The Iron Horse (The Railway Detective #4)

Title: The Iron Horse (The Railway Detective #4)

Author: Edward Marston

Published in: 2007

Date read: 22nd June 2013

Score: 3/5

Genre: Historical fiction, Crime, Detective

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"The Iron Horse" by Edward Marston, published in 2005, is the first novel in his "Railway Detective" series. It transports readers to the burgeoning Victorian railway network, blending historical detail with an intricate murder mystery centred on the exciting yet dangerous new age of steam travel.

The story is set in 1851, a pivotal year for Britain, marked by the Great Exhibition. The central mystery unfolds against the backdrop of the construction of the ambitious Great Western Railway, a symbol of national progress and engineering marvel.

The protagonist is Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck, a sharp, unorthodox, and highly intelligent officer from Scotland Yard. Unlike many of his peers, Colbeck is fascinated by the railways and quickly earns the nickname "the Railway Detective" due to his knack for solving crimes connected to them. He is often accompanied by his dependable and more conventional sergeant, Victor Leeming.

The plot kicks off with a shocking crime: the murder of William Sykes, a ruthless and widely disliked railway company director. Sykes is found brutally bludgeoned to death in a first-class railway carriage on a train from London to Bristol. The method of the killing, and the fact it occurred on a moving train, makes the case particularly perplexing and sensational.

Colbeck is assigned to the case, and his investigation quickly pulls him into the cutthroat world of the railway industry. He uncovers a tangle of rivalries, corporate espionage, financial speculation, and personal vendettas. Many people had motives to see Sykes dead, from disgruntled engineers to desperate investors.

As Colbeck delves deeper, he encounters a diverse cast of characters: ambitious railway magnates, corrupt officials, impoverished navvies, and various passengers who were on the ill-fated train. The investigation takes him across the rapidly expanding railway lines, from the smoky depots of London to the construction sites in the countryside, using the very technology at the heart of the mystery.

"The Iron Horse" expertly combines historical accuracy with a classic whodunit. Marston vividly portrays the challenges and excitement of early railway travel, the social strata of Victorian England, and the intricacies of police detection in an era before modern forensic science. The climax sees Colbeck piecing together the complex clues, uncovering hidden motives, and ultimately confronting the killer aboard a train, bringing justice to the tracks.

Comments:
Good, but not his best one. Still recommend if you have read others in the series.

Books that we've read by Edward Marston (7):
The Railway Detective (2004), The Excursion Train (The Railway Detective #2) (2005), The Railway Viaduct (The Railway Detective, #3) (2006), The Iron Horse (The Railway Detective #4) (2007), Murder on the Brighton Express (The Railway Detective, #5) (2007), The Silver Locomotive Mystery (The Railway Detective #6) (2009), Railway to the Grave (The Railway Detective #7) (2010)