View source for Train That Carried The Girl: 2 (Riccarton Junction) by W Scott Beaven

{{infobox
|title=Train That Carried The Girl: 2 (Riccarton Junction)
|author=W Scott Beaven
|reviewer=Ani Johnson
|genre=Women's Fiction
|summary=In this interesting sequel to [[Riccarton Junction: 1 by W Scott Beaven|Riccarton Junction]] we follow Kiri's search for happiness via her relationships with men.  Will the damage wrought on her in her teens allow her to settle down?
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=688
|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
|date=January 2014
|isbn=978-1494874605
|website=
|video=
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1494874601</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1494874601</amazonus>
}}

A few years have passed since we last met Kikarin, the then teenager growing up in the wilds of the Scottish borders surrounded by some pretty wild people.  Her parents have gone back to live in Japan while her brother has fled abroad as a result of the family's near fatal brush with the criminal underworld.  This leaves Kiri to continue her life with her friends Ainslie and Melanie filling the void.  Although disappointed to have missed out on her honours degree in archaeology, Kiri finds alternative employment selling double glazing for commercial premises.  Some things change but Kiri is still scarred by the past.  She wants to settle down but will this past let her?

Scottish author [[:Category:W Scott Beaven|W Scott Beaven]] continues Kiri's story with some interesting developments that, to appreciate fully, reading [[Riccarton Junction: 1 by W Scott Beaven|Riccarton Junction]] first would help a lot.  Also the [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To W Scott Beaven|chat]] we had with Scott when he popped into Bookbag Towers provides even more background.

We once again witness the moments unfolding via Kiri's own narration which has developed the maturity we'd expect from the intervening years.  She's definitely a flawed heroine though, coming over as tactless, arrogant and not very likeable which she feels is due to her beauty.  Although she may well be beautiful, having read this, I'd be looking for the reason elsewhere if I were her.  The cold, egocentricity of her personality has more to do with her pre-uni past than any consciously generated malice.  Her problems aren't over yet either; Scott continues the adult themes including more sexual violence, but each occasion fits the context.

Talking about fitting in, Kiri is living a life where her dreams and plans don't match the burgeoning reality as she ricochets from one relationship to another.  Her attempt to find the love and new beginning eluding her includes revisiting her past which, as the book blurb tells us, doesn't end well.  We find ourselves muttering 'Don't do it!' to the pages but we're drawn hypnotically further into the story when she does, wishing her the happy ending she seeks.

Scott has a feel for language as we're repeatedly ambushed by some great turns of phrase.  (We all know someone who wears ''a smile from the freezer'' for instance.)  However there are a couple of plot holes towards the end that not even excellent phrasing can save.  I don't want to spoil the nail-biting finale by revealing one in too much detail but other leaves us querying the apparent ease with which a fugitive from the law can skip in and out of the country undetected.

Please don't be put off by the size of the novel.  There are a couple of moments that seem over-written but, on the whole, the length is due to generous font size and spacing.  There is one more serious 'don't' though: please don't try hourly aspirin to ward off a cold as someone is advised to do.  I don't know what it will do to the cold, but it's more likely to leave you with a serious stomach bleed. 

The key to this novel is in the assertion at one point that ''monogamy isn't natural''.  We therefore have a group of people acting 'naturally' and forming some interesting relationships and alliances as a result.  Meanwhile the feeling of menace lurks undetected until the final chapters when all hell breaks loose and we're given a climax definitely worth the wait for those who can suspend disbelief a little.  

We'd like to thank the publisher for providing us with a copy for review.

Further Reading:

Do start by reading the [[Riccarton Junction: 1 by W Scott Beaven|first book]] in the series to get the most our of ''Train That Carried The Girl''.  For another story with a Japanese background we can recommend [[Flowers From Fukushima by Clive Lawton]].

{{amazontext|amazon=1494874601}}  

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[[Category:Crime]]