A complex mystery that delivers historical atmosphere and the harder-to-get-right social attitudes. Gemma Tate is a nurse in the Victorian period who must struggle in a society that wants to restrict what she can do. She performs a forbidden examination of a dead body for Inspector Bell to help him find the woman's killer while the coroner is down for the count because of illness. If the coroner finds out she could lose her job. Meanwhile, Inspector Bell has his own problems with a new boss at the Met who is more interested in close rates than what he thinks is a hopeless case. As the two follow the clues, they discover the killer may be much closer to home than they thought and may be ready to deliver another fatal blow...

I really enjoy how Gemma is struggling to find a way to balance her desire to make a real difference with the cases she has helped investigate though society and her boss disapprove and the reality she has a difficult and drudgery job of taking care an older woman who has dementia. She needs the job to feed herself so it isn't so easy to just say I will do what I want and who cares what society say. There are real repercussions of acting out against society's expectation. And she isn't the only one who might have to deal with those repercussions. Bell might have come to support Gemma in her investigative efforts but that doesn't mean others do. He might not just suffer some teasing from people in his job but real doubts from his supervisor about him being able to do his job and question his findings. The ripples of challenging society are nuanced and I am glad that the writer doesn't wave it off as something simple.

Overall, I thought this mystery was good. It is fun to have a mystery based on a body being found in a trunk left at a railroad. I have heard about that many times but have actually read very few mysteries that use the trope. I wish that Gemma and Bell would have had a bit more time together in this book and maybe advance their relationship a bit more. But I look forward to more in this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I’m really enjoying this series which challenges the preconceptions that all women were just ornaments or drudges. It was a very challenging time for women but Gemma breaks the mould, having been a nurse in the Crimea, which gave her a different life experience to most women of the time.

Sebastian Bell is a hard working, thorough Police Inspector, who has had his own share of tragedy but is dedicating his life standing up for the victims in the crimes he is tasked to investigate.

There is a really good storyline running through this, lots of twists, suspects and red herrings. The relationship between the two main characters is moving slowly, but hopefully with a purpose. I like that Sebastian finally gets together with his brother Simian, and hopefully their relationship will continue to grow. Can’t wait to see what happens next with these characters lives.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A solid caper with the whole gang. Not much movement on the relationship front, though it was interesting to hear that Sebastian suspects Colin has feelings for Gemma. I had thought Shapiro decided against that plot line. I liked the tease of Poppy for Colin. I'm glad Sebastian's brother Simeon popped up in this one and that loose emotional thread got mended.

I hope the next book takes place on the road - maybe a murderous visit to Simeon's farm? Will Seb & Gemma ever make it America to join the Pinkertons and detect together? I'm here for it!

I really enjoy the audiobooks of this series. The narrator makes it so engaging. For fans of historical mystery duo series with sweet romance - it doesn't get much better than this series. The writing and plots are always a cut above.

Another great addition to this great series.

Not much better than a historical mystery and this author brings all needed to grab your attention from page one until the end. Be transported to Victorian London and the streets where murder and mayhem lurk.

Heartbreaking but suspenseful. Be transfixed!

Murder on Platform Four is the fifth book in the Tate and Bell series by Irina Shapiro and if you haven't picked this one up and you enjoy historical mysteries, you should consider grabbing book one and diving in.

This book picks up shortly after the last book left off and we find out that Sebastian is at Paddington station to meet up with his brother (whom he hasn't seen in years) but unfortunately finds himself in the middle of a murder mystery when a woman's body is found in an abandoned trunk. From the start the case seems hopeless but through Sebastian's determination, he finds some hints and clues that take him where he needs to be. The downside is that this disrupts his plans, at least for the moment, to reconnect with his brother. What Sebastian doesn't expect though is that when he finally makes it back to his room at the boarding house, he finds Simian there waiting for him and he realizes he is relieved to finally have a chance to reconnect and resolve their past issues and mistakes.

On the other end of things, Gemma is still working as a private nurse for Colin and his mother is getting worse but Gemma knows this is where she needs to be for now. That said, Colin is under the weather when the body of the woman is brought in for an autopsy and knowing how desperate Sebastian is for a lead, she decides to take a chance and examine the body herself. When she shares her findings with Sebastian he is thankful for her push to find some information. However, when Colin finds out, he doesn't react in the same way. His anger actually drives a bit of a rift between them despite the fact that Gemma knows he is right. And when Colin brings in one of his student's to re-examine the body, he finds out some more interesting information that helps to solve the case.

