Murder at Union Station is a light noir PI mystery and the second book featuring gumshoe Mason Adler by David S. Pederson. Released 13th Sept 2022 by Bold Strokes Books, it's 226 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a nice PI mystery with a set of returning characters including gay private investigator Mason Adler, his neighbor and friend Lydia, and their wider social circle. It's set in 1946 and it really reads like a novel written contemporaneously. It's quite good with regard to pacing and dialogue. It definitely could have been written in the years after the second world war and decades before Stonewall. Many of the characters are homosexual, and in or out of their respective closets in a time when there were real risks involved in living as a gay person in the USA. Main protagonist Mason is a successful PI and something of a loner in his private life, although he has a circle of friends and a steady platonic relationship with Lydia with whom he enjoys outings to films and the occasional dinner date.

The plotting is somewhat uneven. The storytelling also suffers a bit from the descriptive style being primarily "telling and not showing". The characterizations are, however, quite well done and sympathetically rendered. It's a net positive however, and the book happily doesn't suffer from the "sophomore slump" of second-book syndrome. The plot and mystery work well as a standalone, but both extant stories are quite good and it would make a nice choice for a short weekend binge or buddy read.

The discovery of a body in the baggage area of a large railway station (in the heat of summer in Phoenix, Az) draws local law enforcement, and later, Mason into solving the mystery. The presentation of the clues necessary to the solution are not always according to "fair play" rules... but I found the main character and the atmosphere compelling and well done.

It reminds me in a lot of complimentary ways of other golden age "gotcha" mysteries by E.C.R. Lorac and Cornell Woolrich. Fans of offbeat noir American PI mysteries who don't mind the more sordid aspects (lots of smoking and drinking, anti-homosexuality laws and threatened violence, etc) will probably enjoy this one.

Four stars. Intriguing.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

3.5 rounded up. Worth reading, though not my favourite writing style personally.

I was given this book by Netgalley for an honest review. This will be spoiler free.

First things first, I thought maybe reading the second book in the series first would be unwise, but it actually had no effect on the story at all—to anyone that was wondering. A few things that stood out to me were the following; I really liked the main character Mason. I'm not in his age demographic at all, but it didn't seem to matter that he was old enough to be my father. I wish I'd gotten to know a little bit more about him, what we do learn is really though his conversations with his friends. Lydia was by far my favourite character and I'm glad she was a part of the storyline throughout. Some things I thought could have been better. The mystery wasn't very complex. It doesn't really have to be I suppose, but it was sort of stalled until the very end and then it was suddenly over. I put two and two together as soon as the clues were hinted at so it wasn't much of a surprise. I don't know, maybe that's just me. Another thing is the use of description. It can be well used in a writers tool belt, but Pederson went a bit overboard. I like description when it's important to either character development or plot, but most of the time it was neither. Overly complex descriptions of the layout of the street or the exact order in which Mason got ready for the day were a bit useless and felt like filler. Maybe some people like that sort of writing; not my cup of tea. Overall it was fun and it was quick. I read it in one short go of it. Maybe almost too short, again with the simple mystery issue. I'll probably read the first in the series just for the fun of it. Pederson definitely captured that 1940's mystery style that was so common in movies at the time. Everything is very civil and clean with a bit of action thrown in.

I'll been definitely a nice read and well done this book not really catch me.
We follow a well-established detective throughout his struggles on solving a case privately.
The case itself - the body of a young woman found dead in the luggage of another one - was a quite interesting take as it delved into womanhood as a very Conservative concept while presenting women in sapphic relationships as well as working class woman fighting for their place in society.
Nothing about this book is bad, in fact it is well written, the characters and their relationships are fully developed but I could not connect to them as much as I wanted. For people who read the first cases still definitely a recommendation!

Real Rating: 3.8* of five, rounded up

<B>The Publisher Says</b>: <I>Phoenix, May 6, 1946</i>

At close to midnight in the Union Station baggage room, the air is hot, still, and thick. The eleven forty-five Golden State Limited to Los Angeles is approaching rapidly when the baggage handler, Alfred Brody, notices a stray hound dog sniffing around one of the steamer trunks. The horrific discovery of a body inside the trunk can mean only one thing: there’s a murderer among them.

The young woman was certainly murdered, but who did it, and why? Suspects and motives abound as Private Detective Mason Adler investigates. He soon realizes that nothing, and no one, are what they seem to be as he races to uncover the truth and bring the real murderer to justice without becoming the next victim.

