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February 1918. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Detective
Sergeant Joe Keedy are pulled from their beds to attend a sinister
siege involving three burglars where one policeman has already been
shot dead. Attempts at talking the men in the house into surrender
are met with stony silence so the police proceed to batter down the
door and Keedy bravely leads the way. A gunshot is heard. Keedy is
hit. As Keedy is rushed to hospital, Marmion is on the trail of the
men who fled the scene and startling revelations emerge. A
cold-blooded killer is intent on finishing the job he started and
has Keedy in his sights.
This compelling history of our most feared institution charts the
growth of prisons across the country: castle dungeons and decaying
hulks, the dreadful Fleet and Marshalsea of Dickens' novels and the
soulless structures of Dartmoor and Reading Gaol. Drawing on rarely
seen material from The National Archives, it vividly portrays
aspects of prison life that stayed constant for centuries: loss of
liberty, privacy and comfort; hard labour; restricted rations; and,
solitary confinement; corporal punishment and execution - as well
as tracing key developments such as Jeremy Bentham's panopticon,
the Victorian spate of prison-building, and successive reform Acts.
The book also relates the curiosities, abuses and scandals that
occurred within prison walls, from the racking of Henry VIII's
enemies to the force-feeding of Suffragettes centuries later. At
the heart of the book are dramatic stories of the men, women and
children who lived - and died - behind bars. Their extraordinary
tales range from those of political prisoners incarcerated in the
Tower of London to celebrities such as Oscar Wilde who wrote so
movingly of his imprisonment at Reading Gaol. "Prison" tells the
stories of wartime convicts, suffragettes and highwaymen, cult
criminals such as The Krays and 'ordinary' prisoners like armed
robber James Edward Spiers - who in 1930 committed suicide at
Wandsworth Gaol in front of a group of JPs gathered to see him
receive 15 lashes. There are also fascinating accounts of officers,
governors and executioners as well as reformers like John Howard
and Elizabeth Fry, who spent their lives seeking to improve the lot
of prisoners within.
On a dark, brooding evening on the Isle of Wight, Agnes Raybould
and her companion find themselves an empty first-class compartment
on the train. But before long a middle-aged man, clearly in high
spirits after dining at his club, joins them, and begins a
conversation. His name is Edwin Blanchard - and within moments of
the train leaving the station, Agnes and her accomplice strangle
him . Detective Inspector Colbeck is called to Scotland Yard
immediately and is given details of the violent murder by Tallis.
Both Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are swiftly despatched to Queen
Victoria's favourite country home on the island to find out exactly
what took place on that dreadful, eery night.
1863. Young student, Bernard Pomeroy, flies into a panic when he
receives a letter in the early hours of the morning. Leaving a note
for a friend with a porter at Corpus Christi College, he rushes for
the next train leaving Cambridge. However, shortly after
disembarking at his destination, the undergraduate lies dead on the
platform. Summoned by the master of the college, Inspector Colbeck
and Sergeant Leeming begin to investigate Pomeroy's untimely
demise. But it seems that Pomeroy had ruffled many feathers during
his short tenure at the University. With academic disputes,
sporting rivalry and a clandestine romance in play, the Railway
Detective will have to disentangle the many threads of Pomeroy's
life in order to answer the truth of his death.
Chicago, 1931. While the Great Depression has tightened its grip on
the world, there are still some who have the means to make their
dreams a reality. One of these men is Hobart St John, who wants a
mansion in the suburb of Oak Park. For young Welsh architect Merlin
Richards, the opportunity to work on the house is an answer to his
prayer. But Richards' elation soon turns to confusion and fear. A
body has been found on site hanging from a rafter. The authorities
dismiss it as suicide but how can that be the case when his hands
were tied behind his back? Richards' dream assignment is fast
becoming a nightmare, and he realises that the answers he wants
might cost him his life.
December 1864. As a cold winter wind scours the Worcestershire
countryside, an excursion train comes through a tunnel in the
Malvern Hills to be confronted by a blockage on the line ahead. The
driver manages to slow the train down so that the impact is
minimised, but the passengers are alarmed. The first person to
alight is Cyril Hubbleday, the man in charge of the excursion to
the delightful spa town of Great Malvern. He walks to the front of
the locomotive and as he is talking to the driver, fireman and
guard, Hubbleday is shot dead by a sniper. Christmas is coming all
too soon and Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Victor Leeming
are under pressure to solve the case quickly. However, with a
number of disputes and enemies in the shadows behind the seasonal
excursion and the investigation hampered by heavy snow, the hunt
for a cold-blooded killer is far from straightforward.
December 1860. Headed for the morning shift at the Swindon
Locomotive works is an army of men pouring out of terraced houses
built by the GWR, a miniature town and planned community that aims
to provide for its employees from cradle to grave. Unfortunately,
boiler smith Frank Rodman is headed for the grave sooner than he'd
expected, or he will be once his missing head is found. Colbeck,
the Railway Detective, finds his investigation into Rodman's murder
mired in contradictions. Was the victim a short-tempered brawler,
or a committed Christian and chorister who aimed to better himself?