As I mentioned, I am really enjoying the series. Shapiro has developed great character stories alongside solid mysteries for them to solve. The only thing that detracted from the story on this one for me is the fact that Gemma and Sebastian didn't spend much time together in this book. Based on the route their relationship is taking, I'm hopeful that we will see a shift here soon with that in future books because really, I love a bit of romance with my stories and they are just on the cusp here of moving things forward. if you're looking for a new historical mystery, consider picking this one up. I'll be grabbing the next book in the series as soon as I can.

Rounded up to 4.25 Stars!
This is an excellent installment in the Tate and Bell historical mystery series.

Sebastian Bell is arriving at the train station in hopes of reconciling with his brother. It is dark and misty, and Sebastian discovers a woman's body in a trunk with stab wounds. His boss does not support investigating this case. Gemma Tate, a nurse, looks at the body at the morgue and discovers that the woman recently had a baby, and she has a wedding ring with initials on it. Gemma and Sebastian are determined to find out what happened to the woman.

Once again, Irina Shapiro presents a dark, creepy historical mystery that has many secrets and is tightly woven to a spectacular conclusion. She continues to write realistic growth into her characters, and this is what makes the stories so satisfying. At their core, Sebastian, Gemma, et. all are empathetic to the victims they find, and want justice for them. They do not let societal boundaries impede them. One "bother" I had: there were a few times when Gemma seemed irritated that she was told she could not do certain things. Yes this is London in the 1850's, and in previous books she worked around this with a little less pouting! But even with this small issue, it is still a great story. These are darker mysteries, with a realistic representation of the times. Yet, there is heart and some lighter moments in the telling.

This is the 4th book in the series. I highly recommend reading them in order so that you can understand the relationships and development of characters. I highly recommend this series, especially is you are looking for authentic 1800's historical mysteries!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Inspector Sebastian Bell arrived at Paddington Station to meet his estranged brother when he overhears a porter say a body has been found. Sebastian can’t help going to look at it and discovers that it’s a young woman with nothing on her to identify her.

Nurse Gemma Tate, Sebastian’s, friend and fellow sleuth, once again becomes involved in helping him track down the woman’s identity and the search for the killer. Set in 1859 London, they have few clues to follow, but they eventually narrow down the list of suspects.

Told from the points of view of both Sebastian and Gemma, the plot has a slow build with some good twists and revelations along the way. Together they make a good investigative team, with Gemma being able to find out gossip and use her woman’s perspective to good use.

This is the fifth episode in this enjoyable historical series and Gemma and Sebastian’s romance is moving slowly, mainly because Gemma has been in mourning for her twin

I really do love this series, it's characters and the different cases put across in every installment. Irina Shapiro does a marvellous job of her research within the era and even putting characters into their roles with the thoughts and opinions they would have at the time, without making them sound completely brutish and unappealing to our modern ears.

This book seemed a little more rushed than the rest with a relatively tame (For Irina) murder and no (or not many) dangers to look out for while it was being solved. In a way this would be a mystery more typical of the time and less action Hollywood than many of the historical crime novels out there. It felt like there was some solid ground covered by Sebastian and Gemma alike, with their sleuthing. However, this also meant that they were hardly in any scenes together, unfortunately. I know that 'realistically' they cannot really become a crime busting married couple, for the times would not allow it, but just a little more romantic progress would be lovely.

Overall though I did enjoy the book, finished it rapidly and will eagerly await the next installment! My thanks to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for allowing me to read the ARC.

I just love this series. This time inspector Sebastian Bell is meeting his brother at Paddington station after they haven't seen each other for almost two decades. At least that is this idea, because before he meets his brother he discovers a dead body in a large trunk and gets kind of distracted.
It turns out that the murder has links to some of the lodgers at Sebastians boarding house.

In the mean time Gemma takes advantage of the fact that Colin is ill to conduct a kind of post-mortem herself, leading to some tension in her relationship with Colin, who had some really old-fashioned viewpoints and turns out not to be so much different from the other doctors Gemma encountered in het past. Sebastian however is pleaded with the information she discovered.

