The Last Train to Key West

May 15, 2020
Cleeton's latest (after When We Left Cuba, 2019) follows three women caught in the chaos of the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 in the Florida Keys. Newlywed Mirta is traveling from her native Cuba to New York with her new husband, a wealthy man she barely knows, whose criminal ties make her wary of the growing attraction between them. Helen, a native Key Wester, is pregnant and trapped in an abusive marriage, dreaming of escape. Elizabeth is the daughter of a once-wealthy family that lost everything in the 1929 crash, searching for her brother in the veteran camps in the Keys with the help of a government agent. The three women's lives become intertwined in ways that astute readers will likely see coming, but which nonetheless satisfy. Cleeton's depiction of the catastrophic hurricane is both gripping and terrifying, and she skillfully balances each woman's internal growth with the various romantic subplots. Fans of Cleeton's previous books, as well as readers who enjoy Beatriz Williams' historical fiction, will devour this exciting, romantic tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2020

An exhausted waitress awaits the birth of her child while dreaming of escaping her abusive husband. A young newlywed from Havana yearns to know more about the stranger she has just married. A gangster's reluctant fianc�e searches desperately for the long-lost brother she believes can change her future. These three women's paths converge in 1935 Key West in the latest historical novel from Cleeton (When We Left Cuba), and all three will have their lives unexpectedly thrown off course by the monster hurricane bearing down on the area. More direct interaction among Cleeton's protagonists would have made the book feel more cohesive, but each of the three story lines is well done on its own, and the historical events are riveting. Cleeton's strength is in exploring the lives of women longing to push back against restrictive social expectations, but portions of the story dealing with the U.S. government's treatment of World War I veterans are also extremely moving. VERDICT Cleeton should add to her growing fan base with this title, which is well suited for book clubs and for historical fiction fans of authors such as Ren�e Rosen and Susan Meissner.--Mara Bandy Fass, Champaign P.L., IL

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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.