On the trail of Rodman's enemy as the season starts to bite,
Colbeck finds little festive cheer in the twists and turns of this
peculiar case.
Following a string of successful performances, the Moscardi Circus
is travelling by train to Newcastle for their next show. Yet a
collision on the track with a couple of sleepers causes
pandemonium: passengers thrown about and animals escaping into the
night. When the body of a woman is discovered in nearby woodland,
Inspector Colbeck is desperate to lend assistance, believing the
two incidents might be connected. Who is the nameless woman and who
is targeting the Moscardi's Magnificent Circus?
Chasing his dream of a glittering architectural career, Merlin
Richards has left the Welsh valleys for the Arizona desert,
propelled by a handwritten note from the legendary Frank Lloyd
Wright. Richards arrives at the Arizona Biltmore hotel, where he
meets a beautiful young designer named Rosa Lustig. Like every man
in her circle, Merlin is captivated by Rosa but soon finds himself
the prime suspect in her murder. Jealous suitors, envious workers,
and the cynical police are all convinced that Richards is the
killer. As he begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together, what
he builds is not the impressive edifice he came to learn about, but
a defence that will imprison a murderer.
An eagerly awaited collection of brand new, specially commissioned
short stories from the master of historical crime fiction Edward
Marston, featuring his quick-witted Railway Detective, Inspector
Robert Colbeck. In this thrilling selection of stories, a young
porter is found dead in a coal tub; Colbeck devises a trap to catch
a thief; and a burnt train carriage holds a gruesome secret in a
small coastal village. As Colbeck and his trusty aide Sergeant
Victor Leeming begin to piece together clues and motives for each
crime, it becomes clear the pair must stay a step ahead of the
culprits to solve the cases. With a new suspect at every turn, can
the duo unearth the real villains? Including 'The End of the Line'
and 'The Barber of Ravenglass', jealousy, vengeance and duplicity
all collide in this supercharged anthology, proving once again,
that Inspector Colbeck is the master of mysteries.
1865. A passenger train stands ready to depart amid the bustle at
York station. The flurry of passengers and porters, the swooping
pigeons and barking dogs are thrown into a state of turmoil when an
explosion rips through the brake van of the train killing guard
Jack Follis. In response to a summons from the North Eastern
Railway, Inspector Robert Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are sent to
investigate. Was it an accident, deliberate vandalism or targeted
murder? The longer the investigation goes on, the more complex it
becomes. With a dizzying array of suspects and motives, will the
combined skills of the detectives be enough to identify and catch
the culprit?
Southampton, 1910. When the Oceanic sets sail its ultimate
destination is New York. But it must make one very important stop
first: at Cherbourg, to pick up internationally renowned financier
and art collector J. P. Morgan, fresh from a continental buying
spree. George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, the ship's
detectives, are nervous about the presence of such an important
passenger, not to mention his valuable cargo. After all, it is rare
for a transatlantic voyage to pass without incident for the two
sleuths. The everyday difficulties of managing passengers including
a charming rake intent on causing mischief and a controversial
painter travelling with his bohemian wife and his alluring French
model, are brought to a pitch when a major art theft takes place
and a throat is cut. Dillman and Masefield must draw upon all their
experience to find the killer before it is too late. Previously
published under the name Conrad Allen, the Ocean Liner series is
making waves with a new generation of readers.
1860, Wimborne, Dorset. Rebecca Tullidge, miserably married to her
callous husband, is having an affair with a railway officer, who
she finds dead on the railway tracks. Determined to win votes for
the upcoming election of mayor, Mr Feltham calls for Inspector
Colbeck and Sergeant Lemming to solve the hideous crime, which
takes longer than anticipated. With a pregnant wife at home,
Colbeck must work at speed if he is to return in time to be there
when he becomes a father.
Egypt, 1908. George Dillman and Genevieve Masefield, used to the
grand opulence of the Cunard cruise line, are at first disappointed
with the Marmora, a small, unimpressive ship owned by the P&O
shipping line. Employed by P&O to be the ship's detectives,
Dillman and Masefield expect to encounter the usual assortment of
petty thieves and confidence tricksters. But this cruise is certain
to be unique as the Duke and Duchess of Fife and their children are
aboard and the detectives will provide security for the royals. And
when a dead body turns up, the voyage proves to be one to remember.
Keeping the demise of the poor victim a secret on such a small ship
is tough enough but suspects abound, meaning Dillman and Masefield
have their work cut out for them. Previously published under the
name Conrad Allen, the Ocean Liner series casts off for a new
generation of readers.
New York, 1908. While waiting to embark on the Caronia, the Cunard
Line's famous ocean liner, private detectives George Dillman and
Genevieve Masefield are startled to witness the boarding of a man
and woman in shackles. They discover that these prisoners are being
brought back to England by Scotland Yard to face trial for murder.
