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hinstone's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
kateea7536's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Another great railway detective mystery. I LOVE these books. Colbeck and Leeming are such fantastically brilliant, loveable and amusing characters and the plot had loads of twists and turns that kept me guessing. I like that they didn’t get everything right in this one, because sometimes Colbeck seems to be a bit too fortunate. Loveeeeddd it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
eh1736's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, and Murder
helenephoebe's review
4.0
Review - I love this series even more reading them directly one after the other. I think it allows you to really get into the heads of the characters. I enjoyed this mystery because it gripped me right to the end. I was a little disappointed with who the over-arching villain was however as I didn't feel there was enough build-up to it. I love the relationship between Colbeck and Leeming, as well as between the pair and Superintendent Tallis, as they constantly seem to rub up against each other, but you can see there is also some mutual respect there. This mystery was unusual in the series as, just about all of the way through, many people didn't believe there was a crime at all, which put new obstacles in the way of the investigators. Definitely worth a read if you love historical mysteries and even cosy crime!
Genre? - Historical / Mystery
Characters? - Robert Colbeck / Victor Leeming / Madeline Andrews / Caleb Andrews / Superintendent Tallis / Captain Ridgeon / Ezra Follis
Setting? - London & Epsom (England)
Series? - Railway Detective #5
Recommend? – Yes
Rating - 17/20
Genre? - Historical / Mystery
Characters? - Robert Colbeck / Victor Leeming / Madeline Andrews / Caleb Andrews / Superintendent Tallis / Captain Ridgeon / Ezra Follis
Setting? - London & Epsom (England)
Series? - Railway Detective #5
Recommend? – Yes
Rating - 17/20
shajila's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this. If I'd had the time then I would have devoured it in 1 sitting. It was very clever and well done without needing to rely on any obvious detective cliches.
rabspur's review
5.0
The Railway Detective book Five, Colbeck investigates the derailment of the Brighton Express killing passengers on board. Fast moving easy read as per the previous four books I have read, onwards to book six in the series.
rstev13's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
fat_girl_fiction's review
2.0
My Mum recommended the Railway Detective books to me. They were a bit different and set in the 1800s. I quite enjoy historical novels, especially with a murder mystery twist.
Murder on the Brighton Express begins from the point of view of the driver of the fated Brighton Express just before it crashes with a goods locomotive. From this we follow DI Colbeck and DS Leeming as they solve what appears to be just a tragic accident.
To begin with I really enjoyed reading about long ago Brighton. Edward Marston spent a great deal of time describing the train station and the pavilion and it was easy to imagine what it would have been like.
The main problem I have with this book is that everything seems a bit one dimensional. The characters didn't really leap off of the page and the story itself was a bit flat. It took me a long time to read for the length of the actual book and I wasn't exactly gripped.
On the other hand there were sparks. I enjoyed reading about Rev. Ezra Follis and his going on, as well as Dick Chiffney and his girlfriend Josie Murlow. Those sections seemed to come to life much more than any of the police force. Maybe if I'd started with book one I would feel more for the characters, but all in all they were rather forgetful.
I'm afraid Edward Marston isn't on my wish list and I won't be reading anything of his any time soon. Maybe I'll revisit him in the future.
Murder on the Brighton Express begins from the point of view of the driver of the fated Brighton Express just before it crashes with a goods locomotive. From this we follow DI Colbeck and DS Leeming as they solve what appears to be just a tragic accident.
To begin with I really enjoyed reading about long ago Brighton. Edward Marston spent a great deal of time describing the train station and the pavilion and it was easy to imagine what it would have been like.
The main problem I have with this book is that everything seems a bit one dimensional. The characters didn't really leap off of the page and the story itself was a bit flat. It took me a long time to read for the length of the actual book and I wasn't exactly gripped.
On the other hand there were sparks. I enjoyed reading about Rev. Ezra Follis and his going on, as well as Dick Chiffney and his girlfriend Josie Murlow. Those sections seemed to come to life much more than any of the police force. Maybe if I'd started with book one I would feel more for the characters, but all in all they were rather forgetful.
I'm afraid Edward Marston isn't on my wish list and I won't be reading anything of his any time soon. Maybe I'll revisit him in the future.
saralouisemarsbar's review against another edition
2.0
Bit of a convoluted mystery but what annoyed me most is his tendency to speak about women of a middle class status with respect and any lower class women as if they were just objects (and his obsession with breasts is just tiring. He compared them to water balloons at one point). I genuinely think my 6 year old nephew could write about women in a more convincing way