<B>I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review</b>: Oh damn. Walter's back. *shudder*

After the nasty stunt he pulled in the first book, I really don't want to believe it's going to go well for him vis-a-vis this series, if we're going to keep seeing Walter. But the good part is the mystery Author Pederson chose this time is one ripped from the century-old headlines! I was really curious to see what would happen next.

What happens is the requisite amount of banter, a close friendship between a straight woman and a gay guy, bitchy-queen Walter being a complete cow when he wasn't being a tedious crook, oh let's see...hm...oh, Emil the cop being bested by Mason again like Perry Mason beats Hamilton Burger in every contest...um...the murder was done in vain as no one gets away with anything in these books.

I don't think this one took quite as long as the first one, but these aren't propulsive "...and then what happened?!" reads. They're going to take you down the path the detective treads with him, and cause you to get your helper's badge on your efforts and merits. I particularly liked the detail of Mason's car being a 1939 Studebaker Champion, famously a cheap-to-run and stodgy vehicle. The kind of car Uncle Dale drives to Thanksgiving and parks in front of the house despite everyone urging him to take the bus. By the standards of the day, a real plain-jane-mobile though I myownself would love to have one.

The unmaksing event that Mason stages is very interesting, and not something I expected. Let's just say that Lydia is a useful gal-pal indeed. I was very interested in the book from giddy-up to whoa, and will certainly seek out the next Mason Adler mystery to check in on everyone, make sure they're doing okay.

I was excited to read a book that’s (a) historical, (b) lgbtq+, and (c) a murder mystery. The time and place of the novel were intriguing to me as historical murder mysteries are usually set in a different time period. Unfortunately I just didn’t connect with the book. It took me ages to finish it and I actively had to push myself to read so I’d finish it before the deadline Netgalley gave. The only thing that kept me going back was wanting to know who killed her, how they killed her, and why. On that note I wasn’t disappointed and was pleasantly surprised as I had not seen it coming for most part of the book

SPOILER ALERT (kinda): that might also have to do with the fact that we meet multiple suspects before meeting the actual killer.

Now, about some characters. I loved and hated some. Let me sum them up real quick:
- Lydia: absolutely adored this character. She was the perfect opposite of Mason and could break the blandness occasionally.
- Walter: he just seemed like a stereotype walking around. Did not like it at all. I did enjoy his humour at times and how he accidentally helped out with the case with his fashion knowledge.
- The victims brother: I absolutely despised how they depicted this (probably) autistic character. Nope. Just nope.
- Mason: now, about our main character. He was just so so so bland. I know it’s a depiction of how those detectives probably were back in the day, but I just could not for the life of me connect with the man. All his scenes in the book felt like a recitation of facts facts facts.

I’d like to add that I did not read the first Mason Adler book and might not have connected with the characters because they were brand new to me. I’m not planning on reading it, but I hope it would make the experience of reading this novel better for others (if you can maintain your focus better than me in the overly long scenes and recitations of facts).

One thing I want to add: the writing isn’t bad, it just wasn’t my style at all.

Thank you Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an ARC in exchange of an honest opinion.

Murder at Union Station reads like a 1940s hard boiled (ish) crime movie put down on paper. Pederson fully captures the affected speech of those movies and maintains the atmosphere with the narrative. There's just enough queerness for the book to live up to it's billing as an LGBTQ+ story, but just barely. It feels like this came from an alternate universe where homosexuality was still taboo and illegal in the 1940s but the Hayes movie code didn't exist and this book was the basis for some middling 1950s crime thriller.

Although thrilling is not exactly how I would put it. Murder at Union Station is extremely procedural and each chapter is essentially one or several long interviews between the hero, Mason Adler, and some potential suspect, witness, or colleague. And they do get quite long -- I felt like most of the scenes dragged on far too long. They do capture that Sherlock Holmesian crime atmosphere and based on all of the interviews the reader can come to the same conclusions that Adler does on their own.

The central good guy characters have nice relationships with each other. Adler and his friend and neighbor Lydia have an almost Nick and Nora Charles relationship and Adler and his gay friend Walter do share a delightful scene shopping (that, like just about every other chapter, overstays its welcome a little bit). Mason Adler himself is a pretty dull character, but he is definitely written in imitation of the detectives of the 1940s and 1950s who were mostly dour and joyless. There is an interesting potential explanation for that behavior which is the illegality of homosexuality at the time which generally goes unexplored. Adler is in the closet from all but his closest friends, but it would have been interesting to explore that dynamic more, especially in a book tagged as LGBTQ.

