Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton

Death in the Tunnel by Miles Burton ISBN-13: 9781464205811 Paperback: 232 pages Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Released: 1936; April 5, 2016

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Sir Wilfred Saxonby is traveling alone on a train in a locked compartment. The train slows inside a tunnel. By the time it emerges, minutes later, Sir Wilfred has been shot dead. Suicide seems to be the answer, even though no reason can be found.

Inspector Arnold of Scotland Yard thinks again when he learns that a mysterious red light in the tunnel caused the train to slow down. Finding himself stumped by the puzzle, Arnold consults his friend Desmond Merrion, a wealthy amateur expert in criminology. To Merrion it seems that the dead man fell victim to a complex conspiracy but the investigators are puzzled about the conspirator's identities as well as their motives.


My Review:
Death in the Tunnel is a mystery novel that was originally published in 1936. It's a complex, clue-based puzzle mystery. The Inspector was quite willing to go with the "obvious suspect," but things didn't quite add up so he consulted with his imaginative, amateur sleuth friend. This friend actually used quite a lot of logic to form suggestions of what to look into further. The focus of the story was on the details of the crime rather than on developing the characters or setting.

For all its complexity, I was quite certain of whodunit and had an overall idea of howdunit by about 40% of the way through. The author did a good job of drawing attention away from important points, though, and the main characters weren't stupid. It's simply that it took some time for them to work through the conflicting clues. The story kept my attention as I was curious to see the motive (which later became clear), the exact details of how it was done, and even how the main characters figured it out.

There was no sex. There was a minor amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this intriguing mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.