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    On the Wrong Track
    On the Wrong Track
    On the Wrong Track
    Audiobook9 hours

    On the Wrong Track

    Written by Steve Hockensmith

    Narrated by William Dufris

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Gustav "Old Red" Amlingmeyer is an old-fashioned kind of guy: He prefers a long trail ride even when a train ticket can get him where he's going in one-tenth the time. So when it's Old Red who insists on guarding the Pacific Express, despite a generations-old family distrust of the farm stealin', cattle-killin', money-grubbing' railroads, Big Red is flummoxed. But as usual, he'll follow his ornery brother just about anywhere.

    Trapped on a thousand tons of steam-driven steel, Old Red and Big Red find themselves riding with a crafty gang of outlaws, a baggage car jam-packed with secrets, and a killer hidden among the colorful passengers. Filled with all the wit, flavor, humor, and suspense that made Holmes on the Range such a critical hit, On the Wrong Tack will have you rushing to the station!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMar 20, 2007
    ISBN9781400173556
    On the Wrong Track
    Author

    Steve Hockensmith

    Steve Hockensmith is the author of a New York Times best seller (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls) and an Edgar Award nominee (Holmes on the Range). He lives in Alameda, California.

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    Reviews for On the Wrong Track

    4/5

    88 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      If you prefer mysteries to be more fun than frightening, you'll be on the right track if you read Steve Hockensmith's "On the Wrong Track" (2007). The second book in his Holmes on the Range series makes amusing reading, while at the same time presenting a compelling, fast-moving murder mystery.Old Red and Big Red, actually Gustav and Otto Amlingmeyer, are a couple of aspiring detectives in the Old West. More accurately, Old Red (so-called simply because he is the eldest of the red-headed brothers, while Big Red is the tallest) is the aspiring detective, a devotee of Sherlock Holmes. Big Red plays his Watson, the guy who goes along, provides some muscle and then writes about the adventures afterward.This time the brothers get jobs on the Pacific Express, a train heading West. The Southern Pacific Railroad has been plagued by a gang of outlaws known as the Give-'em Hell Boys, and the railroad wants extra protection. Of course, the gang shows up, but there appears to be a conspirator and, indeed, a murderer aboard the train. Old Red, who happens to get motion sickness on trains, is determined to solve the case anyway. As for Big Red, he seems more interested in protecting a certain young woman, who may not be quite whom she pretends to be.Hockensmith writes some amusing lines and throws in some slapstick situations, but there's plenty of suspense, too.
    • 4/5
      I read the first in this series featuring cowboy brothers Gustav “Old Red” and Otto “Big Red” Arlingmeyer in 2011. Since then, I’ve wanted to read more about this duo whose older half idolizes Sherlock Holmes and wants to model himself after him. It’s left to Otto to chronicle their adventures. In this instalment, they are hired by the Southern Pacific Railroad as detectives on a Utah to California trip, and run up against notorious train robbers.The voice in this series is as breezy and refreshing as I remember it, albeit containing profanity of the day, but the villain in this particular piece was a little too obvious, for not being obvious, if you know what I mean. It was still fun to follow Old Red as he trailed the clues and filled in the details. 4 starsRead this if: you’re looking for a good non-thriller mystery; or you’re a fan of Sherlock Holmes (you’ll be tickled how much Old Red tries to imitate him.)
    • 3/5
      It had "Holmes" in the title - so I was a sucker for it !
      The first of this series was - "Holmes on the Range"
      and it was not exactly what I was expecting, but it was a hoot and although I cringed at the rather 'low' humor - couldn't help but laugh and enjoy the goofy brother and the references to Holmes, fresh twist on cowboy life and the mystery to be solved.
      I'll be checking the rest of the series out of the library.
      (Will apply this to the others I've read, also).
      Read in 2011.
    • 3/5
