The Excursion Train

The Railway Detective, Book 2

By: Edward Marston

Narrated by: Sam Dastor

On the shocking discovery of a passenger's body on the Great Western Railway excursion train, Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck and his assistant, Sergeant Victor Leeming, are dispatched to the scene.

Faced with what initially appears to be a motiveless murder, Colbeck is intrigued by the murder weapon - a noose.

When it emerges that the victim had worked as a public executioner, Colbeck realises that this must be intrinsically linked to the killer's choice of weapon. However, the further he delves into the case, the more mysterious it becomes. And when a second man is strangled by a noose on a train, Colbeck knows that he must act quickly. Can he catch the murderer before more lives are lost?

Set in Victorian England and rich in historical detail, The Excursion Train will hold you captivated from the beginning to the end of its journey.

©2006 Edward Marston (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Great book!

I love detective stories and this one is a great listen too! The narrator is very good too.

Greatly entertaining!

This is a book I hesitated to get, because I thought it could be so much about the history of trains, I might find it boring. I could not have been more wrong! Edward Marston has done a superb job of weaving some information about early trains--but that is more of a backdrop for what proves to be an interesting victorian-style mystery. Robert Colbeck and his sidekick, Victor Leeming, come from the early and still forming Scotland yard. This means that they don't yet have the respect of everybody--though they find clever ways to get people to open up to them. There is a light love interest--who is also sometimes Robert's secret assistant in getting to the heart of the mystery. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how compelling it was to listen to this book.

Even better, the narration is by the incomparable Sam Dastor. He does various voices with seeming ease--and there is no problem recognizing "who" is speaking.

The mystery is good (though slightly predictable), the character development is excellent, the background scene was set to perfection without overpowering the story, and it held my interest from beginning to end. I was happiest to discover that there are a few more in this same series of books about Robt Colbeck--and I look forward to listening to them very soon!

My only puzzlement is, Audible.com: where is book #1? It did not detract to begin with book #2 (as I feared it might--since some authors tend to replay all that occurred in a previous book, thus ruining any motivation to go back and read it.) Happily, that was not the case here. I felt no loss beginning with this volume, nor any reluctance to find the first one and read it later.

Mystery Maven

Another twister with a great mystery and good narration. On to the next installment; enjoy a good series.

I was expecting more....

What disappointed you about The Excursion Train?

I thought this story would be richer, and more detailed in railroad/train history. It's not.
I'm not sure if it's the writing or the narrator, or a combination of both, that gave the audiobook a 'lacking something' feel.

Would you ever listen to anything by Edward Marston again?

No

Any additional comments?

For others that like to know details like this before hitting the play button in front of the kids:
2 curse words used right near the beginning of the book.
The storyline enfolds itself around an "attempted rape" (won't add spoilers)
Adultery seems to be a preferred theme.