Murder on the Night Sleeper: Sleeper Trains in Popular Culture explores the enduring popularity of night trains as the setting for murder and mayhem in works of fiction over the past 150 years. Of all the environments most conducive to a little murder and intrigue, the overnight sleeper train is one of the best. The combination of an isolated setting, such as a travelling train or a private sleeping compartment (a closed environment cut off from the outside world), along with a journey through the hours of darkness to a far-flung destination, offers an ideal opportunity for committing a crime and unravelling a mystery.
Beginning with a brief overview of trains in detective fiction to set the scene, David Meara traces the story of sleeper trains in stories from the United States of America, Great Britain and Europe. The reader is taken on a journey through this fictional world of sleeper train travel, examining some of the stories that have been woven around these trains, with plenty of illustrations to bring both the stories and trains to life.
In his short story Murder on the 7.16, one of Michael Innes’ characters says, ‘I’ve no use for trains, if they are not in a thriller – or for thrillers, if there isn’t a train.’ In this intriguing book there are plenty of both. Illustrations include photographs, film stills, book covers, posters, maps and other associated material.
90 images. 96 pages.