A Third Class Murder

A Cozy 1930s Mystery Set in an English Village

By: Hugh Morrison

Narrated by: Charles Johnston

England, 1930. An antiques dealer is found robbed and murdered in a third class train compartment on a remote Suffolk branch line. The police believe they know who the killer is, and an arrest is soon made. A passenger on the same train, the Reverend Lucian Shaw, country parson and former army chaplain, is concerned that the police have the wrong man and begins an investigation of his own. Before long, Shaw is drawn into a web of intrigue, deceit, and murder which lurks beneath the surface of a seemingly peaceful country parish.

Fans of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown will love this cozy mystery set in an English village.

©2021 Hugh Morrison (P)2021 Hugh Morrison

Kept getting thrown out of the narrative!

I ended up with a copy of the audiobook, and was never fooled into thinking it was from a classic line despite the cover.

Like some other reviewers, I kept being thrown out of this story by easily researched background details — we’re told this takes place in 1930, in Suffolk. Is that West Suffolk, or East Suffolk (the two were merged only in 1974)? A character is depicted as lying around and listening to dance music on the radio, on the Light Programme. In 1930, the BBC was broadcasting as 2LO (London) and 5XX (Daventry) until March, when it transitioned into BBC National and BBC Regional, neither of which played much by way of dance music during that period — in fact, at that time the BBC was on air, during the week, from 12 noon to 4pm, and then 6pm to 11pm or midnight; Saturdays from noon to midnight. This is all available via the BBC Genome page, which includes an archive of <I>The Radio Times</i>

Then there’s the railway business. Even a pre-British Railways line would have been running more than a single coach on even a lowly branch line, with consists likely to include the locomotive (likely a pannier tank engine, 2-4-2), two coaches, at least one goods van, and the brake van. If we take the passenger service of the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway (absorbed eventually by the LNER) as fitting the story, then the consists would be somewhat longer than that. As for the signaling…hydraulic? Ridiculous. Honestly, signalmen would be happy to have a hydraulic assist — pulling those signal/switching levers is very hard work. Aside from rod systems, and wire, electrical systems were coming into play for certain things.

Then there’s the police.

The majority of the book is an attempt at a period whodunnit, though the writing is clean, competent, and relatively modern. Our amateur sleuth, Vicar Lucien Shaw, is a congenial fellow, quietly assisting the lumpen Inspector Ludd and his sergeant.

The narration is generally good, but falls down in the clutch, with the grand confrontation getting very stilted and occasionally losing the differentiation between characters.

Very Enjoyable

I loved everything about this book. The characters were interesting, and relatable. The mystery was one that kept me guessing, with a satisfying conclusion. The setting was historic and charming to envision, very bucolic feeling. What better place to have a shocking murder? The narration was superb. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook. I recommend it highly.

Cute Cozy!

This is a great...and yes, cute... cozy mystery with an English and 1930s flair. Fun listen/read, and can't wait to read more by this author.

A Third Class Murder was a cozy mystery with a lot of soul. The vicar, Lucien has a depth to his compassion for all his local f

I really enjoyed this book. It brought the vicar’s point of view, as a consistently dedicated clergyman and man of belief to his investigation of the murders. The characters had authenticity and very good individual voices.

I love English murders!

We do crazy things when our life seems out of our control.

Charles Johnston did a great job narrating.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

disappointing

The setup was fine. The plot is rather thin and the characters overblown. The red herrings were so so. The finale is rushed and hackneyed. it's an okay read if you don't have to pay for it.

Flat

A Third Class Murder had a good storyline which sadly landed flat. I’m not sure it was performance based or how it was read.

Unappealing

Story was predictable & a poor imitation of Golden Age mysteries. Narration didn't help.