The most recommended railroad books

Who picked these books? Meet our 20 experts.

20 authors created a book list connected to railroad, and here are their favorite railroad books.
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Book cover of Mystery in White

Benedict Brown Author Of The Snows of Weston Moor

From my list on overlooked classic Christmas whodunits.

Why am I passionate about this?

Having grown up in a family of crime-fiction readers, I published my first murder mystery in 2019 and have created two bestselling series. My 1920s-set “Lord Edgington Investigates…” books have been a big hit for me, and I’ve just published my third Christmas book overall. But that’s not the only reason I’m qualified to recommend Christmassy whodunits. I am obsessed with Christmas and, with a little help from my four-year-old daughter, spend far too much time decorating every December. Let’s just say that my Christmas Lego village is already out of control, and someone really needs to stop me from buying any more before it takes over our house.

Benedict's book list on overlooked classic Christmas whodunits

Benedict Brown Why did Benedict love this book?

I can’t think of a more evocative start to a murder mystery than a steam train stuck in the snow on Christmas Eve. With no hope of getting to their destination, a group of unlikely allies gangs together to find shelter for the night.

Led by the mysterious Mr. Maltby of the Royal Physical Society, they survive a torturous trek through waist-high drifts and hole up in a stately home with the fires blazing but no one on the premises. There are bodies about the house, clues to be deciphered, and an ancient crime to uncover. I was overjoyed to discover this whodunit from 1937 that is full of quirky characters, unexpected twists, and more snow than any other Christmas mystery I’ve read.

By J. Jefferson Farjeon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mystery in White as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The horror on the train, great though it may turn out to be, will not compare with the horror that exists here, in this house.' On Christmas Eve, heavy snowfall brings a train to a halt near the village of Hemmersby. Several passengers take shelter in a deserted country house, where the fire has been lit and the table laid for tea - but no one is at home. Trapped together for Christmas, the passengers are seeking to unravel the secrets of the empty house when a murderer strikes in their midst.


Book cover of The Edge

Stephen Allten Brown Author Of Stealing Picasso

From my list on taking you to unexpected places.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved history and art. Combining the two makes perfect sense and provides the inspiration to keep writing. I can spend hours in a museum, just soaking up the magic in Impressionist paintings. I never get tired of researching the artists or their paintings, and I relish the unexpected discoveries. 

Stephen's book list on taking you to unexpected places

Stephen Allten Brown Why did Stephen love this book?

I love the way there is a mystery within a mystery. A group of actors is staging a play for the benefit of the passengers on a transcontinental train trip across Canada. The protagonist, who is undercover and posing as a waiter, befriends the lead actor and takes a page out of Hamlet, using the play to pressure the villain into making a mistake and incriminating himself. Accurate details about working as a waiter lend a sense of ‘David versus Goliath’ to the storyline.

By Dick Francis,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Edge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Edge

To the Jockey Club, the racing world would be a better place without Julius Apollo Filmer. An expert in corruption with a devastating line in witness intimidation - and proving to be a slippery character to put behind bars.

Baffled, they call in undercover security agent Tor Kelsey to keep an unflinching eye on Filmer and his associates. A mission that takes him from the finest of English racecourses to the wild Canadian interior - on a luxury transcontinental train journey to end them all.

On board, a troupe of actors are playing out a murder mystery for…


Book cover of The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around the Coast of Great Britain

Roz Morris Author Of Not Quite Lost: Travels Without a Sense of Direction

From Roz's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Lover of elegant dilapidation Psychogeographer of the soul Horse custodian Musician on the page Searcher for natural poetry

Roz's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Roz Morris Why did Roz love this book?

This is Paul Theroux’s travels around the coast of Britain in the 1980s.

It’s a true artist’s journey – he writes about whatever interests him, intrigues him, astonishes him, amuses him, and often what depresses him, from ugly holiday camps to grotesquely flirty hotel landladies, to train strikes. It’s not a pretty travelogue, more a close observation of decay and ruin, with the Falklands War glimpsed through news headlines, adding to the overall sense of an unstoppable cosmic engine of change and loss.

His prose is honest, graceful, and vivid, with a great ear for character and dialogue. All in all, an unexpectedly moving experience.  

By Paul Theroux,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Kingdom by the Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As mentioned in The Times Travel Book Club 2020

Award winning writer Paul Theroux embarks on a journey that, though closer to home than most of his expeditions, uncovers some surprising truths about Britain and the British people in the '80s in The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around the Coast of Great Britain.

Paul Theroux's round-Britain travelogue is funny, perceptive and 'best avoided by patriots with high blood pressure...'

After eleven years living as an American in London, Paul Theroux set out to travel clockwise round the coast and find out what Britain and the British are really…


Book cover of Stuck with You

Paul Michael Winters Author Of Together in a Broken World

From my list on queer people living their best lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a time when it was nearly unheard of to be out in high school. This led to a very lonely and isolating childhood, with few role models and almost no queer fiction. I'm dedicated to making it easier for the next generation by providing joyful stories about queer people living their best lives. My stories feature proud queer people, where being queer is simply an aspect of their personalities and doesn't dominate the plot. People imitate art, and by providing positive examples of happy queer people, I hope to make the world a more accepting place, one story at a time.

