The Last Train to Key West

June 15, 2020
Elizabeth Preston, one of three spunky heroines in Cleeton’s loosely braided historical (after When We Left Cuba), finds herself caught in a killer hurricane in the Florida Keys over Labor Day weekend in 1935, having fled New York City to avoid marrying gangster Frank Morgan and instead search for a WWI vet who wrote her a letter. Elizabeth’s train stops in Key West, where she meets the heavily pregnant Helen Berner, a waitress at Ruby’s restaurant. Married for nine years to Tom, an abusive alcoholic fisherman, Helen fantasizes about a new life. Also at Ruby’s is newlywed Mirta Perez Cordero, who is on the way to joining her husband, Anthony, at their honeymoon beach house. After Tom threatens Helen, she flees up the Keys to Islamorada, determined to protect her unborn child. Elizabeth, worried she might be tailed by one of Frank’s lackeys, allows a man she met on the train to accompany her. During a terrifying ordeal at the height of the hurricane, after Mirta discovers what business her husband is in, she is forced to confront the limits of her loyalty. The author neatly ties up the trio of plotlines, revealing the slender—and very convenient—threads connecting the women. Cleeton finds the right balance of historical detail and suspense, making this a riveting curl-up-on-the-couch affair. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

Kyla Garcia, Rachel L. Jacobs, and Karissa Vacker join forces to narrate this story of three women facing major life changes. Set during the real-life 1935 Labor Day hurricane, the audiobook is told from the viewpoints of three women: pregnant Helen (performed by Vacker), a native of Key West who dreams of leaving her abusive husband; newlywed Mirta (Garcia), who arrives from Cuba with her Italian husband, whom she barely knows; and newly poor Elizabeth (Jacobs), who is searching for her estranged brother and protection from a powerful man. While each narrator highlights the unique nature and perspective of her character, the performances as a whole blend well, creating a coherent listening experience. The paths of the women cross in unexpected ways over the course of the fateful weekend. C.B.L. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine