"Jim Stringer ... Railway Detective"Coming as I do, from what used to be one of the oldest and largest railway communities, Swindon, this book was of great interest to me, when I saw it for sale in a local charity shop. That was long before I knew that the author himself came from a family of railway workers, based in the offices of the York works, where this book is set.The book was originally recommended to me by Nikki-Ann, after her great review of it appeared over at `Notes Of Life', so I knew that I wasn't going to be too disappointed with it, although you should maybe check out both reviews, as we do have some differing views about the overall appeal of the book.This, once again given my appalling track record for reading a series in any kind of logical order, is not the first book in the series, featuring the character `Jim Stringer'. However, `The Lost Luggage Porter' starts us off on a new chapter in Jim's life, so works great as a stand-alone story. Incidental snippets of information which appear throughout the book, contrive to paint a more than adequate picture of the young Jim's life so fully, that I really don't feel the need to go back and read the earlier episodes in the series.The scenes which are set in and around the railway station and yard are detailed and visual in their description, creating just the right atmosphere. From the vast expanse of the dimly, gas-lit station terminus, with all its noise and smoke-filled atmosphere, to the cobbled back alleys surrounding the station, where thieves and vagabonds live and prey on the unsuspecting interloper, I could just imagine myself there. However, I did think that once we were taken out of this `safe' environment, the descriptive power of Andrew Martin's writing, did rather lack imagination and finesse, especially in some of the later scenes, which take place in Paris.Jim Stringer himself, lives up to his Northern reputation, a dour, morose individual, who appears to have the weight of the world upon his shoulders. True, he has been disappointed in not attaining the career in life he had chosen for himself, however unjustly and seemingly through no real fault of his own. However, it now looks as though he has been beaten into submission and forced into a career change which he doesn't relish and is therefore determined to make the worst of, with his bitterness and resentment overflowing unchecked into his demeanour and actions. He comes across as a very two dimensional, monochrome character, who, if the book had come complete with audio, I would imagine to have a very emotionless and monotonous voice.His life is therefore dictated by a whole series of strong people, who he appears to have no desire or ability to challenge. There are numerous, extraneous characters who play quite pivotal roles in the story and whilst the general broad montage of faces are explained and brought to life in all the appropriate places, it may be that some of them could have benefitted from slightly stronger dialogue and deeper characterisations.Jim and Lydia have a fairly unique relationship for the times, as Lydia is allowed much more freedom than many Edwardian women would ever have enjoyed. Jim, whilst not fully supporting her suffragist views and friends, allows her the freedom to pursue them and also to work, to help support them as a family. In reality, it may be that he is unable to exert much authority over Lydia, who is a very strong, intelligent character, determined to get her own way, including deciding on Jim's career path for him, not even realising that Jim has no real appetite for the direction she is sending him in.Jim's father is a self-made businessman, full of his own imagined importance, pompous and over-bearing. Definitely not at one with his errant daughter-in-law, he does however side with her whenever Jim's future comes into question.Chief Inspector Weatherill, is a complete enigma. He has never met, let alone had the opportunity to assess this `rookie' officer, before placing him in plain clothes and under cover, to help stem the rising crimewave in and around York railway station. He then seems completely powerless to help, when the inevitable happens and Jim is left stranded and way out of his depth. He does appear to be `in the right place, at the right time' on a few occasions, but is unable to offer advice or help to Jim, who acts like a `rabbit caught in the headlights'.Jim's loyalty to the job is questioned and found wanting one last time, when `The Lost Luggage Porter', Lund, makes his dramatic and final confession, although he does eventually reveal the sorry truth to Weatherill, but by then it is too late for the pathetic Lund.The plot does move at quite a pace and is suspenseful, intense and deadly in many places. There are plenty of unexpected twists and turns and many occasions when it looks as though Jim is about to make his move and offer the gang up for arrest, although he just never finds the right time to follow through on a plan. The gang are a real bunch of disparate characters and will stop at nothing to win their ultimate prize. Jim however, is only galvanised into action when Lydia's life becomes threatened and then his first thoughts are survivalist, rather than apprehending the gang members, whose downfall is eventually brought about by their own inate greed and belief that they were untouchable.I am not sure however, that reading just this one book is enough for me to come to any conclusion about the strength and sincerity of Jim as a believable character, so I may need to read one of the later books in the series, just to see how Jim's character has been developed and stretched to fit this new role he has undertaken in life.
