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Malcolm Pryce
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The Case of the ‘Hail Mary’ Celeste: The Case Files of Jack Wenlock, Railway Detective (Jack Wenlock 1) Kindle Edition

by Malcolm Pryce (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 out of 5 stars 259 ratings
Jack Wenlock is the last of the Railway Goslings: that fabled cadre of railway detectives created at the Weeping Cross Railway Servants' Orphanage, who trod the corridors of the GWR trains in the years 1925 to 1947. Sworn to uphold the name of God's Wonderful Railway, Jack keeps the trains free of fare dodgers and purse-stealers, bounders and confidence tricksters, German spies and ladies of the night.

But now, as the clock ticks down towards the nationalisation of the railways Jack finds himself investigating a case that begins with an abducted great aunt, but soon develops into something far darker and more dangerous. It reaches up to the corridors of power and into the labyrinth of the greatest mystery in all the annals of railway lore – the disappearance in 1915 of twenty-three nuns from the 7.25 Swindon to Bristol Temple Meads, or the case of the 'Hail Mary' Celeste.

Shady government agents, drunken riverboat captains, a missing manuscript and a melancholic gorilla all collide on a journey that will take your breath away.
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  1. Print length
    345 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bloomsbury Publishing
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    12 Mar. 2015
  6. File size
    3.0 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product description

Review

An utter delight - this cocktail of the surreal and the terrifyingly real is a rare entertainment ― Michael Williams, author of On the Slow Train

Malcolm Pryce is the king of welsh noir . Edgar Allen Poe meets Phoenix Nights in a flurry of blood-stained absurdity ― Sunday Telegraph

Effortless and hilarious . Pryce is in a league of his own ― Time Out

Gripping ― Britain

Complex absurdity of a very special sort. Anyone who loves steam trains, detective thrillers and PG Wodehouse will feel distinctly at home ― Jasper Fforde

A master of dry delivery, he has an impressive ability to transpose the ordinary with the extraordinary, sweeping you away into a funfair mirror world of grotesque characters and absurd situations which keep you glued to the page at every turn ― Big Issue

About the Author

Malcolm Pryce was born in the UK and has spent much of his life working and travelling abroad. He has been, at various times, a BMW assembly-line worker, a hotel washer-up, a deck hand on a yacht sailing the South Seas, an advertising copywriter and the world's worst aluminium salesman. In 1998 he gave up his day job and booked a passage on a banana boat bound for South America in order to write Aberystwyth Mon Amour. He spent the next seven years living in Bangkok, where he wrote three more novels in the series, Last Tango in Aberystwyth, The Unbearable Lightness of Being in Aberystwyth and Don't Cry for Me Aberystwyth. In 2007 he moved back to the UK and now lives in Oxford, where he wrote From Aberystwyth with Love, The Day Aberystwyth Stood Still, and, most recently, The Case of the Hail Mary Celeste.

malcolmpryce.com / @exogamist

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00SWZ8IQI
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 12 Mar. 2015
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.0 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 345 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1408851937
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 259 ratings

About the author

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Malcolm Pryce

Malcolm Pryce

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Malcolm Pryce was born in the UK and has spent much of his life working and travelling abroad. He has been, at various times, a BMW assembly-line worker, a hotel washer-up, a deck hand on a yacht sailing the South Seas, an advertising copywriter and the world's worst aluminium salesman. In 1998 he gave up his day job and booked a passage on a banana boat bound for South America in order to write Aberystwyth Mon Amour. He spent the next seven years living in Bangkok, where he wrote three more novels in the series, Last Tango in Aberystwyth, The Unbearable Lightness of Being in Aberystwyth and Don't Cry for Me Aberystwyth. In 2007 he moved back to the UK and now lives in Oxford.

www.malcolmpryce.com

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
259 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this book to be an excellent read that matches the quality of the Aberystwyth series. Moreover, they appreciate its humor, with one customer noting it keeps readers smiling long after finishing. Additionally, the book receives positive feedback for its intrigue, with one review highlighting how it combines detective thriller elements with surreal elements. Customers also praise the character development, with one review mentioning how the characters combine to weave a story of espionage.

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ReadabilityHumorIntrigueCharacter development
19 customers mention ‘Readability’19 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be an excellent and thoroughly absorbing read, comparing it favorably to the Aberystwyth series.

