This Train

March 14, 2022
This knotty heist novel from Grady (Six Days of the Condor) opens on a 47-hour train ride from Seattle to Chicago, where hackers are conspiring to make off with millions of dollars in “expired” cash that’s set to be incinerated at the Federal Reserve. The large cast includes a coder trying to keep the grift together, a banker and his murderous wife, a perfect couple who aren’t so perfect, a yippie dog and its protective owner, and numerous others spread across a slew of plotlines that sometimes intersect but tend to fade from mind as the train diligently plods along its route. Grady spins from character to character, event to event without much in the way of exposition or buildup of the emotional suspense one would expect from this ticking clock of a premise. Tangents on famous Americans and landmarks that have little or nothing to do with the characters or plot pepper the book, which often feels like an indie film trying to obscure its lack of cohesion with circular dialogue and the occasional glimmer of sex. Readers will struggle to stay on board. Agent: Michael Carlisle, InkWell Management.

Starred review from September 1, 2022

The train is carrying a seven-foot cube of paper money and a SWAT team to make sure it arrives safely. There are two computer hackers who intend to divert the money cube into their own pockets; an abused wife who plans to kill her husband; a disenfranchised man who intends to kill himself, a wealthy, self-centered billionaire; and an assassin who wants to kill him. There is also a senior citizen with a pesky little dog, and a military family aligning their moral compasses. In the 47 hours of the trip, these passengers work toward their goals, form new alliances, and make decisions. Most arrive in Chicago, but only some achieve their objectives. Grady (Six Days of the Condor) creates an action-packed adventure with a host of interesting characters. The clackety-clack of the train gives a rhythm to the story, and the reader can nearly feel the sway of the train. Narrator Natasha Soudek deftly delivers a wide range of voices for the many characters and enhances the feeling of being on the train. VERDICT Listeners of thriller fiction will enjoy this book. Highly recommended.--Joanna M. Burkhardt

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.