This book sheds light on a little known chapter of American history, the 1935 Labor Day hurricane that killed hundreds, including many WWI veterans. The storm hit the keys, devastating camps where American veterans were staying and swept a train from the tracks. Cleeton sets the struggle of two women against the backdrop of the storm.

One wealthy and one poor woman, about to give birth try to survive the storm and set the stage to create a different life for themselves in the days to come.

Recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction.

I was elated when I saw the chance to request an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. I loved Chanel Cleeton's books Next Year in Havana and When We Left Cuba and hoped this one would be no different. The Last Train to Key West did not disappoint. It's the story of three women from different ways of life who find themselves in Key West at the time a terrible hurricane hits the Keys in 1935. It's the time of the Great Depression and times are hard for everyone. Elizabeth from New York takes Henry Flagler's Overseas Railway to Key West to find her brother based an a postmark on a letter she has received. Mirta, from Cuba, has married a wealthy man she hardly knows. Helen has an abusive husband, but has no place to go. Each night, I would read longer than I intended to because I had to find out what would happen to these strong women next. This is the perfect summer book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is historical fiction, based on an actual event. The setting is the Florida Keys in 1935, following the Great Depression. It’s Labor Day weekend and a Category 5 hurricane will hit Florida, leaving death and destruction in its wake. The most shameful part of history told is that of the Bonus Army. Veterans of The Great War protested and camped in Washington, DC to demand lump sum payments for their service as many still were not able to find work. They were driven out of Washington, some to Key West to work on a federal relief project.

The book is told from the viewpoints of three very different women, Helen, Mirta and Elizabeth. All three are running from something, or are they searching for something? It’s happenstance that they all meet, but their lives are deeply entwined.

Key West native Helen is pregnant, and has finally found the will to leave her abusive husband. Her baby is due any day, and she makes the decision that life can’t go on this way anymore. With the help of a stranger, Helen is off to her aunt’s home for refuge.

Cuban Mirta has left behind her once-wealthy family, choosing an arranged marriage to a nefarious man from New York. After backing the wrong political party in the Cuban Revolution, Mirta’s marriage will provide her family stability.

New Yorker Elizabeth comes from a wealthy family that lost it all in the market crash. I won’t tell you who she is searching for or why, but she feels an answer lies in one of the veteran labor camps.

A train was sent to evacuate the camps, but not in time. During evacuation, a storm surge swept the train off the tracks. I was able to find this image:

Estimates are that half of the 400 veterans died in the hurricane. Ernest Hemingway, then living in Key West, wrote an essay, “Who Murdered the Vets?” It’s a great article, and as timely today as ever.

I’ve read other reviews of the book, extolling the ending to the love stories of Helen, Mirta and Elizabeth. And I can’t seem to care. It is unsettling to me to find any happiness for these women as all I can think of is the veterans stuck away in a stinky, smelly s***hole.

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This was a good, atmospheric read - you'll want this one in your beach bag this summer (but check the weather for storms before you head to the beach!) Multiple engaging point of views made this a compulsive page-turner. I really enjoyed this and think many readers this summer will, too.

The Last Train to Key West is a historical novel set in the Florida Keys in 1935, when the United States was exiting the Great Depression. The story revolves around three main characters, Mirta, a new bride from Cuba, Helen, a waitress in Key West, and Elizabeth, a socialite from New York. While they all have very different backgrounds, we experience their shared challenges, tragedies, and triumphs, all during a real-life storm of the century.

I really enjoyed this book. I visited the Florida Keys many times as a child, and I felt as if I were there. The historical elements are fascinating, and the pace exciting (during the storm). I cared about the characters and although not a big fan of romance, I liked the romance element here. I highly recommend this novel. It's a perfect beach read.

I am a library paraprofessional and received an advance copy from NetGalley.

Last Train to Key West is the story of three different women whose lives intertwine during one of the worst hurricanes in U.S. history. It is 1935 and people are still suffering from the the Great Depression. Helen is a Key West native who is 9 months pregnant and at a crossroads - her husband is no longer the man she once loved, she knows that she needs to do something to keep her baby safe. Elizabeth is in trouble. She needs to find the one man who might be able to help her out of the mess she's currently in. Mirta is in a new country, newly married to a man she doesn't know - aside from the rumors that he is a powerful man who makes his money through any means necessary. These women's lives will intercept by chance at a small cafe in Key West.

The Last Train to Key West was one of my most anticipated books of 2020, and it didn't let me down. This book was absolutely fabulous. The writing was everything I've come to expect from Chanel Cleeton and the story... Talk about the perfect mixture of heartbreaking and heartwarming. The journey these three women went on emotionally and physically showed just how strong and courageous they were. That was without the horrible hurricane that went on around them. That just added another fascinating aspect to the story. I had no previous knowledge of the hurricane that hit the area in 1935 or of the railroad that used to go to Key West. I felt like I learned so much by reading this book, and I loved that.

The Last Train to Key West is one of my favorite books I've read so far this year. If you enjoyed Next Year in Havana or When We Left Cuba, you're guaranteed to love this book. If you haven't read either of those two, you should and you should read this one as well. So. Dang. Good.

This series is one of my favorite to date. Captivating, swoony, and a beautiful experience. From the beautiful imagery to the melodic way the book is written I was enchanted from the first page. Very well done.

Having already read Next Year in Havana, but Chanel Cleeton with Reese Witherspoon Book of the Month Club, I jumped at the chance to get an ADR from NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group.

