Another addition to the Railway Detective franchise and rather disappointed that it's not a particularly railway book or a well crafted detective story. Ending is a bit tacked on and no real motive behind the crimes. Think the Railway Detective should think about his retirement ( )

Not liking the major players in a book has a profound effect on me... I take away stars, in this case Minus 2 Stars for the too many unlikable characters and Minus 2 Star for the story itself, which was mostly all Red Herrings. One or two Red Herrings really enhance a murder mystery, but in this case the guilty parties (there were 3 mysteries) were not introduced until the summation of the book, making for all the alleged clues in the book misleading & false.

A circus train derails, but no one is hurt, the only loss being an Arabian horse. Immediately after the derailment, Jocko, the Capuchin (monkey) runs off into a copse of trees. When Jocko's human (a former policeman who has worked w/ Colbeck) finally catches up with Jocko he find the monkey waving the hand of a corpse, which turns out to be that of a widow who was very popular w/ the married men of her town.

At the behest of the local MP & police, Inspector Colbeck & Detective Leeming are sent off to determine who derailed the circus train and why; and to shed light on who was the corpse and how she came to be buried out in the countryside.

As the circus continues its way to the next town, it is plagued by ever increasing acts of sabotage and tempers fly as both Colbeck & Leeming are obliged to split their time between both crimes.

Meanwhile back in London, Colbeck's wife, Madeline, is providing shelter for a long-time friend who is being stalked.

There are no end of suspects (Red Herrings) and really no clues as to whom the criminals are. I really believe that Marston just pulled the bad guys out of nowhere in order to complete the story.

Overall I was very disappointed with the story, thankfully neither Leeming nor Colbeck's father-in-law were given to as many fits of whining as in the past, that would have earned this book a Minus Star. ( )

Another entertaining book in this enjoyable series, recommended for ant early rail enthusiasts. ( )

Wooden characters, predictable ignorance. I've now gone off this series. ( )