The Big Bow Mystery

The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill is a fine little mystery, one of the earliest locked room detective stories, a sub-genre of crime stories where an impossible crime has apparently taken place and the detective begins to unravel this baffling case. 

The joy of these kinds of stories (which were very popular in the Interwar Period) is the journey as much as the actual crime as we follow the detective who investigates the scenario thoroughly, applying logical reasoning to make the impossible actually possible.

Once you get to the conclusion in this story (which can be hard work at times, the story does drag a bit) it is undoubtably interesting though maybe (spoiler alert) a bit of a cheat. (The detective did it, the victim was still alive when he broke the door open). The use of psychology is clever however.

An interesting bit of late Victorian social comment and satire.

'D' For Diesels : 8

As with other titles in this series, this book presents a good and varied collection of black & white photos from the early days of British Rail "modern traction", specifically from the days before TOPS numbers and the diesels were largely (though not always) green (not that it really matters in a book of black & white photos of course!) 

The photographs are often very good though and accompanied by captions written in a conversational style, often pithy (though sometimes it does fall a bit flat).

This volume mainly features the photos of Gavin Morrison and covers the whole range of British Rail diesels from lowly shunters to large main line locomotives. The photos are mainly taken in the 1960s and show a rail network and indeed a Britain before the ravages of standardisation and corporate identities.

Maybe everything was all a bit simpler and more innocent back then but nostalgia, like everything else, is not like it used to be.

Airport Buses

I like a book on a nice narrow transport niche me. So, how about a book about buses and the bus routes which serve Britain's airports? Well yes please, this is a great little book with a great variety of buses, routes and services ranging from buses which provide public transport links to airports to buses operated by airports themselves and their associated businesses.

Keith A Jenkinson has bought together a good mixture here. My only real criticism of the book is that he spelt Erdington wrong in the introduction, though i did find that quite amusing. All airports big and small are covered, and all parts of the United Kingdom.

The best entries are on some of the specialised buses operated by airports themselves. Some of the vehicles developed for these very specific uses are quite fascinating sometimes.

The Limbo Line

Spy dramas usually fall into two camps. The over-the top but entertaining nonsense of James Bond and it's ilk or the tense high stakes Cold War dramas by John Le Carre and similar. Unfortunately, The Limbo Line by Victor Canning tends to fall between these two camps, and it can sometimes be a little dull.

The Soviets are running a scheme where low-profile defectors are snatched in the West and taken back to the Worker's Paradise they obviously were foolish to leave. Retired agent Manston is bought in by the secret services in a plan to uncover and destroy the Soviet network carrying out these operations. They do this with the lure of ex-Soviet ballerina Irina, who is next on the Soviet's list.

Manston starts to fall for Irina, and has misgivings about letting her be kidnapped so they can follow the trail, which will lead them to smash the scheme. Everything does not follow smoothly, the Soviets led by Oleg are a tough lot and the ageing Manston doesn't quite have his wits as he used to.

This isn't a bad book and indeed can be a perfectly decent Cold War espionage drama at times but the low overall stakes (though pretty high for Manston and Irina of course) and the slightly repetitive nature of the plot can make the book a bit of a chore at times. Luckily the two main characters are both very likeable and so you care what happens to them. This helps keeps you interested to the end.

The Mansions of the Gods

A highpoint in the Asterix series, a book that takes takes on the rural-urban divide, environmental destruction (in the name of progress and urbanisation) and the corruption of "civilisation" on traditional cultures with typically sharp Asterix satire. A book like this truly shows the magic of Asterix and other European comics of the same quality, its a multi-layed story with slapstick and humour, irony and social comment that can be enjoyed on many levels and by all ages.

Caesar has decided the way to defeat the indomitable Gauls is not by military might but to force them to accept Roman civilisation. This is to be achieved cutting down the forest around their village and building a Roman town in its place...

At first the Roman attempts to build this new town are opposed by Gaulish strength and Getafix's magic, but then the Gauls decide to let the Romans build a little in order to get the slave workforce released. One apartment block is built and some new Roman tenants move in. That is when the trouble starts, the Gauls begin to be seduced by the trappings of Roman civilisation and the capitalist opportunities that arise, old friendships begin to be soured by the taint of wealth. Can the fabric of the village be restored before it all falls apart and the forest is gone?

The book is very cleverly written and beautifully drawn. The "evils" of urbanisation, capitalism and progress are slightly overblown (and it is one of the most politicial Asterix books, maybe matched only by the capitalist satire Obelix & Co.) but i am sure will strike a chord with many of us.

Minibus Mania

From the earliest days of the motorbus, there has also been a need for a small bus for routes with light traffic. However, the minibus really came of age in the 1970s and 1980s, especially after bus deregulation as a new wave of operators sought to open up new routes and services including demand responsive buses such as dial-a-bus schemes.

Many of those buses are collected in this excellent book by Malcolm Batten which offers a nostalgic, but slightly different to usual, look at British buses in the latter decades of the 20th century. The buses are varied, many based on vans such as the Ford Transit. Even some ex-London taxis were used as minibuses in one location!

A great little book showcasing a type of bus that can often be overlooked.