I love a murder mystery and this book did not disappoint plus it’s set in Dublin so I could picture it very well.
Can’t wait to read more from the author.

This is a historical true crime. It is full of detail of what happened. It is well written and very informative. A good read

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

If you like true crime, then you will like this.

The murder of George Little shocked Dublin, but the case never came to a satisfactory close as a murderer was never imprisoned. However, after many false starts, someone was charged.

This is a fascinating case into the justice system in the 1800s, the struggles police faced with a lack of scientific backing and is excellently researched, in part due to there being so many records available on the case.

An interesting read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

If you like a whodunnit then this is for you, took me a while to read as I kept getting distracted and wanted to read from start each time. Maybe too much minutiae but then wasn’t sure what was actually an important clue. Set in late 1850’s there was excellent detail and historical/social history content. The book is factual however although reads like a well developed novel it is very true. Good references to the legal procedures from the time, well researched. Thank you @NetGalley for the book to review.

Thanks to Random House UK, Vintage, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! The attention to detail, the mysterious aura throughout the book kept me hooked and on my toes till the last pages. I stayed up late at night trying to get to the last pages of this one.

Absolutely would read everything written by the author in the future!

This is not my normal type of book but I thought I would give it a go. I'm glad I did, as although it's not my normal go to type of read. I actually enjoyed it. Good plot, well written and great characters. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

True story set in Victorian Dublin - in a time when murders were rare this was a particularly vicious murder of a railway station cashier George Little.
It was shocking and mysterious as the police had to break in because the door was locked from the inside.
Very well researched book about Dublin at that time and the investigation itself.
4 Stars ⭐️
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.

Kate Summerscale’s The Suspicions of Mr Whicher is almost fifteen years old and since then, there has been a procession of books about sensational crimes from the nineteenth century. Detective Whicher even makes a brief appearance in The Dublin Railway Murder, having been sent over by Scotland Yard to assist in the case, but returning to London within a matter of days, none-the-wiser about this most mysterious of crimes.

Like Summerscale, Morris is very good on the mores of the time, smartly sprinkling his narrative with historical detail and context, while keeping the crime and resulting trial to the fore. He explores the laws of the time, the public appetite for stories about crime, the distrust and outright dislike of city detectives and the stereotyping of the Irish as a morally backward and lawless society in the British Press. In fact, Morris highlights that Ireland was, in fact, relatively safe in terms of crime, a lot safer than Britain at the time and that one of the reasons that the murder of George Little so captured the public imagination was because homicide was almost unknown in the capital city.
There are some pacing issues in the opening sections of the book, mainly due to the interminable yet necessary descriptions of the layout of the railway building, the locking and unlocking of doors and the movements of the main suspects on the evening in question. However, once the investigation and trial begin in earnest, the story barrels along, reading like the best page-turner of a procedural and building to the shocking outcome of the trial. At the time, the Broadstone Murder was a cause celebre, meaning that every court hearing was faithfully transcribed by competing newspapers, giving Morris a thorough and detailed base from which to work.

The bizarre after-life of this crime, thanks to the interest of famed phrenologist Frederick Bridges, is also thoroughly explored and provides a fascinating insight into explorations of criminality at the time.

However, what The Dublin Railway Murders does best, is to finally centre George Little, the often forgotten victim of this senseless crime. His story – and that of his family – bookends the narrative and serves as a vital reminder that at the heart of all these true-crime stories, no matter how old, are people whose lives have been needlessly torn apart.

The Dublin Railway Murder ensures that the name George Little is now as well known as that of the man who achieved national notoriety by killing him.

This is the true story of the brutal murder of the cashier at a railway terminus in Ireland, and the attempts made to bring the killer to justice. While it was interesting to see how a murder investigation was carried out during the Victorian era (without the advancements in DNA etc. that we take for granted now from our familiarity with crime fiction) I did find at times that the pace of the book was a little slow, and perhaps a bit dry. It was interesting and clearly well researched, but maybe didn't need to be as long as it was.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Fascinating…
A fascinating account of a Victorian true crime. 1856, Dublin, a cashier is found brutally slain at a railway terminus. This is the account of the investigation that followed. Gripping and compelling, this is a well told mystery and an interesting assessment of the evidence available.