The Lost Luggage Porter by Andrew Martin is book 3 of the Jim Stringer mystery series set in early 1900s England. It’s winter 1906 and Jim is downhearted, having moved to York to take a new job as railway detective. He sees the new assignment as a punishment for crashing an engine into a station in Halifax. He longs to return to his dream job of railway engineer. The only positive notes in his life are his wife and their soon-to-be-born first child. Of course his anxiety is enhanced by the need to support his family. The new job’s instructions are suspiciously vague: to find and infiltrate a gang that has committed a series of railway crimes, including robbery and murder. His boss Detective Weatherill is more interested in eating lavish breakfasts and identifying crimes as non-railway (and therefore a matter for the city police) than solving the crimes and catching the criminals. An odd young man working as the lost luggage porter provides Jim with clues, never in a straightforward manner. Jim has to be quick-witted and take a few punches to be credible in the underworld, besides he must join into the commission of crimes. He is constantly concerned about his future, since by joining the gang he is now a criminal, and he fears the railway police will not support or rescue him. Indeed they don’t - and Jim is forced to flee to France with the gang ringleaders. When they threaten his wife’s life, he must take desperate risks.I enjoyed the first two books of the series (The Necropolis Railway and The Blackpool Highflyer) much more than this one. The earlier books were positive, as Jim worked hard to achieve his dreams; book 3 rambles along in a depressed mood. Jim is unhappy with his job and the uncertainty of his future. He loves his wife and is happy about imminent parenthood, but is also irritated by her condition and behavior, and so spends most of his hours and days away from home. The steps he takes to find and infiltrate the gang are somewhat boring, mostly consisting of drinking in rundown pubs with shady characters. He never can figure out the right time or manner in which to arrest the criminals - just as well, since more policemen are corrupt than he realized.On the strength of my satisfaction with the earlier books, I plan to read the next book in the series, Murder at Deviation Junction, in which I hope Jim will regain happiness and motivation in his work. I don’t recommend The Lost Luggage Porter as a stand-alone mystery.
What do You think about The Lost Luggage Porter (2015)?
I loved reading The Lost Luggage Porter. The writing took me straight into the book, right to winter 1906 in York where I totally lost myself in the story. 1906 York, with it’s dark, cobbled, gas-lit streets and down-and-outs, gives the perfect setting for a detective novel. Between Andrew Martin’s period writing and having been to York a few times, I was able to picture the scenery quite vividly (I don’t think the centre of York has changed much over the years, to be honest).The characters in the book are right characters and are all quite memorable (and some you wouldn’t want to meet down a dark alleyway!). They speak in local (but entirely understandable) accents, giving the story even more authenticity.I loved Stringer’s simple disguise of a scruffy suit and a pair of spectacles with no lenses (yes, you read that right, no lenses)! Whilst some may think that’s not much of a disguise, it’s actually a clever one in some ways… For example, one day I passed a colleague in the street without even realising it was him. He normally wears glasses, but was wearing contact lenses and had me totally fooled! Anyway, I digress…The story had a steady pace throughout, very much like the steam trains in the book, which kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. There’s something going on all the time. There’s a few twists and turns and surprises along the way, too. I enjoyed the book so much that I started it one afternoon and finished it the next morning, and I’m eager to read the rest of the series.Despite being the third book in the Jim Stringer, Steam Detective series, The Lost Luggage Porter also does well as a stand-alone book. There’s no need to read the early books in the series to enjoy this one, but now I’ve read this one I want to read the rest!Highly recommended!
—Nikki-ann
The merit of this book appears to be curatorial. Its portrait of York and its great railway yards in Edwardian times is obviously the result of much midnight oil-burning on the part of the author. He has also gone to some trouble to recreate the local vernacular of the time, though the results are only intermittently convincing.In theory, this is a book that should appeal to a lot of different audiences: readers of detective novels and thrillers, railway enthusiasts, natives of Yorkshire and lovers of historical fiction. In fact, the mystery is very amateurishly handled and the whodunit is insoluble without previously unknown information given to us only at the denouément, the evocation of railways and railway work is pedestrian and the historical material fails to charm. Jim Stringer is a pretty pathetic figure with nothing to recommend him as a man or a detective, except that he appears to have a modern, liberal, Guardian-reading conscience, a very unlikely thing for an Edwardian railway policeman to own.I can't speak for Yorkshire folk, not being one myself, but the book is so badly plotted and poorly written I can't really see many of them enjoying it, either.
—Palmyrah
I like trains, the romance of them, their history. I haven't read a mystery in a long time, so when I saw this book at my local library, I thought I'd give it a go. It was a fun read, well paced and I could tell well researched. The story takes place in England in 1906, in and around the steam trains of the era. I could smell the steam and smoke, hear the rain falling on the station roof, all the while hoping our hero has gets himself out of a dangerous situation with the bad guys. Man, they sure drank a lot in those days....This is the latest in a series of Jim Stringer mysteries. The next one is due out this fall. While I wait for that, I have three previous ones to read. After 'Atonement' it's a nice break to have some lighter fare yet still a book that takes you to another era while you wonder what will happen next.
—Jean
