It is 1860 and in Dorset a woman stumbles on the body of her lover on
the railway tracks. Inspector Robert Colbeck has been requested,
however Superintendent Tallis proposes to send an untried detective in
his place because Colbeck's wife is due with their first baby. Colbeck
is annoyed that Tallis would take this job from him. He convinces
Tallis that he and Sergeant Leeming can do the job as it isn't that far
away. The victim was a railway policeman and that is why Colbeck was
asked for.
It appears that the victim was left lying across the railway tracks, so
that the next train along would slice him into three parts. Colbeck and
Leeming are able to get help from the local doctor, however the man who
sent for them is more of a nuisance than a help. It isn't long before
the pair have a number of suspects in mind. But how do you eliminate
half a dozen suspects and come up with the right one?
Author Edward Marston's murder tale sets the two sleuths on several
trails of which none seem to offer any hope of success. It isn't until
virtually the final pages that the reader finds out the true killer. A
good, quick read.
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