'I know she's out there - beside the viaduct. Waiting.' The signalman looked anxious.

'But I heard she rides the train.' The red light from the signal stained the porter's face.

'She does that too - but always on the last train. Yes, the last train to Brackley Central.'

Richard Irons, Magdalen College School's new mathematics master, awakens when a strange woman creeps into his compartment with a sad tale to tell - and a deadly favour to ask. But as the train reaches Brackley Central she slips through his arms like a phantom.

Detective Inspector Vignoles will never have a more curious and baffling case as he searches for a young woman apparently back from the dead, a savage dog on the prowl, and for the Cobra's Eye, a diamond known to destroy the lives of all who touch it.

Read an excerpt

Inspector Vignoles is a railway detective on the Great Central Railway line during the 1940s, in the days of the London & North Eastern Railway ownership. Lots of steam locomotives, human interest and action!

1. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

2. The Murder of Crows

3. The Torn Curtain

4. The Marylebone Murders

5. Last Train to Brackley Central

Comments on the series

'I love it! A real page-turner.' Daily Mirror

'Move over Aidensfield, the new Heartbeat could be here!' Daventry Post

'Not just splendidly paced crime thrillers, not just delicious treats for all steam train enthusiasts but really vibrant social portraits of the life and mores of the immediate post war, Austerity Britain. I intend putting them in my 'Best Read of the Year' slot in the run-up to Christmas.' Ewan Wilson, Crime Fiction Buyer, Waterstone's

'An intriguing mystery, warm-hearted and evocative of the time in which it is set.' Dave Baker

'An atmospheric and gripping story in which the characters are painted very vividly.' Sian Harrington

'An absolutely riveting story that has all the elements of a cracking yarn.' British Railway Modelling

'Skillfully constructed and features a host of well-observed characters. Bags of wonderful nostalgia and a a gripping denoument.' Tony Boullemier

'On the right track for literary success.' Liverpool Daily Post

Read more reviews
Stephen's webpage
Author interview