Wed 27 Jul 2016
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: THE GORDONS – Campaign Train.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
William F. Deeck
THE GORDONS – Campaign Train. Doubleday Crime Club, hardcover, 1952. Bantam 1475, paperback, 1956; Popular Library, paperback, no date stated, both as Murder Rides the Campaign Train.
A hopeful assassin rides the campaign train of Gov. Wallace X. Martin, candidate for the presidency. Worse, Martin’s No. 2 secretary, 19-year-old Jackie Moxas, whom he has rescued from a correctional institution, is looking for the assassin in order to lend him (or her) her support. No good deed goes unpunished, someone has rightly contended.
Moxas despises the governor for what he once did and is now doing to her. all of which is imaginary. When she discovers who the assassin is, her views begin to change.
Not a sympathetic character, Moxas, but convincingly drawn by The Gordons are the political background and the campaign.
July 27th, 2016 at 9:03 pm
Typical good book from the team with a solid line of suspense.
I was and am a fan, but even beyond that they had me with the setting here. I don’t know why exactly, but I have always loved books set on a train.
July 27th, 2016 at 11:31 pm
Trains are wonderful places to set mystery novels. Besides the joy of riding the train itself, there’s the limited access on and off, cast with hundreds of strangers who have never met before and never will again — or most of them, anyway — all with their own secrets, different destinations and hidden motives. What more could a mystery reader want?
July 28th, 2016 at 1:21 am
I haven’t read The Gordons’ book, so I’m not sure, but I’ve just realized that my brilliant analysis in the comment above may not apply to a campaign train. A whole nuther kettle of fish!
July 28th, 2016 at 8:29 pm
The Gordons always used settings well and had a deft hand at creating set pieces. This one is well done with the train well used.
It’s not one of my favorite mysteries on a train, but a good one.