The Romance of Trains: A Thursday 13

You know I love a good book list (I am an inveterate list maker of all kinds as a matter of fact), and when I came across a mystery set on a train last time I was browsing the new books shelves at the library, I thought what a great theme for a Thursday Thirteen.  Actually I have many times thought this would make a great theme, tucked the idea away and then promptly forgot about it.  But today is the day--I have come up with a list of books set (mostly) on trains.  I love trains as a book or movie setting.  Does that sound odd?  I have never ridden an American train, but I have in Europe and unsurprisingly loved that, too.  There is something sort of romantic about train travel--think Katherine Hepburn in David Lean's film Summertime (one of my all-time favorites--granted it only begins on a train but look where the destination is and what happens to her there) or Julie Deply in Before Sunrise.  There are scads of books with train settings (lots of mysteries and thrillers), too, and here are thirteen of them.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie -- I've been saving this particular Poirot mystery.  I read that it is the most famous Hercule Poirot mystery.  "Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. One of his fellow passengers must be the murderer."

Death Rides the Zephyr by Janet Dawson -- This was my recent library find--just sitting and waiting for me in my (rather large) library book pile.  "December 23, 1952. A transcontinental train is stopped cold by an avalanche in a remote Colorado canyon. There's a murderer aboard, one who has already killed, and will kill again unless stopped."

Strangers on a Train by Patricial Highsmith -- I had this one in my hand not too long ago (but in the end I picked up Elizabeth Haynes's novel).  [This is] "Highsmith's first novel and the source for Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1953 film. With this novel, Highsmith revels in eliciting the unsettling psychological forces that lurk beneath the surface of everyday contemporary life."

The Sleeper by Emily Barr -- "Two strangers meet on a train and only one gets off."

Stamboul Train by Graham Greene -- "Published in 1932, this spy thriller unfolds aboard the Orient Express as it crosses Europe from Ostend to Constantinople. Weaving a web of subterfuge, murder and politics along the way, it focuses upon the disturbing relationship between Myatt, the pragmatic Jew, and chorus girl, Coral Musker."  I've owned this edition for years and years--not sure why I've not read it yet.  Maybe it should go with me to Texas later this month?

The Lady Vanishes by Lina Ethel White -- I read this one a few years back and recall enjoying it very much.  I liked the Hitchcock movie adaptation, too, and am curious about the more recent remake (though have only heard tepid things about it).  Truly a classic!

Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood -- "Phryne is giving her red Hispano-Suiza a break: this week she is travelling by train to Ballarat. But what should have been the trip of her dreams, soon turns into the stuff of nightmares. Phryne has to use her Beretta .32 to save her life and that of her traveling companion Dot. And someone has poisoned the other passengers with chloroform."  I love Phryne.  I've read the first few books in this series and really must get back to them.

Stranger on a Train by Jenny Diski -- "Using two cross-country trips on Amtrak as her narrative vehicles, British writer Jenny Diski connects the humming rails, taking her into the heart of America with the track-like scars leading back to her own past."  Have been meaning to read Diski's work . . .

Death Train to Boston by Dianne Day -- I read nearly all the Fremont Jones mysteries years ago, and with their turn-of-the-century San Francisco setting I've wanted to go back and reread them.  "Autumn 1908 finds Caroline Fremont Jones and her partner in love and work, Michael Kossoff, traveling incognito, riding the rails from San Francisco to Boston. The railroad hired the sleuthing couple to investigate a series of accidents. But before they can solve the mystery, they become victims of the worst mishap yet when their train blows up near Salt Lake City."

4:50 from Paddington: A Miss Marple Mystery by Agatha Christie -- I've been reading the Miss Marple mysteries in the order they were published--it's about time I picked up the next one I think.  "In 4:50 From Paddington, a woman in one train witnesses a murder occurring in another passing one…and only Miss Marple believes her story."

The Railway Detective by Edward Marston -- "In 1851 England, the city of London anticipates the grand opening of the Great Expedition. Excitement is mounting with each engineering triumph of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating. A sudden attack hits the London to Birmingham mail train and it is looted and derailed. Planned with military precision, Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck fights to untangle a web of murder, blackmail and destruction."

