I missed the third in the series but it doesn't seem to matter, although obviously I've missed a job change, Jim Stringer is still the same slightly odd individual as before, but he's still happily married and he has a son. I didn't feel quite the sense of another world this time - the previous novels have been stuffed full of esoteric languange and the minutuia of Victorian railways. Stringer is now a railway detective, and so a lot of the mysterious workings of the engines and tracks are not needed. Still a good sense of place and lots of foreboding atmosphere. It's the middle of wnter in this story and you can feel the chill. I actually felt more concnered at times for Stringer's young son Harry, with his continuing cough and fever, than I did for Stringer himself. Not sure that's a good thing in terms of the story though. I loved the description of the ironworks. I really, really liked the motive once it was unveiled. No spoilers but I was like, yeah, that's humans for you. I didn't like Strineer's unhappiness with his job. I wasn't sure why the boring bits of his job were so soul-crushing to him...if he were going to do his own thing why not get those out of the way and then go investigate? Maybe that was part of the previous book? And it seemed odd how he managed to get in good graces with the boss. But all in all, still very interesting.
Donald V. (dvitz) reviewed Murder at Deviation Junction (Jim Stringer, Bk 4) on + 33 more book reviews 
