‘Murder in Transit’ by Edward Marston

Published by Allison & Busby,
26 October 2024.
ISBN: 978-0-7490-3017-9 (PB)

It is 1866 and Giles Blanchard, a wealthy estate agent, is travelling by train from Chichester to Portsmouth, after which he intends to take the ferry to the Isle of Wight where he resides. He follows an elegant and attractive woman into a first class carriage and, despite the presence of a man in naval uniform who seems to be sleeping off a drunken binge, Blanchard approaches the woman and makes his lecherous intentions obvious. The woman encourages his advances but Blanchard’s plans for a pleasant interlude go very wrong and, at Portsmouth, a railway official discovers him dead by violence.

The Chief Constable of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary requests that Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck, popularly known as the Railway Detective, is sent to Hampshire to investigate the crime. Colbeck and his trusted sergeant, Victor Leeming, travel down immediately. When they have been informed of the circumstances surrounding Blanchard’s death, Leeming travels by train to Chichester to question the men at the Haven Club, the gentleman’s club where Blanchard had spent the evening, and Colbeck goes by ferry to the Isle of Wight to talk to the dead man’s family.

Both detectives are told by the people they first interview that, as well as being a shrewd businessman,  Blanchard was a thoroughly decent man, popular and generous, and devoted to his wife and family. However other people, who are less close to the victim, paint a different portrait, describing an ambitious and ruthless man with a roving eye for attractive young women. This does not surprise Colbeck and Leeming who had already speculated about why such a reputedly caring husband should spend so much time staying at his club rather than travelling home, and they wonder if the victim was indeed a man who had had sexual relationships with other women. Blanchard’s killers already know the answer to this question because they have discovered amongst his possessions a very indiscreet notebook and they are delighted to have acquired a new, lucrative source of income that involves less risks than robbery.

The investigation is rendered even more urgent by the detectives’ awareness that the widowed Queen Victoria is residing at Osborne House, her beloved home on the Isle of Wight. Many years ago, Colbeck had been instrumental in saving the lives of the Queen and the Prince Consort, and he is determined that nothing should impair Her Majesty’s pleasure in her island retreat, much less place her in danger, and he is dismayed when their enquiries lead them to the inner circle of the royal residence.

Murder in Transit is the 22nd book in the Railway Detective series. It is a delightful, multi-viewpoint book in which the reader is offered far more information than the detectives. The historical information is fascinating and the central characters are engaging. An enjoyable addition to an excellent series, which I highly recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron

Edward Marston was born and brought up in South Wales. He read Modern History at Oxford then lectured on the subject for three years before becoming a full-time freelance writer. His first historical mystery, The Queen's Head, was published in 1988, launching the Nicholas Bracewell series. A former chairman of the Crime Writers Association Edward has written over forty original plays for radio, film, television and the theatre. Edward lives in Gloucestershire with his wife and author Judith Cutler.  Murder in Transit, is the 22^nd book in the Railway Detective series. 

http://www.edwardmarston.com/

Carol Westron is a successful author and a Creative Writing teacher.  Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times.  Her first book The Terminal Velocity of Cats was published in 2013. Since then, she has since written 8 further mysteries. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People.

www.carolwestron.com
To read a review of Carol latest book click on the title
Death and the Dancing Snowman