Death Rides the Zephyr

September 1, 2013

Christmas 1952: the holiday crush is at the train station. Zephyrette (think flight attendant) Jill McLeod welcomes her passengers aboard as they leave the San Francisco Bay area and wend eastward to Denver and then Chicago. As Jill learns more about the train's guests, the University of California, Berkeley, grad notices that several of them have connections to Los Alamos, NM, including a noted physicist from Berkeley. All is going well until a string of petty thefts mount up, and then, shockingly, the professor is found murdered in his compartment. Unfortunately, a rockslide has trapped the train, forcing Jill and her crew to stay levelheaded as they solve the case and catch the killer. VERDICT With a nod to Agatha Christie, Dawson (Bit Player) has created a stand-alone historical that's perfect for Western collections with its detailed descriptions of the mid-century train routes through the Sierras and Rockies. Her stately pacing and elaborate attention to clues make this a must-purchase for any library with historic-train aficionados.

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