What Novel Continues With Detective Stringer
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At the start of the novel, the time is March 1914, just before the dawn of the First World War. Jim Stringer, the railway detective who fronts this series, is uneasy about both his next assignment and his personal life. His wife, Lydia, is a suffragette, and ambiti
The Last Train to Scarborough from 2009, is the sixth in a series of detective novels by Andrew Martin, which feature Jim Stringer, a former railwayman, who has been reassigned to the North Eastern Railway Police in Edwardian England.At the start of the novel, the time is March 1914, just before the dawn of the First World War. Jim Stringer, the railway detective who fronts this series, is uneasy about both his next assignment and his personal life. His wife, Lydia, is a suffragette, and ambitious on behalf of them both. Then there's the fact that Stringer has applied to become a lawyer, and is full of doubts as to whether this is, in fact, what he wants in life. He is also not sure whether he has the support of his boss, Chief Inspector Saul Weatherhill. The current case he is presented with to solve is fraught with dangers and mystery. To cap it all, it is not in his home town of York, but in Scarborough, a thriving seaside resort - but now in the gloomy off-peak season.
"Because Scarborough was a happier place than most in summer, it was a more miserable one come winter."
Stringer's assignment is to discover what has happened to a railwayman, who is now missing. The man had been the last person to stay in a particular Scarborough boarding house; one which regularly advertises for railwaymen. But the man has disappeared without a trace, leaving his belongings behind. Even more curious is the fact that Stringer's chief is very reluctant to divulge any relevant details of the case, and has allowed Tommy Nugent, a temperamental gun-obsessed policeman, to follow on as Stringer's assistant. Add into the mix the fact that Stringer is easily distracted by thoughts of the attractive landlady, Amanda Rickerby, who sends signals that she is probably sexually available; add in also her very odd hulking brute of a brother, plus a few odd-ball guests, who may or may not be trustworthy, and Stringer finds himself confused and unable to decide how best to proceed.
The novel evokes the time period and location very well. In fact it might actually succeed better as an historical novel rather than a crime novel, and the author has been nominated for awards in both genres. In this novel, the shabby, slightly seedy boarding house, which is ironically called "Paradise", is conjured up in great detail. The authenticity of the soot and grime of the Northern steam railway is also spot-on; you can almost smell it.
"The loco was black, the smoke was black, and every wagon thoroughly blackened. It was as if the English night itself had been put on rails and carted north."
There is enough in the novel to give a good flavour of the time and place. Although it is a few decades before my own experience, I can affirm that the locations are real. Plus many of the details about Scarborough itself, such as machines dispensing tiny boxes containing individual stamped postcards, or concertinaed paper fans showing a colourfully idyllic picture of Scarborough, are also very reminiscent of a past era. They evoke nostalgia, and also a sense of a materially poorer age, when working class people were by definition badly off financially. It is set in a time when railways were vital, and steam engines ruled. It is a time of rigid boundaries and parochial prejudices which seem to be set in stone,
"He was from Macclesfield. The North Bay of this town would have been more to his liking."
"they both talked to me in the way people do when they want to make themselves pleasant to the lower classes."
As a child I went on holiday to Scarborough every year for more than a decade, and I remember many details vividly. Although the boarding house we stayed in was a far nicer prospect than the shabby"Paradise" boarding house, I have no doubt such places existed.
So far, so good. It is clearly well researched. Where the novel falls down is as a detective story. The first part is very muddled. Half of what is described is from a different time and place from that indicated so far. Perhaps the shunting between different time periods, and the fact that Stringer's recollections are far clearer than his present experience, is intended to increase the mystery, but in fact it just tends to confuse the reader unnecessarily. It takes a while to realise that Stringer (view spoiler)[is in the coal hole of a ship (hide spoiler)], never mind why he is there or what is likely to happen to him.
These two threads do come together in the end, and there is an explanation, but it is a bit of a damp squib. If this had been a so-called "golden-age" mystery, then the equivalent would be that the butler did it! So much for intrigue and mystery. The characterisations of the fellow guests, the slightly trashy landlady and her brother, and the other coppers are all adequate, but both the plotting and the pace of the novel is spasmodic and clumsy, as is the accuracy of the dialogue. Granted it is unusual and enjoyable to read some of the authentic Yorkshire slang, such as,
"'appen"
"Any road ..." I began, and I heard the wife's voice saying, "Don't say that, Jim, it doesn't mean anything."
"If I had thought on"
"Was she on the marry?"
