. (Sayer’s story is nowhere near as brilliant as her long fiction). My personal preferences also play a role (I’m not a big fan of mysteries told from the POV of the killer. Or of occult detectives).
Arthur Conan Doyle – The Man with the Watches
Between two stops three passengers disappear without a trace and a dead body turns up. Many try to explain this but all of their attempts are quickly debunked. It takes years until an unexpected letter throws light on the mystery.
I know I’m now adding a few more spins to the anyway constant spinning ACD does in his grave but it’s hard to not compare his other stories to his most famous creation. Especially when a comparison offers itself up so obviously: in Holmes stories, it was occasionally brought up that legal/illegal and morally right/wrong are not always the same thing and Holmes does sometimes let somebody get away with a crime or shows his disapproval of someone who did nothing illegal. Well, and this story makes a judgment call along those lines but unlike in the Holmes stories, I disagree with it. Also, there is no genius detective…or any kind of detective who follows clues…just a guy who witnessed the crime and who writes a letter explaining what happened.
L. T. Meade & Robert Eustace – The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel
A man is found dead in a railway tunnel and the case seems clear-cut: he’d gotten engaged the day before and his fiancee also had a second admirer who threatened revenge. But when another body turns up it becomes obvious that there is more to it. John Bell, a ‘wealthy skeptic and exposer of ghosts’ gets called in to consult on the case.
There isn’t much to say about this story because Bell remains rather colourless throughout. He follows the clues, he solves the case but nothing he does or says makes him stick out. The mystery itself is the similar: nice and somewhat intriguing but not overwhelming. If I come across another John Bell story I’ll read it but I won’t go out looking for one.
Matthias McDonnel Bodkin – How He Cut His Stick
A bank clerk is tasked to transport a huge sum of money across the country. Even though he is locked into a train compartment he gets attacked and the money stolen. The police suspect that he himself is involved. Dora Myrl has another idea.
The plot itself is nothing special: a variation on a locked room mystery with a slightly outlandish solution. The distinguishing feature of this story is the female detective. And even more so the fact that it’s not made a big deal. When the clerk’s boss comes to her because he’s worried that the police have reached their conclusion to quickly he doesn’t question he qualification (and neither do the police). Dora then does all the sleuthing on her own, sets up the trap for the bad guy and then threatens him with her gun to make sure that he doesn’t run away. Her (temporary) male assistant with a Rugby player physique is needed because she can’t tie up the villain and keep him in check with the gun at the same time.
I don’t think I’ve read any story from that era (by male or female writers) that treat female sleuths in such a way. And after I already enjoyed Bodkin’s Inspector Beck-stories I’m now even more convinced to read more by him.
Baroness Orczy – The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway
All Polly wants is have lunch in peace, when a random stranger – the old man in the corner – suddenly demands that she should describe a man who has been sitting next to her and has now left. When she fails the random stranger laments the unreliability of eyewitnesses and how they are the reason a murderer went free. Then he tells her about the case in question and how only he knows the truth (but has no proof, hence the murderer remains free).
You might notice that I am not a big fan of Baroness Orczy. Even though The Scarlett Pimpernell is a fun story, I always have a hard time with how stupid the female characters in it are. Her The Old Man in the Corner stories aren’t much better. And while this isn’t the worst of the lot, I just can’t deal with the Old Man’s condescension.
Victor L. Whitechurch – The Affair of the Corridor Express
A boy disappears during a train journey. His teacher immediately alerts the conductor and they search every corner of the still moving train. There is no way he could have left a train driving at that speed but he is nowhere to be found. The teacher goes to ask Thorpe Hazel for help ‘a train enthusiast, who was regularly consulted by railway companies about the bewildering task of altering their timetables’ (and doesn’t he sound like a fun person to be around?)
