The Hidden Assassins

by: Robert Wilson

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The Station Master

The Station Master, by Luisa Buehler provides the reader with an excellent 'cozy' mystery – one which may have some minor flaws but overall is worthy of being listed right up there with the likes of M. C. Beaton. Echelon Press, who published this novel, is a fairly recent publishing contender, and one to watch. Ms. Buehler is certainly one author in their 'stable' who will go far If Echelon continues to give the public mysteries such as The Station Master, it won't be long before the huge hungry conglomerate publishing houses will gather to make their attractive financial bids for adding Echelon Press to their list if imprints!

The Station Master begins slowly – perhaps in order to give us some background on the protagonist, Grace Marsden. Grace is a very human woman character with very human characteristics – one of them being her need to braid or knot something whenever she's excited or stressed. Needless to say, she does a great deal of both during the story.

Harry, Grace' husband, is called away, leaving her alone to deal with suspicion by the police directed at both she and Harry, once the contents of an antique trunk are exposed to the public at an auction Grace has organized for 'Depot Day.' The trunk holds a skeleton. Attempting to diffuse the focus on either Harry or herself, Grace attempts to solve the mystery of who the skeleton is and who put it there. She has a number of suspects from which to choose, and it soon becomes apparent that the skeleton was the result of an old murder.

When the murderer is finally exposed, after Ms. Buehler leads us merrily down the proverbial garden path from one suspect to another, it's a sufficient surprise: Enough to place Luisa Buehler among the ranks of the better-known authors. I can easily recommend The Station Master to all mystery readers; especially those who enjoy female sleuths or the less 'hard-boiled' type of book. But whatever your preferences, you'll find The Station Master intriguing and difficult to put down.

Alan Paul Curtis

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