The Railwalkers

By: Ruth Hanson

Narrated by: Raquel Beattie

Length: 21 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

America, 1887. In a country healing from the horrors of the Civil War, the American West has never been more treacherous. Evil men do as they please, and the corrupt justice system does little to help their victims.

Enter the Railwalkers. Bandits whose goal is to punish those whom the law has allowed to walk free. Some think they're an urban legend. Some see them as murderers, while to others, they are angels. To Violet Donovan, they are family.

Growing up as the sole heiress to the sizable Donovan estate, Violet's privilege allowed her wild spirit to flourish. Despite the pressures of her sex - find a husband, have children, and be subservient - Violet is passionate, loud, stubborn, and untamed. However, at the marriageable age of 20, Violet may have to give in to her mother's wishes and marry mean, ugly Eustace Carpenter.

But Violet's life changes when she is saved from an attacker by a strange woman. A woman who, like Violet, doesn't fit the mold. Unfortunately Violet gets mixed up in a murder charge and has to leave everything she knows for a life on the run from the law. Through divine intervention, she and the woman cross paths again, and Violet comes to know her and her comrades.

©2021 Ruth Hanson (P)2021 Tantor

More than I expected

I was expecting a western romance but hoping for more. It didn't disappoint. The women do indeed fall in love but that's not the main focus of the story. It had the adventure and gunfights. you would expect from a western. What I didn't expect was how it touched on was all the discrimination and injustice going in the US at that time. Sadly much of it is the same today.
It took me a minute to get used to the narrator but she wasn't bad.

An Epic Journey

A long book but worth the time listening to it. An epic tale and heartfelt journey for all characters involved. Raquel Beattie does a wonderful job at narrating and brings the listener in to every scene and every emotion. The writing was solid and the story was interesting and engaging. A very nice addition to my library.

A truly entertaining story I just couldn't put down

Great characters with no over used tropes. Genuine discourse, intresting locations, realistic bad guys and wonderful found family.


And no queer baiting!!!

An epic adventure

Violet starts out pretty naive and can be really annoying, but she’s always put in her place and she becomes the biggest badass by about halfway through. There is a ton of action and bad guys getting what they deserve. It’s a great love story too.

Be warned: there is a mixup on the recording. The El Paso chapters (about halfway through) are out of order which is really confusing. Nothing is missing, just in the wrong order.