Funeral Train: A Dust Bowl Mystery

Dust Bowl Mystery #2

by Laurie Loewenstein

In her gripping follow-up to the widely acclaimed Dust Bowl Mystery Death of a Rainmaker, Laurie Loewenstein brings 1930s Oklahoma evocatively to life.

Already suffering the privations of the 1930s Dust Bowl, an Oklahoma town is further devastated when a passenger train derails--flooding its hospital with the dead and maimed. Among the seriously wounded is Etha, wife of Sheriff Temple Jennings. Overwhelmed by worry for her, the sheriff must regain his footing to investigate the derailment, which rapidly develops into a case of sabotage.

The following night, a local recluse is murdered. Temple has a hunch that this death is connected to the train wreck. But as he dissects the victim's life with help from the recuperating and resourceful Etha, he discovers a tangle of records that make a number of townsfolk suspects in the murder.

Temple's investigations take place against the backdrop of the Great Depression--where bootlegging, petty extortion, courage, and bravado play out in equal measure.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Thriller

320 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2022

About the author

Laurie Loewenstein, a fifth generation Midwesterner, is a descendent of farmers, butchers and salesmen. She grew up in central and western Ohio. She has a BA and MA in history.

Loewenstein was a reporter, feature and obituary writer for several small daily newspapers.

In her fifties, she returned to college for an MA in Creative Writing. Her first novel, Unmentionables (2014), was selected as a Midwest Connections pick and received a starred review from the Library Journal. Her current book, Death of a Rainmaker (October 2018), is the first of a mystery series set in the 1930s Dust Bowl.

Loewenstein is an instructor at Wilkes University’s Maslow Family Graduate Program in Creative Writing where she co-teaches Research for Writers and coordinates the Writing Resource Center.
After living in eastern Pennsylvania for many years, Loewenstein now resides in Columbia, Maryland.

Reviews

[Karl Jorgenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonably competent mystery. In a small town in Oklahoma, a train derails killing and injuring dozens of passengers. The local sheriff struggles to uncover what happened, whether it was sabotage, and who might have done it, assisted by a railroad investigator. A local busybody who turns out to be a blackmailer is soon killed, and the sheriff has his hands full trying to link her victims (practically the whole town) to the train wreck. The writing is passable, the characters are distinct if a bit stilted, and the dust-bowl-Depression setting is fascinating.

[Kevintipple · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is mid December 1935 as Funeral Train: A Dust Bowl Mystery begins and life has been brutal in the panhandle of Oklahoma with the ongoing Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. The good people of Vermillion, Oklahoma, and the surrounding area are facing adversity on a daily basis and hanging on by their fingernails.

Things get way worse for many one night as the incoming passenger train derails a little outside of town. Some are lucky enough to be killed outright in a crash. Others, suffering horrendous burns, will make it to the hospital only to hours and days later succumb to their injuries. Then there are those that are severely injured and survive the initial disaster, but may not dodge infections and other consequences.

Such is the fate of Etha Jennings, wife of Sheriff Temple Jennings. She wakes in the overwhelmed hospital and grateful to be alive. She knows she is one of the lucky ones so far though the injury to her leg is significant and serious.

For Sheriff Temple Jennings, the hours after the crash were the hardest he has ever experienced. In the aftermath of the crash, he knew she was on the train, but had been unable to find her. Trying to find her, help the survivors by organizing a rescue operation, and run an investigation into what went wrong was quite a lot for one man to tackle. It helped that he had a good deputy to help organize things and get him focused, Etha was soon found and on the way to the hospital, and it was soon clear that the crash was sabotage.

Then came the murder.

A less than popular local is soon found murdered just hours after the crash. Living close to the railroad tracks means the person might have seen who caused the crash. Maybe the killer thought he or she would be exposed? Or maybe something else caused the killing? It is going to be up to Sheriff Jennings, his deputy, and a railroad detective in town investigating the crash, to put the pieces together to figure out the who and why of it all.

This is the second book in the series that began with the very good Death of A Rainmaker: A Dust Bowl Mystery. Those events are occasionally briefly referenced here though one could read this book first if one was so inclined.

