The Insane Train Book

On this, my first outing with Sheldon Russell, I expected to find myself aboard the caboose on a thrilling non-stop ride with great characters careening through an insane plot, as my fellow reviewers had assured me. The story tracks a motley assortment of homeless vets and asylum staff members in the 1940s, including "Hook", the one-armed hero hired by the railroad to cuff hoboes for a living; all are escorting criminally insane patients from a burned-out asylum in one state to a new one in another -- on the ricketiest train in U.S. History, of course.

I didn't envision myself belly-laughing in the process. Not enough tribute has been paid to Russell's wit, to wit, the scene with the vets as they sample the strength of their still products. I don't usually find liquid scenes funny for personal reasons, but this one was hilarious. Many witty echanges of insults preceded and followed it. I'll be chugging backwards to meet up with Russell's first books, hoping for more of the same. I agree with those who gave this a 4-1/2, but in my time of crisis I've got to give it a 5 for pure enjoyment.