Murder on the Brighton Express

Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck operates in a quieter, gentler time (1854), a time without cell phones or crack CSI forensics. When the London to Brighton Express derails and crashes head on into an oncoming train, mangled bodies and twisted metal result. The authorities are ready to chalk it up to driver error, but Colbeck suspects foul play. Sam Dastor narrates with a firm yet genteel touch as Colbeck systematically sets out to prove that what took place was really a murder plot against someone on the train. Dastor creates the illusion of the period, bestowing Colbeck with proper nineteenth-century diction, a sense of propriety, and a precise, unhurried methodology for solving the crime. Dastor's reading and Edward Marston's fifth Railway Detective adventure are sure to satisfy fans. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

September 15, 2010

This fifth title in Marston's "Railway Detective" series, following The Iron Horse (2007), revolves around a catastrophic train wreck in 1854 England. Scotland Yard's Robert Colbeck quickly determines that the wreck was caused by someone wanting to kill a single passenger. Before finding the culprit, then, he must first identify the intended victim. The book is populated with colorful characters, and the two strands of Colbeck's investigation result in a tidy whodunit wrapping up with a nifty surprise ending. However, it would be more satisfying as a work of historical fiction had it provided more details unique to its time period. Bombay-born actor/narrator Sam Dastor's (A Passage to India) meticulous enunciation nicely enhances the text. Recommended with reservations.--R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA

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