"...Along the way there are wonderful snippets from the missing 1931 volume of the Gosling Annual, edited by Gosling Cadbury Holt, who vanished in..." Read more

"...Its a great book and perhaps a short read. More depth, more grit in the characters and some more accessible humour might have got it five stars." Read more

"...and life through the eyes of a someone in 1948 is also a very good concept. I even quite liked the very niche details of railway history...." Read more

"Malcolm Pryce has written a cracker of a book which, like his wonderful Aberystwyth series, takes you on an imaginative ride into a world of quirky..." Read more

18 customers mention ‘Humor’18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book humorous, describing it as an amusing and delightful read. One customer mentions it keeps them smiling long after finishing the book.

"...without giving away the plot and I have no wish to spoil this delightful read for you...." Read more

"...The humour runs throughout the book with some excellent running jokes and will do plenty for future shovel sales (not giving away too much here)...." Read more

"...ride into a world of quirky characters, fantastical events and off-beat humour...." Read more

"enjoyable and well written" Read more

14 customers mention ‘Intrigue’14 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the detective stories in the book, with one customer noting how it combines the thriller genre with surreal elements.

"This entertaining novel is set in December, 1947, shortly before the nationalisation of the railways and the formation of the British Transport..." Read more

"Well, its certainly an imaginative story. To be honest, I thought I'd give this book a go as I've rather enjoyed Pryce's Aberystwyth series...." Read more

"Big fan of the author. This book still has some of the subtle cleverness we expect from Mr. Pryce...." Read more

"...which, like his wonderful Aberystwyth series, takes you on an imaginative ride into a world of quirky characters, fantastical events and off-beat..." Read more

7 customers mention ‘Character development’7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, with one review noting how the characters combine to weave a story of espionage, while another mentions the developing relationship between the lead characters.

"...The characters are mostly larger than life and Jack Wenlock is very much a character who has a strong code of honour and chivalry and would fit..." Read more

"...Its is very recognisable as a novel in Pryce's style. Plenty of odd characters and unique settings...." Read more

"...series, takes you on an imaginative ride into a world of quirky characters, fantastical events and off-beat humour...." Read more

"...This is a ripping good yarn and I loved the developing relationship between the two lead characters...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • S Riaz
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Case of the Hail Mary Celeste
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2015
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    This entertaining novel is set in December, 1947, shortly before the nationalisation of the railways and the formation of the British Transport Commission, detailed to organise the closure of the least-used branch lines. Railways are of great importance in this mystery, as the main character is Jack Wenlock, a Gosling Class special railways detective. Raised in the Weeping Cross Railway Servant’s Orphanage, Jack was one of twelve Goslings and is the last left. He fears he will shortly lose his job, but is still employed when we first meet him. The Goslings are so called because of a theory that they would be born imprinted on trains and Jack does view the Great Western Railway as the only family he has ever known.

    Jack is courtly and old-fashioned, slightly naïve and liable to see the best in people, but more than able to take care of himself in a fight. The book begins with the arrival at his office of a young mill worker called Jenny. She has a strange tale to tell of her Aunt Agatha witnessing a woman being throttled in the adjacent carriage of a passing train and, after reporting the case to the police, being taken away to a lunatic asylum.

    It is very difficult to review this novel without giving away the plot and I have no wish to spoil this delightful read for you. Events spiral and involve the greatest railway mystery of all time; when, in 1915, twenty three nuns vanished on a train – the so called, ‘Hail Mary’ Celeste. All the Goslings have attempted to solve this mystery and claim the prize money of £5000. Jack and Jenny join forces to investigate both this and the mystery of Aunt Agatha, and find themselves embroiled in a complicated case, which involves gangsters, mysterious missing letters, German U-boats, a train load of missing nuns and royalty – as well as much more. Along the way there are wonderful snippets from the missing 1931 volume of the Gosling Annual, edited by Gosling Cadbury Holt, who vanished in Africa whilst searching for the missing nuns.

