Golden Spike

THE IRON HORSE CHRONICLES #3

By Robert Lee Murphy

Five Star, July 2017

The driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit in Utah on May 10, 1869, almost didn’t happen. None of the history books mention this crucial event. Only five people were aware of the incident. Will Braddock knew. He was one of those five.

Paddy O’Hannigan is still seeking revenge and kidnaps Jenny McNabb in an attempt to lure Will to his gun and also to fill his pockets with dollars. The kidnapping doesn’t work out as intended and Will escapes with Jenny and O’Hannigan is broke again.

A desperate O’Hannigan sees an opportunity to get rich by stealing the Golden Spike and does so, stabbing Will’s friend Homer in the process and races away on Will’s horse. Will must pursue O’Hannigan again and regain the spike before the railroad officials discover it missing. If he fails, Jenny, Homer, and Will stand to be accused of being the thieves.

Golden Spike is the concluding book in Robert Lee Murphy’s Iron Horse Chronicles trilogy and thus ties up all the loose ends that have continued from book to book. As the fictional parts of the series take place during real events there are many people who lived at this time included in the stories and Murphy mixes both truth and fiction with believable ease.

As well as dealing with O’Hannigan, Will and his friends, face uncertainty with their futures as the building of the transcontinental railroad is completed. What will they do next? Will must also examine his feelings for Jenny, and she for him.

Like the previous books this is a very fast moving story full of deadly situations that make for some gripping scenes. Most of the characters, both real and imagined, that have survived the first two tales, have roles to play in this monumental part of American history.

Robert Lee Murphy brings everything to a satisfying conclusion and closes the book with some historical notes that make fascinating reading in their own right.

The Iron Horse Chronicles is a trilogy that should be on everyone’s reading list that enjoys stories set against the backdrop of the building of the transcontinental railroad, books that combine fiction and truth, or just those who seek fast-paced action-packed tales set in the American West.

As you’ll see from the publishing date above this book has not been released yet but it is now available for pre-order.