The Christmas Train

David Baldacci
Warner Books (2007)
ISBN 9780446615754
Reviewed by AJ Cooper for Reader Views (10/07)

This is a magical story of intrigue and romance. Tom Langdon wandered the world for years reporting on the next current event. Tom finally became tired of the traveling and of the unknown dangers that could be around the next corner; he started writing for women’s magazines. Tom finally decided to fulfill his father’s dream and ride the train like Mark Twain during the Christmas Holidays. He planned on writing a story on the people he would meet and the things he would see. His decision was also helped along by the fact he was blacklisted from flying. His adventure starts in Washington D.C. on the Capitol Limited where he would travel to Chicago to connect to the Southwest Chief with a final destination in L.A. to meet up with his girlfriend Lelia.

There is a big buzz around the train -- who was the celebrity that was boarding?  The trains had a special car set aside that stayed stationary and allowed for important people to board the train at their pace without media attention. No one working on the train would disclose the identity of the mystery passengers to Tom no matter how hard he tried. He came across people from all walks of life and had special conversations with the employees on the trains that gave him insight on stories of past travels and tips for the trip ahead.

A long time ago, in a faraway country when Tom reported on the news of the day, he had fallen in love and traveled with Eleanor. One day they parted ways never to meet again until this train trip. Eleanor’s boss Max Powers decided he wanted to travel on a train and have Eleanor write a screenplay on it. Max ran into Tom and discovered he was also a writer and wanted him to work with his writer on this project.  Tom was thrilled, then stunned, when he saw Eleanor. Eleanor did not want to work with Tom because of their past history and lost love.
 
So the tale begins with many twists and turns. All of the train passengers become involved in a young couple getting married against their parent’s wishes and things start disappearing from rooms. 

Everything is wonderful and everyone is happy until a severe snowstorm traps the train and its occupant on a snowy dangerous pass. Who will come to their rescue and will they survive long enough until the rescuers can arrive?

David Baldacci weaves the tale so well that you get so caught up in the story before you can figure out was has really happened. I absolutely loved this book. It is everything I would expect and so much more. It is a heartwarming book that allows you to get into the lives of the passengers for even a brief moment. I look forward to sharing “The Christmas Train” with my friends and families.

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