6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Writing, Deviated Plot, February 15, 2009
Jim Springer is a railroad groupie who also is a railroad cop on an English road in 1909. Formerly a locomotive fireman, a job from which he was unfairly fired (Jim's ability and independent streak insure difficult relationships with less talented bosses). Although it keeps him on his beloved railroads, Jim dislikes the cop job because it normally involves only very petty crime such as fare dodging, employee pilfering and minor theft from passengers. And micromanagement to boot. Rarely, however, a major crime occurs within the limited jurisdiction of the railroads, and Jim has a murder solution to his credit.
As this book opens just before Christmas season, Jim faces harassment and hostility from his immediate superior, a bully determined to scuttle Jim's promotion to sergeant, who goes out of his way to give Jim bad assignments and to criticize his performance. Jim must have the promotion to pay for his sickly son's health care and for his wife's sake; and the all-important promotion interview is set for Christmas Eve. Jim is determined to achieve a major success to insure his promotion even if it means risking his superior's ire.
The combined pressure of his ambition and financial need propel Jim into a dangerous investigation when he happens to be on a train stalled by snow and the "snow gangers" discover a body. It seems a clear suicide, but Jim learns a couple of things that make him suspicious. He plunges into an investigation, pretty much on his own.
The book's atmosphere and writing are excellent. The descriptions of the industrial milieu of 1909 Yorkshire, especially in the iron and steel industry are terrific; and, of course, the railroads are lovingly described. While conditions for workers are hellish, this particular hell is populated by glorious machines and men who are proud of their skill in working them.
I rated the book as I did because the plot seemed contrived. While Jim does uncover some things, he ultimately learns the full scope of the villainy through one of the most hackneyed devices in crime fiction: A garrulous evildoer. The original crime seemed believable, but the reaction of those involved was not. And it is the reaction that takes the criminal conduct well out of the ordinary and launches it into the surreal. A number of the conflicts in the book are also resolved in an offhand way that I found psychologically unconvincing. Finally, I felt that the climax of the book was marred by the use of another cliché. The writing carried the book, especially the portrayal of the industrial society in which Jim works; but it was not enough to me to put the book in the top echelon.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4.0 out of 5 stars
A delightful look into a world of which I know little, May 9, 2011
The beginning of Murder at Deviation Junction by Andrew Martin for some reason reminded me of a Hayao Miyazaki movie, which doesn't make sense because the acclaimed Japanese anime director's movies and the story of a English train detective solving a murder would seem to have little in common. But anyone familiar with Miyazaki knows his love of the Victorian steam age in his movies such as Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Sky, which are filled with belching fire metal monstrosities.
Deviation Junction begins with railway detective Jim Stringer arriving in the metal foundries of Ironopolis, where blast furnaces also belch fire and giant ladles pour molten iron, and Martin writes vividly of Stringer's ultimately fruitless pursuit of his suspect through an industrial hell that made me think of Miyaki and Katsuhiro Otomo's steampunk fantasy Steamboy.
That scene immediately gave me a fantastic feel for the sense of the promise and dangers of industrialization that made Britain a superpower, but I think it's effect on me was helped by Martin's choice of referring to Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire as Ironopolis, which increased the Miyazaki/steampunk feeling. Ironopolis was Middlesbrough's nickname and still I think the name of the football club and it has a very science fiction ring.
Another reason the book had such an effect on me is the time period, 1909. I have little knowledge of the Edwardian period, being more familiar with Victorian England or the later '20s and '30s of P.G. Wodehouse. And so it was interesting to read a book where I continually felt out of my depth, especially with all the talk of strange locomotives like the Gateshead Infant and technical references like 4-4-0 (referring to the number and type of wheels on an engine). And any book set in this period has a built in dread, especially now that I know his other books are moving us ever closer to World War I.
But soon the book settles into a more practical murder mystery when the body of a railway photographer is found near a marshalling yard after Stringer's train is blocked by a snowdrift. It's questionable whether the case is really within his remit, but Stringer has conflicting interests. He's eager for a promotion that will help see his family better able to care for his sickly son and he's better served by following the rules and the chain of command and obeying his immediate superior, who sent him to arrest the subject he sought at the foundry. But solving a murder would also look impressive, so he follows the clues by developing the film from a camera that was missing from the photographer's body that Stringer later finds.
From his investigations, he learns that the photographer was interested in a special railway car specially engaged by some businessmen and many of the people on that train have ended up dead or missing. Stringer's investigations are also aided by a railway journalist who knew the dead photographer and was on the same train blocked by the snowdrift.
The book has an early climax with a wild pursuit to Scotland where the pursuer Stringer turns out to be the object of the game. You know it's a early climax because you can feel how many pages are left in the book so don't be surprised when there's more to come.
One of the interesting aspects about this detective is that he doesn't really want to be a detective, having lost his job as a railway something (I'm sorry, I can't remember what his title was, maybe fireman). It's pretty obvious that he'd go back to being a railway fireman or engineer if he could. That doesn't prevent Stringer from doing his job, however. He's a dogged detective, not a great one, which becomes pretty obvious when the tables are turned, although ultimately his assessment of a crucial person's character proves correct.
It's also nice to read about a more or less happily married detective. I found his wife to be a little annoying but I have heard her described as his brilliant wife in reviews of Martin's earlier Stringer novels. But it's clear his love for his wife and son.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flawless, January 16, 2010
The narrative voice is amazing --intelligent and economical, yet full bodied and subtly humorous. The story begins very slowly, but picks up and then moves quickly to a surprise ending. The murder provokes some interesting questions. The trains, the weather, and the villains keep the plot moving. Reminiscent stylistically of a Sherlock Holmes story, but with a more personable detective and greater psychological depth.
Murder at Deviation Junction deserves a wide readership. I plan on reading more Jim Stringer mysteries.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