The Sleeping Car Murders by Sebastien Japrisot -- "A beautiful young woman lies sprawled on her berth in the sleeping car of the night train from Marseilles to Paris. She is not in the embrace of sleep, or even in the arms of one of her many lovers. She is dead. And the unpleasant task of finding her killer is handed to an overworked, crime-weary police detective named Pierre Emile Grazziano, nicknamed Grazzi, who would rather play hide-and-seek with his little son than cat and mouse with a diabolically cunning, savage murderer."  I read nearly all of Japrisot's noir crime stories when they were reissued by Penguin in the 1990s--sadly they appear to have gone out of print again. Definitely worthy of rereads.  And I mean to, of course.  Reread them that is.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy -- Okay, a little tongue in cheek this one.  But with the ending, it seemed like the perfect choice to end this list!

The eternal question . . . have you a good train novel (or nonfiction) to recommend?

Comments

[LindaY]

I don't have any mystery suggestions, but enjoyed David Baldacci's THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN, which is a paean to train travel as well as a romance.

[vicki (skiourophile / bibliolathas)]

If you like semi-autobiographical train books, Lisa St Aubin de Teran (I think I've missed an accent or two there) has written a couple and I really enjoyed them -- she solves all her life problems by getting on trains, generally in really nice places like Italy.

[cath]

Do you know Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier? I read somewhere there's a movie about the book too, starring Jeremy Irons.

[Joan Kyler]

I think I'll keep your list. I like train mysteries, too. As it happens, I'm going grocery shopping this morning, which means I take the car to Whole Foods, which is near the Central Library, where there is a copy of Death Train to Boston on the shelf! Isn't that fortuitous?! I'll read any mystery that has anything to do with Boston!

[Kathy]

I've been thinking of writing a similar post, Danielle, but including planes and cars, too! I've read some of these, and added several more to my TBR list. I love train travel--there's just something romantic about it.

I'm going to look up Summertime to see if my library has a copy. Have you seen Charade, with Audrey Hepburn? It has a death on a train (or should I say, from a train), that starts the whole mess she gets into. One of my favorite movies.

[Caroline]

I don't think I've ever read a novel set on a train - only Anna Karenina. :)
Not that I wouldn't like it, I just never came across one.
That makes this a fun and a valuable list for me. I'm interest in Jenny Diski anyway, so this sounds very good.

[Joan Kyler]

Here's another one for your list: 1222 by Anne Holt. I thought I liked it, but when I checked my card catalog of books I've read and I noted that it wasn't very good! So, can I recommend it? I don't know.

I did get Death Train to Boston this morning. I might indulge in that one over the weekend. The security guard at the library thought it looked like a good one, too!

Thanks for the lovely list.

[Vipula]

I went ahead and added a few of these on my list to read ;). I think I will probably start with Greene's Orient Express.
Have loved The Lady Vanishes..and Murder on the Orient Express.

[litlove]

You are so brilliant at these lists! I love this one - I'm going to print it out and keep it, though I can't think of anything to add to it. I'll come back if I do!

[Danielle]

I've never read anything by David Baldacci, but I know he's quite popular. I will look the book up--sounds like a perfect combination--a little romance and train travel! Also, can you email me your address Linda? I tore the address label off the package you sent and now cannot find it! I am at: literarycat@hotmail.com. Many thanks!

[Danielle]

It seems I have read something by her--or own something by her, but I am sure it is/was a novel. I didn't realize she had written something, too, about train travel. And anything involving Italy is of course something I must indeed check out! I see one called Slow Train to Milan--on to my wishlist it goes--thanks!

[Danielle]

I recall when it first came out--a rather large hardcover, if I remember correctly. The title is quite tempting, isn't it?! I will check both it and the movie out--thanks!

[Danielle]

I really enjoyed those Fremont Jones mysteries--they are cozies and she is a very likable character. It has been ages, though, since I read them--so I can't quite recall the story. I know she started out in Boston--a very proper young woman who doesn't want to marry and have a conventional life, so she moves to San Francisco and becomes involved in mysteries and starts a romance with a man who is a spy, if I recall. All great fun. Isn't it fun reading about places you know and are familiar with?