Similarly to The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel, this story has an average detective solving a not very outstanding mystery. The difference is that I couldn’t help thinking about how in real life this child would have been severely traumatized by the events but in the story just went ‘Jolly-ho thanks for finding me, bye’. And this is perhaps unfair – many mysteries are more about the puzzle than the people and few authors included things like trauma in their stories. But the severity of it, combined with the fact that it’s about a child made it hard for me to forget it.
R. Austin Freeman – The Case of Oscar Brodski
Silas is a thief but not a murderer. That is until chance brings a diamond merchant with a valuable quarry right to his doorstep. The murder doesn’t quite go as planned but Silas knows how to improvise. So he has gotten away with it – or has he? Thorndyke finds a few things Silas has missed.
Freeman claims this is the first ‘inverted’ crime story i.e. where the reader knows everything and the detective nothing. I’m not sure if that is really true but I was impressed by the psychology. At first, the focus isn’t so much on Silas plan but on his inner fight – should he let the man go or should he kill him, steal the diamonds and have enough money to retire? I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s making the killer sympathetic but he doesn’t paint him as a pure villain, either.
The second part of the story is a normal Thorndyke-story with lots of focus on real science, which is something you either enjoy or you don’t. (I do enjoy it).
Roy Vickers – The Eight Lamp
A railway worker keeps seeing a train that shouldn’t be there. He doesn’t dare to talk to his superiors about it for fear of being thought crazy. But the train keeps appearing.
This is more a ghost-story than a mystery. But the atmosphere was rather dull and ‘ordinary’ so that I kept expecting a mundane explanation for the events and felt rather dumbfounded at the final reveal.
Ernest Bramah – The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem
A train-crash leaves more than 30 people dead. The cause seems to be a human error: the train-driver swears the signal light was green, the signalman swears it was red. While trying to figure out who is lying Carrados soon discovers that much more sinister forces are at play.
I already knew this story from a different anthology and didn’t like it back then. This hasn’t changed. It’s a story about scary brown people…
Dorothy L. Sayers – The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face
On a train-journey, three strangers who share a carriage find themselves discussing the recent murder of a man whose face has been cut up so badly that identification has been impossible so far. One of the strangers has some ideas how the victim might be identified and also offers an explanation for the other curious facts of the case, like the fact that there were only the victim’s footprints on the scene.
Spoiler: the stranger’s name begins with a P and ends with eter Wimsey. The dear reader figures that out pretty quickly but still has to suffer through several pages in which he is only called ‘the first class passenger’. The other passengers are also only called by some epithet relating to their appearance that I began having flashbacks to all the fanfiction with ‘the tall man looked at the dark-haired man’. In fairness to Sayers, she sticks to one description but I still found that harder to remember than actual names so I had a hard time keeping up.
Apart from that this is one of those detective stories where the detective does (nearly) no detecting. Wimsey is just so brilliant that he figures everything out (almost) on the spot and these stories make me roll my eyes a lot. But it’s still a Lord Peter Wimsey story and it’s hard not to like him 😉
F. Tennyson Jesse – The Railway Carriage
Two mysterious traveling companions wake Solange Fontaine’s ‘spiritual intuition’. Something has to be wrong with them, she is sure of that. Then tragedy strikes and the story turns into an unexpected direction.
Solange is an occult detective. Meaning that a) this story has supernatural elements and b) our detective has…well…spiritual intuition that tells her that something is wrong. No boring observing of her surroundings and putting things together. She knows because magic which doesn’t make for a particularly interesting approach to detecting – no matter if ghosts are involved or not.
Sapper – Mystery of the Slip-Coach
A man is found shot in a locked railway carriage. The murderer has to be one of the people traveling in the same carriage. But why is there a cracked raw egg lying next to him? The inspector who investigates the case wants to dismiss it but Ronald Standish is convinced that it’s the key to the mystery.
A very Holmesian mystery with a sleuth who isn’t quite as eccentric but also with a solution that is even more absurd than some Holmes-stories. It’s still a fun story and the first of the previously unknown authors in this collection I want to check out.