"How do, Jim!"
"It's nowt to worry about"
and"Are there any sandwiches laid on?" I asked him. "Laid on what?" he said, and I knew he was not a York lad."
But by using this way of speech, the author implies that attention is given to accuracy. To be consistent, this should also be true in other aspects of the vernacular. Often the dialogue, especially the swearing, seems far too modern stylistically.
Andrew Martin himself is a Yorkshireman, who studied at the University of Oxford and qualified as a barrister. He has had a career as both a freelance journalist, a non-fiction author, and has written works for television and radio as well as some other crime fiction including this series of novels. His first two novels are comic novels, and this series also has quite a light touch.
Overall, it might be advisable to try another in the series. This one is not really worth recommending. The back story and settings are interesting though, and the reader might find with Stringer's decision at the end, that they are left wanting to know what happens next, especially in view of real-life world events. The author has insight and makes a few interesting and pertinent observations about class. And one newspaper critic has said,
"The Age of Steam has rarely been better evoked."
Even so, the novel might not have quite the same personal significance to a general reader. But if you are a fanatic about steam trains, or love the town of Scarborough, you may want to put up with the drawbacks and deficiencies, and you may find that you enjoy the ride.
"The gas works still seemed to slumber, and the line of dark, sleeping ships of which we were a part remained as before waiting patiently. Yet the factories that commanded the streets were gamely pumping out smoke, making the black sky blacker, keeping it just the way they liked it; and the air was filled with a constant clanking noise, as though great chains were being dragged in all directions."
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I found the narrative confusing. The plot, investigation and crime didn't make any sense to me. None of the characters or scenes grabbed my attention.
The town is lightly featured, as the central setting for the story is the confines of the Paradis
This was a novel with a discomforting beginning - I found the first third of the novel hard to enjoy and follow, but 'The Last Train to Scarborough' put that aside to become an immersively real, persuasively enjoyable, gently paced but serious minded Edwardian thriller. Full disclosure, I live in Scarborough, the town of the novel's setting, which was of course one of the reasons I chose to read it.The town is lightly featured, as the central setting for the story is the confines of the Paradise guest house, which I'm assuming is based on our well-known Paradise House building. Why initially hard to enjoy? I felt like I was pushed onto a moving train - perhaps this would've been an easier ride if I'd read some of the preceding tales. And on top of that, the novel is distractingly riddled with what I first took to be some kind of ongoing nightmare until this parallel narrative eventually fit more clearly and integrally into the story as a real life nightmare of sorts. Author Andrew Martin has a singular talent at creating a palpable, convincing Edwardian world. You feel practically a time traveller. The small cast of characters in the novel are convincingly complex, none of them to be trusted, creating an air of suspense as you wonder what is bubbling under the surface of this outwardly well mannered society.
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In the main the characters were very peculiar, apart perhaps from the detective hero. It was a strange whodunit because we didn't really know what had actu
A strange book in many ways. I guess if you're into old steam trains you might be drawn to this particular whodunit but although there are references to types of engines and working arrangements that mean nothing to me, I'm not entirely sure there are even enough railway things to get your steam up so to speak although I stand to be corrected.In the main the characters were very peculiar, apart perhaps from the detective hero. It was a strange whodunit because we didn't really know what had actually happened until the end anyway, so it was hard to look for clues and motives.
As a rule I like old books as it can give an insight into bygone days but I've never entirely been convinced that contemporary historical novels work for me, as I'm never sure if a thing was actually like it was back then, or just the author's interpretation of it.
I'm sure there will be plenty that enjoy this and I understand there is a whole genre of railway detective stories but unfortunately this particular one wasn't for me.
...more On the plus side the railway and steam engine operating references were interesting and the description of an off season Edwardian Scarborough very atmospheric. This pulled the rating up
I have read and enjoyed two of the Jim Stringer novels but I found this novel took quite a bit to get going. The opening of the book certainly didn't grab my attention or make want to turn the pages faster and in fact it for me never really got going at all. I managed about half the book and speed read the rest.On the plus side the railway and steam engine operating references were interesting and the description of an off season Edwardian Scarborough very atmospheric. This pulled the rating up to two stars.
Disappointing.
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Ummmm. So I'm told.
Consigned to the bin.
NB Lewes isn't 20 miles from the sea. It's eight. Desperately boring. Like that moment someone boards the bus and you KNOW they're going to sit next to you. Then they waffle on about nothing for the whole journey.