I didn't read the first Mason Adler book and its definitely not required to read and enjoy Murder at Union Station. I also don't plan to read the first one. This was a generally quick read (if you can maintain your focus through the overly long scenes) and does offer a fun glimpse at what a quirky old-time mystery with a gay detective could have been. If you're a fan of the genre, especially older works in it, and you've been looking for this kind of representation, this could be a good book for you.

Thanks to Bold Stroke Books for the copy of the book.

Fun follow-up to Pederson's first Mason Adler. I missed Walter in this one - more Walter please, but enjoyed Lydia helping solve the case. Right before the end, there was a little too much tell instead of show. I do like Mason a lot and hope he finds a love interest as the series continues.

Unfortunately this was a Did Not Finish for me. I tried to get into the story line but it just was not what I had been looking for and other novels seemed to take priority.

Utterly unbelievable. I've read a lot of mysteries. Cozies, crime, thrillers, etc. I know what a good mystery is. This isn't it.

For a book supposedly set in the past, a lot of terms felt forced. I'm pretty sure the term queer wasn't used in the 1940s.

I can't believe I have to keep saying this, but show, don't tell. I don't care if the random man is wearing a green blazer, green pants and green socks. No one cares. Same goes for describing the Arizona weather. We know it's a desert. It's not a huge shock that it's hot and that you have to circle around for parking in the shade.

Finding out the murderer was a bit of a letdown. There were various red herrings thrown out, but it was obvious none of those people were the killer.

I don't even want to discuss the portrayal of the autistic brother. Just stay away.

A murder mystery set in 1946. It read almost like a play script as there was more expositional dialogue than plot/action. I skimmed through much of the story as it didn’t really hold my attention.
ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, as it blends two things I like in crime books – and to a certain extent books in general. As previously stated, this book takes place in 1946 which puts us a little after, but still with the vibes of, the golden age of crime. The cast of characters is a reasonable size, not small enough that you can keep tabs on everyone at once, but small enough that when someone is mentioned again you can remember who they are. Furthermore a large proption of these characters are LGBT+. Mr Adler, our detective, is a gay man and two of the suspects are a lesbian couple – though due to the time period they live in they have to hide this fact. We also see briefly Alfred Brody and black man who discovers the body. All of these characters are treated with dignity and respect by the author that would not be forwarded to them if this book was written when it was set, however there is in text racism and homophobia directed at them. The people who show these beliefs are not meant to be liked by the readership, which is why I don’t mind it being there too much. I personally take the view that sometimes having these things in texts add to the world, which can be a very hateful place, as long as it is not presented as something that is supposed to be liked by the reader. However I also know that if you are having a bad day and you read these things which attack your specific identity it can be quite unpleasant, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

The one more impactful thought I had on this topic is that the victim herself is homophobic, and threatens her landladies – the aforementioned lesbian couple – with the police. For me this mean that while I want to know how she died, because the puzzle was interesting, I suddenly felt little sympathy for her and did not feel bad that she was dead. If the homophobia was the motivation for her death, then I would have felt that justice had been fulfilled – though I do not advocate for murdering homophobes- however since another motive was used, I just felt a bit cold towards her in a way that did take a little of my enjoyment from the book.

I did also notice one of the clues earlier than the detective, and while I did not have enough information to completely solve the case, it was annoying have to wait a few more chapters for the detective to investigate something that I had spotted earlier. However there was a different thing that I thought was going to be a clue that ended up not being one, so a guess the author and I are even on that count.
I also loved the subplots which show Adler’s relationships with his landlady and friends. The support they give each other and casual allyship in a world that is actively hostile towards them is wonderful to see, and reminded me that even in the worst of time, there are still people with kindness in them. I couldn’t help but wonder if Adler’s friend Walter was straying too close to a gay stereotype, whilst fully seeing some of my friends in his actions. Personally I think that he is just on the ‘safe’ side of the line, and redeemed by his contrast to other queer characters, showing a range of ordinary people living their lives.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will read other books by this other in the future, but now let’s look at the CRIME scores. For Characters, I gives this a 4 out of 5. The suspects who are just for this case are a little flat, but the ones that are supposed to stick around for a while are lively and interesting. Representation, I give it a 4 as well. The characters are treated well by the author, and while I do understand on one level why the racism and homophobia was there, on the other hand it could have just as easily not been there. Investigator. For this I would say that Adler is a 3, he is a solid detective, and while we are not always allowed to see everything that he does, we often know of inquires he makes even if not the information that it yields. I do wish however that there was a little bit more insight into his current theories instead of just a current line of questioning sometimes what felt like for the sake of due diligence. Motive and method gets a 3. The method was not inspired but had a reasonable chance of success if the body had been found a couple of hours later, and while the motive was solid, I did feel that more compelling ones were present in the book that I would have liked to see more. Finally for execution, I also give this book a 4. It was a good book that I enjoyed reading, and while I probably would not go an re-read this story, I would be tempted to pick up another book by this author if I saw it in a bookshop.

I requested this on a whim and wow I had such a fun time! This had a lot of the cozy vibes that I typically go to Agatha Christie for, with a "confirmed bachelor" protagonist and set in 1946 Phoenix, AZ.

Mason Adler, a 50 year old gay private detective, gets called onto a case about a body found in luggage at the train station. At the back of the book, Pederson said that the story was inspired by a real life murder in 1931, and that murder is referenced several times in the book, which I think is cool. The plot then follows Adler as he questions witnesses and suspects. I thought the mystery itself was pretty straightforward, but I liked all of the characters we got to meet.

Mason's best friends Lydia and Walter are a lot of fun and I liked the rapport we got between Mason and Detective Emil. There are also some incredibly quippy lines here, one about lesbians that actually had me laugh out loud.

I also love when historical stories recognize that diversity is not a new thing, and this definitely falls in that category. Mason and his friend Walter are both gay, and there is a lesbian couple, a Black man, and a neurodiverse man involved in the investigation, and in all cases Pederson makes note of some of the various challenges these characters have to deal with without disrupting the flow of the story.

While I don't think this book will be for everyone, for me it ticked a lot of my cozy mystery boxes with the added bonus of being queer, and I will definitely be checking out more of Pederson's work in the future!

Murder at Union Station

This book was a relatively short read, although at times I felt that the story was too heavy on dialogue and not incredibly action-oriented.

I appreciated that there are LGBTQ+ characters, and that historical issues that were experienced by LGBTQ+ people were addressed, but sometimes I felt the storyline was stereotypical (such as Walter).

The story honestly didn't have much intrigue and mystery, up until the last little bit of the book where they were having the confrontation. The writing was good, it just was not my style.

A Clever Murder Mystery

Mason is hired to investigate what happened to a young woman whose body is found in a truck at Union Station. Along the way, he meets many a character, and quickly has many possibilities to investigate in getting to the truth.

I adore Mason Adler and was very excited to read the second book in the series, Murder at Union Station. David always delivers an exciting story, always cleverly put together so I can never figure out ‘who done it’ until it is all pieced together by the detective. As usual, Mason was his charming self, skilled in getting to know suspects and noticing small details everyone else misses, so he always gets the truth in the end.

It was most enjoyable to catch up with Mason and his friends and acquaintances, providing that little bit of normality. They always add extra layers to the story, and play key parts in helping Mason figure out exactly what happened in the most surprising ways. It was such a heinous crime, that when the suspects started being lined up, I wasn’t sure with any of them, so it was fun to try and notice the clues and try to beat Mason to figuring it out (I didn’t manage that!).

Something about this murder mystery caught my attention though. Although quite awful what has happened, it had a surreal feeling to it as if it wasn’t that shocking and a calm air about it. It really helped to set the scene and meant that during Mason’s investigations, as a picture of what happened and who might be responsible was building, suddenly the crime felt more awful, more cruel, and unkind, while still maintain this surreal feeling that it might not be as callous and dark as it seemed. Very intriguing and certainly one to get me thinking.

There is always an elegance and charm to the stories David writes, which makes them stand out, and is why I love them so much. Very, very excited to know what awaits Mason next!

I enjoyed this! Mason is a solid protagonist and I liked his social circle, especially Lydia in all her middle aged wonder. The prose was workmanlike and I admit I did get a bit tired of the level of detail in every single conversation, but it did mean I followed the mystery clearly and didn't have to think too hard about it, which is probably intentional.