Paul's book list on queer people living their best lives

Paul Michael Winters Why did Paul love this book?

This book is solid queer joy, filled with the sweetest and most loveable characters. While the book is short and written in the hi-lo style, it's still filled with true emotion and a wonderful message.

I read this book in a single sitting in an afternoon and loved it so much that I went right back to page one and read it again. Sometimes, books should simply be written as an example to others of how they should act. If the whole world were as caring and sweet as these two boys and their families, it would be a much happier and more accepting place.

By 'Nathan Burgoine,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Stuck with You as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"…hilarious and an all-around enjoyable read... Highly recommended for hi-lo readers who loved Heartstopper."
― ★ starred review, School Library Journal

Stuck With You is a story of Queer joy and a playful teen romance, following two frenemies as they fall for each other while stuck in adjacent seats on a day-long train trip.

Ben is on a train back to Ottawa after a visit with his dad in Toronto when he runs into the last person he wanted to see: Caleb, the handsome, confident boy who recently and accidentally broke Ben’s phone. Preoccupied by worrying about whether he should…


Book cover of Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo

Jules Brown Author Of Not Cool: Europe by Train in a Heatwave

From my list on rail journeys.

Why am I passionate about this?

Jules Brown wrote travel guides for Rough Guides for over thirty years – if there’s a railway timetable somewhere he hasn’t studied, he’d like to know about it. He took his first InterRail trip around Europe when he was seventeen and, as a travel writer, he’s been on trains around the world, from Norway to New Zealand. Jules is the author of two travel memoirs, Don’t Eat the Puffin and Never Pack an Ice-Axe, which – after a lifetime of travel – are still the best bits of advice he has for anyone heading off on a journey.

Jules' book list on rail journeys

Jules Brown Why did Jules love this book?

An English novelist, a long-time resident of (and writer about) Italy, Parks is well placed to offer his hugely entertaining take on rail travel in Europe’s most gloriously maddening country. It’s neither fully a history book nor travelogue, though Parks writes divertingly and inspiringly about both history and travel. Instead, it’s partly an attempt to appreciate Italy through its railways – as he says early on, “if someone wanted to understand Italy, they might start by understanding how the train ticketing system works.” For anyone who has ever wrestled with the intransigence of an Italian rail conductor, stood forlornly waiting for an inexplicably delayed train, been crammed into a corridor with furiously smoking army conscripts, or been fed oranges by a garrulous Sicilian family, this book is a joy of recognition, despair, and delight.

By Tim Parks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Italian Ways as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Tim Parks's books on Italy have been hailed as "so vivid, so packed with delectable details, [they] serve as a more than decent substitute for the real thing" (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Now, in his first Italian travelogue in a decade, he delivers a charming and funny portrait of Italian ways by riding its trains from Verona to Milan, Rome to Palermo, and right down to the heel of Italy.

Parks begins as any traveler might: "A train is a train is a train, isn't it?" But soon he turns his novelist's eye to the details, and as he…


Book cover of Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom

Zachary Austin Behlok Author Of The Advancement of Humanity

From Zachary Austin's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Philosopher Lebanese-American Existentialist Professor

Zachary Austin's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Zachary Austin Behlok Why did Zachary Austin love this book?

The sheer simplicity and elegance found within Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom by Sylvia Plath is unmatched.

The reader is taken on a journey to the ninth kingdom; however, whether or not we truly make it there is up to the reader. What is the ninth kingdom? How do we get there? What does it mean to go to the ninth kingdom? Are we all headed there? If so, can we escape such a fate? 

My answers to all of these questions and more differ with time. That is why this short work fascinates me.

By Sylvia Plath,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“[Plath’s] story is stirring, in sneaky, unexpected ways. . . . Look carefully and there’s a new angle here — on how, and why, we read Plath today.”— Parul Sehgal, New York Times

Never before published, this newly discovered story by literary legend Sylvia Plath stands on its own and is remarkable for its symbolic, allegorical approach to a young woman’s rebellion against convention and forceful taking control of her own life. 

Written while Sylvia Plath was a student at Smith College in 1952, Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom tells the story of a young woman’s fateful train journey.…


Book cover of Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

Louise Blackwick Author Of Vivian Amberville - The Weaver of Odds

From Louise's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Entrepreneur Illustrator Speed reader Philanthropist

Louise's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Louise Blackwick Why did Louise love this book?

“Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect” by Benjamin Stevenson was the coolest whodunit I’ve read in 2024. Right from the start, I was hooked by the confined setting (a moving train) and its quirky ensemble of passengers, where each traveler harbors a deep-guarded secret.
The story was outrageously funny and suspenseful at times, and each new clue forced me to reevaluate who could be responsible. Its fast-paced narrative kept me guessing right up to its satisfying conclusion. “Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect” was as fun as it was exhilarating: a witty page-turner that mixes comedy and crime in a way that’s completely new and refreshing.