Freeman Wills Crofts – The Level Crossing
Dunstan Thwaite decides that five years of blackmail are enough. He is going to stop John Dunn who has been after him for so long and demanding more and more.
I am not a big fan of crime stories written from the POV of the murderer. I enjoyed the Austin Freeman story in this book that did it because it managed to make the killer still interesting. Besides, it was fun trying to figure out what kind of mistakes he was making while trying to cover up his crime. But the killer in The Level Crossing was a just deeply unpleasant person I didn’t care about. So even though the victim was also deeply unpleasant, I couldn’t bring myself to care, or secretly wish that he succeeds and gets away with it.
Ronald Knox – The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage
A maid visits Sherlock Holmes and tells him about the tensions between the couple she works for and how she fears for the husband’s life. Holmes wants to contact the man but he disappears without a trace during a train journey.
I don’t doubt that this author loved Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately, that alone doesn’t make a good pastiche-writer. First, we get two pages that consist mainly of Watson mentioning a number of cases that sound appropriately Holmesian (like The Tattooed Nurseryman) but then saying that he’s not going to talk about those now. In the actual story, Holmes’s deductive powers are only used to explain that the maid must be an interesting person because of the way she writes her j’s and w’s in the letter she sent Holmes.
Michael Innes – Murder on the 7.16
There has been a murder on a train. Or rather a fake train that has been part of a film set. The body, however, is undoubtedly real.
This story was too short to say anything more than ‘that was fun’. It’s only a few pages and perhaps you get more out of this story if you know Inspector Appleby better but since I never met him before he remained distant.
Michael Gilbert – The Coulman Handicap
The police are on the trail of a woman who sells stolen goods. But when they try to follow her to the person who’s behind it all she suddenly vanishes into thin air.
I enjoyed this story. Surveillance doesn’t always make for the most thrilling reading but the author pulled it off really well. And while I had a suspicion about part of the solution it didn’t take away much. If only it hadn’t been for the ending. You see the women is German and it’s mentioned that she’s been part of the resistance against the Nazis and had never been caught. When the police discuss the case at the end we are treated to this gem:
You’ll never beat a German at their own game. Look at the Gestapo. They tried for five years and even they couldn’t pull it off. The one thing they lacked was imagination. Perhaps it was a good thing. A little imagination, and they might have caused a lot more bother.
Because, famously, the Gestapo wasn’t much of a bother for anybody…
December 12, 2024
I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of diversity within this story collection (considering they're all mysteries that center around railway systems)! That being said, I did start to feel like a lot of the "twists" or "reveals" of these stories started to become repetitive or predictable the further I got into the collection (Which is interesting considering that all of these are by different authors. But it begs the question-- how much can a writer truly do with a mystery story aboard a train?) The physical limitations of the space (while interesting to the mystery of these crimes) causes limitations as to how interesting or unique the story itself can be. Also the pacing of some of these was atrocious eek. Overall, a pretty fun read; I don't regret picking this up, but I did start to lose interest, despite the fact that a couple of these had very interesting twists from what you would consider a typical mystery story.
July 4, 2018
The collections put together by Mr. Edwards can sometimes be hit or miss for me. This one was more on the hit side. With a number of familiar names like Baroness Orczy, Lord Peter Wimsey, Doctor Thorndyke, this book hits the spot for a good collection of favorite reads.
July 6, 2018
Another crime short story anthology by The British Library Crime Classic series. This time we have a collection of stories that are centred around Railways (including the London Underground). Avid classical crime readers will find that some of the more well known stories appear in other anthologies (or collections) and thus they will have read some of them before. I will list the stories below with a star rating for each individual story and a brief comment - please be aware several of the stories I have given quite a low rating NOT because I didn't enjoy them but because they veered too far from the Railway theme of this anthology which made me wonder why they were included. For this reason I would only give this book 7.5 out of 10.
The Man with the Watches - Arthur Conan Doyle **** an enjoyable Doyle story with a Bonnie and Clyde kinda of feel - except that Bonnie is a cross dressing young man that likes to be dominated by his older buddy (partner?) - clever plot and solution to an almost locked room situation.