This story is told from three differing prospectives, which includes Helen, who is pregnant and lives with her drunken husband, Tom. The second point of view is that of Mirta, who is Cuban born, but is a newlywed to Anthony, a known New York gangster. And the third point of view is Elizabeth, a former rich girl from New York, who came all the way to Florida in search of her long-lost half-brother.

The main part of the story takes place on Labor Day weekend with a major storm brewing. Moreover, the main players have their own dramas playing out all during this time, as well as that they all end up crossing each other’s paths during this stormy holiday weekend. Definitely, appreciated how the author interwove the characters and their tales. Plus, the storm or hurricane that ended up becoming central to the plot proved to be a central key to all.

Overall, this novel was just as good as Next Year in Havana if not even better than it.

Chanel Cleeton's newest book, The Last Train to Key West, follows three young women with very different pasts as their lives intertwine around the Overseas Railroad in 1935. Like her earlier books, there's a little history, a little romance, a little mystery and suspense and an overall enjoyable experience. I had never heard about the Labor Day Hurricane before, but this story made me want to learn more.

A holiday weekend three women--and the reader--will never forget. Giving us a glimpse of a moment in history few of us know, Chanel Cleeton once again pens a novel with her signature mastery of character and time.

Chanel Cleeton's books have been the highlight of my summers the last 2 years! I couldn't wait for the third to the Havana series and what perfect timing. I may not be in Havana (or anywhere tropical) but her writing transports you there in seconds. Her descriptions are effortless and always pull me right into the moment. I loved trying to figure out the connections between the 3 women this story followed.

I became a fan of Ms. Cleeton with the novel, When We Left Cuba and loved the continuation of the story in Next Year in Havana so I was very eager to read The Last Train to Key West. Although this is not a continuation of the saga from the first two books, this story will leave you breathless! This novel covers a week in 1935 between August 31 to September 6, when a devastating hurricane hit the Florida Keys. It follows three women who are in the Keys and how their lives become intertwined.

Ms. Cleeton uses one of my favorite writing styles. She devotes a chapter to each of the main characters and tells the story from their prospective. She slowly weaves each woman’s story together, leaving you turning pages to find out what will happen next with each. This style keeps you on the edge of your seat furiously turning pages!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It touched on a piece of American history that I had no knowledge of before. The devastation and lives lost were horrendous and their passing needs to be acknowledged. I highly recommend this book, Ms Cleeton is an outstanding author.

I finished this one about 10 days ago, and still thinking about it.

Cleeton tells the stories of 3 women from very different walks of life -- from New York, Florida and Cuba -- who are all running from something and connect by chance in a cafe in the Florida Keys where one of the women works. For various reasons, all 3 women are all headed into the eye of one of the worst Atlantic hurricanes of all time, the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane that devastated the Florida Keys, the Florida East Coast Railway, and reportedly killed nearly 500 people.

The book is fast moving and grabbed me right from the start. The author had me reading late into the night, googling for more information about the Great Labor Day Hurricane, and thrilled with how she expertly tied it all up in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. It was my first book by this author, but I'll be checking her backlist for more.

I love that Chanel Cleeton always tackles a historical event/era that hasn't been widely covered in the genre so I learn something new from her novels, but it never feels like a history lesson. This book has all the historical detail, romantic intrigue and drama I have come to expect from her. Through the characters we feel the desperation of living through the Great Depression and dealing with a horrific natural disaster. We also learn how veterans of WWI were treated and the struggles they faced. I enjoyed seeing the events from the perspectives of three women who come from different situations and rise to the challenges of this era. It's a great novel for books clubs and is sure to generate a lot of discussion. Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book!

I jumped at the chance to read Chanel Cleeton’s latest book. Key West is one of my favorite places to visit so I felt I couldn’t pass this one up. Cleeton has a unique way of intertwining the lives of her main characters. The chapters moved from character to character but kept you hanging just enough to want to keep reading.

This story follows the lives of Helen, Mirta, and Elizabeth who are all very different in personality and situations in life. In 1935, these three women’s lives are forever changed after a massive hurricane hits the Florida Keys. Cleeton paints a heart-wrenching picture of Key West in the aftermath of the depression and war.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Chanel Cleeton brings vintage Florida/Cuba to life as she weaves history and strong women into the most powerful plots.

Elizabeth, Helen and Mirta are three women from vastly different backgrounds who all find themselves on Key West as a hurricane barrels toward them. Helen is in an abusive marriage and awaiting the birth of her first child. Mirta has come from Cuba with her new husband, a man she barely knows who is of questionable background. Elizabeth came to Key West to find her brother in hopes that he will be able to help her with their mother who can’t deal with the aftermath of the stick market crash and the suicide of her husband. Chanel Cleeton weaves their stories together along with those of other Key West residents and visitors as the storm destroys their reality. Can they all find their way to a new normal?

Chanel Cleeton has done it again! This captivating novel follows the stories of three very different women whose lives converge during the 1935 Labor Day hurricane that hit the Florida Keys. Takes on a number of important topics such as women's place in the world and the treatment of veterans.

I love the previous two books I've read by Chanel Cleeton. She is a vivid storyteller, painting awesome scenes and creating authentic characters. I can't pick a favorite of the key characters in The Last Train to Key West, I liked all three in different ways. And the Hurricane was a character all it's own. The only thing lacking was Ms. Cleeton's rich Cuban heritage. I didn't feel it as strongly in this story, and I missed it greatly!

Thank you Netgalley, for my complimentary copy of this book.