Mystery at the Station Hotel

Railway Detective, Book 23

By: Edward Marston

Narrated by: Gordon Griffin

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

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

©2025 Edward Marston (P)2025 W.F. Howes Ltd

REPETITIVE REPETITIVE REPETITIVE!

BUYER BEWARE! Key plot points are repeated 8 to twelve times. It's padding beyond what could ever be considered useful or appropriate.

a different twist in the series

this particular story is a bit different from previous Colbeck tales. there's really two tales that have similar themes but no real connection. Madelyn is given her own mystery to solve and does so, but she comes off just a bit too self depreciating about her artistry. colbeck's mystery has superintendent Tallis either changing his style or acting out of character. leiming is portrayed as less of a partner for collect than usual. but it's well done and the themes of the two mysteries is also handled well.

Repetitive dialogue, terrible narration

The dialogue was repetitive and predictable. The narrator did not distinguish between characters making it difficult to know who was speaking. A waste of my money again.

So good

I hope there will be more in this series because need a couple of storylines wrapped up. Excellent suspense and characters.