The Necropolis Railway - A Novel of Murder, Mystery and Steam (Jim Stringer) - Softcover

Martin, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156030683 ISBN 13: 9780156030687

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2007

Synopsis

Bright and ambitious, young Jim Stringer moves from the English countryside to London deter- mined to become a railway man. It is 1903, the dawn of the Edwardian age, when steam runs the nation and the railways drive progress. Jim can't believe his luck to have gotten his foot in the door at South East Railway, run out of Waterloo Station. He finds, however, that his duties involve a graveyard shift, literally--a railway line that takes coffins from London morgues to the gigantic new cemeteries being dug in the city's outskirts. He also learns that his predecessor had disappeared and that his coworkers seem to have formed an instant loathing for him. Forced to live by his wits and to arrive at his own deductions--assisted by his landlady, for whom he falls-- he tries to figure out what is going on before he is issued a one-way ticket on the Necropolis Railway.

About this title

Review:

"Guaranteed to make the flesh creep and the skin crawl. A masterful novel about a mad, clanking, fog-bound world."--Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman and The Map That Changed the World

"A classy potboiler . . . in the best traditions of Dickens and Collins (let alone Christie and Chandler)." --The Times (London)

"Andrew Martin succeeds brilliantly at re-creating a railwayman's lot."--The Seattle Times (02/01/2007)

"The atmosphere is first-rate: Martin does a stunning job of bringing to life the era when steam locomotives chugged from London through the British countryside...The lurid tone and Jim's growing uneasiness lead to a supremely scary climax."-- (11/01/2006)

"Martin's debut, loaded with railway lore, pairs a lively, often macabre look at turn-of-the century London with bang-up mystery." (Starred review)--Kirkus (09/19/2006)

"...This suspense-filled debut...will appeal to those who like mysteries with unusual settings."-- (12/01/2006)

From the Back Cover:

"Martin s debut, loaded with railway lore, pairs a lively, often macabre look at turn-of-the-century London with a bang-up mystery." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A classy potboiler . . . in the best formal traditions of Dickens and Collins (let alone Christie and Chandler)." The Times (London)
When railway man Jim Stringer moves to the garish and tawdry London of 1903, he finds his duties are confined to a mysterious graveyard line. Perplexingly, the men he works alongside have formed an instant loathing for him, and his predecessor has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Forced to live by his wits and assisted by his alluring landlady, he struggles to unearth the truth before he is issued a one-way ticket on the Necropolis Railway.
"An ingenious and atmospheric thriller . . . crackles with the idiom and slang of the period. An eccentric delight."--Daily Express (London)
"So diverting that reader and hero are swept off their feet into a noisy, steamy, antiquated world of great danger." The Guardian (Book of the Week)
ANDREW MARTIN was a Spectator (London) Young Writer of the Year. He lives in London.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0156030683
• ISBN 13: 9780156030687
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256