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17th out of 72 books
—
26 voters
The Railway Detective (Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck #1)
In 1851 England, the city of London anticipates the grand opening of the Great Expedition. Excitement is mounting with each engineering triumph of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating. A sudden attack hits the London to Birmingham mail train and it is looted and derailed. Planned with military precision, Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck fights to untangl...more
Paperback, 318 pages
Published
June 1st 2005
by Allison & Busby
(first published 2004)
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The end is somewhat blurred, but otherwise the book is well-researched and historically accurate. There is definitely a commendable attempt to use some elements of the Victorian discourse, so the wording does not jar on your ears as historically inaccurate. What's more, the book actually promotes technological progress, accepting and admitting that there are some emotional and physical causalities and victims.
The dapper inspector is such a dear:-)
It is a good escape novel, and it is good enoug...more
The dapper inspector is such a dear:-)
It is a good escape novel, and it is good enoug...more
In 1851 England, the city of London anticipates the grand opening of the Great Expedition. Excitement is mounting with each engineering triumph of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating. A sudden attack hits the London to Birmingham mail train and it is looted and derailed. Planned with military precision, Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck fights to untangle a web of murder, blackmail and destruction. As Colbeck closes in on the criminal masterminds, events take an unexpected tur...more
I read this historical mystery (set in Victorian England) because Goodreads recommended it to me and all I have to say to Goodreads after having read it is-THANK YOU!!!
This book is wonderful. I have enjoyed riding trains my whole life and while I love Amtrak, I have a special affection for the trains all over Europe (Western, Eastern, and yes, even Russian). In this story, set in 1851 England, Caleb Andrews is a man who not only drives a train but loves the trains (at one point he declared he lo...more
This book is wonderful. I have enjoyed riding trains my whole life and while I love Amtrak, I have a special affection for the trains all over Europe (Western, Eastern, and yes, even Russian). In this story, set in 1851 England, Caleb Andrews is a man who not only drives a train but loves the trains (at one point he declared he lo...more
Sometimes a lightish mystery story is just what I am in the mood for, and so this seemed to fit the bill perfectly. It's also historical, I haven't read many historical mysteries before - except a few Ann Perry some years ago - but I like historical novels in general.
In The Railway detective, we are introduced to Inspector Robert Colbeck, a likeable dandysih fellow who started out life as a barrister. He is rather different in manner and speech to his colleagues a fact which is remarked upon by...more
In The Railway detective, we are introduced to Inspector Robert Colbeck, a likeable dandysih fellow who started out life as a barrister. He is rather different in manner and speech to his colleagues a fact which is remarked upon by...more
Needed to grab something quickly before heading off for the weekend, and Hubby has been reading this series, so took the first one. Actually quite good. Set in Victorian London, with DI Colbeck as the lead character. he has problems with his superior officer (who's a bit of an idiot, if truth be told) but has a way about him that gets results. Dresses nicely and isn't a typical copper at all (slightly dishy, if I'm honest). Has to solve a rather nasty train robbery, where the gold soverigns bein...more
What a dull book! I'm a big fan of Victorian detective stories, and I knew this was the first in a series of popular mysteries, so I was eager to give it a go. I ended up being really disappointed and struggled to see it through to the end.
The plot is simplistic in the extreme. Our detective is on the trail of a criminal gang who plot to blow up various trains. Their motives are gradually revealed as the story progresses. In terms of detection, there's very little going on here. Inspector Colbec...more
The plot is simplistic in the extreme. Our detective is on the trail of a criminal gang who plot to blow up various trains. Their motives are gradually revealed as the story progresses. In terms of detection, there's very little going on here. Inspector Colbec...more
The Railway Detective is the first in a series of novels featuring the character of Robert Colbeck also known as The Railway Detective. Robert Colbeck is a gentleman police man from the early Victorian era who has a passion for all things railway.
It all starts when a mail train is stopped and robbed with the engine driver being badly injured by one of the robbers, which led to a much larger investigation that also involved the upcoming great exhibition and led to Colbeck being christened The Ra...more
It all starts when a mail train is stopped and robbed with the engine driver being badly injured by one of the robbers, which led to a much larger investigation that also involved the upcoming great exhibition and led to Colbeck being christened The Ra...more
I enjoyed this story which was fast moving and quite intriguing. Looking forward to reading others in the series. I did find the inclusions of the historical information a little forced even though they interested me.
