Arthur Griffiths (1838–1908)

Odious John Bull B.S. Oh, and the Froggies are asswipes.

So, we have a train going from Rome to Paris. When they get to Paris, they find one of the passengers of the sleeper car has been murdered. Since the car is off limits to the hoi polloi, the murderer must have been one of the select few passengers in the sleeping car.

The French authorities, led by M. Floçon, the Chief, and M. Beaumont lé Hardi, instructing judge, investigate. But, for some reason, one of the passengers, Sir Charles Collingham thinks they are overreaching in their investigation, as well as misguided. He is after all, a noble Brit and knows a damn sight more than any damn Froggie. God is he an odious asshole. But for some reason, he ends up being more-or-less the hero of the book. WTF? Fortunately, this piece of crap was short. Not really what one wants to be reading during a week's stay in the hospital.
… (mais)

Poco antes de que el viaje llegue a su fin, los pasajeros de un coche cama del expreso Ro- ma-París se despiertan alarmados al descubrir que uno de ellos ha sido asesinado de una puñalada en el corazón. Se trata de dos hermanos ingleses -un militar y un clérigo-, un par de hombres de negocios franceses, dos mujeres -una atractiva viuda y su doncella-, el revisor y otros dos caballeros, uno de los cuales es la víctima. A su llegada a la Gare de Lyon, la Gendarmería -con el atrabiliario inspector Floçon al mando- les espera para intentar esclarecer el misterioso crimen.… (mais)

First published in 1896, this is a fairly short fictional account of nine people aboard an express train sleeping car most of whom awake near the end of their journey from Rome to Paris to learn that one of their number has suffered death by a stab wound to the heart. Two are French businessmen, two are English brothers- a General and a clergyman- two are women- an attractive widow and her maid. The conductor, a Dutchman named Groote, has made trouble for the widow and her maid by insisting that the maid not be in the sleeping car too much as she has no sleeping car ticket. Two other men are aboard, one of whom is the dead man. The police inspectors arrive at the Paris train station, the Gare de Lyon, and present the reader with a delicious comedy of errors as they apply their rigid methods in an attempt to find out what happened. In the midst of this the General and the lovely widow, already friends for some months ( having met in Rome) discover that they love each other. An artful blend of narration, misdirection, and well-timed revelations maintain interest to the end of this diverting story.… (mais)