The Blackpool Highflyer (Jim Stringer Book 2)

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Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. The Rise and Fall of the Sleeper. Kindle Edition File Size: Customer reviews There are no customer reviews yet. Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a product review. Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon. Of great interest to RR enthusiasts. Good story easy to read and spell binding.

I obtained this mystery with great eagerness given that I'm a big fan of stories set in turn-of-the-century England. I was prepared to be immersed in the times and captured by a compelling mystery. Unfortunately I was disappointed. I thought the character development was very thin; characters were unidimensional and cardboard thin. Each character was either obviously good and decent or corrupt and despicable. A couple of attempts at revelations about particular characters and plot twists fell flat and were easily predicted.

Rather, this is an excellent slice-of-life story cen The cover blurb referring to "Jim Stringer, Steam Detective" is misleading as can be, but I find I prefer what I got to what the publisher's publicist is trying to offer. Rather, this is an excellent slice-of-life story centered on entirely realistic fireman of a British railway in There is a mystery of sorts, and he thinks he ought to try to solve it, but his efforts are guided by and frequently hampered by the sort of wishful thinking and seeking of complexity in a simple situation a lot of us pursue in an attempt to insert meaning into life.

Jim Stringer is just a man with enough intelligence to be imaginative who is driven to the edge of paranoid delusion by a tragic coincidence he finds himself at the core of. I highly recommend it, not as detective fiction but as a historical novel. The second in the Jim Stringer, railway detective, series and the one that shifts him back to his natural habitat of the North of England where he will stay for the next four books.

This is, in fact, a little superior to the much praised 'Necropolis Railway'[ https: The main female character - Jim's wife - is no cypher but used to introduce a female perspective on life in with sensitivit The second in the Jim Stringer, railway detective, series and the one that shifts him back to his natural habitat of the North of England where he will stay for the next four books. The main female character - Jim's wife - is no cypher but used to introduce a female perspective on life in with sensitivity and without the usual patronising ways of the retrospective liberal. Jim often gets it wrong but is eternally inquisitive and she is strong and quite independent with flashes of insight that move the plot along.

It is made to look like a genuine partnership. The showy use of research has ended here. Martin has worked out the difference between 'literature' and entertainment without sacrificing the ability to write well. Sep 16, Henri Moreaux rated it really liked it Shelves: Having previously read 'The Necropolis Railway' and enjoyed it when I saw this on the shelf of the hotel I was staying in I dived in.

Continuing on from the first book we're in Edwardian England; Jim Stringer has landed his woman, moved into a house and started on a new railway line where someone attempts to derail his train. Naturally, amateur sleuthing ensues. One thing to note is whilst these books are not fast paced or action filled they are very detailed and atmospheric so its a bit of a depa Having previously read 'The Necropolis Railway' and enjoyed it when I saw this on the shelf of the hotel I was staying in I dived in.

One thing to note is whilst these books are not fast paced or action filled they are very detailed and atmospheric so its a bit of a departure from many other modern books which seem to be constantly action filled lest the reader gets bored and turns on the television. Overall an excellent picturesque Edwardian mystery novel. I think I enjoyed this second book in the Jim Stringer series more than the first - no one writes Edwardian slang like Andrew Martin , and the narrative voice is so compelling - so much so that the admittedly lightweight storyline is largely irrelevant.

Jim Stringer would quite probably be, in person, a crashing bore, obsessed as he is with detail, railways and the everyday, but somehow this makes for a hugely entertaining read.

Hardback Editions

The era is evoked so naturally that reading these books really is I think I enjoyed this second book in the Jim Stringer series more than the first - no one writes Edwardian slang like Andrew Martin , and the narrative voice is so compelling - so much so that the admittedly lightweight storyline is largely irrelevant. The era is evoked so naturally that reading these books really is like being transported back in time and place. Jim's wife is fantastic, and a brilliant foil.

A goodhearted, fun read. An enjoyable thriller in which the main character is a fireman with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in Edwardian times. The mystery element of the plot meanders a lot, and the main character gets his ideas from bizarre intuitive guesses with no concessions for logical methodology at all.

