Inspector Vignoles Mystery Books In Order

Publication Order of Inspector Vignoles Mysteries Books

The Inspector Vignoles Mystery is a series of novels by Stephen Done, who loves to refer to himself as a museum curator and Liverpool fan. On his eighth birthday, while dressed in his favorite Batman suit Done had declared that he wanted to become the driver of a steam engine. But his dreams were shattered when was told that he would be seeing the last of the steam engines the following day. Perhaps that is the reason he decided to write about steam trains instead. Almost four decades later, he did manage to become a driver of a train as he spent a week firing and driving huge Polish locomotives full of unconcerned and strangely relaxed Polish passengers.

As a child, he lived in the suburbs of Scarborough and during his teenage years, he was witness to the demolition of the great Viaduct in Brackley. He tries to bring back the large sections of the line that are now overgrown and silent through the Inspector Vignoles Mystery series. As a member of the Friends of the Great Central Railway, he takes his readers back in time when steam was king of the rails. He is the official curator and historian of the Liverpool Football Club museum a post that he had held for more than two decades. When he is not writing or performing his curator duties you can find him walking, railway modeling, enjoying some ale, gardening or bird watching. He also gives talks and reading about his very popular Inspector Vignoles Mysteries. He loves to talk about the times in which the series is set to book clubs, schools, and other interested groups.

The Inspector Vignoles Mystery Series are absolutely riveting stories with the elements of suspense and tension that makes for a cracking yarn. The good guys are determined to destroy or stop the villains even as they are in the pursuit of something bigger. Inspector Vignoles is a railway detective based in Leicester Central Station. The station is part of the Great Central Railway on the London Extension. The novels are set immediately after the war when everything was in shambles. The debut novel of the series that introduced Detective Inspector Charles Vignoles who alongside several officers in the police force investigate a range of murders. They are intriguing mysteries that are evocative of the time in which they are set. They also provide a warm-hearted look into the life and values of the people of England during some of the most difficult periods in time. The novels provide some nostalgic stories about the steam railway and some excellent characters to go along with it. They are set in a post-war Britain though the third novel of the series extends to the Cold War Period. The author paints gripping and atmospheric stories in which the characters are drawn in vivid colors in the mid of all the squalor of Displaced person camps and the austerity of post-war Britain, which has made life miserable for most ordinary people. They are fast-moving and detailed narratives that make for some captivating and exciting reads all around.

“Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” the first novel of the Inspector Vignoles Mystery Series tells the story of Violet McIntyre who has a huge decision to make. Her younger sister and mother depend on her making the best choice though she never thought that it would be this hard. Detective Inspector Charles Vignoles of the L.N.E.R Detective Department is investigating a case and soon an aspect of his case points him to Violet. Vignoles thought he was making headway in the case until a startling discovery is made by two railways cleaners. The discovery at the Woodford Halse locomotive depot throws everything out of order with the situation worsening by the hour. The situation is getting worse yet D.I. Vignoles cannot seem to understand what is going on. Just like the smoke of the locomotives which blinds his eyes, his judgment is just as cloudy. But this is not the time to make any mistakes as any misstep could lead to someone dying. The novel is set in the austere gloom of 1946 post-war Britain and provides an atmospheric and gripping mystery. It provides some good historical atmosphere that includes the swing beat music of the period and the great atmosphere of the Great Central Railway.

“The Murder of Crows” is the second novel of the series that is set in 1947, a year after the first. The “Big Freeze” has gripped the land and the railways are struggling to cope with the snow. Meanwhile, the Finmere Displaced Person’s Camp is full of refugees from the just-ended war who are resorting to desperate measures to beat the cold and snow. The snow is deep on the ground as the crows sit on the telegraph wires near the railway lines. In the cold of the morning a steam engine leaves the Catesby tunnel and a young woman is killed, thrown out of the moving train. There is a silent homicidal killer on the steam train. The novel is set in austere postwar Britain where Sergeant Trinder and Inspector Vignoles of the LNER detective department hard at work on one of the most deadly investigations they have ever handled.

“The Torn Curtain” the third novel of the Inspector Vignoles Mysteries series is set in 1948. Two British soldiers on assignment on the railways of Trieste, Italy are senselessly killed, leaving the Allied Intelligence baffled. Back home in Britain, Detective Vignoles comes into his office to find that someone has ransacked it. Captain Henderson is decidedly suspicious and is asking some odd questions that cause Vignoles’ long-repressed memories to bubble back to the surface. Vignoles is soon deep in the murder case where he unearths something stranger than anything he had ever encountered in his many years doing investigations. A long lost secret may come to light and rip apart the Iron Curtain, resulting in a deadly conflict between the capitalist West and the Communist East. It is thrilling edge of your seat Cold War story that takes you along as Vignoles’ train speeds towards a bridge spanning a deep canyon and almost certain death.