      "On the Wrong Track" is the second in a five book series about two brothers who attempt to use Sherlock Holmes methods in the 1890's American West. I chose to read this book because in addition to enjoying crime fiction I have a thing for trains in the American West, and a train ride is central to the plot here. I enjoy catching sight of trains while on vacation trips to Arizona and Utah and I plan to visit Promontory Point,Utah, location of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, on my next trip. But I am not into "cosies", e.g. Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, aka "a good mystery". And the usual formula of "who was in the kitchen with Miss Jane when...." really bores me. Nevertheless, there was a lot that I enjoyed in "On the Wrong Track". Numerous, well created and interesting characters, a good 'yarn'with lots of tension and at a good pace, and some interesting background detail. Many readers will enjoy it, I am sure, but it got a bit boring for me toward the end and I was glad it finally ended.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed the second book in the Amlingmeyer brothers series and found myself wiping tears out of my eyes at one point I was laughing so hard. The Amlingmeyer brothers, Gustav and Otto find themselves in the employ of the S.P. railroad as rail guards and soon put their deducifying skills to the test when heads begin to roll. In the spirit of Sherlock Holmes, the brother's set off on another wild west adventure while chasing their dreams of becoming detectives. Colorful characters and a lighter look at the gritty, harsh world of early frontier life, Steve brings humor and a quirky charm to his tales.
    • 5/5
      First Line: Few things dampen a man's appreciation for natural splendor more quickly than the sound of another man's retching.The man who's retching? Gustav "Old Red" Amlingmeyer. The man who has to listen to him? His brother, Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer. Something more is disagreeing with Old Red than the fact that he's traveling on a train. In fact, he has his brother completely mystified. You see, Old Red has the deep distrust of railroads that just about everyone does who's been raised on a farm in the late 1800s, and Big Red would love to know why his older brother insisted that they become railroad detectives on the Pacific Express.The answer is rather simple: Old Red is tired of being a cowboy. He wants to follow in the footsteps of his hero, Sherlock Holmes, and give "detectifying" a try. Little do the two brothers know that they're in for a wild ride. They're being shadowed by a gang of outlaws who've already shown that they can rob the Pacific Express. There's a baggage car stuffed to the rafters with all sorts of deadly secrets, and amongst the colorful passel of passengers lurks a vicious killer. Getting trapped on this train as it barrels through the snowy High Sierras means that the Amlingmeyers need to be as good at deductifying as Mr. Holmes... or they're going to be fertilizer for the daisies that will bloom come spring.My first piece of advice to you (besides "Get your hands on this book!") is to buckle up. It's been a few days since I've read On the Wrong Track, and I still feel as though I just fell off a rollercoaster after one helluva ride. Putting the Amlingmeyers on a train is a piece of genius. Those old steam locomotives scream Wild West, and what better setting for two cowboy detectives and a memorable cast of passengers?There are passengers who aren't whom they appear to be, although they behave normally. There are passengers who act in a suspicious manner... but are they really up to something? Fellow railroad employees are by turns friendly, helpful, grouchy, mean, secretive, bossy.... A reader's head can spin without adding a gang of outlaws to the mix!Once that train pulls out of the station, the pace turns into a runaway. One calamity after another strikes until it's almost impossible for those two detectifying brothers-- or the reader-- to catch their breath. To say I loved this book would be an understatement. I didn't so much read it as experience it. Steve Hockensmith gave me a ticket to ride, and I think I whooped and hollered all the way down the tracks. However, I'd like to caution you about one thing: If you have a fear or loathing of our legless reptilian brethren, I'd advise you to skip chapter twenty-three. I'm still keeping my Louisville Slugger at hand... and sitting with my feet off the floor.If you have yet to read a book in this series, get your hands on one and read it! Odds are you'll then be following Old Red and Big Red wherever they may wander. When I turned the last page of On the Wrong Track, all I could do was remove my Stetson, beat off some of the dust, and grin.
    • 5/5
      Second in the series. Very good, but I recommend reading the first, Holmes on the Range, first, because I wouldn't want to miss a line of these well-written mysteries. Gustav, who wants to be Holmes and is the elder brother, and Otto, who is the younger brother and, unwillingly, is made Watson, are cowboys in the Lonesome Dove tradition - bruised, broke, street-wise, philosophical and dusty. More wandering day-workers than Roy Rogers types. While just trying to earn enough money for a meal and a place to sleep, they stumble upon murder, or perhaps have murder thrust upon them, and then proceed to out-think and out-maneuver the sheriffs, marshalls, railroad detectives, bosses, conductors and, of course, the bad guys. On the Wrong Track is set almost entirely on a fleet, express passenger train, heading from Ogden to San Francisco. Hockensmith's scenery, supporting characters, plot and even the victims all work well. The protagonists are evolving as well, so I'm hopeful that Gustav and Otto won't become stereotypes of themselves in the later entries in this series. I can't wait to read the next one!
