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On the Wrong Track: A Western Mystery Series (Holmes on the Range Mysteries Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Steve Hockensmith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 300 ratings

Book 2 of 7: Holmes on the Range Mysteries

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SHERLOCK HOLMES MEETS THE OLD WEST IN THIS GRIPPING ADVENTURE ON A TRAIN RIDE TO DANGER.

Two Sherlock Holmes-worshiping cowpokes, Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer, are embarking on a new adventure in the Old West. When they take a job as guards for the hated Southern Pacific Railroad, they find themselves heading full-steam towards disaster.

They’ve barely left the station when the train they’re on is robbed, and the baggage man loses his head—literally.

With a whole host of suspects to sift through—a drunken Pinkerton, a mysterious beauty, a secretive Chinese doctor, and a deadly swamp adder with a taste for cowboys—these wannabe bronco detectives must work hard to solve a three-pipe problem.

Can Big Red and Old Red make it to the end of the line alive?

Unleash your inner detective and saddle up for an unforgettable adventure as you dive into the thrilling world of the Amlingmeyer brothers today!

From the Publisher

western fiction series; historical private eye detective; US historical mystery; humorous books

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In Hockensmith's hilarious second 1890s romp starring the cattle drovers–turned–detectives Gustav "Old Red" and Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer (after 2006's acclaimed Holmes on the Range), the brothers are hired as guards for the Southern Pacific, a rail line bedeviled by the "Give-'em-Hell Boys" who rob gold shipments. After baggage handler Joe Pezullo's severed head bounces from the Pacific Express, Gustav, inspired by his hero Sherlock Holmes, hopes to apply his own deductive powers to the case. In the Pullman is a collection of oddballs, including seductive suffragist Miss Diana Caveo, shady Dr. Chan and boozed-up cowboy detective Burl Lockhart. The baggage car contains even stranger cargo: a crated snake, two coffins and the self-proclaimed King of the Hoboes, dubbed "Numero Uno." Otto's uproarious narration takes us to Thornton's Boiler #2, a dilapidated saloon, where the Amlingmeyers rescue Burl and Chan from the clutches of raucous cowpunchers. As this fast-moving express hurtles toward a spectacular ending, Gustav searches for ways to apply Holmes's crime-solving genius to the comic bedlam. Author tour. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"Delightful.... Certain to entertain.... [Narrator William Dufris's] relaxed approach contributes considerably to the tale's charm. Highly recommended." ---Library Journal --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Booklist

Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer is perfectly content to scrounge up what cowboyin' jobs he and his brother, Gustav--also known as "Old Red"--can find at the tail end of the cattle-drive era. But herding cattle is not an option anymore for Gustav, ever since Otto introduced him to Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Gustav has a new vision for his life--to be the West's prime proponent of "deducifyin' and detectin'." With Otto settling into Watson's role of sidekick and biographer (Holmes on the Range, 2006), Gustav seems to be developing an affinity for the work. This time the two are hired as agents for the Pacific Express railroad, setting aside a lifetime of animosity toward the industry that is making the cattle drive obsolete. Someone is trying to sabotage the Pacific Express line, and the boys' job is to flush out the miscreants and bring them to justice while undercover on a California run. But when a baggage handler meets a particularly grisly end as the train crosses the desert, the game--as Gustav would never say--is afoot. The second entry in this wonderfully entertaining series builds on the comic successes of the first via the sardonic and observant narration of Otto, whose affection for his curmudgeonly older brother is ever slowly inching toward admiration. As a lively Holmes takeoff, as an inventive melding of mystery and western genres, and as a new source of damn good reading, this series demands attention. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From AudioFile

Its MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS in the Old West. The continuing saga of Otto Big Red and Gustav Old Red Amlingmeyer (Holmes on the Range) is a genuine knee-slapper. When the brothers are hired to guard the Southern Pacific Railroad from the train-robbing Give-em-Hell Boys, Gustav, an ardent admirer of Sherlock Holmes, begins deducifying, with Otto providing the muscle, along with sarcastic observations. William Dufris gives an engaging performance of the likable cowpokes and the unruly assortment of scoundrels and neer-do-wells that surround them. His attitude is pitch-perfect to the period as are his renderings of a drunken ex-lawman, a beautiful woman, a rail-riding bum with pretensions, a Chinese doctor, a Negro porter, and many more eccentrics. Dufris brings flamboyance, charm, and hilarity to Hockensmiths wild, wild Western. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"Delightful...Certain to entertain...[narrator William Dufris'] relaxed approach contributes considerably to the tale's charm. Highly recommended."

