On the plus side, it's a detective story, set in the early days of both the Railways and the Detective Section of the Met Police. The author seems to have done his research, such as having the detective arrive by train into Birmingham at (then correct) Curzon Street, rather than New Street or Moor Street (the current two most frequently used train stations between London and Birmingham).

On the negative side: It read like the author's first novel, which apparently it isnt. The book is riddled with stereotypes: the Irish ex-policeman kicked out the force for drunken fighting who makes his living as a bouncer in a rough pub; the slightly dim-witted and subserviant sidekick; the head of the detective division being harassed by the press and causing friction with his detectives by stopping them doing what they want to do; the well dressed detective who likes bending the rules almost to breaking point.

On the whole, a decent read, but I'm not sure that I'd continue with the series ( )

In 1851 a mail train is hijacked, robbed, and the engine run off the track, Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Lemming take on the case. The question to be answered was how did the robbers know when the train would be at the fateful site of the robbery, was this a lone act or will there be other such incidents in the future. The characters are are well developed. This is a good start to this series. ( )

railway robbery followed by murder of accomplices by man with hatred of railroad after wife killed by startled horse

Intersting police story, around steam railways. Made me discover this universe. ( )

This is the first in a series of detective novels set in the mid-19th century around the then quite new railway system. The sleuth is police Inspector Robert Colbeck, a cultured and intelligent man who originally trained as a lawyer before turning to police work. It is 1851 and the run up to the Great Exhibition. A daring robbery takes place of a mail train carrying gold coins. This is followed by an explosion in a rail tunnel and then two murders. All of these crimes are linked through a particular individual with a very personal motive for undermining the railway system and the wider economy. This is a good page turner of a novel with a dramatic plot, but I found much of the dialogue slightly stilted. Colbeck is an appealing central protagonist, though his colleagues are pretty cliched: the unintelligent but loyal and brave deputy, the overbearing and constantly critical senior officer. There are at least 16 novels in this series, and the period is an interesting one, with the railways poised to transform the British economy by revolutionising transport and providing unprecedented opportunities for ordinary people to travel more widely than ever before - though not everyone appreciates these advantages. ( )