The Rocksburg Railroad Murders (1972), Constantine's first book, is an effective start to the Balzic series and establishes many of the techniques that he continues to employ. The traffic problem, caused by narrow old streets, which begins the novel is symbolic of what occurs throughout the series: Balzic is constrained by old, established difficulties in his environment, but eventually the traffic flows, and the problem is solved. Given the significance of dialogue and the effect of the past upon the present throughout the series, it is interesting to notice that the solution hinges on a turn of phrase, and that the book ends with a memory of grade school. However, in this novel some of Constantine's techniques are not yet polished. Compared to later books, there is less effective description of setting, Balzic's relationship with his family seems more extraneous, and the author's latent tendency to preach...