The Lost Luggage Porter - (Jim Stringer Mysteries) by Andrew Martin (Paperback)

About the Book

From the author of The Necropolis Railway and The Blackpool Highflyer comes another atmospheric thriller of sabotage, suspicion and steam. It's Jim Stringer's first day as an official railway detective, working from York Station for the mighty North Eastern Railway Company. On the station platform, Stringer meets the Lost Luggage Porter, humblest among the railway's employees. He tells Jim a tale which leads him to the roughest part of town, a place where the police constables always walk in twos. Again, with the help of his brilliant and fearless wife, Jim is off on the trail of pickpockets, 'station loungers' and other small fry of the York underworld. But then, in a tiny, one-room pub with a badly smoking fire Stringer enters the orbit of a dangerous, disturbed villain who is playing for much higher stakes.

Book Synopsis

From the author of The Necropolis Railway and The Blackpool Highflyer comes another ingenious thriller featuring Jim Stringer. It is winter 1906 and Jim has been promoted from sleuth to official railway detective for York station. His first day on the job, the mysterious Lost Luggage Porter, "a human directory to everything in York," tips him off to a group of railway thieves. Jim is instructed by his Inspector to infiltrate their gang and is drawn along into their plot to carry out a robbery and make their getaway across the Channel. Soon Jim finds himself swept off to Paris with the thieves, his plight made even worse when threats are made against his wife. Can Jim get to get to her before the villains do?

UK Praise for The Lost Luggage Porter:

"Page-turning, confidently written..." - Guardian

"The atmosphere of neglected streets...dingy saloon bars, supper of boiled bacon and pickles, and dismal, unceasing rain are splendidly evoked." - Telegraph

From the Back Cover

"Page-turning, confidently written." The Guardian (London)
"The atmosphere of neglected streets . . . dingy saloon bars, supper of boiled bacon and pickles, and dismal, unceasing rain are splendidly evoked." The Telegraph (London)
From the author of The Necropolis Railway and The Blackpool Highflyer comes another ingenious railway thriller featuring Jim Stringer. It is the winter of 1906, and Jim Stringer has been promoted from amateur sleuth to official railway detective for York station. When the station s mysterious lost luggage porter tips him off to a group of railway thieves, Jim is instructed to infiltrate the thieves gang and unwittingly enters the orbit of a dangerous, deranged villain. His plight is made even worse when threats are made against his pregnant wife. Can Jim get to get to her before the criminals do?
Praise for Andrew Martin

"Andrew Martin succeeds brilliantly at re-creating a railwayman's lot." --The Seattle Times
"Martin does a stunning job of bring to life the era when steam locomotives chugged from London through the British countryside." Booklist

ANDREW MARTIN was a Spectator (London) Young Writer of the Year. He lives in London. His novels featuring Jim Stringer include The Necropolis Railway and The Blackpool Highflyer."

Review Quotes

UK PRAISE FOR THE LOST LUGGAGE PORTER

"The best sleuth that 200 years of the railways have ever produced." --The Independent (London)

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE NECROPOLIS RAILWAY

"Martin's debut, loaded with railway lore, pairs a lively, often macabre look at turn-of-the-century London with a bang-up mystery." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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