    Although this is set in the late 1940’s, I would suggest that if you enjoy Golden Age Crime fiction, this will probably appeal to you . The characters are mostly larger than life and Jack Wenlock is very much a character who has a strong code of honour and chivalry and would fit comfortably in any crime novel from that period. Jenny is a wonderful foil to him and brings a great deal of humour to the storyline. I really hope that both Jack and Jenny appear in further adventures, as this could be the start of a really good series. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • goldfish
    4.0 out of 5 stars Inventive
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2015
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    Well, its certainly an imaginative story. To be honest, I thought I'd give this book a go as I've rather enjoyed Pryce's Aberystwyth series. A spoof detective genre set in the most unlikely of places and studded with wry humour. So The Case of the Hail Mary Celeste has some interesting boots to fill.

    So, is it the same? Well, no. And yes too.

    Its is very recognisable as a novel in Pryce's style. Plenty of odd characters and unique settings. The plot is a mixture of the flawed detective meets Agatha Christie with some trainspotters thrown in and all finished off with some old fashioned stiff-upper-lip. While the plot has some intricacies they are spun out and overworked some - a deeper look into Room 42, with more story around characters with potential such as Old and Young would have added more weight.

    The humour runs throughout the book with some excellent running jokes and will do plenty for future shovel sales (not giving away too much here). Some of the humour is a little obscure though and some younger reader might wonder why the old folks find it funny. So its not slap you in the face funny, but does hark back to a era of steam trains and a period when men were men with no funny business.

    Its a great book and perhaps a short read. More depth, more grit in the characters and some more accessible humour might have got it five stars.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Boothy
    3.0 out of 5 stars Great concept and some subtle humour but did not get on with the main character.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 June 2021
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    Big fan of the author. This book still has some of the subtle cleverness we expect from Mr. Pryce. The concept of seeing technology and life through the eyes of a someone in 1948 is also a very good concept. I even quite liked the very niche details of railway history. However, after a while I found the narrow minded view on things by Jack due to his upbringing became quite tedious and reduced the enjoyment of this book. There clearly is subtleties at play here with perceived reactions from the characters to the time and place this book is set but it just did not work for me personally. I did purchase the second book in the series but sadly gave up half way through because it was much of the same, with the same issues IMHO.
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  • Mungo Malone
    5.0 out of 5 stars The King of Welsh Noir serves up another treat
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2015
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    Malcolm Pryce has written a cracker of a book which, like his wonderful Aberystwyth series, takes you on an imaginative ride into a world of quirky characters, fantastical events and off-beat humour.

    This is all wrapped in a comforting blanket of British railway nostalgia which, if you are of a certain age, will have you yearning for the sights, sounds and smells of that marvellous era.

    The first case file of Jack Wenlock has been opened, I hope it will not be the last.
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  • Kentish Woman
    2.0 out of 5 stars I loved the Aberystwyth series
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I loved the Aberystwyth series, and so bought this with eagerness. This one just didn't work for me, I am sad to say. I liked the ingredients, but somehow it just didn't come together.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Peter S.
    4.0 out of 5 stars amusing read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2020
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    enjoyable and well written
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  • K Richards
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic and fun detective mystery
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Having read and loved Malcolm Pryce’s utterly brilliant “Aberystwyth” series of detective novels I was intrigued when I stumbled across this one.

    It is superb !

    Quirky, thought provoking, humorous - for lovers of railways of yesteryear in general and the Great Western Railway in particular this is a must read but it’s also a great detective mystery full of twists that will keep you from putting the book down until the last page is turned.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Mr. M. Neligan
    5.0 out of 5 stars sheer enjoyment.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2015
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    We do not learn very much about nuns in this story, but we do come to know about the steam trains of the GWR. The tale manages to combine the detective thriller with the surreal, the culture of post-war Britain with the world of Rider-Haggard and (I think) that of H. P. Lovecraft: Beeching, Biros, boxes of eyeballs and a submarine in Africa - commandeered by, yes, nuns. I really appreciated the author's originality, inventiveness and humour. I hope his other works match this one.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Jutta
    2.0 out of 5 stars Nette Idee, aber...
    Reviewed in Germany on 22 April 2015
    Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
    man hätte aus dieser Story mehr machen können. Für mich blieben die Charaktere leider durchgehend flach und riefen wenig Emotionen hervor.
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  • DMT
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on 18 August 2015
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Decent story, but a little dated. So far story is a little predictable.
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