The blurb for this book promises to tell the tale of a murder that occurred in real life, but that reads like a thriller, and it doesn’t disappoint. Set in the 1850s, it feels the tale of the murder of George Little, a railway clerk in Dublin, who was brutally murdered one night, and robbed of the railway company’s takings. However, he was found in a locked room, and no one could explain how the murder had occurred, despite some of the best investigative minds getting involved in the case.

Am interesting period piece, the author has clearly done his research into this time period and provides a wealth of information into a range of topics affecting the story, including how railways and the judiciary system operated. There were a wealth of suspects, ranging from people who appeared to have more money than they should have, to other employees of the railway, and evidence that is gleaned from servants turning against matters, and wives turning against husbands.

I enjoyed this story, as it was well told and obviously well researched, although I would advise that it is very heavy on historical details in parts. Definitely worth a read for people interested in crime!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In November 1856, George Little, a cashier at the Broadstone railway terminus in Dublin was found brutally murdered in his office. With piles of money left lying around, theft did not seem like the motive but in perhaps what was the most perplexing part of the story, the door of the office was locked from the inside. How did the killer escape if not through the door? Top detectives were summoned from London, including the well-known Jonathan Whicher, to no avail. Who did kill George Little?

This true crime has been thoroughly researched by the author and from the outset we are given a clear picture of Dublin and how easy it was for a family to fall into poverty. In a country that had recently suffered from a famine that had killed an estimated one million people and driven a further million away from their homes in the hope of starting a new life, the unexpected death of the chief wage earner could be catastrophic.

There are many aspects to the story which will appeal to fans of true crime and crime fiction alike. The murder itself is well-detailed as is the police investigation and the ensuing trial. There are red herrings a-plenty as we are introduced to a plethora of suspects, the investigators clearly struggling to find the culprit with no clues and unreliable witnesses.

I think that my favourite part of the story is what happened after the trial, the author again showing their meticulous research in order to build up a complete picture of how the case impacted on those involved.

A thoroughly enjoyable discussion on a case that had been previously unfamiliar to me.

A fantastic whodunit disection of a world famous case. Channeling the likes of Agatha Christie, unpacking the laws and time of the crime and the characters involved, as well as the city of Dublin its self in the 1850s. Morris builds the world of the time brick by brick, placing you in the locked office.

This was an exceptionally well written book. A railway clerk found dead in a locked office, worthy of Agatha Christie, but so much better. This was gripping from the beginning. I have never visited Dublin but learned so much about the past and present Dublin. Absolutely fascinating about the time after the great famine and the early days of the railway. I just love reading about those times. A beautifully written and well researched true story. A brilliant read.

An historical novel , set in the 1850's , about a clerk(George Little) found murdered in his office within a railway station , and a substantial amount of money having been stolen. There are a number of suspects but most seem to have alibies for the time of the murder until one James Spollin is put in the frame by his wife .she cannot be a witness against her husband so 2 of their children are interviewed and give evidence against their father who is prosecuted. . To say more would ruin the story apart from mentioning that Frederick Bridges , a self styled expert in Phrenology becomes involved with James , wanting to make a cast of his skull to prove whether he has murderous tendencies . Based on a true murder and well written setting the mood and prejudices of the time .

This is a well-researched account of the death of George Little. He worked as a cashier for the Broadstone Railway in Dublin and his death occurred in 1856. This was a case that confounded detectives as the room was locked from the inside and initial observations were confusing.

This is quite a good read and one that I did find very interesting as it took me back to a very different way of investigating crime. The laws were very different from today and the way things were undertaken to solve showed how things have changed over the years.

This was interesting for a number of reasons as it showed various aspects of society at the time, living conditions and also how the proceedings could be hampered by newspaper reports. I really enjoyed the way the author laid this book out, it made for following what could have been a very confusing account, much easier to follow. Questions led to more questions, sometimes leading to dead ends. There were various suspects and yet it took many months for things to finally come to a conclusion, even then it was not altogether clear cut.

The research is meticulous and there are some great footnotes to show how things have changed over the years. The facts have been used well and incorporated into a narrative of events. This makes for a practical and analytical read, showing the stories of those involved but without emotion. At times it felt like reading a newspaper article. I think this style is good for a true crime read, not that I have read that many, but it was a style I enjoyed.

This is a slower book and there is some overlapping, but this I think is expected given the era of the crime. We are lucky to have computers to cross-reference, double-check and back-up as well as have a much more advanced technology to assist with identification. There are mentions of major changes to the law to show a comparison between then and now.