Over the course of the crossing, while managing purse-snatchers,
burglars and drug traffickers, Dillman and Masefield come to
believe that the captured couple may not be the vicious criminals
some might think. But pursuing the hunch that they are innocent
becomes harder when a killer strikes on board. Dillman and
Masefield will need all their wits to navigate the waters ahead.
Previously published under the name Conrad Allen, the Ocean Liner
series sets sail for a new generation of readers.
A maritime mystery from Edward Marston, author of the bestselling
Railway Detective series. September 1907. George Dillman sets sail
from Liverpool to New York on the Lusitania's maiden voyage. Posing
as a passenger, Dillman is in fact an undercover detective hired by
the Cunard Line to keep an eye out for petty crimes. But after some
uneventful days aboard, the ship's blueprints are stolen and then a
body is found. As Dillman works to get to the bottom of the crimes,
he makes an unusual friend, first-class passenger Genevieve
Masefield, and the two uncover secrets aboard the ship that prove
explosive. The Lusitania was a British ocean liner that was sunk in
1915 by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland, killing 1,198
passengers and crew. Lusitania held the Blue Riband prize for the
fastest Atlantic crossing and was briefly the world's largest
passenger ship until the completion of the Mauretania. Previously
published under the name Conrad Allen, the Ocean Liner series is
relaunched for a new generation of readers.
Colonel Aubrey Tarleton is a man respected by his neighbors in the
small Yorkshire village of South Otterington as much for his heroic
feats in the army as for his social position. So the community is
left stunned when Tarleton, deliberately, walks into the path of a
speeding train. He is crushed to death on the track, but it is not
his broken limbs that attract the attention of the train driver;
rather, it is the note pinned to his chest, fluttering in the
breeze: Whoever finds me, notify Superintendent Tallis of the
Detective Department at Scotland Yard .The famous Railway
Detective, Inspector Robert Colbeck, finds his superior officer in
great distress when he arrives at the Yard the following morning.
Tallis is clutching a letter from his now-deceased friend. In it,
Tarleton makes it clear that he no longer wishes to live if he has
to do so without his beloved wife, who has disappeared. When the
news arrives that a man s body has been found on the track near
Thirsk, the coincidence is too great. Was Tarleton responsible for
his wife s disappearance, and was his suicide the act of a guilty
man? Tallis cannot believe that to be the case and sets out for
Yorkshire, accompanied by Colbeck and his trusty Sergeant Victor
Leeming, determined to uncover the truth."
An exquisite silver coffeepot in the shape of a locomotive is on
its way to Cardiff in the care of the young silversmith, Hugh
Kellow. But before he can deliver it a gruesome murder is
committed. Inspector Colbeck is confronted all too soon with
complications and with no shortage of suspects and he must sift
through layers of deceit to find the killer.Commissioned by wealthy
ironmaster Clifford Tomkins for his acquisitive wife, who wants it
to be the envy of all her friends and enemies, the coffeepot is
stolen. When a gruesome murder is committed at the Railway Hotel,
Winifred Tomkins is distraught. Caring little for the dead
silversmith, all she can think about is her missing treasure.
Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming of the Detective Department
are summoned to Wales from London by telegraph and they are soon
confronted by some additional crimes. The situation is complicated
by the arrival of a famous theatre company and by revelations of
illicit liaisons among members of the local high society. Colbeck
has to find the killer before it is too late."
In 1851 England, the city of London anticipates the grand opening
of the Great Expedition. Excitement is mounting with each
engineering triumph of the railways, but not everyone feels like
celebrating. A sudden attack hits the London to Birmingham mail
train and it is looted and derailed. Planned with military
precision, Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck fights to untangle a
web of murder, blackmail and destruction. As Colbeck closes in on
the criminal masterminds, events take an unexpected turn when the
beautiful Madeline, daughter of the injured train driver, becomes a
pawn in the criminals game. With time running out, good and evil,
new and old, battle against each other. But will the long arm of
the law have speed on its side? Full of historical detail,
unexpected twists and memorable characters, this is a mystery that
will surprise you at every turn.REVIEWS "A thoroughly enjoyable
Victorian crime novel, a must for aficionados. For the general
reader in search of fresh entertainment, and well worth
reading."Historical Novels Review"
When unexpected disaster strikes Lord Westfield's Men during a
packed performance, Nicholas Bracewell must save the day. Will a
vagabond clown prophesy the end of the troupe, and perhaps the
demise of Nick himself?
When Sir Julius Cheever's son, a notorious rake, goes missing, and
a blackmailer begins terrorising London's most dissolute fops, it
seems plausible that the two events are connected. Divided by
politics but united in a desire to see justice done, Christopher
Redmayne and Jonathan Bale must combine forces once again. But how
can they hope to find those who exploit the scandal of others, when
the victims themselves will do anything to maintain their
anonymity? And what of Sir Julius's son? Most feel he must have
been the victim of his own, debauched appetites, but a few talk of
his repentance. So where is the repentant rake? And, with only
lies, rumours and gossip to work with, can Redmayne and Bale ever
hope to find him?
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