IMPORTANT NOTE: The Train Killer is an independent, original series. It is not affiliated with, licensed by, or connected to any other book, series, game or brand, published before or since. The story, the clue set, the cipher, the manifest and the Carry Box system are previously unpublished original work, Copyright 2026 Marlo Quint. All rights reserved.

The doors are held. Nobody boards. Nobody steps down. One of the passengers killed her.

A woman is found among the mail sacks in the guard van of a night express. Not her compartment. Not her name on the ticket. Inspector Mercer has the train sealed at Bruges, and it stays sealed all the way to Sofia. The Train Killer is not a story you read. It is a case you solve.

At every stop the Inspector hands you one true thing about the killer, and another section of the passenger register. Nobody new gets on. The killer has been aboard since before she died, and is still eating in the same dining car as you.

THE CARRY BOX SYSTEM:

At the end of every chapter you write your surviving suspects into the Carry Box, a printed box at the foot of the page. Those names ride on with you. At the next stop, two things happen at once: a new section of the register has to clear every clue so far, and the names already in your box are tested again against the newest clue. Your list is never restarted and never forgotten. It rides with you, chapter by chapter, from twenty-five thousand names down to twenty.

HOW THE CASE WORKS:

• 20 chapters, 21 clues, unlocked one at a time and permanent for the rest of the journey.

• Every printed clue is about the killer's name or berth. No red herrings, no narrative tricks, only logic.

• Five records to work yourself: the booking office returns, the porter's luggage slips, the telegraph clerk's book, the dining car chits, the night watch notes. Each one hides a clue you earn instead of being handed.

• A cipher to crack. A note was folded inside the dead woman's glove, written in marks nobody can read. One mark is given up at every stop. By the last station you can read what she wrote.

• The correct Carry Box for every chapter is printed in the back, so you can check your work without ever spoiling the killer.

• Two names reach the terminus. The twenty-first and final clue waits at marloquint.com, and it names the killer.

A PUZZLE WRAPPED IN A STORY

Between the clues, follow Inspector Mercer's first-person account as the suspects fall away and the train runs east into the dark. He has no warrant card and no authority. What he has is a conductor who remembers his face, a porter who likes an audience, a telegraph clerk with a grievance, and you.

Perfect for fans of whodunit logic puzzles, deduction and process of elimination games, and anyone who names the killer before the final page. A standout gift for puzzle lovers, mystery readers and armchair detectives. No prior knowledge needed. Bring a pencil.

Can you name the killer before the last station? Scroll up, start the journey, and begin crossing out names.