The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel - L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace **** welsh railway story of mysterious deaths of signalmen - well chosen story
How He Cut His Stick - Matthias McDonnell Bodkin **** Dora Myrl Lady Detective has to find a solution as to how a muscly young bank clerk has the banks takings of £5000 lifted from him and how it vanishes from the train before it stops.
The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway - Baroness Orczy **** Polly Burton gets distracted by the Old Man in the Corner showing off his skills of observation in a case of death in a carriage by prussic acid (One of the better stories from this collection).
The Affair of the Corridor Express - Victor L. Whitechurch ***** very enjoyable Thorpe Hazell tale involving the kidnap of a school boy on a train from under the nose of his teacher.
The Case of Oscar Brodski - R. Austin Freeman ***** one of the best of Dr Thorndyke short stories - an inverted long short story in two parts - first part deals with the crime as it happens - second part deals with Thorndyke & Jervis's investigations and how they prove what actually happened. Excellent.
The Eighth Lamp - Roy Vickers *** not really in keeping with the theme of this anthology as the story is mostly about the supernatural and only just about qualifies as a crime story which isn't covered very much until the end of the story.
The Knight's Cross Signal Problem - Ernest Bramah **** Max Carrados the blind amateur detective solves a case of gross negligence - was the train crash caused by the signalman or the driver of the train. Excellent story except for the moralistic ending and Max's decision to be judge and jury.
The Man with No Face - Dorothy L. Sayers *** Peter Whimsey story which I failed to gleam why this was included in this anthology as the Railway theme is almost none existent - the story itself I enjoyed but it's selection is not in keeping with the anthology.
The Railway Carriage - F. Tennyson Jesse ** Solange Fountain story set in a railway carriage however this story is mostly a supernatural story and has only a small element of crime about the story. Not a well selected story for THIS anthology.
Mystery of the Slip-Coach - Sapper **** Ronald Standish story of murder in a closed apartment with a broken egg!
The Level Crossing - Freeman Wills Crofts **** how planning the murder of a blackmailer can reck havoc on your nerves and haunt you even if you change your mind.
The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage - Ronald Knox *** likeable short Sherlock Holmes pastiche except that it doesn't have much to do with the theme of THIS anthology
Murder on the 7.16 - Michael Innes *** very short short story - I found this story somewhat farcical - I can never decide if I like this author or not as his stories can be clever but he definitely knows how to annoy those of us who don't like too much of the farcical somersaults that he often uses.
The Coulman Handicap - Michael Gilbert ** Again I enjoyed the story but wondered why this story had been chosen for THIS anthology as only a very minor part of the story is set on an underground train - and the characters are just travelling nothing important happens on the train.
The Man with the Watches - Arthur Conan Doyle **** an enjoyable Doyle story with a Bonnie and Clyde kinda of feel - except that Bonnie is a cross dressing young man that likes to be dominated by his older buddy (partner?) - clever plot and solution to an almost locked room situation.
The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel - L. T. Meade and Robert Eustace **** welsh railway story of mysterious deaths of signalmen - well chosen story
How He Cut His Stick - Matthias McDonnell Bodkin **** Dora Myrl Lady Detective has to find a solution as to how a muscly young bank clerk has the banks takings of £5000 lifted from him and how it vanishes from the train before it stops.
The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway - Baroness Orczy **** Polly Burton gets distracted by the Old Man in the Corner showing off his skills of observation in a case of death in a carriage by prussic acid (One of the better stories from this collection).
The Affair of the Corridor Express - Victor L. Whitechurch ***** very enjoyable Thorpe Hazell tale involving the kidnap of a school boy on a train from under the nose of his teacher.
The Case of Oscar Brodski - R. Austin Freeman ***** one of the best of Dr Thorndyke short stories - an inverted long short story in two parts - first part deals with the crime as it happens - second part deals with Thorndyke & Jervis's investigations and how they prove what actually happened. Excellent.