The mystery itself was interesting and I liked the denouement, but I wish Josiah had had more time on page to define himself outside of the honestly stereotypical depiction of his autism.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for an easy-going mystery and I will definitely check out future instalments in the series.

I really enjoyed this 1940s murder mystery set in Arizona USA. When a woman’s body is found inside a trunk at Union Station, private detective Mason Adler is employed to prove the dead woman’s roommate innocent and find the real killer. Mason is a wonderful character and was immediately likeable. I loved that the book largely featured LGBTQ+ characters in a time when it was not only publicly unacceptable but illegal. The book is filled with characters that love and care for their friends for the people they are no matter their sexual orientation. The case seems like a rather simple one, but Mason isn’t sure and keeps digging. All the clues were there for the reader to pick up, but I didn’t manage to put them together so the reveal was rather surprising. The ending was exciting and finished the book of nicely. I enjoyed this one for its old timey feel and the wonderful companionship between Mason and his friends. It was a refreshing read and I finished it in a couple of sittings.
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Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

one thing i appreciate is the research for the historical setting this was in has been done for this book to be written. otherwise, it felt a little bit bland, emotionless and too dialogue packed for my taste.

This book fills a very specific niche for me of queer mystery stories, especially murder mysteries, which is something I've been actively searching for. That's why I picked it up in the first place. The characters compare themselves to Sherlock and Watson multiple times (maybe too much, it didn't feel like describing the relationship like that was actually justified). That being said, I didn't adore the book.

The writing style just didn't click with me, I felt it was completely on the tell don't show side. I got a very detailed description of how each character looked, but I'm not sure if I know any of their mannerisms. I think Pederson made a mistake while writing these characters, because a lot of the lines of dialogue feel weirdly long and unnatural in a way that built up over time. It doesn't sound like a casual conversation between friends (when that's the case), even if it is set in the 40s. It sounds like writing, not speech.

I wrote down two lines I really liked, both said by the same character, and I wished more of the writing was this personable (a lot of the characters felt like they were just speaking in the narrator's voice). The lines are "She was as [...] sweet as sour milk." and "She had a mean green jealous streak that would make jade look pale."

The main character, the private detective, drops progressive comments in a bit of an anachronistic way that feel more like a wink for the modern audience rather than anything else. It's not that Mr. Adler can't correct people to call queer women lesbians, that society has taught men not to express their emotions, or have a full conversation with the only black character about racism, but that a lot of it feels awkwardly put in between other lines of dialogue, and it doesn't get really acknowledged by the other characters at any point (nor does it feel like he has any heart in it whatsoever). Mason Adler is really the most plain man of the whole cast (but he's gay and progressive!) and I prefer my detectives on the odd side. Maybe he wouldn't be this boring if I actually liked the writing style, because I know who the characters are supposed to be (it is pretty much stated) but I didn't *see* that for myself, which makes me not connect to them.

Besides that, the reveal *was* surprising, even if it feels more like guesswork by the detective, who then waits for the accused to tell him what exactly happened. Since we're following the detective, the whole time we got a surprising amount of information, which I'm not sure is a great approach, because the only way you can pull off a twist at the end is by the detective not being sure either and having to guess, which isn't *really fun*.

I really enjoyed this book, it's set in the 1940's so the setting and language is of the time. Mason is a private eye with an eclectic group of friends, who all help him out with his latest case.
A body is found in a trunk at Union Station, and there are many suspects to be eliminated, and new suspects to be discovered. There are lots of clues, twists and turns, The book is written in a cheery and humorous style. Highly recommended.

A historical murder mystery set in 1946 Phoenix - I was intrigued by the setting, as this isn’t a time period I see a lot. Plus murder mystery!

The author did put a lot of effort into the accurate historical detail, especially hats. So many hat. It made for a very distinctive setting for the book, which I appreciated.

Unfortunately I did find this to be a little bland and emotionless. Most of the book is expositional dialogue, with no time spent on characters thinking - not even the MC - or reflecting on things. There’s little to no discussion of how people react, until the very end. This imbalance made it read like a recitation of facts rather than an immersive story to me.

I liked Lydia, she made for an amusing balance to Mason. The mystery had potential, but was hampered by the lack of investment I had in it.

Overall, it was a unique setting and I appreciated the level of historical detail the author went into on this. I would have liked more depth in the book, with Mason actually engaging with the crime and people he investigated, but it was an interesting enough read to keep me going.