Blood on the Tracks: Fifteen Locked-Room Mysteries set on Train Tracks (British Library Crime Classics)

The most well-known train mystery ever written is arguably Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express”. However, the railway mysteries included in this collection aren’t limited to the trains themselves, but also to the tracks the trains run on, tunnels, and signal boxes.Authors include Arthur Conan Doyle, Freeman Willis Crofts, Miles Burton, and Robert Eustace, to name but a few.The stories vary in length and in content. Some are murders, some are crimes of various sorts, and others are just mysteries.“The Affair of the Corridor Express” is an intriguing case of the disappearance of a schoolboy on a non-stop express.“The Eighth Lamp” raises the question of how a guilty conscience and the supernatural can be entwined.“The Knight’s Cross Signal Problem” involves a railway tragedy, where a solution of sorts is produced out of thin air, but leaves the actual resolution dangling, and this reader with a faint sense of dissatisfaction.In the rather gruesomely titled “The Unsolved Puzzle of the Man With No Face”, we encounter the delightful Lord Peter Wimsey in an intriguing murder, with an even more intriguing ending.“The Railway Carriage” is a short story that takes the breath away. With a touch of the supernatural and the macabre, it is memorable.In “The Level Crossing” we have a great moral battle and the staggering result. This is a brilliant short story by a great detective novelist.These are just some of the stories on offer in this anthology and this book is one I will read again. Each writer is a well-known and respected detective and/or mystery novelist, so all the stories are well-written. Easy reading and a solid four stars.

Fine collection of British short story writing from the early to mid-20th Century. Among the authors are Dorothy Sayers, Michael Gilbert and Arthur Conan Doyle. Some small gems here, and some of less engrossing stature. All of the stories are related to crimes committed during rail travel (or on the London tube). The writing is often anti-modern, conjuring up Victorian/Edwardian language and grammar at times. Quite enjoyable overall. A great book for before-sleep reading.

If you're a fan of the Golden Age of Mysteries, then Martin Edwards' collections of rediscovered gems is for you. Every story is interesting, surprising & very well-written. This particular collection is of stories connected to trains - traveling on them, working on them or seeing them go by. I'm always a little sad when I've finished the book!

I've only been on a train a few times in my life, so the idea of a murder mystery on a train ride seemed like an interesting theme. But the train setting gets tiresome quickly. This collection has a mixed bag; there are stories about a traveling watch salesman who met his end, hazardous train tunnels, stolen bonds, kidnapped children, murdered diamond merchants, traitorous husbands, and more. The Case of Oscar Brodski is a standout: the others, I could have lived without.

If you like trains and British period mysteries, you will find that many of the stories in this book will interest you. But too many of the stories are just okay; you want to finish them, but you won't read that author again. But here and there are some gems. To tell the truth, one of the reasons I bought the book was for the cover - it is gorgeous. I'm glad I read the book, but it is not one I would read again.

You have to be a darned good writer to create a believable "Locked Room Mystery". I'm not sure if it's that many of these writers are unknown for a reason or simply that times have changed and story lines that were brand new decades ago have become over-used and trite. Not my favorite, but by no means terrible.

If you like mysteries and trains, as I do, you'll love this book. I already had about half of the stories, and greatly enjoyed the others. Well worth reading.

A very enjoyable read, a keeper!

Blood on the Tracks is another in the British Library Crime Classics series of themed anthologies edited by Martin Edwards.As the name suggests this collection is made up of stories with some railway connection. It opens with a non - Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle though Holmes fans will not go unsatisfied as another entry is an excellent pastiche by Ronald Knox.All of the stories here are enjoyable though each reader will have their own favourites. Whilst most of the stories are straightforward detective stories one is almost a beautifully told ghost story.Personally I found the inverted Thorndyke story by R. Austin Freeman and the entry by Freeman Wills Crofts to be particularly entertaining.I had heard of most of the authors represented here before, if only through other anthologies in this series.This is a highly recommended collection with virtually all of the stories conjuring up images of the rail network as it was of old when it served as the primary means of long distance travel for everyone whatever their status in society. Whilst cars undoubtedly provide a more convenient form of transport they have removed the romanticism associated with the age of steam and these old railway stories help bring it back if only for a while.

This paperback is well printed with a pleasant readable font and good line spacing.The introduction sets the scene for the genre of railway mysteries and the editor, Martin Edwards has done a good job with the fifteen selected varied stories and each author has a brief overview.Short stories make ideal holiday, hospital, travel and lock-down reading material. Stimulating without making heavy demands on the reader. With a beautiful front cover this book makes a pleasing gift.

Having been very disappointed with the last short story collection I read from this series (Settling Scores), this was a return to the quality I'd found in previous books - and even rose above them all to the top of the pile. There are no duds in this collection; one or two are only average but most of them are better than that and several are excellent. If you enjoy Golden Age detective stories, you can't go wrong with this book.

I like this book, it’s a good read last thing at night.However you do have to concentrate to follow some of the stories.My only quibble, as all of these short stories have a railway involvement, they did start to mould into one.But you know that when you buy the book.I would buy another book in this series (not about trains though).

If you enjoy a good murder mystery book this one is a good choice. Liked it because it'd from a bygone era of mystery writing. Well worth a read.