The Eighth Lamp - Roy Vickers *** not really in keeping with the theme of this anthology as the story is mostly about the supernatural and only just about qualifies as a crime story which isn't covered very much until the end of the story.
The Knight's Cross Signal Problem - Ernest Bramah **** Max Carrados the blind amateur detective solves a case of gross negligence - was the train crash caused by the signalman or the driver of the train. Excellent story except for the moralistic ending and Max's decision to be judge and jury.
The Man with No Face - Dorothy L. Sayers *** Peter Whimsey story which I failed to gleam why this was included in this anthology as the Railway theme is almost none existent - the story itself I enjoyed but it's selection is not in keeping with the anthology.
The Railway Carriage - F. Tennyson Jesse ** Solange Fountain story set in a railway carriage however this story is mostly a supernatural story and has only a small element of crime about the story. Not a well selected story for THIS anthology.
Mystery of the Slip-Coach - Sapper **** Ronald Standish story of murder in a closed apartment with a broken egg!
The Level Crossing - Freeman Wills Crofts **** how planning the murder of a blackmailer can reck havoc on your nerves and haunt you even if you change your mind.
The Adventure of the First-Class Carriage - Ronald Knox *** likeable short Sherlock Holmes pastiche except that it doesn't have much to do with the theme of THIS anthology
Murder on the 7.16 - Michael Innes *** very short short story - I found this story somewhat farcical - I can never decide if I like this author or not as his stories can be clever but he definitely knows how to annoy those of us who don't like too much of the farcical somersaults that he often uses.
The Coulman Handicap - Michael Gilbert ** Again I enjoyed the story but wondered why this story had been chosen for THIS anthology as only a very minor part of the story is set on an underground train - and the characters are just travelling nothing important happens on the train.
July 2, 2018
Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advance reading eBook via Netgalley. The views expressed are my own.
Each story in this collection has a connection to the railway or to train travel. They are set in Britain in the early part of the 20th century when train travel was probably the most common mode of transport.
The anthology contains 15 short stories. The authors include such heavy weights as Arthur Conan Doyle ("The Man with the Watches") and Dorothy L. Sayers ("The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face"). There are contributions from such well known Golden Age of Murder authors as Baroness Orczy ("The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway"), Freeman Wills Croft ("The Level Crossing") and R. Austin Freeman ("The Case of Oscar Brodski"). Several of the authors are new to me and Edwards' introductions at the beginning of each story are welcome background to the author's life and writings.
My difficulty with reviewing an anthology such as this is the variety of the stories: different styles, plot devices and so on. Not every story will probably appeal to every reader . Martin Edwards, the editor of this anthology wrote in a recent blog that "...diversity of content is the hallmark of a great anthology." In this one, he has succeeded is putting together a good anthology. There are clever intricate plots galore which for me is the mark of a good short detective story. There is not a bad story in the collection, although of course some are more enjoyable than others. Some are more dated than others (mostly in the dialogue), but most stand the test of time.
It's a good collection of detective stories and is recommended reading for lovers of the Golden Age of Murder. It's also a good introduction to some lesser known Golden Age authors.
Each story in this collection has a connection to the railway or to train travel. They are set in Britain in the early part of the 20th century when train travel was probably the most common mode of transport.
The anthology contains 15 short stories. The authors include such heavy weights as Arthur Conan Doyle ("The Man with the Watches") and Dorothy L. Sayers ("The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man with No Face"). There are contributions from such well known Golden Age of Murder authors as Baroness Orczy ("The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway"), Freeman Wills Croft ("The Level Crossing") and R. Austin Freeman ("The Case of Oscar Brodski"). Several of the authors are new to me and Edwards' introductions at the beginning of each story are welcome background to the author's life and writings.