A complicated read with multiple plotlines and a cast of characters, Funeral Train: A Dust Bowl Mystery is another excellent historical mystery by Laurie Loewenstein. With few words, the author paints a vivid picture that slams readers into a fully realized fictional world. Much is at work here on multiple levels and the wait for book two has been well worth it. Strongly recommended.

My reading copy came from the publisher with no expectation of a review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022

[Deirdre Sinnott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare to be grabbed, shaken, and tossed about. Lowenstein’s gripping book, “Funeral Train,” is set in the small town of Vermillion, Oklahoma, which has suffered drought, dust storms, foreclosures and the farm seizures. And like Jessica Fletcher’s hometown, Cabot Cove, Maine, Vermillion has a high murder rate. There are deliberate murders and the murders of social neglect. All is exposed when the regular train careens off its iron tracks and twists into a steaming, burning wreck. Lives are scalded out of existence as the wood-fired boiler explodes.

Tasked with putting the whys and what-fors together, is Sheriff Temple. The twist is that his resourceful wife, Etha, is a passenger on the totaled train. If you’ve been following Lowenstein’s career, as I have, you will recognize the couple from her first book of the Dustbowl Series “Death of a Rainmaker.” “Funeral Train” is a who-done-it with numerous suspects.

The fascination with the Lowenstein’s engaging series is watching straightforward people (for the most part) navigate their dusty and uncertain futures on a shifting economic foundation. In between the signs of depravation, the townspeople wheel and deal, die, cheat, fall in love, and struggle to build their futures. Lowenstein spares few. There’s plenty of guilt to go around, especially when it comes to the plight of the Black citizens and the segregated train car.

In this book, it's not the dust bowl that does folks in – it’s their fellows.
Funeral Train: A Dust Bowl Mystery

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is nearing Christmas in 1935 when a passenger train derails in the Oklahoma panhandle, near the town of Vermillion. Sheriff Temple Jennings is soon investigating if the crash may have been caused by sabotage, even as his wife Etha is among those who were injured. Most of the black passengers were killed, and the reason was something I had never heard about before. This was the second in this series, and was a four star read for me right until the end, and ended as a 3.5. I felt the ending was abrupt, and did not satisfy several of the story lines. That does often happen in a series, but there is usually a wrap-up of some kind, and this just seemed to end. But all that being said, I enjoy this series, and this was an enjoyable read. I hope the author continues this series.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
I was very happy that a new book in the Dust Bowl Mystery series was out. I immediately ordered it. I liked very much the first book The Death of a Rainmaker. It gave me an interest in the Dust Bowl time period. I went on to read Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time a nonfiction book of the lives of the survivors of the Dust Bowl.

It has been a four year wait for the next book but worth it. The time period is December 1935. The location is Vermillion Oklahoma and surrounding area. Sheriff Temple is eagerly waiting for his wife Etha is returning home by rail after a visit. Then the unthinkable happens. The train details and there are many deaths. How did this happen? Did someone sabotage the tracks to cause this?

Sheriff Temple and Claude Steele, a railroad detective start investigating the wreck. The wreck scene was very well written. One could see it, feel the panic and confusion and people helping rescue the passengers. I always learn something when I read Ms. Loewenstein books. She researches very well. I did not know there were "colored" cars that were made just of wood and not steel. They were located in a dangerous area behind the engine and baggage car. At the accident scene everyone had died in that car except one who went to the hospital in bad shape.

I found even though I read the first book four years ago, I remembered the characters and their lives. Then a second murder occurs. It was a fast read for me as I was enjoying it so much. I am looking forward to reading again about the lives of the people who dwell in Ms. Loewenstein books.

[Debbie Maskus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funeral Train by Laurie Loewenstein opened my eyes to the terrible discrimination directed to the blacks in the 1930’s. A train headed to Vermillion, Oklahoma, jumps the track and falls into a ravine. Someone had tampered with the track to cause this horrible tragedy that kills dozens of people. Every black person on the train, except one, dies in the crash due to the construction of the “colored” cabin which is made of wood and falls directly behind the train engine. This story shows the poorness and despair of the people living in the Dust Bowl. Of course, these people are not as destitute as the mountain people of Kentucky. Crops have failed and people struggle to survive. Sheriff Temple Jennings and railroad detective Claude Steele carefully follow the clues and try to solve this mystery. Why has this happened? Who is responsible? Small town gossip enters into the story. Laurie Loewenstein based this story on the 1929 passenger train that derailed close to Henryetta , Oklahoma, where 11 passengers were killed instantly.