NB Lewes isn't 20 miles from the sea. It's eight. ...more
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The latest in the Jim Stringer, Railway Detective series, is another cracking good tale based around the North Eastern Railway in Yorkshire, U.K. and its problems. This time the story is told backwards. Jim wakes up to find himself incarcerated in a coal hole on a ship. He hasn't the faintest idea how he got there and as his memory returns we learn the back story of what he was doing up until he took the train to Scarborough. When the captain arrives we learn a lot more, all about what happened
The latest in the Jim Stringer, Railway Detective series, is another cracking good tale based around the North Eastern Railway in Yorkshire, U.K. and its problems. This time the story is told backwards. Jim wakes up to find himself incarcerated in a coal hole on a ship. He hasn't the faintest idea how he got there and as his memory returns we learn the back story of what he was doing up until he took the train to Scarborough. When the captain arrives we learn a lot more, all about what happened after he arrived in Scarborough, for Stringer is required to explain what he was doing before he will be killed. It's an exciting read and all the threads are knotted together neatly by the end of the novel. Jim Stringer has pulled off another detective triumph.
What is particularly charming about this book is that we see more of his wife, Lydia, the would-be suffragette, and woman's rights supporter. She and Jim are working class folk, but Lydia's determined to see her Jim getting on in the world. She does too.
If you like steam engines and railways, when steam was king and railways vital, this series is worth reading, It's well written, well researched, and Jim and Lydia are a believable Edwardian couple whose relationship develops through the novels, as does Stringer's with his difficult boss and co-workers. The nervous and frustrated Stringer in the first novel is now telling his boss off in this one. If you have a reluctant male reader in the house this series might well encourage him to read more too, for it's told from Jim's point of view in a very straightforward and masculine style.
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I'm with Gerry on this - out the door it goes
Read by.................. Richard Burnip
Abr/Unabr.............. Unabridged
Source................... MP3CD
Series Name..............Jim Stringer
Position in Series.... ..6 (2009)
Total Runtime......... 9 Hours 20 Mins
Synopsis:
One night, in a private boarding house in Scarborough, a railwayman vanishes, leaving his belongings behind. A reluctant Jim Stringer is sent to investigate. It is March 1914, and Jim Stringer, railway detective, is uneasy about his
I'm with Gerry on this - out the door it goes
Read by.................. Richard Burnip
Abr/Unabr.............. Unabridged
Source................... MP3CD
Series Name..............Jim Stringer
Position in Series.... ..6 (2009)
Total Runtime......... 9 Hours 20 Mins
Synopsis:
One night, in a private boarding house in Scarborough, a railwayman vanishes, leaving his belongings behind. A reluctant Jim Stringer is sent to investigate. It is March 1914, and Jim Stringer, railway detective, is uneasy about his next assignment. It's not so much the prospect Scarborough in the gloomy off-season that bothers him, or even the fact that the last railwayman to stay in the house has disappeared without trace. It's more that his governer, Chief Inspector Saul Weatherhill, seems to be deliberately holding back details of the case - and that he's been sent to Scarborough with a trigger-happy assistant. The lodging house is called Paradise, but, as Jim discovers, it's hardly that in reality. It is, however, home to the seductive and beautiful Amanda Rickerby, a woman evidently capable of derailing Jim's marriage and a good deal more besides. As a storm brews in Scarborough, it becomes increasingly unlikely that Jim will ever ride the train back to York.
Moderately dark detective story. Enjoyable but a bit slow in story development.
Andrew Martin (born 6 July 1962) is an English novelist and journalist.
Martin was brought up in Yorkshire, studied at the University of Oxford and qualified as a barrister. He has since worked as a freelance journalist for a number of publications while writing novels, sta
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.Andrew Martin (born 6 July 1962) is an English novelist and journalist.
Martin was brought up in Yorkshire, studied at the University of Oxford and qualified as a barrister. He has since worked as a freelance journalist for a number of publications while writing novels, starting with Bilton, a comic novel about journalists, and The Bobby Dazzlers, a comic novel set in the North of England, for which he was named Spectator Young Writer of the Year. His series of detective novels about Jim Stringer, a railwayman reassigned to the North Eastern Railway Police in Edwardian England, includes The Necropolis Railway, The Blackpool Highflyer, The Lost Luggage Porter, Murder at Deviation Junction and Death on a Branch Line. He has also written the non-fiction book; How to Get Things Really Flat: A Man's Guide to Ironing, Dusting and Other Household Arts.
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