Changing Trains: A Western Story

by Cynthia Haseloff

Book by Haseloff, Cynthia

222 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Some of her books display the author as: C.H. Haseloff

Reviews

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent 4 1/2 stars book, about a lady gambler who gives it up after winning big. She wins a man's ranch and decides to give it back to the man's widow. She leaves the details in the hands of the local sheriff and catches a train to St. Louis. What happens on that train is the gist of the story and it is a good one. Highly recommended.

[Tracy Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found another Western with a female main character. Mari Mashay is a lady gambler who is taking a train from Texas to St. Louis Missouri. She has decided to give up gambling but her past has caught up with her. The train is The Prairie Queen and she is riding in the luxury car. A former beau and several interesting characters also are on board. I enjoyed this story since Mari is also the daughter of a doctor and uses her medical skills to help others. She wants to be independent in a time when women were expected to be married or worked in a saloon.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Thoroughly enjoyable western. Its been a long time since I read a book during this time period. Mari Marshay is a gambler who decides to give up her lucrative trade after witnessing the senseless shooting of two men involved in one of her games. She decides to leave the west by train after making arrangements to take care to the widow and any children of one of the men involved in the game who lost his ranch to her. It turns out that the fallen rancher leaves behind a 4 year old orphaned daughter. The local sheriff sets out to find Mari assuming that she will take the child. Mari is a strong, independent woman that you will admire immediately. The majority of the book is about the train ride to St. Louis, the inhabitants on the train and the events that occur when the train is taken hostage by a band of Indians under the leadership of a Indian lawyer who is also a passenger on the train. He does not commit this act for money. Rather he holds the train in an effort to free his younger and definitely, criminal brother. As fate would have it Mari encounters her first love on the same train and you learn of the unfortunate set of misunderstandings that ended their relationship. But don't think this book will end in the usual way of love lost and then found and reunited. The story ends in a soft cliff hanger. Changing trains is an interesting story but what I most liked about the book was the rich dialogue and descriptive narrative that makes you feel like you are in the story. The writing is thoughtful and thought provoking. The history of the characters is told in flashbacks that were initially confusing as they are not demarcated in any way in the text. After you figure this out the reading goes more smoothly. It’s one of those books where you wonder what will happen next for the characters when the book ends.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old-fashioned western, but better. Well written. Look forward to reading more of her works.