The Man on the Train

Angela Marchmont Mystery #0.5

by Clara Benson

The Man on the Train is a prequel to the Angela Marchmont mysteries and can be read without fear of spoilers!

October 1925: On finding herself stuck in a small town in Illinois following floods on the railway line, Angela Marchmont falls in with a vaudeville company and helps a young man accused of theft prove his innocence.

This is a short story of fourteen thousand words—just right for an afternoon curled up on the sofa!

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Crime, The United States Of America, Historical

54 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 12, 2018

About the author

Clara Benson is the author of the Angela Marchmont Mysteries and Freddy Pilkington-Soames Adventures - traditional English whodunits in authentic style set in the 1920s and 30s. One day she would like to drink cocktails and solve mysteries in a sequinned dress and evening gloves. In the meantime she lives in the north of England with her family and doesn't do any of those things.

If you want to be the first to hear about new releases, and to receive a free, exclusive short story, sign up to her mailing list at clarabenson.com/newsletter.

Reviews

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the toughest mystery to figure out, but this was still an entertaining short story (and I nice break between more serious novels). It was also a nice introduction to Angela Marchmont, who is intelligent, level-headed, observant, and generous. I liked her, and think I'll read the first book of this series.

[ShanDizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining

I was happy to come across this AM story since finishing the entire series left me in withdrawal that it was all over. It was interesting to see how she came to have William as her driver.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delicious surprise to see this novella available this morning! I am a huge fan of the Angela Marchmont series and this was another gem by Clara Benson! A lovely prequel to the series I love so much! I still live in the hope that Ms. Benson will change her mind and give the rabid Angela fans another full book one day, but these little surprise novellas help assuage the pain of the loss very much! ❤️

[JT CAREY · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, fast-paced mystery that's perfect for when you have an hour of 'me' time to spend reading, or you are commuting to work (and not driving).

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful, charming treat! I made my peace with not having any new full-length novels about Mrs. Marchmont, but these novellas are a great way to fill the void (as well as the excellent Freddy series). If you know what I’m talking about, you will smile like a fool when you find out what this story is really about. If you don’t, you’re in for a treat. The resolution of the mystery may not be too unexpected, but it’s the characters that make this a great series.

[Scot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story prequel to the Angela Marchmont murder mystery series. Fans should read several of the books in the series first to get full benefit of this exercise in giving some backstory to how Angela engaged her trusty chauffeur, always so useful for acrobatic entry or to get the inside story from a doe-eyed upstairs maid. A quick and enjoyable read in that context.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this author’s first ‘Angela Marchmont’ book for several years but never got around to reading it, then I came across this short story and thought it might be a good introduction to the series.
I quite enjoyed the story and ‘Angela’ certainly has potential, if possible I would have given 3.5 stars.

[Beth Gea · Rating 4 out of 5]

En ser una història curta per explicar una mica el background de l’Angela i com va conéixer el William, no hi ha massa desenvolupament de personalitat. Però el poc que he vist, m’ha agradat. Sobretot m’ha agradat que no comença amb els típics clichés dels cosy mysteries i que la protagonista sigui una dona adulta i (suposadament) casada.

A veure què tal els seguüents.

[Pauline Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming short story, a prequel to the Angela Marchmont series, with a small but perfectly formed mystery to solve, and an introduction to one of my favourite side characters in the series. A most enjoyable five stars.

[Pat henson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read and an unexpected ending .

This is the first encounter with Angela and it is a mystery of characters with marvelous description . The dreary weather lends itself to the atmosphere of the setting . An unexpected ending makes it all the more fun to read . Enjoy

[Doreen Farrar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing mystery

Who stole the money? That's always the question, isn't it? Angela Marchmont discovers a wanted man in her private train car, and, when he's caught, decides to try to solve the mystery of who actually stole the money, if he didn't. Of course, the solution is totally unexpected! This is an excellent prequel to the Angela Marchmont mystery series.

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always fun

I have read all of the Angela Marchmont books and enjoyed them for light reading. This short story is a good introduction to the character or for those who already know her.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

As noted in the blurb this is a short. Angela Marchmont is a Miss Marple type, but more worldly, I'd say. I've not read other books in this series, but I have at least one in my kindle library. I enjoyed this quite a bit, especially considering its length. A quick read but very satisfying.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

William

This little short story seems to be the prequel to all the Angela Marchmont Mystery series, and it tells us how she came to hire William as her driver., while solving the mystery of The Man on the Train.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

October 1925, Illinois. Angela Marchmont helps a man, William Tibbs, accused of theft. Believing him to be innocent of the theft of $3000 from the owner of a vaudeville troop that William belongs to.
An enjoyable well-written short mystery

[Kimberly E · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Molly Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read

Quick short read with a few surprising twists.. Interesting enough to keep me engaged and guessing for most of it.

[Diane Vincent Halas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little tale

Sharply drawn characters especially given the novelette form. well written as usual. And_ I didn't guess who did it! Quick read and fun.

[Heatherinblack · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

gives a sense of where Angela comes from. is william her chauffeur in the UK, can’t remember. quick 30 min, pleasant read.

[Page Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Mystery

You can picture yourself being in the story, by Clara Bensons discription of the timeframe, environment, historical elements and the characters.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was short, but interesting. It is set in America and happens before the series begins. It sets the stage for her investigations.

[D Kowalczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short!

I enjoy Ms. Benson's writing. This short story was entertaining and kept me guessing! It was just far too short for me!!

[Margot M. Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little short story

Great little short story. I enjoy reading about Angela’s adventures very much.
I would recommend these stories to adults and teens.

[Marleen Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story and after reading the full story it was nice to pick this one up and see the back story to how Angela met William.

[Craftyhj · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75*

An OK read. I am new to Angela Marchmont books so maybe this makes sense in the bigger picture. I will persevere and see.

[Naomi's Novels · Rating 4 out of 5]

We got to meet William for the first time!

[Kathryn Hayward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little read! I’m about to start the Angela Marchmont Mysteries proper…

[Afsheen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and well written mystery. A good intro to the rest of the series

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is 1925, and Angela Marchmont is traveling via train to Chicago. Due to inclement weather, the tracks are flooded, and when the train stops near a small town in Indiana, a young man hides in Angela’s train car. Acting on impulse, Angela hides the young man, William Tibbs, from the police as they search the train. William has been accused of the theft of a large sum of money from the manager of the vaudeville company for which he works, but he maintains his innocence. While the tracks remain flooded, Angela takes a room in the hotel in which the vaudeville company is staying and attempts to prove William’s innocence.

The Man on the Train is the short-story prequel to the Angela Marchmont series by Clara Benson. I have enjoyed all of the Angela Marchmont books and was happy to read more about Angela. Benson attempts to write her stories in the style of Golden Age detection and succeeds admirably. Although short, this story is a good example of her writing, although it doesn’t quite match the quality of her novels. Even though this is a prequel novel and could stand alone, it would be more meaningful to those who have already read a few books in the series.