Sebastian and Gemma both have different strategies for interviewing suspects and "persons of interest" but in the end they figure out who is the culprit.

Well written like the previous books. Looking forward to the next episode.

I always enjoy this series, with its compelling plots and strong characters. This one has Sebastian finding a dead woman in a travel trunk at the train station, and of course Gemma soon also jumps in to help figure out who she is and what happened to her. The mystery ends up hitting somewhat close to home. As always in this series, the mystery itself is well plotted and driven by human nature. It’s always a delight to see Sebastian and Gemma slowly grow closer and try to start planning for the future despite the obstacles that always seem to pop up. I look forward to the next one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own and offered voluntarily.

Thank you Storm Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a phenomenal part; the mystery was not easy to solve and the when the final culprit was revealed I was surprised.
I loved the progression of the relationship between Gemma and Sebastian. I am low key wishing they stop making assumptions about how the other thinks and feels and lay it out on the table lol. I also hope they join the Pinkerton agency.
I need Colin to have his happily ever after.
Looking forward to the next installment with bated breaths.

Ghastly murder!

Inspector Sebastian Bell with the Metropolitan Police is at Paddington Station awaiting the arrival of his brother Simian when his attention is grabbed by a distraught junior porter trying explaining to the Station Manager that he’s just discovered a body in a trunk in unclaimed baggage. Sebastian of course becomes involved, leaving his brother to fend for himself. The brother he hasn’t seen or spoken to for many years. Now it seems his work has interfered with the opportunity to make amends.
Gemma Tate increasingly sees herself as an investigator, although she is a nurse who’d worked in Crimea with Florence Nightingale. Currently she’s employed by Dr. Colin Ramsay as live in nurse helping Colin with his mother Anne who is suffering from dementia.
Colin is a surgeon at St Thomas’s Hospital. He has some private students. He also conducts post mortems for the police when asked.
Gemma often finds out information Sebastian can’t. She also gives voice to observations from the woman’s perspective, which has been immensely helpful.
I’m increasingly worried about Gemma. She has yet to learn restraint and fearlessly confronts a suspect. In this case the suspect injures others in his flight.
I feel Gemma needs a bit more street smarts.
Another lively story in this historical Victorian series.

A Storm Pub. ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Murder on Platform Four (A Tate and Bell Mystery Book 5) by Irina Shapiro is an excellent read. Right now you can find several Victorian mysteries with women sleuths that are very good. However, I have enjoyed several different ones, but the best of the best is the Tate and Bell Series with Nurse Gemma Tate. In this case of the dead woman stuffed in a abandoned travel truck, there seems few clues in the beginning. Typically Sebastian and Gemma make a great team but this time they are separated in their investigations. It does not move their relationship, which ended so lovely in the last book. Still an emotional and intense story, but I do wish that Gemma had made some different decisions in her pursue of the truth.

While this book could be enjoyed on it own, reading the series in order would enhance the understanding of these two complex characters, along with the development of their relationship. It would also help show why I was hoping for more to develop between these two wonderful though wounded by life characters.

This is fast becoming one of my favorite historical murder series. I love the growth that all of the characters have shown. This is one of the rare series where both the main characters talk things out and rely on each other's talents and observations.

In this book, Scotland Yard inspector Sebastian Bell is at Paddington station to meet his long estranged brother. So of course, a body is found in stuffed into a trunk while he is there. Sebastian is obligated to investigate rather than to try and talk to reconcile with his brother. There is no identification and very little to go on.

Nurse Gemma Tate is caught up in her own tangle as her employer, Dr. Colin Ramsey, a well respected surgeon and the man whom Sebastian depends on for accurate autopsies, is ill and so is his mother. Gemma and the housekeeper are running around trying to give 24 hour care to them both. Dr. Ramsey's mother has dementia, and at times is juvenile, or a young married woman, and on extremely rare occasions, herself. Gemma takes time when Mrs. Ramsey is sleeping or otherwise occupied to track down a few clues of her own.

I found this novel a bit unique to the series because Gemma and Sebastian don't actually work together of really discuss their theories. He's chasing details in one direction and She is chasing others. In the end, they both surmise the same culprit.

I hope that in the near future that Sebastian and Gemma are able to marry. It is one of the things that they most want to happen. Colin has requested that Gemma continue help him with his mother and has asked both Gemma and Sebastian to hold off on getting married for a while. There is a solution but until Ramsey sees that there is a woman who is very interested in him, he will require Gemma to remain.

