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2.84 AVERAGE
2.84 AVERAGE
Having read and enjoyed some of Andrew Martins non fiction books I thought that I would give one of his fictions books a go. That and we used to live near Brookwood cemetery, so had an interest there as well.
It is written in the first person, and whilst I don't mind this way of writing a story, this comes across as stilted and disjointed. This may be because he is trying to get the effect of the victorian / edwardian culture, but it didn't work for me.
The murder mystery part was well considered, but it was let down by the way it was written.
It is written in the first person, and whilst I don't mind this way of writing a story, this comes across as stilted and disjointed. This may be because he is trying to get the effect of the victorian / edwardian culture, but it didn't work for me.
The murder mystery part was well considered, but it was let down by the way it was written.
Enjoyed reading about the necropolis railway and surrounding area of lower marsh/Waterloo. Story itself was not as enjoyable
I enjoyed the historical atmosphere from the 'golden age' of steam, but found the mystery confusing and slow. There was way too much 'train' jargon for a lay person to understand (the book is obviously written with train enthusiasts in mind) and I found the main character naive, pretentious and boring. I wasn't sure how he managed to solve the murder mystery - there wasn't much logical build up, unless I missed something fundamental. I nearly gave up at 40%, but saw it through to the end after all. I must admit that the final scene had real atmosphere and the twist at the end was unexpected, but not really believable.
In conclusion: some of the imagery and atmosphere will stay with me, but overall the book was too muddled and didn't live up to my expectations.
In conclusion: some of the imagery and atmosphere will stay with me, but overall the book was too muddled and didn't live up to my expectations.
overly pretentious in verbiage and deathly dull. I got about half way through and almost literally nothing had happened
Very much an English novel. Evocative and atmospheric in service of a mystery that is pedestrian and not particularly engaging. Okay, but I left it in the seatback pocket on my flight today. I hope somebody else enjoys it more than I did.
A mystery novel that fell flat. The setting was the only good thing about it. Otherwise it was formulaic in a very un-inventive and predictable way.
Strong start to a new British mystery series set in 1903 along the privatized rail network, told in early 20th century working-class slang and steam engine technical vocabulary.
Very slow. Hadn't really got going by chapter 19. Did not hold my interest at all. First time I have ever not finished a book!
Mysteries with a dense narrator (or one with a fixation on something like, well, trains) can sometimes be frustrating but this one was very well done.
Maybe 3.5? If I didn't like trains so much it wouldn't have been so good.