This is a good read and one for those who enjoy true crime and especially historical crime. Well laid out, a good pace and some very interesting facts. I do think it could have been a little shorter in length but that is just my opinion. I would happily recommend this one.

The Dublin Railway Murder is a well researched & interesting study into the murder of George Little in 1856 in Dublin. It is based on the surviving evidence including witness statements, court records, interview transcripts, and the newspaper coverage of the time. The facts are accompanied with some dramatization/narration to help the story to flow.
Essentially we have a locked-room murder of a trusted railway cashier whilst working late in his office at the Broadstone Station in Dublin. The circumstances are strange, evidence is destroyed by the number of people wandering in & out of the scene, and the motive is unclear as there was a significant amount of money untouched on the desk.
We follow the investigation as the police, the detectives and the members of the legal profession search for the truth – of course there was no forensic science to help! There is no shortage of suspects, and the story has as many twists as a good crime fiction novel as new evidence is found, statements are changed and the press interfere!
In addition to an intriguing mystery & a look at policing/law in mid-19thCentury Ireland, we also have an insight into life in Ireland at the time (still recovering from the famine) and the relationship between Ireland & England. This was one of the first murders to grip public interest, and we see how the investigation & trials are reported in the press and how the public respond. I liked the way that the book ended with an explanation, where possible, as to what happened to the key players afterwards.

The book is easy-to-read and well-paced, with the pace changing through the book to reflect the way the investigation unfolded. At times it does become a bit bogged down in facts, or slows to a crawl, but this works well and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about this mystery, which was infamous in its time but new to me.
Overall, this is an interesting read for anyone who is interested in policing in the 1850s in Ireland, the early days of detectives, the justice system or true crime.

I have a certain fondness for stories of Victorian true crime, told from a meticulously researched modern perspective. The most famous example in the genre is probably The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, and the man himself makes a brief appearance in this book too, although the main focus is on the Dublin police and their colleagues in the legal profession. The story centres around a locked room mystery: the killing of railway cashier George Little as he works late in his office at Broadstone Station in Dublin. Although various blunders by those who discover the crime eliminate a number of clues, there is no shortage of suspects, nor of police officers and other workers to search for evidence.

George Little seemingly had no enemies and led a blameless life, living with and providing for a number of unmarried and widowed female relatives. However, the large quantity of money that had been taken in payments over the previous few days was an obvious incentive for anyone who knew George’s habits and was ruthless enough to commit murder in order to make off with the cash. Arrests are made and the arrestees subsequently released, witnesses change their statements, and red herrings abound. At last the police have enough circumstantial evidence to bring someone to trail. But the verdict is far from the end of the story.

I really enjoyed this book. As well as the central mystery itself, the reader is treated to many other aspects of mid-nineteenth century life in Dublin and the surrounding area, as well as to excerpts from contemporary accounts of the events. We also learn of new scientific disciplines and some pseudo-sciences that have since been thoroughly discredited. I hope to read more from this author very soon.

Good for people who like: historical mysteries, true crime, Victorian whodunnits.

George Little was the chief cashier at Broadstone terminus, responsible for managing huge sums of money passing through the railway company each week. He was found brutally murdered the morning after he’d stayed late in the office due to a larger than usual turnover. Strangely, the money he’d counted appeared untouched, and the office door was locked from the inside with no sign of forced entry. It was not possible that George Little’s death could be by suicide due to the nature of his wounds. This opened a high profile murder investigation which baffled Ireland’s most experienced detective and famous sleuths from Scotland Yard. Five suspects were released without charge, those involved with the case were plagued by the press, and the public hungrily followed one of the most infamous investigations of the time.

The Dublin Railway Murder is a meticulously researched Victorian true crime story so unlikely that it sounds like fiction. The story is based on real accounts, gathered from sources such as witness statements, interview transcripts, and court records. The chapters centre around the investigation and historical documents, but with fictionalised narration from some of those involved. The book reads like a crime novel - it is well paced with real life twists, while being brilliantly researched and put together.

The circumstances of the crime are strange, and clues to this unusual murder unfold in the same way that they did to investigators of the time. It’s especially interesting to search for truth as information develops from various sources. An intriguing book, perfect for fans of Victorian detective stories both real and fictional.

This book was reviewed by Cathy.

With thanks to Vintage (Random House UK) and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Shelves: Mystery and Thrillers; True Crime; History; November 2021