Railroad Schemes

Railroad Schemes by Cecelia Holland was an enjoyable read, a western adventure novel about a young girl whose father drags her into a life of thievery. When her first excursion outside of the law goes awry, Lily is forced to flee to the small town of Los Angeles with two of the robbers, King Callahan and Pigeye. Finding refuge with a Mexican family, Callahan takes her under his wing, treats her kindly, looks after and provides for her. Their stormy relationship eventually develops into a elder brother/younger sister one. King tries to go straight for the sake of Lily and his Mexican girlfriend, but the idea of one more railroad job lures him back.

Lily is an interesting character, her favorite escape is to disappear into the pages of one show more of her books. She daydreams about living like one of Jane Austin’s heroines, she even names her horse Jane. Far from perfect however, Lily is also impulsive and quick tempered. She rarely listen to anyone’s council and would often go rushing into trouble through her own sheer pigheadedness.

At the end of the book, it becomes very clear that this is only half of the story. The author has started her story with Railroad Schemes and provided the reader with great characters like Lily and King Callahan. But in order to continue with Lily’s story one needs to pick up the sequel, Lily Nevada. I have decided to do just that, as I really want to know what happens next. show less

Railroad schemes opens as fifteen year old Lily Viner's abusive father Jewell is in cahoots with King Callahan and his gang to rob the railroad money coming into Virginia City via stagecoach, and they use Lily as a red herring to bait the trap. Things go terribly wrong, Lily's father is killed and King Callahan, the robber with a heart of gold, takes Lily along with him as they escape from the one handed Railroad detective Brand, who is bent upon capturing King and hanging him as a criminal.

Lily and King's travels take them from Virginia City to Los Angeles, with glimpses at the Railroad barons, crooked politics, life in the Hispanic community and more as the author paints an entertaining look at the old west and California before the show more Southern Pacific Railroad came and changed life forever. King was the perfect foil for Lily as the crook with the heart of gold and Brand a perfectly rotten villain of the piece.

I found Lily to be highly engaging and I especially loved how the author brought in Lily's love of books as a way of bringing her character to life - those references to Villette, Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations and more added the perfect extra touch. While not quite up to a five star read, this was a very quick, albeit enjoyable tale, and I am very much looking forward to reading part II of her story in Lily Nevada. Four stars. show less