My difficulty with reviewing an anthology such as this is the variety of the stories: different styles, plot devices and so on. Not every story will probably appeal to every reader . Martin Edwards, the editor of this anthology wrote in a recent blog that "...diversity of content is the hallmark of a great anthology." In this one, he has succeeded is putting together a good anthology. There are clever intricate plots galore which for me is the mark of a good short detective story. There is not a bad story in the collection, although of course some are more enjoyable than others. Some are more dated than others (mostly in the dialogue), but most stand the test of time.
It's a good collection of detective stories and is recommended reading for lovers of the Golden Age of Murder. It's also a good introduction to some lesser known Golden Age authors.
July 8, 2018
Short stories are the perfect thing for a trip, as they don’t take up too much time, but if well-chosen give you a great read. So, the next time you hop on a train (or plane, or ship, or just get away from it all at home) grab a copy of 'Blood on the Tracks'. It’s a very appealing anthology of British mystery stories, all involving some form of train, though not all in motion. Editor Martin Edwards has given us 15 classic tales written between 1898 and 1955, some by very well-known British writers, others less so.
Edwards provides a thorough and fascinating Introduction to the genre, which covers its history, diversity, and popularity, as well as a bit about the development of the fictional railway detective, all supported by many examples, including a few from the authors in this collection. Also included are very good short introductions to each author and story.
The stories are varied, and all are quite entertaining, including several “locked room” mysteries, a few involving the occult or super-natural, many interesting characters and detectives, and tales presented from a variety of viewpoints. I was glad to see some by women authors and a few solved by women investigators.
A number of these authors were previously unknown to me, but I liked their entries enough that I will be looking for full-length mysteries by most of them. A train is indeed a marvelous background for mystery.
All in all, this was a completely delightful group of classic mystery short stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.
Edwards provides a thorough and fascinating Introduction to the genre, which covers its history, diversity, and popularity, as well as a bit about the development of the fictional railway detective, all supported by many examples, including a few from the authors in this collection. Also included are very good short introductions to each author and story.
The stories are varied, and all are quite entertaining, including several “locked room” mysteries, a few involving the occult or super-natural, many interesting characters and detectives, and tales presented from a variety of viewpoints. I was glad to see some by women authors and a few solved by women investigators.
A number of these authors were previously unknown to me, but I liked their entries enough that I will be looking for full-length mysteries by most of them. A train is indeed a marvelous background for mystery.
All in all, this was a completely delightful group of classic mystery short stories.
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.
May 7, 2018
I don't know where to begin.
This is a wonderful anthology of short mysteries. Each story involves some train, one train is a movie set, there are journeys on the “Tube” as well as steam trains. These stories were written when train travel in England was the norm. Whether you were going into the city for work, or traveling to a distant part of the country, you rode the train. Train travel was sensible but it also had a wonderful sense of adventure, romance and danger.
The authors of these stories are well known British authors from early in the twentieth century. Everyone was known for creating a talented investigator.
Each story is an individual treasure. Each author is introduced by the editor, Martin Edwards. In these introductions, we learn about each author and their contributions to the world of British detective literature.
Dorothy L Sayers was the best known author to me. But, I found new to me authors who write wonderfully. Every author has created an atmosphere which is spot on for a train journey. If you listen carefully you can hear the clickity clack of the wheels on the tracks.
I loved this book and now I must start searching for more stories by these authors.
I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.
This is a wonderful anthology of short mysteries. Each story involves some train, one train is a movie set, there are journeys on the “Tube” as well as steam trains. These stories were written when train travel in England was the norm. Whether you were going into the city for work, or traveling to a distant part of the country, you rode the train. Train travel was sensible but it also had a wonderful sense of adventure, romance and danger.
The authors of these stories are well known British authors from early in the twentieth century. Everyone was known for creating a talented investigator.
Each story is an individual treasure. Each author is introduced by the editor, Martin Edwards. In these introductions, we learn about each author and their contributions to the world of British detective literature.
Dorothy L Sayers was the best known author to me. But, I found new to me authors who write wonderfully. Every author has created an atmosphere which is spot on for a train journey. If you listen carefully you can hear the clickity clack of the wheels on the tracks.