    • 4/5
      On The Wrong Track is an light, enjoyable romp that takes itself exactly as seriously as it should be. A detective yarn-come-western, it's a fun adventure which moves along as quickly as the steam trains of its setting.Old Red and Big Red, two cowboy brothers with a penchant for Sherlock Holmes and "deducifying", find themselves on board the Southern Pacific Express on route to San Francisco. Before they reach their destination, however, they'll have to grapple with train robbers, con artists, private eyes, and of course murder.This book is fast and fun: it begins shortly before boarding and is wrapped up by time our heroes reach their destination - bar one or two tantalising hints for a sequel. The "Red" brothers, Otto and Gustav, are believable and entertaining characters, though the supporting cast are in the main much thinner. Hockensmith also has a nice line in banter and he resists the temptation to slide to far into cliche, sticking to its comforting periphery - which makes for familiar, comforting characters that still have a few surprises tucked away. The mystery itself is well-constructed and Hockensmith plays out his clues in a timely fashion; it never feels too trite or pre-ordained. Mind you, anybody looking for a "real" mystery should look elsewhere; On The Wrong Track is true to its Holmesian antecedents as an entertaining diversion rather than a confounding and existential riddle.But the book certainly fulfills all its promises with brio and flair, and what more can you ask for? An enjoyable adventure, I look forward to reading more of Big and Old Red in the future.
    • 4/5
      An enjoyable read which mixes Sherlock Holmes and the western genre very nicely, with a light, humorous touch. There are less direct Holmes references than the first book, but enough to please Sherlock fans. The setting on a train pleased me, although the book seems to have made the same error you see in so many railroad films (someone is thrown against the throttle and the train speeds up--really? throttles tend to pull towards you in most steam locomotives although I could believe he was thrown against the johnson bar and the narrator doesn't know the difference). Also, the train seems to be powered by coal but in the western states oil or wood would be more common. Still, unless you are, like me, an engineer on a 1907 Baldwin steam locomotive, you probably won't find any flaws in this detailed description of train travel in the old west.Once again, the narrator and his brother shine. They make engaging heroes and while the fairly complex plot and solid setting are important, it is really these two (and a new character introduced in this book) which hold your attention.I did find the villains a bit far fetched in this book, more so than the first, but nothing terrible and the author pulls it off so that you are willing to go along with it.I'll be buying the next books in the series soon as I enjoyed the first two and want to see what happens next to these two cowboys.--Kim K
    • 3/5
      Old Red and Big Red are brothers back in the Old West who are a bit more than stereotypical cowboys. Old Red is a big fan of Sherlock Holmes and wants to try his hand at detectifyin'. Big Red writes up their adventures. In "On The Wrong Track", the brothers get jobs as security on an express train watching for train robbers, but things on this train become mysterious right away when the brothers see a head bouncing down the tracks behind the train. Then the train robbers show up and things get much more mixed up...The second in Hockensmith's series is a pretty good Holmes pastiche with a unique twist in the setting. The brothers are interesting lead characters, and the mystery - while not as difficult to figure out as some - is twisty enough to keep the reader's attention. Hockensmith captures the flavor of the Old West in the collection of supporting cast and their dialog. There's plenty of action to push the plot along - jumping on and off moving trains, fights in the baggage car, gunfights, the whole works!Recommended. The book's stand-alone even though the second in a series. But for best flavor, start with the first.
    • 5/5
      Old Red and Big Red ride the rails as security officers and discover mystery, murder and romance (sort of). Old Red is not quite up to his usual detectifying due to constant motion sickness and Big Red is distracted by a mysterious beauty, however, they answer all the questions in the end. This book gives us more insight into the relationship between the brothers without being gooey. As in the first book, it is Big Red's telling of the story, more than the mystery itself that makes this book so entertaining.