Malicious Mischief

Katy Railway Mysteries #1

by Lora Young

Delia Eastman returns home from teachers’ college with two goals: find a teaching position and sidestep her mother’s insistence on finding her a husband. But employers don’t care for women who are smarter than they. Neither do suitors. As she struggles to find her place, she discovers her sleepy riverboat town has turned into a powder-keg of rivalry between the steamships and the railroads. Increasingly violent vandalism on the railroad brings her face-to-face with Endy Webster, a handsome trainmaster whose investigation into the crimes leads him to the door of a prominent steamship owner—Delia’s father. As Delia tries to clear her father’s name, she keeps tangling with Endy. He’s intelligent. He’s charming. And he’s guarding secrets. Thinking he might know more than he’s telling, Delia reluctantly agrees to partner with him to solve the crimes. With the vandalism becoming deadly, they’ll need every scrap of intelligence and logic to stay alive. Working together may not be their first choice, but it might be their last.

Genres: Historical Fiction

326 pages, Paperback

First published October 8, 2014

About the author

Lora Young has never lived outside the state of Missouri. She grew up reading the Little House books and Trixie Belden mysteries, so it makes sense that novels would entail history, mystery, and adventure.

Lora lives in rural Platte County with her husband, three cats, and the constant interruption of her children and grandchildren. She enjoys riding her tadpole recumbent, ballroom dancing, the Oxford comma, and making stuff up.

Reviews

[Stephanie Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know better than to judge a book by its cover. The cover of this book led me to believe I would be reading a quintessential romance simply set against the backdrop of historical fiction. I admit—I was pleasantly surprised and enthralled with the book. Young delves into the history of the railroad development in the Midwest and how it competed with and affected the steamships during that time period in Boonville, Missouri. It was also obvious that the author did plenty of research on how trains operate. At times, the scenes that explained train mechanics felt like reading a textbook; however, she used simple enough terms that even someone with a zero idea of the train operations (like myself) could grasp the concepts.

Young did not limit herself to a simple story about the competition between the railroads and the steamships. The slow-build romance between the two main characters—intelligent and strong-willed Delia Eastman, the daughter of a steamship owner and Endy Webster, the secretive and handsome trainmaster—really kept me enthralled in the book. There was a forbidden romance element to it with the two characters being from opposite sides of the steamship vs. train war.
In particular, I found Delia to be a unique heroine for this time period. From the beginning, it is clear how intelligent she is and how frowned upon that is by many of those around her. Her mother in particular constantly berates Delia for not acting docile, as a woman should, to attract a husband. Delia struggles between being herself and pleasing her mother and the rest of the society. That inner struggle makes her a very relatable character.

While Malicious Mischief centers around the romance between Delia and Endy, it is the mystery of a series of vandalism attacks on the railroad that brings these two characters together. For Endy, he has multiple reasons to figure out who is committing these acts of malicious mischief, one of which being that his job depends on it. For Delia, she seeks to clear her father’s name, who at the beginning seems to be the most likely suspect. The two work together to unravel the mystery that takes many twist and turns. Young does a good job of building suspense by the pacing the appearance of clues. As a reader, I became invested in figuring out who exactly was behind the vandalism.

The writing may be a bit underdeveloped and cliché at times, but the plot and the two main characters made this an overall enjoyable and quick read.

[Barbara Hartzler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mix of suspense and mystery, with a bud of romance that grows organically throughout the story. Delia is not like most heroines, she's awkward with men and doesn't wait for them to come to her rescue. She's perfectly happy to rescue herself, which you've got to love about her. This is story about two worlds colliding, Delia's dad owns steamer ships and Endy runs the local railroad depot. I confess I loved the railroad setting because trains have always fascinated me. You also get a feel for the steamer ships that the railway eventually phased out. But the collision of these two worlds is messy, leading from pranks to full on mystery, unfolding with greater and greater suspense.

Somehow the author captures the intrigue of a railroad mystery, couching it in the confines of the everyday lifestyle of the time period. I found the book fascinating, unexpected, and chock-full of twists and realistic characters. This book is not your typical romantic suspense/mystery. It's a beautiful hybrid, growing in depth, complexity, and sprinkled with a bit of grit when necessary.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It is a wonderful combination of historical fiction, mystery and romance. The author did a wonderful job of capturing the feel of the times and the conflict of Delia as she has to chose between being the dutiful daughter as it was expected or following the path she felt God had put before her. I hated for the story to end and will be looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Heather Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I recently switched to reading mysteries, and this is the first I've found that held my attention all the way through. It grabbed me from the first word and I was riveted. I stayed up way too late, but loved every word! I'll definitely be looking for more books by this author.

[JoAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great historical romance/suspense. Realistic characters and a great plot. Loved the conflict between the steamboats and trains. This is a delightful read and kept me glued to it to the last page. I highly recommend. I was given this book for my honest review

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great story. Competition between steamboar and railroad for transportation of people and goods was a fascinating time in our history. The characters were well developed and I was hooked from the beginning. Historical plus love story. Highly recommend this book.

[Laura Van Nice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was steeped in fascinating train history and intrigue. For a mystery, it was also surprisingly fun. I also really enjoyed the characters. The were well rounded and felt like people I'd like to know. An all around delightful read. I will definitely reading more by this author.

[Amy]

This story just failed to capture and hold my interest. I haven't picked up, looked at, or even thought about this books in weeks, and I have far too many books to read to spend any more time on this one. Shelving indefinitely.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely story heroine

Terrific character development. I really knew the main characters by the end. The plot had lots of twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put it down and can't wait for the next one. Well written and Clean..great book!g