Book Description

Discover the captivating treasures buried in the British Library's archives. Largely inaccessible to the public until now, these enduring classics were written in the golden age of detective fiction. "This is the perfect volume for fans of short, high-quality, fair-play detective fiction." —Publishers Weekly "Never had I been given a tougher problem to solve, and never had I been so utterly at my wits' end for a solution." A signalman is found dead by a railway tunnel. A man identifies his wife as a victim of murder on the underground. Two passengers mysteriously disappear between stations, leaving behind a dead body. Trains have been a favourite setting of many crime writers, providing the mobile equivalent of the "locked-room" scenario. Their enclosed carriages with a limited number of suspects lend themselves to seemingly impossible crimes. In an era of cancellations and delays, alibis reliant upon a timely train service no longer ring true, yet the railway detective has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in the twenty-first century. Both train buffs and crime fans will delight in this selection of fifteen railway-themed classic mysteries, featuring some of the most popular authors of their day alongside less familiar names. This is a classic short story collection to beguile even the most wearisome commuter. These fascinating mystery stories are: For fans of Agatha Christie and Anthony Horowitz Perfect for readers of Classic Crime Fiction and Golden-Age Murder Mysteries Also in the British Library Crime Classics: Smallbone Deceased The Body in the Dumb River Blood on the Tracks Surfeit of Suspects Death Has Deep Roots Checkmate to Murder