Night Train to Murder is the eighth book in the Ishmael Jones mystery series by Simon R. Green. Usually, this series makes me suspect that Mr. Green is paying homage to the late William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki the Ghost Finder. This time Mr. Green seemed to be paying homage to one or both of two classic mystery greats: Agatha Christie, or Master of the Locked Room Puzzle John D. Carr.

The introduction tells new readers that Ishmael Jones is really an alien whose spaceship crashed in a field in England in 1963. The machines in the ship made Ishmael look human, but also took away his memories. He hasn't aged a day, so he keeps having to move around. He's worked for plenty of secret organizations over the decades. His current employer is called 'The Organization'.

It's autumn. Ishmael and his human partner/lover Penny Belcourt are at Paddington railway station, waiting to meet the Colonel, Ishmael's contact with the Organization. The couple usually investigate weird happenings in isolated places (see chapter 8 of book seven, Till Sudden Death Do Us Part for why). If not for the title, the reader might reasonably expect the train to be no more than the means of getting to the Place That Must be Investigated. Yes, the weird happenings will be taking place on a special express train to the city of Bath. Ishmael and Penny are supposed to prevent a psychic assassin from murdering Sir Dennis Gregson, a sleazy politician who has just been appointed to head the British Psychic Weapons Division. Of course the British psychics will be doing what they can to prevent the assassination, but our duo can deal with physical attacks that might be too much for the Sir Dennis' bodyguard. In some of their past cases, Ishmael and Penny were the only two left standing. Will Sir Dennis arrive alive? Will it be much of a loss to humanity if he doesn't?

NOTES:

Chapter 1:

a. Penny tells Ishmael about Sir Dennis Gregson, VIP [very important person] when they see him passing by.

b. The Hipster Bar's location is given and its interior described. Don't try their coffee. The Colonel meets our heroes there. (For the Colonel's name and backstory, see book four, Death Shall Come. He gives his briefing and Ishmael his objections.

c. By 'twenty-two thirty train,' the Colonel means the train that leaves at 10:30 p.m.

d. Ishmael tells Penny what he knows about psychics and psychic fallout (I've heard of rains of frogs, but not of mice).

e. Ishmael quotes the little poem about the man who wasn't there ('Antagonish,' 1899, by William Hughes, Mearns, American educator/poet).

f. We meet the psychic who calls himself 'Nemo', 'Mr. Nemo if one prefers. He explains how he keeps from being seen.
Mentions: Doctor [John] Watson, Sherlock Holmes, and the tv show, 'Britain's Got Talent'

Chapter 2:

a. At least Sir Dennis Gregson rates a first class compartment, which his bodyguard, Ishmael, Penny, and three strangers share.

b. Ishmael tells Penny about 'the Case of the Missing Carriage' that he solved before they met (not as scary as the London underground (subway) case in Mr. Green's Ghost of a Chance, but still bad for the passengers).

c. We meet Eric Holder, the railway guard and Dee, the refreshment trolley lady.

d. Ishmael learned psychic self-defense from a chap named Sewell back in the 1990s, when he worked for the Alien Trespass Bureau.

c. Ishmael gives the code names for three psychics he's worked with before: Lucky Pierre, Fair Weather Frankie, and Mad Mental Maggie.
Mentions: WHSmith (chain of books/toys/games/stationery/periodical stores at places such as railway stations), the 'Fortean Times' ('Weeding Today' and 'What Trowel Monthly' do not seem to be real magazines), the Twilight Zone

Chapter 3: The train will reach Bath in about an hour. The crime must be solved by then if our heroes don't want to be in too much trouble.

Chapter 4:

a. We get the names of the other passengers in that first class compartment. Brian Mitchell is the bodyguard. The younger man is Rupert Hall. The older man is Howard Goldwasser. The Indian woman is Sita Patel. They're interrogated. I think what Mr. Goldwasser plans to do in Bath is extremely selfish and inconsiderate. (I wonder if that rumor about how Gregson got his knighthood is true.)

b. Dee returns. Her name is Dee Calder.
Mentions: Woolwich Arsenal, the MOD [Ministry of Defense]

Chapter 6: The killer has a new plan.

Chapter 7: Ishmael remembers something important, thanks to Mr. Nemo.

Normally I wouldn't dock half a star from a book in this series because it was much too easy to figure out who the killer was -- thank you Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe. However, there wasn't enough else that distracted me from being frustrated waiting for Ishmael to put it together. One of the reveals at the end I had already figured out. The last surprise, I admit, I did not see coming.

This is my least favorite Ishmael Jones book, but I was frustrated, not bored. As is usual for this series, it falls in one of the categories of Carnacki's cases: genuine hauntings or monsters, faked, or mostly fake with a touch of the supernatural. ( )

This one was a little off for my liking. It was more of a slight of hand kind of a read. There was a look over here and not over there quality to the book that actually took away from the book. It's not that it dragged at parts, it's that much of the middle of it actually meant nothing in the end. The ending is supposed to make up for it but really that's just throwing readers a bone for the next book.

I read this book via NetGalley. I thank them for this book. #NightTraintoMurder #NetGalley ( )

Ishmael Jones is an agent for a secret organization. He, and his partner Penny, are called out to work unusual, often extremely dangerous, cases....mostly because Ishmael is an unusual, often extremely dangerous, person. Well.....not a person exactly. He's an alien disguised as a human. When strange things happen that threaten humanity, The Organization calls on Ishmael. In return, they make sure nobody discovers he isn't quite human.

This time, Ishmael receives a summons from The Organization that isn't quite his normal sort of case. He and Penny are hired to provide extra security for a VIP aboard a late-night train to Bath. The man is the new head of the British Psychic Weapons Division and rumor has it that someone plans to kill him on the train. What could possibly go wrong? A dead VIP, perhaps? And only an hour to find out who killed him.....

I really enjoy this series. I've been a huge Simon R. Green fan ever since I read his Nightside series. Ishmael Jones is the perfect secret agent....an alien hiding in plain sight. He has excellent protection and sleuthing skills. Penny is his perfect partner.....caring, intelligent, and extremely protective of Ishmael.

These stories are short, but always suspenseful, creepy and fun to read. Green packs a lot into a few pages! I enjoyed this newest case, and look forward to the next! Simon R. Green never fails to deliver a great story!

Night Train to Murder is the 8th book in the Ishmael Jones series. Although not completely necessary to read the series in order (there is always a bit of explanation about Jones' background at the start of each tale), the series really should be read in order to get the complete background of the characters and to avoid any spoilers for previous cases. The stories are all relatively short...150 pages or less most of the time. So it wouldn't be too difficult for a new reader to catch up with this series.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Severn House. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )