Another enjoyable novel from Andrew Martin. Set in 1906, this novel sees Jim Stringer as a detective on the railway in York. York appears in the novel as a damp town, with areas for visitors and areas where the York underworld inhabit. Jim Stringer is plunged in to this underworld by his boss and as an undercover detective gets in to many scrapes that take him eventually to Paris. The novel is a good read that is well paced and interesting. Andrew Martin includes some humour among the criminal activity, particularly in the scenes between Jim Stringer and his wife, Lydia. His father keeps sending her clippings from the paper about running a good household, while Lydia takes in typing and is very involved with the suffragettes. ( )

I enjoyed this much more than the previous Andrew Martin book I've read. This is better paced and I loved reading about places in my home city (some of which were very close to home). Stringer's wife is a more rounded character in this volume of the Jim Stringer series. Stringer is now a railway detective and is immediately plunged into undercover work, due to his lack of recognition by the criminals of York.

I thought the final incident was rather at odds to the pace of the rest of the book and could have been expanded on further.

After reading this, I will seek out the remaining books in the series. ( )

In this third installment of the Jim Stringer series, Stringer has left off engine work as a result of an accident. He signs up to be York's newest railway detective. After a meeting with the titular porter, Stringer is pointed in the direction of a criminal outfit operating around the station. Are Brains and the Blocker also mixed up in the recent murders, all three being somehow related with the railway?

Stringer's new chief decides to take advantage of his not being known locally, and gets him to work undercover to try and infiltrate the gang.

The encounter with th lost luggage porter sets in motion a chain of events, which will lead Stringer as far as Paris and put his life in danger. In this installment, we get more of an idea of Stringer's wife. Heavily pregnant, she is worried that the baby'll will be the end of her life. She is more involved than ever in the suffragette movement, causing friction between her and her father-in-law, who tries to 'help' her by sending her columns on household hints.

Another entertaining installment of the series, I look forward to book 4. As I said about the previous books, the charm for is in the backdrop of the railway. ( )

Fine writing evokes turn-of-the-century England in a suspense tale of robbery and murder connected to the railyards of York. ( )

This is a better read than either of the first two books. Firstly there is much less about trains, which is good news for me, as Jim Stringer is now a railway detective working out of York. Also the mystery part of the novel works well and is actually thrilling as Jim gets entangled in a series of crimes that may or may not be linked. As before the period feels beautifully evoked and this time we get to see more of his family. ( )