The Girl On The Tram By S D Marson

Stephen Marson is a not-so-young writer with a passion for travel, photography and, bizarrely, car-building.

He spends his spare time going for long walks with his partner, Tracey, and their black Labrador, Riley.

This is his first venture into story-telling and says he still smiles when he reads and edits the book for the hundredth time.

The Girl On The Tram is his debut novel, a crime caper inspired by a real incident in his home city of Exeter and he’s already thinking up the next adventure for his hero, Carrie Grey.

The Girl On The Tram

It’s 1910. Carrie witnesses a tram crash where a young woman, Rose, dies. She gives Carrie a curious calling card, insisting the crash was no accident.

Enthralled by Sherlock Holmes, Carrie investigates the crash, looking for answers. Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Jeffries is also investigating the crash with his poker playing partner, Constable Smith.

A photographer, conveniently at the scene taking photographs. Carrie discovers his body the next day, murdered in his darkroom. Did he know too much, or did he have his own secrets?

Inspired by a true story about the fatal tram crash in Exeter in 1917 in which a woman died.

The inspiration behind The Girl On The Tram

There’s an old, rusty metal box in my garage. It has a hinged top and a faded name hand-painted on the front. It’s my surname and this box belonged to a long-dead relative. Inside are dozens of postcards, letters, receipts and a Last Will and Testament, hand-written on stiff parchment paper.

One of the postcards was sent by a distant cousin called Carrie. The writing has faded over time, but on this card, she mentions her very first ride on an Omnibus.

The year was 1900 and my story is inspired by her letters found in the old metal box.

The box is stored in my garage, with all the postcards bundled together for the next person to discuss.