The Last Train to Key West

Helen, Mirta, and Elizabeth could not be more different, yet all three women find themselves in Key West over Labor Day weekend in 1933 just as the Great Depression is ravaging in the United States and a hurricane is headed for the small island. Chanel Cleeton’s The Last Train to Key West weaves these women’s stories together in a narrative that is as intriguing as it is descriptively luscious.

Helen’s pregnancy and abusive husband are a threat at home just as the hurricane begins to approach the island. Mirta, on her honeymoon to a man she barely knows, must determine if her new husband—and his infamy as a criminal with potential mafia ties—can be trusted. Elizabeth, a former debutante on the run from a dangerous man, is desperate to find the one man she believes can save her. All three women meet at Ruby’s, the diner where Helen works, and their lives twine together like the wild mangroves that cover the island. Their future happiness is as bound up in the coming storm as it is in the sacrifices they are willing to make.

Cleeton’s book is the perfect escape into another world where the stakes are high, the women are strong, and the chance for redemption is right around the corner.