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable and homely Okie tale. A dustbowl mystery? Well, no mention of dustbowl until the ending toast on New Years Eve. Ugh... I was expecting a bit more drama, but ended up with a long winded homey Oklahoma sheriff's mystery tale mixed in with a lightly covered railroad inspector, who is just plain weird. This book could have been edited to at least 100 less pages and still made its point. Too much laboring over towns folk who have nothing to add to the mystery. I knew the murderer at 33% - I wrote it down - and from there it was just getting to the end, just end. The author has talent, but land the plane, er, get the train into the station.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sheriff Temple Jennings is waiting at the train station for the his wife to return from visiting a friend. He missed her terribly and couldn't wait for her return. Suddenly everyone hears the noise of a large crash and realizes that the train has derailed. As he searches the wreckage for his wife Etha, he is confronted with death and destruction all around. When he finds her she is injured by still alive. He has to do his job and his initial investigation develops into a case of sabotage. The following night, a woman who lived near the train wreck is murdered and the Sheriff makes the assumption that her murder is somehow connected to the wreck. The Sheriff and a railroad detective work together to try to solve the crime but in a town with so many people struggling personally and financially, there are a lot of suspects in town.

Funeral Train is the second book in a planned trilogy but can be read as a standalone with no confusion, I am planning to read the first book soon to get more of the back story about Temple and Etha and some of the people in the town.

The author based the train wreck in this story on an actual wreck in Oklahoma in 1929. She did extensive research not only into the wreck but into what life was like in a small town during the Depression when everyone was struggling to survive. The two main characters were very well written and I was invested in their story from the beginning. There were also well written secondary characters that contributed to the story. My only complaint about the book is that there were too many characters to be able to follow all of
their stories but it may be that when I read book 1 Death of a Rainmaker, I will be able to get more insight into several of the characters. I look forward to reading the first book and the final book in the trilogy to get a deeper look at what life was like for the struggling citizens of this small town.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have yet to read a book written by Laurie Loewenstein that I haven't liked. She has a blend of character, story, and setting that suits me right down to the ground. The opening scenes of Funeral Train are chilling as I was introduced to people on a passenger train shortly before it derailed. Then I was sickened and infuriated when Loewenstein shared some information about passenger trains in the 1930s. (Black travelers had to pay full price to travel in shoddy, flimsy passenger cars commonly referred to as "pine hearses" placed right behind the locomotives while white passengers traveled in comfort farther back in metal cars that were much less likely to be damaged.)

The mystery is a good one, but the real strength of Funeral Train lies in its portrait of small-town life during the double whammy of the Depression and the Dust Bowl. I felt as though I were in Vermillion right along with the railroad detective, Claude Steele, and Sheriff Temple Jennings as they searched for clues among the cranks, gossips, and fine, upstanding citizens there in town. Jennings, who survived the Johnstown Flood as a child, is a mentor to his deputy, Ed McCance, who watches Jennings carefully and writes down what the sheriff says in a notebook. Newly married, McCance not only wants to be sheriff one day but he also wants to stay alive in order to earn the promotion. Jennings and McCance are trying to find a killer, but they also must deal with a noisy dog, the town's blind movie theater owner, and Gwendolyn the cow. Life in all its variety in small-town Oklahoma.

It's hard to describe how much at home I felt while reading this book, but the reason why did occur to me as the pages turned. It is the small details Loewenstein weaves into her story. I grew up among family members who were teenagers during the Depression. The way Loewenstein's characters talk is the way my family members talked. Grain elevators were also the biggest buildings in my hometown, my family also gathered to play pinochle on Saturday evenings, and A Child's Garden of Verses was familiar to me whenever I was sick in bed.

Funeral Train is steeped in its time and place, and its finely delineated characters bring a town and a mystery to life. If you enjoy historical mysteries and have yet to read Laurie Loewenstein, you're missing out. Do something about it!

