Scan barcode
nnecatrix's review
5.0
Book #25 for 2012
I think this is probably my favorite of the three I've read so far in this series. I had already read The Black Dove, so I did have a bit of an unfair advantage in knowing a few of the secrets that are revealed in this story. But I'm pretty proud of myself for having sussed out the killer's identity all on my own -- and pretty early on, at that.
Of course, there is much more to this story than a simple whodunit. The characters are all interesting, the historical backdrop is simply fascinating, and the broader story arc promises to be a doozy. And these books are just so much fun!
I think this is probably my favorite of the three I've read so far in this series. I had already read The Black Dove, so I did have a bit of an unfair advantage in knowing a few of the secrets that are revealed in this story. But I'm pretty proud of myself for having sussed out the killer's identity all on my own -- and pretty early on, at that.
Of course, there is much more to this story than a simple whodunit. The characters are all interesting, the historical backdrop is simply fascinating, and the broader story arc promises to be a doozy. And these books are just so much fun!
spygrl1's review
3.0
The second tale of the Amlingmeyer brothers, Old Red and Big Red. This time, the cowboy detectives have taken their first step toward professional deducifyin'--they've landed jobs as railroad detectives, of a sort. Lately, the Southern Pacific Railroad has been plagued by the Give 'Em Hell Boys. But Gustav and Otto aren't supposed to track down the bandits; they're supposed to keep an eye out for an inside man whose in cahoots with the robbers.
Before they have had time to do much more than meet their fellow passengers (and for Big Red to realize that his brother is beset by motion sickness), the brothers see something bouncing down the tracks behind the train, and that something should preferably be firmly affixed to a man's neck. When the train stops so they can investigate, they find the head and the body of the baggage car attendant, Pezzulo. Add to the mix two coffins, a toupee, a small china bowl, a "Chinaman" returning to San Francisco from the World's Fair in Chicago, a drunken Pinkerton, a saucy news boy, a snake in a crate, a crate full of bricks, and a quick-thinking woman who reads herself to sleep with a Southern Pacific Railroad manual.
Before they have had time to do much more than meet their fellow passengers (and for Big Red to realize that his brother is beset by motion sickness), the brothers see something bouncing down the tracks behind the train, and that something should preferably be firmly affixed to a man's neck. When the train stops so they can investigate, they find the head and the body of the baggage car attendant, Pezzulo. Add to the mix two coffins, a toupee, a small china bowl, a "Chinaman" returning to San Francisco from the World's Fair in Chicago, a drunken Pinkerton, a saucy news boy, a snake in a crate, a crate full of bricks, and a quick-thinking woman who reads herself to sleep with a Southern Pacific Railroad manual.
annampiranha's review
4.0
A nice second novel in a series. I suppose some might find the particular style of narrative grating. It made me snicker. Plus, it's very amusing, when asked what I'm reading, to be able to answer "Oh, a Cowboy-Detective Novel!" The perpetrator was not telegraphed too early on.
I am pleased to see that the second novel does not assume that the first has been read. I hate when subsequent novels in a series have spoilers for the earlier ones.
I am pleased to see that the second novel does not assume that the first has been read. I hate when subsequent novels in a series have spoilers for the earlier ones.
More...