In 1851 England, the city of London anticipates the grand opening of the Great Expedition. Excitement is mounting with each engineering triumph of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating. A sudden attack hits the London to Birmingham mail train and it is looted and de...more
In 1851 England, the city of London anticipates the grand opening of the Great Expedition. Excitement is mounting with each engineering triumph of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating. A sudden attack hits the London to Birmingham mail train and it is looted and de...more
The Railway Detective –Edward Marsten
Audio performance by Simon Prebble
3.5 stars (round to 3)
Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck is charged with solving a recent daring railway robbery before the villains can interfere with London’s much anticipated 1851 Great Exposition. The setting is rich in railroad history and 19th century ambiance. The characters are likable and the storyline is very predictable.
This is what I call a ‘cozy’ historical mystery. The inspector is handsome, educated and far mo...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Neither the most inventive nor the most challenging of historical detective novels, and therefore just perfect for my holiday frame of mind. The story cracks along a good pace and contains just enough outrage and conspiracy to keep me entertained. Marston also has a very good sense not only on Victorian England's historical detail but also of the subtle and not so subtle structural and cultural class politics of the era.
As is the case with so many police-procedurals centred on an individual 'sta...more
As is the case with so many police-procedurals centred on an individual 'sta...more
Really impressed with this, the first novel in Marston's DI Colbeck series. Colbeck is not a railway detective as such but this first case involves the railway, specifically a train robbery. In investigating the incident he comes up against stiff opposition, not the least from the actual railway police but also from his own immediate superior officer.
So, train robbery: not a lot new about that. The difference here, though, is that the events are set in the mid 19th century, at the time of the bi...more
So, train robbery: not a lot new about that. The difference here, though, is that the events are set in the mid 19th century, at the time of the bi...more
The Railway Detective is a good book to read while driving, which is how I read this one. Let me first begin by praising Simon Prebble's narration and the ease with which he passed between Irish brogue, Scottish burr, upmarket, cockney, sneering upper class, midland laborer, and soldier of the Raj British accents. Good fun.
What were not so fun were the book's characters and plot. I picked up the Railway Detective because it was set in the same world of Chubb safes, bank transfers, railroad robb...more
What were not so fun were the book's characters and plot. I picked up the Railway Detective because it was set in the same world of Chubb safes, bank transfers, railroad robb...more
On the plus side, it's a detective story, set in the early days of both the Railways and the Detective Section of the Met Police. The author seems to have done his research, such as having the detective arrive by train into Birmingham at (then correct) Curzon Street, rather than New Street or Moor Street (the current two most frequently used train stations between London and Birmingham).
On the negative side: It read like the author's first novel, which apparently it isnt. The book is riddled wit...more
The Railway Detective has decided flaws -- the main character, Robert Colbeck, is just too perfect, good-looking and fashionable and a brilliant mind, but also able to roll up his sleeves and fight, and he's a charmer, and a man of good taste, and he's always right... The other problems involve the structure of the detective story itself: it doesn't play fair, I don't think. You're not able to follow the plot and figure out the culprits yourself, they're given to you, and Colbeck makes big leaps...more
I first discovered Marston through his Nicholas Bracewell. My memory of that is it is one of my favorites. This newer series I find not near as well done. In effect it has stereotypes throughout.
We have the sidekick who does grunt work but really is not near as bright as our hero. Our hero who knows he is bright and often will say something that is condescending to show off his intelligence. I do not think that characters need to be humble, but a policeman trying to get information should be res...more
We have the sidekick who does grunt work but really is not near as bright as our hero. Our hero who knows he is bright and often will say something that is condescending to show off his intelligence. I do not think that characters need to be humble, but a policeman trying to get information should be res...more
A great novel. It gave me a great view into the Industrial Revolution as a whole; It was a great way to look at the past and see how the Railway industry contribute to the world's growth. Without it some of the innovations we have today may never happen
I really like the character of inspector Colbeck he is a kind, smart and a real gentleman to everyone .
around him. Colbeck is no blown out of portion like some others detective but a relate-able character. Sergent Lemming is a royal, trustworthy f...more
I really like the character of inspector Colbeck he is a kind, smart and a real gentleman to everyone .
around him. Colbeck is no blown out of portion like some others detective but a relate-able character. Sergent Lemming is a royal, trustworthy f...more
The edition I read was rife with typos, so that detracted a little bit from my enjoyment. Colbeck is a Holmesian detective--always right and uber confident. He got to be annoying. However, Sergeant Leeming was a delight.
