A Roaring Twenties closed-room train mystery and another whodunit for Doro Banyon.
After spending the summer with her parents in Colorado, Doro, college librarian and amateur sleuth, plans to enjoy a luxurious respite in posh surroundings on the train trip home. Traveling with her best friend and her grandmother adds to her enthusiasm until an accident occurs, and part of the train must be left behind. Hours later, a passenger who has crossed swords with several others on board is found dead. As the news spreads, apprehension stalks those stranded with the unknown killer. With no way to contact help and no towns nearby, a sense of foreboding permeates the atmosphere. Passengers and crew grow increasingly apprehensive.
Who murdered the victim and why? Suspects abound. In the midst of chaos and fear, Doro remembers past cases and resolves to crack this one, too, but the perpetrator is watching her every move. Can she catch him before he nabs her?
Read an excerpt
Although she hoped help was coming, Doro did not look back. Instead, she kept putting one foot in front of the other for what seemed like endless minutes. At least the ground was flat, but heavy rains had made it soft, so tromping along with her hands bound behind her was a sore trial. Her tightly roped wrists hurt while her feet ached and several toes burned. Blisters must be forming. At home, she walked almost everywhere around Michaw. But there were sidewalks and well-worn paths, which made progress easier. Much easier.
Images of her hometown swam in Doro’s head. Every storefront was familiar—the bakery, the general store, the diner, the apothecary, the newspaper, the candy shop, the bank, the barbershop, the dress boutique, the hardware, and the constable’s office.
Thinking of the office made tears prick the backs of her eyes, and she blinked quickly to keep them at bay. Was Ev in the office right now? No, it wasn’t much after seven o’clock in Ohio, so he wouldn’t have left his campus apartment yet. Unless he was walking Tee. How Doro ached to see both of them again. Would she? Ev’s face swam before her tired eyes. What would he advise her to do in this situation? Avoid taking chances, but it was too late. Staying in the train compartment would have been wise, but how could she have known the killer would attack one of the crewmen? No one else had. No one had known who the killer was. Would Ev have advised her to stay behind a locked door? If so, would he chastise her for being foolish? Would he get a chance? Although she disliked his highhandedness at times, Doro would welcome the sound of his voice and the sight of his face now. She would welcome being rescued. But he was far away, and she was on her own. Somehow, she had to get away from her kidnapper. He had killed once, so he might again.
As the sun rose higher in the sky, fingers of light spread over the plains. Doro scanned her surroundings again. Up ahead was a stand of trees. If she escaped, Doro might elude the murderer trailing behind her long enough for the men from the train to catch up. Surely, they were coming. It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it? Sweat ran down her neck and pooled around her locket, the one her mother had given Doro before she left Ohio for the Colorado sanitorium. The jewelry piece, which Doro always wore, was her good luck charm. Would it keep her safe now? Touching it would offer solace, but she couldn’t. Nor could she wipe away the perspiration. Doro moved her head and shoulders to stop the steady trickles, but to no avail. The front and back of her blouse were soaked. Hurting and miserable, Doro fought against giving into despair. Ev often used intrepid to describe her. She lifted her chin and trod on with purpose.