by Keith Miles
First published 2004
The London to Birmingham mail train crashes in a spray of sparks and twisted metal. Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck arrives at the scene to find casualties scattered along the tracks and evidence of a carefully orchestrated crime. Someone planned this robbery with military precision, derailing the train during the buildup to the Great Exhibition of 1851. Colbeck begins untangling connections between the attack and a network of blackmail and murder spreading through Victorian London. The investigation takes a personal turn when criminals target Madeleine, the daughter of the train's injured driver. Colbeck must work against time as the masterminds behind the scheme escalate their campaign of destruction. The detective races through the grimy streets and railway yards of industrial London, where new technology clashes with old criminal methods. Colbeck's pursuit becomes a battle between justice and a conspiracy that threatens more than just the railways.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, mystery, crime, detective, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: conspiracy, investigation, personal-stakes
Setting: Birmingham, London
Period: 1851
385 pages · Hardcover · Magna Large Print Books