[Danielle]

Oh, please do, that sounds like fun and I would love to see the books you choose!Isn't it fun to travel by train? I have many times toyed with the idea of planning a trip here in the US by train, but when I research it, it somehow never seems very practical. Summertime is a most excellent movie--you will fall in love with it, trust me!! I have never seen Charade--it sounds like fun, too. ....Have just requested it from the library. It's a pity it isn't on the shelf at my branch as I will be going tomorrow and then could watch it this weekend. Something to look forward to!

[Danielle]

I've read a number of books set on train--serendipity I guess as I don't generally go looking for them. Mysteries seem to be something you often see on trains--sort of a locked room mystery I guess. I have yet to read Jenny Diski, but I have about three of her books now--I have heard many good things about her so keep meaning to pick up one of her books.

[Danielle]

I have picked that one up and looked at it now that you mention it. I only looked at it at the library--not very good mystery-wise or writing-wise? With so many other books calling my name I might give the Holt a pass for now. I hope you enjoy the Dianne Day mystery--I wish she was still writing books, but I think she has not published anything new in some time.

[Danielle]

I really liked The Lady Vanishes, too--have you seen the Hitchcock adaptation? I think it is one of his earlier films. I have been keeping Murder on the Orient Express in reserve, but I am sort of in an Agatha Christie mood right now--now, whether to pick up this one perhaps or the next Miss Marple on my list....

[Danielle]

This is what I do with those odd moments where I am not thinking about work or reading--(like folding laundry or exercising on machines at the gym).... If I am not reading I seem to think about reading an awful lot. I'm always happy, of course, to take reading suggestions! :)

[Joanne]

I enjoy the Jim Stringer novels by Andrew Martin which are set on the railways in northern England at the beginning of the 20th century. Jim's ambition is to be a train driver, but he ends up joining the railway police. The first in the series is The Necropolis Railway.

[cathy]

I love your lists and this one is right up my alley! We just came home from a wonderful trip to the American and Canadian west coasts; a highlight of our three-week adventure was the train trip from LA to San Francisco. It was the Amtrak Starcoast, I think, and it went right along the edge of the continent before going inland; the scenery was breath-taking and we met some really interesting people too. We are seriously thinking of taking the train from Chicago to LA sometime; a new way of travel for us, with time to read and enjoy nice meals, and just look out the windows at new sights. Keep making those lists, Danielle!

[Danielle]

Those sound good! I'm not familiar with them and have added them to my wishlist--certainly the period is what I like to read! And the mixture of setting and mystery--thanks!

[Danielle]

Thanks Cathy--I love making book lists and then getting ever more reading suggestions from other readers who like adding to them! How cool you spent part of your travels on a train--(I think it would be great fun!). I would love to do a cross-continental trip like the LA-Chicago run--I imagine they maybe offer just such routes for train enthusiasts? I should really look that up, too. I love CA and would love to travel up the coast like that--so much nicer than driving perhaps as you can just look out the window and enjoy the scenery and not have to worry about the traffic! I wish I could go to San Francisco this summer--my sister just asked if I wanted to go in July--but I really need to save money this year and so must pass on a proper vacation like that! Oh well, reading is always the next best thing!

[Stefanie]

Your inclusion of Ann K made me laugh! I have no train novels to add. I do love riding on trains though. I very much enjoy my metro rail commute to and from work but when I lived in Los Angeles and had no car -- no car in LA I know, such a radical!--I would take the bus to downtown LA union station and take a 2-hr train ride to San Diego to visit my parents for holidays. I'd like to take the train the Chicago and someday when I have lots of time, I'd love to take the train to NY or DC for a vacation in those cities.

[Danielle]

San Francisco is the perfect pedestrian city, but LA seems all cars (and flashy retro antique cars at that). But I would be taking the bus/train, too. Of course we have only boring city buses here--it would be cook to have a light rail which they always talk about but will never happen. And I would love to ride a proper train on a proper vacation here in the US someday. What a fun way to travel.