I loved this book and now I must start searching for more stories by these authors.
I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are completely my own.
June 27, 2018
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.
I've always had a fascination with trains, among the standard settings across literary genres - it's a bucket list dream to travel across Europe on the Orient Express (though not during the winter, for obvious reasons). Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries is a touch misleading - while all the stories have a train or a train station at its setting, many of the stories do not include murder, and if they do do not detail much graphic violence, as many of the stories are penned by late 19th and early 20th century mystery writers (some more well known than others).
It's interesting to read about travel across vast distances, and detectives (policemen and private investigators alike) go about their investigations in the days before modern technology, and the skills to ascertain who (and how) it was done.
It's a fine short story to read while on the go. I read most of these stories on my daily commute on the NYC subway, momentarily transported back to a time where train travel was more elegant (though sometimes deadly).
I've always had a fascination with trains, among the standard settings across literary genres - it's a bucket list dream to travel across Europe on the Orient Express (though not during the winter, for obvious reasons). Blood on the Tracks: Railway Mysteries is a touch misleading - while all the stories have a train or a train station at its setting, many of the stories do not include murder, and if they do do not detail much graphic violence, as many of the stories are penned by late 19th and early 20th century mystery writers (some more well known than others).
It's interesting to read about travel across vast distances, and detectives (policemen and private investigators alike) go about their investigations in the days before modern technology, and the skills to ascertain who (and how) it was done.
It's a fine short story to read while on the go. I read most of these stories on my daily commute on the NYC subway, momentarily transported back to a time where train travel was more elegant (though sometimes deadly).
April 16, 2018
I love anthologies/collections of short stories. Especially those that are centered around mysteries. This was a great collection of railway themed mysteries. What a fantastic blend of different styles/techniques of the various writers. It's wonderful to read a short story here and there. No break in storylines and perfect for quick reads when you don't have hours to devote to a book. I enjoyed reading them before bed, while drinking my morning coffee, while enjoying lunch. Absolutely perfect!
*I would like to thank the authors/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review*
*I would like to thank the authors/publisher/Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair and honest review*
March 14, 2018
Collection of short cosy mysteries with trains involved. Each is prefaced by the editor with a report on who the author was, how he/she fits into the growth of this writing during the 20th C. Nice puzzles, good writing. Some, a bit dated...
Read
July 31, 2025Something tells me this book is not for me. When I borrowed the kindle book from the library, upon opening the book the story was already at a certain percentage. This tells me that I've started to read this before and also the first story sounded very familiar.
However, I still pushed on only to realize that further reading wasn't engaging me at all. I don't know if it is the choice of stories or I'm not in the mood, but since I've obviously started this in the past that tells me I'm not into it. So, unfortunately, back to the library it goes.
However, I still pushed on only to realize that further reading wasn't engaging me at all. I don't know if it is the choice of stories or I'm not in the mood, but since I've obviously started this in the past that tells me I'm not into it. So, unfortunately, back to the library it goes.
did-not-finish
October 20, 2023DNF at 32%
Not terrible by any means but I can't find the interest to continue.
Ratings of the stories I read:
1. The Man with the Watches = 4 stars
2. The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel = 3.5 stars
3. How He Cut His Stick = 3 stars
4. The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railroad = 2 stars
5. The Affair of the Corridor Express = 3 stars
Not terrible by any means but I can't find the interest to continue.
Ratings of the stories I read:
1. The Man with the Watches = 4 stars
2. The Mystery of Felwyn Tunnel = 3.5 stars
3. How He Cut His Stick = 3 stars
4. The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railroad = 2 stars
5. The Affair of the Corridor Express = 3 stars
April 28, 2018
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to read and review. This book contains a bunch of short-stories that are railway mysteries. Some of the stories were well-written and interesting but so many of them were long-winded and not as intetesting. A hit or miss really, Do I regret requesting this book? No, however, I would not be interested in buying.
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