Slaughter in the Sapperton Tunnel (Railway Detective 18)
When a goods train is derailed in a tunnel, causing carnage and disruption, Inspector Colbeck and his sergeant Leeming are sent for. Why the special attention? The crash was on the land of one Stephen Rydall, landowner and director of the train company Great Western Railway. And it involved the mutilation of seven sheep, penned into place. A bizarre crime. Rydell’s shepherd has disappeared, his family desperate. Rydell himself is involved in the physical recovery operation, leaving his wife fearful of his health. And so many suspects … the local canal magnate who is “known” to the local police; the cleric in charge of a prestigious agricultural college. And, perhaps, Rydell has close family who wish for his hurt and destruction? Colbeck, assisted by stout Leeming, must dig into the case deeper than a tunnel. This is a great crime and mystery story that requires no interest in the railway… but intrigues enough for one to get caught up in the real-time conflict.