By Benjamin Stevenson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the bestselling author of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, a fiendishly fun locked room (train) murder mystery that "offers a tip of the hat to the great Agatha Christie novel while at the same time being a modern reinvention of it" (Nita Prose) -- perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each…


Book cover of Ghost Train to the Eastern Star

Neill McKee Author Of Finding Myself in Borneo: Sojourns in Sabah

From my list on exotic Asian travel and adventure.

Why am I passionate about this?

My first travel memoir, Finding Myself in Borneo, has won three awards. I hold a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Communication from Florida State University. I worked internationally for 45 years, becoming an expert in the field of communication for social change. I directed and produced a number of award-winning documentary films/videos, popular multimedia initiatives, and have written numerous articles and books in my field. I worked and lived in Asia, Africa, and Russia for a total of 18 years and traveled to over 80 countries on short-term assignments. In 2015, I settled in New Mexico, using my varied experiences, memories, and imagination in creative writing.

Neill's book list on exotic Asian travel and adventure

Neill McKee Why did Neill love this book?

When I retired from my 45-year career as an international filmmaker and multimedia producer, I decided to concentrate on creative nonfiction writing, using my experiences and memories as a basis for the many stories I wanted to tell. I began to read and listen to travel memoirs to learn how to write in a captivating and entertaining way. Paul Theroux is one of the top writers in this genre and Ghost Train to the Eastern Star is one of his best. He doesn’t make it to Borneo, but reaches many familiar places I traveled to during my years in Southeast Asia. I love his style, full of descriptions of those old haunts, and his dialog with the people he encounters on his journey.

By Paul Theroux,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ghost Train to the Eastern Star as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Paul Theroux's Ghost Train to the Eastern Star is a journey from London to Asia by train.

Winner of the Stanford Dolman Lifetime Contribution to Travel Writing Award 2020

Thirty years ago Paul Theroux left London and travelled across Asia and back again by train. His account of the journey - The Great Railway Bazaar - was a landmark book and made his name as the foremost travel writer of his generation. Now Theroux makes the trip all over again. Through Eastern Europe, India and Asia to discover the changes that have swept the continents, and also to learn what…


Book cover of The Railway Detective

Chris Turnbull Author Of The Planting of the Penny Hedge

From my list on fiction with an historical twist.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Yorkshire writer with a passion for historical fiction. My love of history came as a surprise to me in my late teens, as I had originally thought history was not my thing. However, I soon discovered the incredible stories throughout history, and how many authors carve fictional stories around these time periods or historical events. I love researching for my own historical writing, whether it be to find out what kind of jobs people did, or what they ate for breakfast. I love reading and writing historical fiction in multiple eras, such as WW2, Victorian times, and further back to the Romans and ancient Egyptians. 

Chris' book list on fiction with an historical twist

Chris Turnbull Why did Chris love this book?

I have always loved reading crime detective books, no matter what time period they are set in. However, The Railway Detective series manages to merge two of my favourite genres, crime and historical. Set in the mid-1800s when railways were still relatively new, this series has a brilliant set of characters and is written so brilliantly that you can picture every scene in your mind down to the last detail. 

By Edward Marston,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Railway Detective as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1851 England, the city of London anticipates the grand opening of the Great Expedition. Excitement is mounting with each engineering triumph of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating. A sudden attack hits the London to Birmingham mail train and it is looted and derailed. Planned with military precision, Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck fights to untangle a web of murder, blackmail and destruction. As Colbeck closes in on the criminal masterminds, events take an unexpected turn when the beautiful Madeline, daughter of the injured train driver, becomes a pawn in the criminals game. With time running out, good…


Book cover of Murder in Transit

Judith Cutler Author Of Come To Harm

From Judith's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Passionate Compassionate Hedgehog lover Music lover Prolific writer

Judith's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Judith Cutler Why did Judith love this book?

I'm sure you all know that famous line from "Jane Eyre": reader I married him. Well, I happen to be married too, Not a man who kept his mad wife in the attic. I'm married to another novelist, Edward Marston, the crime writer. He describes himself as the Dickens to my George Eliot - now, what a household those two would have made! I love his Railway Detective series, which takes his protagonists all over England.

Here they are in Hampshire. Guess who is in residence in Osborne House, just across the Solent on the Isle of White? In a house designed by none other than Prince Albert?

Spoiler alert: Detective Inspector Colbeck gets his man!

By Edward Marston,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Murder in Transit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

1866. On a train bound for Portsmouth, an elegant woman shares a first-class compartment with a gentleman in a celebratory mood. Giles Blanchard reveals his lecherous side as the journey gets underway, but he will never reach his home on the Isle of Wight alive. This chance encounter is to prove fortuitous for the woman and her partner-in-crime. They find themselves not only the richer for picking the dead man's pocket, they also now possess the material for an extremely lucrative blackmail.

Detective Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are swiftly dispatched to sift through the evidence. They are all too…