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s only a few days before Christmas, and Etha is returning home on a train after an out of town visit. Her niece and family are coming for Christmas, and Etha has a lot to do to get ready. But her plans are stopped short when the train she is riding jumps the tracks and derails and overturns. Several people, mostly black folk, are killed outright. Their wooden car was right behind the car carrying the boiler, which exploded killing those in the next car. Sheriff Temple Jennings is investigating the accident, which may have been no accident. A railroad detective is also on the case, but to Temple, finding the person responsible is a personal quest: Etha was badly injured in the crash. When a person who lives near the crash site is found murdered, speculation leads the lawmen to believe that she saw something incriminating. More investigations leads to other crimes, including illegal moonshiners, blackmail, and phone threats. All this is happening during one of the worst times in Oklahoma history, the Dust Bowl years. The author has a masterful way of writing about this period of time, with vivid descriptions of the desolation the people experienced. The characters come alive on the page, in a story that seems like it could really have happened. The murder mystery is a gripping and intriguing one that will keep readers flipping pages until the end. The story could work as a stand alone, but readers will want to read the first in the trilogy, “The Death of a Rainmaker,” to fully enjoy the story of Sheriff Jennings and his wife, Etha.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book, thank you. I really enjoyed this book a lot. I hadn't realized it's part of a series, and I will go back and read the others, but fear not, this book stands well on its own. The story takes place shortly before Christmas in Vermillion, Oklahoma during the Depression and the Dust Bowl. Sheriff Temple Jennings' wife Etha, had been visiting her niece and was returning that evening on the train. Suddenly as Sheriff is waiting for the train to arrive, he hears a horrible crash. The train has derailed. His wife is badly injured, and many are killed. The remainder of the story, Sheriff Jennings, his deputy Ed and the RR detective, Claude Steele, set to find the cause, and bring about justice. The case isn't an easy one, because of the magnitude of the crime scene. There are many suspects, and a couple other crimes happen almost simultaneously, and they might be connected.
Reading this book felt very authentic. I really got a good sense of the desperation caused by the Depression. Also, I learned a lot more about the appalling conditions African Americans had to put up with. Most of the dead from the derailment were in the "colored car". It was directly behind the engine, old and made of wood, while the "white cars" were further from the engine and soot and made of steel. This is a good read!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a five-star book, even better than the first book in the series, up until the weak ending.
It's December 1935 in the Oklahoma town of Vermillion, where residents have been dealing with both the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Etha Jennings, wife of the town's sheriff, is coming home on the train when it derails, leaving more than a dozen people dead, most of them in the poorly-made wooden "colored" car. Etha is seriously injured and sent to the hospital while her husband, Temple, looks into the cause of the crash - and all signs point to it having been caused deliberately. At the same time we meet a secretive woman who also seems to be keeping a number of the town's secrets. Living next to the tracks, she saw and found something that might be related to the derailment. When she's found murdered, Temple has to figure out whether her death is related to the train incident or her blackmailing townspeople. That's a pretty good set up for a mystery. I really like the people in this town and the story is well told. The problem becomes that the ending is just sort of meh. And there are numerous story lines that go nowhere. After a big buildup, I was really hoping and expecting a lot more. Still, I really hope Lowenstein will keep writing about this town.

[Eadie Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A passenger train derails in an Oklahoma town during the 1930 DustBowl and the hospital is taken over with the dead and maimed. Etha, the wife of Sheriff Temple Jennings is seriously wounded. The sheriff is now in charge of investigating the derailment which rapidly develops into a case of sabotage. The following night, a local woman is murdered. Temple has a hunch that the death is connected to the train wreck. Will the sheriff be able to find out who derailed the train? Is the murder victim related to the derailment?
Sheriff Temple Jennings is assisted in the investigation of the derailment by Claude Steele, a railroad detective. Etha was coming home from visiting relatives and was caught in the derailment. There was a whole carload of blacks in the first car that were killed because their car was made of wood and the other train cars were made of steel. I really enjoyed this book as it was very interesting. The murderer and train derailment were solved in the end. I would like to read the next book in this series as the historical mystery surrounding the Dust Bowl is brought to life. I would like to thank Akashic Books and LibraryThing for a free book for an honest review.