The Blackpool Highflyer (Jim Stringer, #2) by Andrew Martin

Not surprisingly, the Police seem to have even less success with their step by step investigations. I found this a little hard to swallow, but enjoyed the period feel of the background and the incredible kn An enjoyable thriller in which the main character is a fireman with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in Edwardian times. I found this a little hard to swallow, but enjoyed the period feel of the background and the incredible knowledge of early railway methods used towards so well by the author.

It's a mystery novel, but of the sort where the main character is wrong about pretty much everything and just sort of blunders into the answer after exhausting every other possibility. Like a railroad train, the plot just keeps chug-chug-chugging along until it gets to the end, but it's not very satisfying. I don't remember the first book's perpetrator, but the one in this installment didn't make a whole lot of sense. I have to remember not to pick up the next book in this series when I'm at the It's a mystery novel, but of the sort where the main character is wrong about pretty much everything and just sort of blunders into the answer after exhausting every other possibility.

I have to remember not to pick up the next book in this series when I'm at the library. At least it wasn't very long. Apr 13, Scilla rated it liked it. This is the second book in the Jim Stringer series about the railroads in England in the early 20th century. Jim works stoking the fires in the engines. Someone puts a grindstone on the tracks of a train Jim is working.

Although the engineer stops the train before it hits, one woman dies from a fall. Jim spends the rest of the book trying to find the culprit among several possible. In the process we learn a lot about life in the time. Actually I couldn't finish this book. Martin's books are popular so the fault's all mine.

I like history, I like mystery, but Jim Stringer seems to me a Pooterish character, slightly obsessive in his love of all things railway.

Paperback Editions

I gave pages a go, but when I realised I was putting off picking the book up to read in favour of more interesting activities washing up, anyone? I decided it was time to call it a day. Second in a series of first-person mysteries, this one has ambitious railroad driver Jim Stringer now married to the very clever Fabian socialist landlady from book one attempting to figure out who, from a large cast of disgruntled Edwardian Yorkshire people put a rock on the tracks and derailed a holiday train full of textile workers.

Nov 19, Malcolm Baker added it. Found the coming together of the plot a little far fetched with the reasoning for the attempt to stop the train quite far fetched in theory. Plenty of red herrings that added to the story. And finding the relationship between Jim and 'the' wife refreshingly straight forward and honest. Mar 10, Al rated it really liked it.

Second book about young Jim Stringer's life working on the early twentieth century railroad in Northern England. The plots are a little creaky, but Jim is as real as can be, and the descriptions of railroading, and life in the cities and spas of England in , are worth reading. May 27, Tweedledum rated it really liked it Shelves: Don't be fooled by the title This book is really about Halifax and Sowerby Bridge and as someone who has lived there I can say it was a real treat.

Once again Martin's deep knowledge of local history shines through and the story is well paced and suspenseful. Jan 23, Dave rated it really liked it.

Another Jim Stringer story, these books improve with each new story. Kindle Edition File Size: Amazon Media EU S. Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Read reviews that mention martin railway andrew steam detective period trains edwardian atmosphere railways beautifully tale certainly halifax lost era mystery boring page dialect. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase.

In many ways I think 3. Generally I am suspicious of modern authors writing in an historical style here.. Not so here ; the historical stuff is very good indeed but also the feelings do seem " correct ". My doubts are about the rather drawn out and not very clear plotting. I think there are too many red herrings and an overall lack of cohesion. Many people will disagree. Firstly I was surprised that the swearing went from virtually nil to full on serious ,with no mid point.

The Blackpool Highflyer

Witty, insightful, unassuming and clever. Not as atmospheric as Necropolis Railway and runs at a gentle pace mostly but with appropriate bursts of steam sorry allowing the characters and settings to be painted, and painted beautifully.

Jim's wife is a treat! The railway backdrop, which drew me to this series in the first place, is authentic yet nostalgic as you see the world through Jim's Edwardian and sardonic Yorshire eyes. One person found this helpful. Andrew Martin carries the reader along just as effectively as the Blackpool High Flyer.

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His style is pacy,spqare but he can conjure up the Edwardian era economically and vividly. The stories are all low key but in their own way,believable. The character of "The Wife" is made wonderfully intriguing and if we are lucky, we will meet Lydia in her full,suffragette flow. Takes a little time to become accustomed to the language and I think the plot deserved a stronger ending than the one within the book.

I bought this book partly because of where it was set, and also hoping for a good detective story.

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