Customer Reviews
Second Book in the Series - By: J. Chippindale, 14 Apr 2008 
Edward Marston is just one of the pseudonyms of author Keith Miles. He has been a university lecturer, radio, television, & theatre dramatist, &in addition to writing has worked as an actor, director, & dramatist. He has written a large number of books with historical themes, perhaps the most well known being his Domesday series. These revolve around the census of 1086 & a series of mysteries featuring the Elizabethan theatre as their background.
Once you have become familiar with an author's work, his character's & style of writing it is sometimes difficult to become attuned to a new character & storyline, butin this case the author seems to have come up with yet another winner, although his Domesday books will always be my own particular favourites..
This is a new venture for the author publishedin 2005 & following on from The Railway Detective & featuring a new characterin the redoubtable Inspector Robert Colbeck. The book is setin a period when the railways were stillin their infancy & not everybody liked traveling on them, &in some cases still preferred the horse., treating the railways with a great deal of suspicion.
One thing that the railways was eminently capable of was getting a great deal of people to a destination far quicker than any other form of transport & this is what takes place when a large crowd of people bound for an illegal prize fightin the country board the Great Western Railway train. So boisterous is the crowd that the train guard fears for the safety of his carriages. However, even he does not expect the brutal murder of one of his passengers.
Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck & his assistant, Sergeant Victor Leeming, who himself treats train travel with more than a little trepidation are called to the scene & initially are baffled by what appears to be a murder without motive. When another man is murdered on a train by the same method, Inspector Colbeck knows that he will have to move swiftly to apprehend the killer before further lives are lost.
Martons is on time with this series! - By: Billy J. Hobbs, 22 Jul 2007 Edward Marston has four quite successful historical fiction mysteries. In his newest of these (the Inspector Robert Colbeck Series), Marston explores yet another erain British history, the Victorian Age, & more specificially, his protagonist Colbeck is a Scotland Yard detective who not only specializes but thrives on railway cases.
In this the second of the series, "The Excursion Train," Colbeck & his assistant Sergeant Leeming are calledin to investigate a bizarre murder on an excursion train
(where the passengers were specifically headed for a prize fight, illegal, of course, as it's Victorian England). The victim is found garrotted on board the train. Soon, the detectives discover the identity of the body--a former hangman for the Queen's Court, a much loathed man, who, from some accounts, deserved the killing as he'd been the executioner of a man many considered to be innocent. And before we've completed the journey, another body is found murderedin the same fashion. And it turns out, the victim is also related,in a fashion, to the original execution.
Thus, Marston is now on the right tracks, bound for glory. The first man's death, his occupation, the execution, & a nearby village all come into play as Colbeck & Leeming are all aboard for another exciting mystery ride, with all "issues" cleared up by the end. This series seems to show Marston at his writing best, as the books move at a fast pace, seem more historically researched, & capture the setting quite well.
And it's not all "Hamlet, Act V" with all those bodies piling up. Colbeck's romantic interest, Madeline Andrews, from the first episode is also featured, to helpin a change of pace. Marston skillfully incorporates her into the hunt & the reader finds her a welcome addition, the love interest not being too syrupy (it's all quite proper & Victorian), melodramtic, or distracting.
"The Excursion Train" leaves on time & reaches its destination with few hitches or stopovers, & the reader can settle back & let the author do all the driving. It's a good, enjoyable read.
Entertaining Read and a good series of stories - By: traveller guy, 13 Nov 2006 
Excursion train is a nicely paced whodunnit. The murder happens at the start of the book & the story of the investigation unfolds leaving you guessing & re-assessing your guess as you go along. The book is littered with beliveable characters doing believable things & does not lead you to be incredulous as to dismiss anything. The detctive does not have a super human ability, for example the Sherlock Holmes eye for the slightest detail, nor an accomplice such as Patrica Cornwall's Medical Examiner-come-investigator's niece who mysteriously has the ability to do what is needed from hacking into computers, shooting accurately to flying helicopters etc. as the plot demands it!
In this series, Edward Marston gives the reader information & the opportuinty to solve the crime as they read on - unlike some stories where the important information does not come out until the detective or whoever, uncovers the murderer!
Entertaining read - By: Book Lover, 07 Nov 2006 After thoroughly enjoying the firstin this series by Marston, The Railway Detective, I picked up The Excursion Train. I wasn't disappointed as this one had more of the same intriguing plot, likeable characters & colourful scenes. Robert Colbeck, dandy-cum-inspector, is a very readable hero & I look forward to the thirdin the series coming outin paperback.
