3.5 stars
Historical fiction with some mystery, a bit of romance, and plenty of drama.
Join a cast of book-lovers as they navigate Depression era Montana. There’s Millie, a writer for the Federal Writers’ Project sent to Missoula to investigate a delivery scandal; Alice, a well-off woman who uses her influence to get books into the hands of people who need them most; and Colette, a young woman forced into a world of unions, spies, and revenge. The three women’s stories coincide and intersect to create a web of mystery, suspense, and surprising connections.
A good read with some interesting aspects. The book follows three separate characters across three separate timelines that eventually converge. This got a little confusing at points and I’ll admit I had a hard time keeping the characters straight.
For the most part, I liked the book, but I am heavily disappointed the actual boxcar library didn’t feature more heavily in the story. This honestly kind of clouded my enjoyment of the book. The boxcar storyline felt so small within the grand scheme of the book.
The “inspired by true events” felt a little misleading as the majority of the book is fiction with a few real-world elements thrown in like the creation of a traveling library in a boxcar (Lumberman’s Library), the Great Depression, American Guide Series, the Federal One Project, and unions and Pinkerton agents. It is clearly historical fiction based in the Great Depression but the “true events” tagline feels like a stretch.
Parts of the book were interesting, other parts were just frustrating. I especially loved the sections about traveling through Glacier National Park.
Overall, an interesting read. Mostly I wanted to read more about the actual boxcar. I need a whole book on the Lumberman’s Library.