About the Novel

Set in 1986, the Trans-Mongolian Express, is a transcontinental rail journey that begins in Beijing and ends in Moscow 6 days later. The train crosses from China into Mongolia, then into the far east of the Soviet Union. Along the way, the train passes the Great Wall of China, through the Gobi Desert, Lake Baikal in Siberia, the Ural Mountains – the traditional dividing line between Europe and Asia – the Russian steppes, coal fields, and industrial cities on the way to Moscow.

In the close background are the tragic and world-shaking events of Chernobyl, the nuclear reactor incident in Ukraine in the spring of ’86. Each passenger in the book has a relation to the incident and a secret to hide, at all costs.

From the Author

After years of writing of wide-sweeping historical novels, I wanted to try my hand at a more focused setting. You don’t get more focused or intense than a murder on a train. I’ve always held closely to the tenet that if you want to know what characters are made of, have them want something terribly, fear something awfully, or need something desperately. I hope you enjoy Trans-Mongolian Express and see in the book a great adventure in an epic time period.

David L. Robbins
Richmond, VA