This was a great addition to the Tate and Bell mystery series. Thank you Netgalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Another fantastic installment in the Tate and Bell Mystery Series! Murder on Platform Four kept me completely hooked from the first page. I especially loved that Gemma took on a more active investigative role this time—her intuition and determination really shine in this book.

The mystery itself was brilliantly plotted and had me guessing right up until the very end. I was flipping through theories in my head the entire time and still didn’t see the reveal coming!

If you enjoy historical mysteries with smart plots and dynamic sleuthing duos, don’t miss this one!

This fifth book in the series opens with Inspector Sebastian Bell awaiting the arrival of his long-estranged brother Simian in Paddington station. And as an homage to a number of true-crime cases around that time period (Brighton Beach and Charing Cross trunk murders), a trunk is found with blood dripping from the bottom, which necessitates Bell involving himself in the case.

Back at the Ramsey house, Colin and his mother are ill and caretaker Gemma is tired and bored, so when the corpse of a young woman arrives, she is intend on taking a look at the corpse and getting information to Sebastian. So far, so good. We have a murder, Sebastian is reconciling with his brother, we learn the trunk left at the station was delivered from the attached hotel where the victim stayed the night before, and Sebastian and Gemma are on the case.

However, I'm at a lack for words to explain why this particular episode did not capture my interest. Perhaps it's because Sebastian and Gemma very much run their own investigations, the hotel angle is very, very thoroughly explored, and Colin remains a remote, lightly fleshed-out damper continuing to shove Gemma back in the accepted role of a woman at that time.

And meanwhile Simian spends days trying to finally get together with Sebastian. It got to the point while when Sebastian was thoroughly (very, VERY thoroughly) investigating the hotel link, I found myself yelling at him to cut it and meet Simian. The book ends with a "Wait? What?" conclusion (and yet another instance of Gemma being almost TSTL) and some frantic paging back to recall exactly who some of the characters are.

But at the core of this series are two engaging characters who are moving together as partners, and I am more than happy that Gemma is setting aside her mourning weeds and stepping out into the start of a real relationship with Sebastian. 3.5 stars.

In Victorian London, inspector Sebastian seeks the killer of an unidentified woman found in a trunk on a railway platform. As he and nurse Gemma investigate, they face threats to themselves and the the life of someone close to them.

This historical mystery is intriguing and atmospheric. I love how the relationship between Gemma and Sebastian are developing. I look forward to seeing how Gemma’s professional ambitions progress. The audiobook narration was well done.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

1859. Inspector Sebastian Bell has arranged to meet his brother at Paddington Station unfortunately he is directed towards the body of a female, stabbed and place in a trunk, ready to board a train. But who is she and why was she killed. He investigates with the help of Gemma Tate.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its cast of varied and likeable characters. Another good addition to this enjoyable series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fifth book in the "Tate and Bell Mystery" series which I have very much enjoyed reading. I found the mystery to be intriguing and the plot held my interest. The two main characters, Nurse Gemma Tate and Scotland Yard Inspector Sebastian Bell, work together in a complimentary fashion to solve the murder mystery.

I did not figure it out until it was revealed at the end. There were several suspects and plenty of clues. The author does a great job describing the railway terminals/hotels/streets of Victorian London. There is more medical situations in this book, including an autopsy.

I highly recommend this series. The stories are all quite good and each has a little different emphasis.

This is the fifth in the series featuring Gemma Tate, a former nurse who served in the Crimea alongside Florence Nightingale, and police inspector Sebastian Bell. Gemma and Sebastian are drawn closer together as the seek to solve the mystery surrounding the body of woman, brutally murdered and left in a trunk at Paddington station.

Gemma sees her role as a nurse as a vocation even though this is perceived as not respectable. She is intelligent, observant and quick witted and acknowledges that her sex places huge limitations on what she can do. The story skilfully draws on the societal norms of the day and the challenges and barriers that Gemma experiences as she attempts to help Sebastian discover the identity of the victim and her murderer.

The story is told with lots of rich detail of London in this period particularly around the workings of Paddington station and the associated Great Western Royal Hotel. The story has great pace with lots of intrigue, an array of interesting suspects and some unexpected twists. Highly recommended.