The plot is well paced, but too pat. There are no false leads.
Somewhere around the middle, Marston tells us who the bad guys are, and the ensuing cat and mouse game isn't as much fun as it could have been. But overall a fun read.
The plot is well paced, but too pat. There are no false leads.
Somewhere around the middle, Marston tells us who the bad guys are, and the ensuing cat and mouse game isn't as much fun as it could have been. But overall a fun read.
I'm giving this four stars but it's really more three and a half. This is the first book I've read by this author and I thought it was a good introduction, I'll be looking forward to reading more by him. The story itself concerns a mail train being held up and then derailed. The hunt is then on to find out who inside the bank, the royal mint and the company that made the safe was involved in the robbery. Throw in a bit of blackmail and murder and you have the ingredients for a decent not great m...more
The year is 1851 and the world's first train robbery has just occurred on the London to Birmingham line. How did the robbers know that this train was carrying gold coin? How did they get into the state-of-the-mid-19th-century-art Chubb safe? Why did they force the fireman to run the engine off the track after the robbery? . . .
To read the rest of my review go to my blog at:
http://maryslibrary.typepad.com/my_we...
To read the rest of my review go to my blog at:
http://maryslibrary.typepad.com/my_we...
This was an entertaining historical mystery set in 1851, with interesting details about the early days of the railways, and the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. The London mail train to Birmingham is robbed and derailed and Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck is called to investigate. Murder, blackmail, kidnapping, and a bit of romance follow. This book is the first in a series and I think one worth following for nice light and fun reading.
A new series by Marston, which I'm not too sure about. I have no love for discussion of trains, nor for the Industrial Revolution in England. The problem is, I can see the skeleton of the story underneath all of Marston's writing now that I've read three dozen of his books, and the flesh added for story doesn't hold a lot of appeal.
Fast paced historical mystery. The style isn't my favorite - it seemed simplistic and a bit trite, the the history is great. The author includes a lot of historical facts in as the detective learns them. Since one of my motives in reading historical fiction is learing about the history, I'll probably read more of his books.
I started out really enjoying this book. If it had kept on with the theme of train robberies, it might have been more successful, but it changes direction and becomes the hunt for someone with an irrational hatred of trains, not a convincing motive. The book devolves from an engaging problem to a cat and mouse game. The reader is just along for the ride waiting for the detective to catch the perpetrator.
The detective makes deductions that are really contrived guesses, the author does not underst...more
The detective makes deductions that are really contrived guesses, the author does not underst...more
The idea of a mystery revolving around trains attracted my attention, and I'll likely try the next in the series. But I was rather disappointed in some ways. Firstly, it wasn't really a mystery, but rather a police procedural. I thought the plot line was really much too simple. And I would offer this advice to the author: step away from the thesaurus lest someone get hurt.
I have a passion for steam trains and historical novels, so this seemed an ideal book. I had never heard of the author nor the book and that it is part of a series called the "Railway Detective". I just stumbled across it whilst surfing historical
Rich in historical and technical details (maybe too rich), this book gripped me early on, although I was disappointed that we got a big reveal about the perpetrators and their motives long before the protagonists could find out. So I'm slightly torn over whether to continue with the series at present.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Worth reading; some good bits. Wasn't convinved by the romance and found the jilted lover sideline distracting. the villains caved-in a tad too easily as well. But, I have the others in the series and will be reading them.
Ugg, required reading for the book club I am leading. A historical police procedural mystery that lacks in the historical accuracy department. The author researched Victorian railways but either didn't do his research in Victorian social mores, or chose to ignore them.
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
A pseudonym used by Keith Miles
AKA A.E. Marston
Keith Miles (born 1940) is an English author, who writes under his own name and also historical fiction and mystery novels under the pseudonym Edward Marston. He is known for his mysteries set in the world of Elizabethan theate...more
More about Edward Marston...
A pseudonym used by Keith Miles
AKA A.E. Marston
Keith Miles (born 1940) is an English author, who writes under his own name and also historical fiction and mystery novels under the pseudonym Edward Marston. He is known for his mysteries set in the world of Elizabethan theate...more
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Jun 10, 2012 05:33am