Synopsis

 

What’s a woman to do? Bertie Patchet has just graduated from college in New Haven, Connecticut, to become a grammar school teacher. But the year is 1936, and the country is deep in the throes of The Great Depression. Securing employment is nearly impossible for everyone, let alone a single inexperienced female. Going home is an ugly option to be avoided. Bertie absolutely must get away, but travel without an income? Forget it!

Bertie dresses like a man and turns to hopping railway boxcars to make her escape to better opportunities. A female hobo? Unheard of! It’s a man’s world, so how can she maneuver in this male atmosphere fraught with risk, danger, and loss? Will she ever find a teaching job? And will she dare to find romance in the bargain?

A charming new novel with an unforgettable protagonist, a setting to die for, and a mesmerizing plotline, On the Rails is on track to become another beloved tale by dynamic husband-and-wife duo Rosemary and Larry Mild.

 

 

 

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Review

 

This novel gives the reader a peek into what life might have been like riding the rails in boxcars.

Bertie has finished college and can be a teacher, but it is the summer, so she doesn’t have many options at the moment. The home life with her parents isn’t conducive to staying there long-term as her stepfather is a pervert. She had heard about someone else’s son riding the rails and decided to give it a shot. Luckily, she meets some kind souls along the way who help her out. There are also nefarious characters that aim to do her harm. Most of the time, she is disguised as a boy, but when it is to her benefit, she removes her cap, and it is obvious she is not a male.

I enjoyed this story and felt like it was well researched in regard to the Depression, the different government work programs, and what it was like to live in the mid-30s. Life was very different then compared to today. Imagine not having a number to leave for a callback because you don’t know where you will be. Or having to travel by train or bus to get to your destination versus your own car.

The story does not gloss over the dangers of her adventures. She did encounter some men who wanted only one thing. Others tried to rob her of what little she had in her possession.

It does have a happy ending and ties the story up nicely for Bertie.

We give this book 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Authors

 

Rosemary and Larry Mild coauthored the Dan & Rivka Sherman Mysteries; the Paco and the Molly Mysteries; Hawaii adventure/thrillers Cry Ohana and Honolulu Heat; and four volumes of short stories, including their new one, Charlie and the Magic Jug and Other Stories. Many of their stories appear in anthologies. The Milds, a happy husband-and-wife team, make their home in Honolulu, where they cherish time with their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren.

 

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Giveaway

 

This giveaway is for 1 print copy and is open to the U.S. only

This giveaway ends on September 22, 2023 midnight, pacific time.

Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

 

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