Todd Downing (2) (1902–1974)

This mystery has been likened to Murder on the Orient Express, probably because it too is set on a train and death stalks the passengers. It’s set on the train between San Antonio and Mexico City, and the travellers have to contend with desert heat, broken-down engines, and the threat of sabotage from striking railway workers as well as the murderer in their midst.

I really liked the setting — Mexico is not a place I normally visit in my fiction, and I like mysteries set on trains. However, I felt the book dragged a bit for me. There was a limited circle of suspects, but it felt like information was being hidden in a way to stretch the page count rather than because it was actually necessary.

If you’ve been reading and enjoying the books reprinted under the American Mystery Classics imprint, this is another good book under that imprint. It was certainly worth borrowing from the library.… (altro)