[Saratogacutie · Rating 4 out of 5]

**I received this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program - thank you to the author and publisher!**

Funeral Train offers a compelling, fast-paced mystery set in a small Oklahoma town during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

Sheriff Temple Jennings investigates a dramatic - and deadly - train derailment in the sleepy town of Vermillion, Oklahoma after it seems to have been caused by foul play. His own wife, Etha, was one of the passengers and is in bad condition after the crash. A jumping perspective provides a glimpse into the minds of the characters that populate Vermillion, as bits and pieces of the puzzle are slowly revealed.

As far as mysteries go, this one certainly drew me in and kept me interested, even if I had my suspicions pretty early on about who the culprit might be. It took a bit for the plot to get going, but once the investigation was underway I enjoyed getting to know such a large cast of characters and suspects. Overall, an enjoyable and engaging historical fiction mystery!

4/5 stars

[Carol Hoenig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laurie Lowenstein keeps the reader guessing about who is responsible for a passenger train that derails, but adds to the mayhem with a murder, leaving the question: Does one have anything to do with the other? Lowenstein creates a sense of place and time with her sharp details, pulling the reader into history. She brings a number of different characters into the story and since this is the first Dust Bowl mystery for me, I’m not sure if they were from previous books or if they will show up in a forthcoming book. Either way, they helped flesh out a time and place in Funeral Train.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the Dust Bowl, a train derails in Oklahoma and it turns out to be sabotage. Sheriff Temple Jennings, along with a railroad detective, work to solve the case. This was a little slow and a tad predictable, but I did enjoy it overall. Loewenstein is marvelous at evoking small town 30s, and fleshing out characters.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Outstanding writing made me feel like I was living in Depression-era Oklahoma, with its impoverished living conditions and social issues. The characters and dialog seemed very authentic, creating an immersive experience. Strong story, only quibble was a rather abrupt conclusion. Hope the series continues.

[Ginny · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only interesting thing about this book was the setting- the Dust Bowl in the Oklahoma panhandle. Otherwise, I found the story so simple and straightforward, I began to think I was reading a YA book. Most disappointing was the books’ lack of soul- the characters were superficial, the mystery was uninteresting, and I didn’t learn a darn thing!

[Peg Lotvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick little mystery set in a small Oklahoma town during the Dust Bowl years. The sheriff's wife is injured during a train derailment so the poor sheriff is distracted from his duties while she recovers. The mystery is who changed the tracks that caused the derailment and death and injuries to many passengers. Many towns folk help the sheriff and in the end he gets his man, er, woman.

[Candace Simar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of this series by Laurie Loewenstein. Funeral Train tells a unique story in vivid prose and fresh language. I'm reading it again--it's that good. If you like historical mysteries, don't miss out on this great book.

[FrancisXFitzpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read the previous novel, Death of a Rainmaker, in this three part mystery series and found it and this newly published novel to be equally suspenseful and well researched. The characters, plot, and setting are rendered in a vivid and authentic manner. I look forward to reading the next one.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

1935 Oklahoma. A train crash and murder. Straightforward plot with a twist or two. The fullness of the characters and the feeling of setting make this book worth reading. As with Lowenstein’s earlier book, there is a desire to keep reading about these people.

[Slowreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-done historical mystery set in 1935 in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl and the Depression. Laurie Lowenstein’s language and era details transported me to the tiny little town of Vermillion. I hope to read more from this author.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m enjoying this series. I liked Death of a Rainmaker a little more, but still a good read.

If this series becomes a movie, I already have a fantasy cast ready.

Looking forward to book 3!

[Bonnie Hoover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reasonable mystery in an unusual setting. A few interesting characters. Overall, predictable

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a slow ride... 😴

[Rosanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once you've found a reliable mystery writer, you read everything that comes out. I hope these characters will appear in many more books.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story and good read. Characters such as Temple and Etha, and many more you will not forget.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of the dust bowl small town with a train coming through. There is a mystery about some deaths that happen, and events are surprising.

[Ben M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meandering and boring. 300+ pages, nothing actually happens until page 250. After the train goes off the tracks, which was horribly written, nothing else is even remotely interesting.