Murder on the Haunted Express

All aboard for the most gripping cosy mystery of the year. Eight passengers board the train. Will any of them survive the journey? 
 
When ex-detective Midge McGowan embarks on a sleeper train to Scotland, she's hoping for a nice relaxing trip to enjoy the snowy highlands. Instead, the journey quickly turns into a nightmare. 
 
The train has a haunted history, as multiple witnesses have claimed to see a shadowy figure jumping out of the last carriage, before reappearing on board and repeating the loop.. One of the passengers is a mysterious prisoner on release from jail, who won't speak to anyone and remains locked in his cabin, with a guard posted on the door. And then the lights go out, the train stops, and someone turns up dead. 
 
Their body is found inside a locked carriage – with no way in or out – so how was the crime committed? Is this really the work of a ghost? Or has one of the guests just pulled off the perfect murder? The only thing Midge knows for sure is that not all of them will reach their destination alive... 
 
***Readers love Emma Mason*** 
 
'One of the best books I have read in years.' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW 
 
'Midge is my hero.' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW 
 
'Perfect reading for a wet and windy afternoon.' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW 
 
'The characters leap off the page... and the spooky mystery will keep you guessing.' Antony Johnston, author of Can You Solve the Murder? 
 
'I read this in two days ... I was hooked!' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW 
 
'Utterly brilliant!' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW 
 
'I was thrilled, beguiled and completely captured by this cracking whodunnit.' - Jonathan Whitelaw, author of The Bingo Hall Detectives 
 
'A masterclass.' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW 
 
'Loved this book from start to finish.' FIVE-STAR READER REVIEW

A delightfully engaging debut, starring one of the most amusing and unusual sleuths I’ve come across. Best enjoyed with a nice glass of sherry!

Tess Gerritsen, internationally bestselling author of Rizzoli & Isles, and the Martini Club series

A delightful debut! The characters leap off the page, especially the perpetually misunderstood detective Midge, and the spooky mystery will keep you guessing.

Antony Johnston, author of Can You Solve the Murder?

Quirky and fun that also strays into the eerie. I was thrilled, beguiled and completely captured by this cracking whodunnit.

Jonathan Whitelaw, author of The Bingo Hall Detectives

Emma Mason is a former Detective Constable with Thames Valley Police. She now lives in Dorset with her husband, children and parents. She writes and works as a design consultant, creating virtual reality training for the defence sector.

All aboard for the most gripping mystery of the year. Eight passengers board the train. Will any of them survive the journey? 
 
When ex-detective Midge McGowan embarks on a sleeper train to Scotland, she's hoping for a nice relaxing trip to enjoy the snowy highlands. Instead, the journey quickly turns into a nightmare. 
 
The train has a haunted history, as multiple witnesses have claimed to see a shadowy figure jumping out of the last carriage, before reappearing on board and repeating the loop. One of the passengers is a mysterious prisoner on release from jail, who won't speak to anyone and remains locked in his cabin, with a guard posted on the door. And then the lights go out, the train stops, and someone turns up dead. 
 
Their body is found inside a locked carriage – with no way in or out – so how was the crime committed? Is this really the work of a ghost? Or has one of the guests just pulled off the perfect murder? The only thing Midge knows for sure is that not all of them will reach their destination alive...

Emma Mason

Witty, chilling and full of charm… a perfect seasonal mystery.

This isn’t just a good debut. It’s a wonderful read.

I have so enjoyed meeting the intrepid Midge and her style of detecting. Such fun! It is so rare for crime and humour to come together so successfully and I guess that the author has a really successful future ahead of her.

A well-plotted whodunnit with an intriguing and engaging detective.

Faith Martin, author of Murder by Candlelight

With a clever locked-room murder and a cast of quirky suspects, this gripping festive mystery brings chills, humour and suspense that will keep you guessing.

A madcap haunted house of a murder mystery that left me with a tear in my eye! An isolated house - ghosts aplenty - a locked room and dark passages in abundance - Emma had obviously been reading my spooky murder mystery wishlist!

J.M. Hall, author of A Spoonful of Murder

Read this debut for the eerie mystery and classic whodunnit vibes.

'A delightfully engaging debut, starring one of the most amusing and unusual sleuths I’ve come across. Best enjoyed with a nice glass of sherry!' Tess Gerritsen 
 
A grand country estate. 
On her last day as a Detective, Midge McGowan is given the retirement present from hell: a ticket to take part in a haunted house tour. She’ll have to spend the weekend before Christmas ghost-hunting in an isolated mansion with a group of misfits, including a know-it-all paranormal investigator and a has-been pop star. 
 
An impossible crime. 
It isn’t long before the tour starts to spiral out of control. Midge and the guests see an unsettling figure walking the grounds late at night. Then the unthinkable happens – someone is murdered in a room that’s been locked from the inside. 
 
A weekend they might not survive. 
Heavy snow cuts them off from help, the house’s own dark secrets begin to surface, and Midge can’t shake the creeping sense that they are walking into a nightmare. Could a ghost really be responsible, or is the culprit one of the guests?

Emma Mason

Praise for Murder Most Haunted

A delightfully engaging debut, starring one of the most amusing and unusual sleuths I’ve come across. Best enjoyed with a nice glass of sherry!

Witty, chilling and full of charm… a perfect seasonal mystery.

A delightful debut! The characters leap off the page, especially the perpetually misunderstood detective Midge, and the spooky mystery will keep you guessing.

A delightfully engaging debut, starring one of the most amusing and unusual sleuths I’ve come across. Best enjoyed with a nice glass of sherry!

Witty, chilling and full of charm… a perfect seasonal mystery.

A delightful debut! The characters leap off the page, especially the perpetually misunderstood detective Midge, and the spooky mystery will keep you guessing.

A delightfully engaging debut, starring one of the most amusing and unusual sleuths I’ve come across. Best enjoyed with a nice glass of sherry!

Witty, chilling and full of charm… a perfect seasonal mystery.

A delightful debut! The characters leap off the page, especially the perpetually misunderstood detective Midge, and the spooky mystery will keep you guessing.

Books by Emma Mason

Series by Emma Mason

A Midge McGowan Mystery

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter