The fourth installment in the Jim Stringer [Railway Detective] series. Jim is on a winter's trip with his family when the train makes an unscheduled stop and a body is uncovered.

We have moved on a couple of years, Stringer is up for promotion, but is up against his direct superior, who would prefer to see him shuffling papers. Stringer should be on the trail of a football thug, but can't keep away from the mysterious circumstances surrounding the discovered body of man who apparently committed suicide. As in previous books, Stringer jumps blindly into danger, following the trail of 5 men caught on film by the dead man, taking him to London and even as far north as Inverness.

Jim is showing his frustration about being so near the railways, but yet not allowed to drive the trains, but his growing family is banking on his promotion. His wife, Lydia, is moving up in the Co-operative, intent on bringing the family up, not helped by a drunk Jim pitching up at her Christmas do. I still wish the author would give Lily more print, as she is a great character.

The series is still entertaining for me, the trains and the penny dreadful style. It is a gentle mystery, one for a quiet afternoon on the sofa. Number 5 beckons. ( )

“Murder at Deviation Junction” is a genuinely good read, and follows enjoyably in the footsteps of other fusions of railroads and murder, such as “Murder on the Orient Express” and “North by Northwest”. It may not be such a glamorous picture of travelling by train as these other, later, works, but shows the combination of crime and the steady relentless progress offered by the railway is one, when well done, consistently works.

For full review please see: http://southlondonbook.blogspot.com/2009/08/murder-at-deviation-junction-andrew.... ( )

The fourth in the railway detective series. Once again it is quite ordinary, slow-moving, sedate and quaint, and that perhaps is its attraction. It's not a "whodunit" but the plot does keep you guessing a bit. And there are hints of how staid old Jim Stringer tries to spice up his sex life. ( )

This was an OK read, Jim Stringer is still a railway detective out of York and the mystery element kind of worked. The best I can say about this book is that it passed the time, but I won't be in a hurry to read any more books written by this author. ( )