The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

Key West the Southernmost Point in the United States. It was the end of the earth for those who needed to escape to and/or from where you could cross the ocean 90 miles and arrive in Cuba. For those who wanted to disappear, and just live the simple life no matter if it was into a bottle, a boat, or to a chair on the beach where you could sit all day and die there if you really wanted to. Key West was perfect you could arrive by train on the newly laid tracks of Henry Flagler railroads, or his "Flagler Folly" as some called it, however, it had an enemy; that lady of beauty, the lady of warmth and sunshine, the lady of temper –– Mother Nature...

Key West is one of my children's favorite stomping grounds when we lived in Florida. They were amazed at the street vendors, bums, and street acts on Mallory Square. They loved dipping their toes into the warm Florida Straits, building castles and body statues in the white sands, visiting the six-toed cats at author Ernest Hemingway's Florida estate, and eating to their hearts delight at every imaginable food option in town. That is the experience we had. That is not the experience in Chanel Cleeton's new book, The Last Train to Key West. Ms. Cleeton's novel is a side of Key West that most don't want to know. The stories of three women and their different experiences of the island life. Experiences that will change their lives forever. There is love, heartache, horror, and humor.

Publisher's Summary

"one person’s paradise can be another’s prison, and Key West-native Helen Berner yearns to escape.

The Cuban Revolution of 1933 left Mirta Perez’s family in a precarious position. After an arranged wedding in Havana, Mirta arrives in the Keys on her honeymoon. While she can’t deny the growing attraction to the stranger she’s married, her new husband’s illicit business interests may threaten not only her relationship, but her life.

Elizabeth Preston’s trip from New York to Key West is a chance to save her once-wealthy family from their troubles as a result of the Wall Street crash. Her quest takes her to the camps occupied by veterans of the Great War and pairs her with an unlikely ally on a treacherous hunt of his own."

My Review

I have read all of Ms. Cleeton's novels. The Last Train to Key West might be my favorite thus far. It could be because I could picture the environment surrounding Mirta, Helen, and Elizabeth's stories. I don't think though that it was important to enjoy this book by knowing all of that mostly because the book is full of deep imagery and fantastic storytelling. The kind that you can feel in your bones. You gasp, grasp, and gag on the swirling watery apparent paradise.

I loved the Intersectionality of this book. I bet it was so fun to build Mirta, Helen, and Elizabeth's stories and then see where they could happenstance-ingly meet each other. That writing fun is felt in the book in the pure emotions that each encounter provides. Each woman has her personality challenges, each woman finds her strength and realizes that the life she has been living is minuscule compared to what it is when this novel ends. I love reading novels where there is growth through introspective, physical change and walking to your own true decisions.

I will not give away the story, I don't believe in ruining that for other readers. I will say though that this book had me dreaming of Florida, and going back to Key West and still there were times I would rather look out my office window at my Conch Shells sitting in my breezy garden as I am now while I write this review. 😉

for imagery, storyline, and character-building!

Thank you, Edelweiss+, Berkley Press, and Chanel Cleeton for the opportunity to read this book in lieu of my honest review.