-- "Library Journal, audio review"

"Hilarious...a spectacular ending."

-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

"The second entry in this wonderfully entertaining series builds on the comic successes of the first via the sardonic and observant narration of Otto, whose affection for his curmudgeonly older brother is ever slowly inching toward admiration."

-- "Booklist"

Delightful.... Certain to entertain.... [Narrator William Dufris's] relaxed approach contributes considerably to the tale's charm. Highly recommended.-- "Library Journal" --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

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

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One Saddle Bums Or, Two Cowboys Cross Three States and Find No Jobs Having spent the last year studying detective yarns, I know how one’s supposed to start. Somebody walks into the hero’s office (or sitting room, if the hero happens to be Mr. Sherlock Holmes) and spills out a tear squeezer. There’s a little gore in it, maybe, as well as a few details that make about as much sense as trying to saddle smoke. A girl finds her father dead in his bed, for instance, and he’s got a big grin on his face, a solid-gold dagger in his chest, and a bowl of bloody walnuts balanced on his head. The sleuth nods, sends the girl on her way, then turns to his pal (there’s always a pal) and says something like “By thunder, Dickie, this is the most mystifying case I’ve ever encountered!” Then they’re off to the walnut farm and bang—the detectiving kicks right in. So I’ve got a little problem explaining how I came to be face-to-face with a flying head. Yes, it’s a detective story, but I can’t start it the proper way at all. There’s no office, no sitting room, no bloody nuts. There’s not even a proper detective. All I’ve got’s an illiterate cowboy who fancies himself the Holmes of the Range and his not-quite-so-ambitious pal. I’m the pal, by the way—Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer. The fellow with the grand ideas about himself is my elder brother, Gustav, better known along the cow trails as “Old Red.” Not that he’s some white-bearded coot babbling about his rheumatism and the War Between the States. Gustav’s old in spirit, not age. He’s only got twenty-seven years on him, yet he tends to droop around like each and every one was a loaded pack strapped upon his back. He’s been a little less droopy of late, though, if only because he finally found something in this sad old world of ours about which he could actually become enthused. It happened about a year back, in the summer of 1892. One night by a cattle-drive campfire, the trail boss whipped out a magazine story called “The Red-Headed League,” and Gustav acted like the man it was about—Sherlock Holmes—was Moses, Abe Lincoln, and Santa Claus rolled up in one. Not only did he make me read that story to him over and over (his own knowledge of the alphabet petering out somewhere in the vicinity of g), he went digging for more detective tales. We got to know Nick Carter, King Brady, “Old Sleuth,” and the rest of the dime-novel crowd pretty well. But Holmes was the only one of the bunch my brother respected. Even the so-called range detectives—cowboy Pinkertons like Charlie Siringo and Burl Lockhart—didn’t impress Old Red. “Stringin’ up rustlers and horse thieves ain’t so tough. Most of them poor bastards ain’t got enough brain between their ears to fill a thimble,” he said. “Now Mr. Holmes, he goes up against fellers packin’ some smarts . . . only he packs more.” Before long, my brother wasn’t just eager to hear and talk about Holmes, he was trying to act like him. He detected. He deduced. He got us in a hell of a lot of trouble. Nevertheless, when Gustav decided to take a stab at professional detecting, I didn’t buck. I’d seen him test his deducifying on some bona fide mysteries, and by jingo if he hadn’t cracked those puzzles open like peanuts. On top of that, I owed him—for a lot. If he wanted to play detective, the least I could do was play the pal. Unfortunately, I was the only one willing to play along. Old Red and I spent this May and June ricocheting around Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho paying calls on each and every detective agency office we could find. Openings were scarce. Contempt for jobless drovers, on the other hand, was in ample supply. In fact, the closest we ever got to an offer of employment came after we crossed into Utah Territory, when the head Pinkerton agent in Ogden snickered that he was always looking for “no-account saddle bums” like ourselves . . . because they had a price on their heads. “How far we gonna take this, Gustav?” I asked as we stewed in nickel beer over this latest humiliation. “We’ve got enough cash to get us to a few more towns, but if this detectivin’ job you’re after is in New York or London or the Belgian Congo . . . well, I’m sorry. We ain’t gonna make it.” “No need to go that far yet,” Old Red said. “We’re only a hop and a skip from Salt Lake City. May as well head there next.” “And after that?” My brother shrugged. “After that we’ll try again somewhere else. And somewhere else after that and somewhere else after that, if we have to. No matter how many bad turns we take, we’ll find the right trail sooner or later . . . long as we don’t stop lookin’ for it.” I could’ve pointed out the irony of Gustav Amlingmeyer, the man who looks for the dark cloud around every silver lining, sermonizing on the importance of hope. But my brother got in his own jab first—and it caught me right in the gut. “There’s only one thing worse than givin’ up, Otto, and that’s not havin’ the balls to try to begin with.” “I’ve got balls,” I protested. “I just ain’t anxious to have ’em stomped on.” Old Red gave me his excuses, excuses look, which combined a frown, a roll of the eyes, and a shake of the head in one quick, well-practiced movement. Perhaps because he was so doggedly chasing his dream, he found it galling that I should be so sluggish in pursuit of my own. If Gustav was to become a homegrown Sherlock Holmes, I’d once figured, it was only natural that I should assume the role of his biographer, Dr. Watson. Yarnspinning has long been a specialty of mine, and I found it remarkably easy to put pen to paper and chronicle my brother’s amateur sleuthing in a book. What hadn’t been so easy, however, was working up the nerve to do something with the damned thing once it was finished. “You can’t haul that big ol’ bundle of paper around forever—it ain’t fair to your horse, let alone yourself,” Old Red said. “What’re you waitin’ for? Harper’s to send you a letter askin’ for it?” I lifted my glass and took a long, slow pull, hiding behind a wall of suds. As I drank, I prayed in vain for some disruption—a brawl, a stampede through the streets, the tooting of Gabriel’s trumpet, anything. I got nothing, though, and eventually I had to either face my brother or drown in beer. “Well?” Gustav prodded the second my glass left my lips. “I just need a little more time to think on it, that’s all.” “What’s left to think? It’s done.” “Yeah, but I might wanna whittle it down some. When I read it to you, you yourself said it’s long-winded.” “Well, so are you, but I don’t keep you tied up in my war bag on account of it.” I took another drink, but there was little more than foam left, and I didn’t get much of a respite. “Look,” I said, “we been over this. I’m just . . . bidin’ my time.” “Pissin’ it away, more like.” I sighed. There were days my brother hardly spoke at all, except to say “Mind that gopher hole” or “We’ll camp here” or (when our unvarying trail diet of pemmican and beans had its inevitable consequences) “Whew! Damn!” Yet when it came to my failure of nerve as a would-be writer, I could not get the man to shut up. “Speakin’ of pissin’ . . . ,” I began, intending to escape the subject of my cowardice by (appropriately enough) running away. But before I could beat a retreat toward the privy, the distraction I’d hoped for finally arrived. It came in the form of a thin, gnarled jerky-stick of a man staggering toward us from the bar. I would say he was three sheets to the wind, only I think he had a good many more sheets a-flapping than that. I was almost surprised when he managed to come to a swaying stop in front of our table instead of collapsing across the top of it. “Hey,” he said, and even as simple a sound as that came off his whiskey-numbed lips quivery and slurred. “I remember you.” “And I remember you,” I said, not bothering to sound like I treasured the memory. He’d been in the Pinkerton office that morning—a sixtyish, sour-faced fellow hunched over at a desk toward the back of the room. I’d once worked in an office of sorts myself, clerking in a Kansas granary, and I pegged him as a type I knew well: the sullen sluggard. I’d met plenty such men in the drovering profession, too, but they seem to particularly flourish in the shadowy corners of dimly lit offices. The old man hadn... --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C646BZ3F
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rough Edges Press (July 4, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 4, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2778 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #300,438 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #65 in Classic Humor Fiction
- #350 in Louis L'Amour Westerns
- #538 in Lawyers & Criminals Humor

Customer Reviews:
4.4 300 ratings

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Steve Hockensmith

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Steve Hockensmith’s first novel, the mystery/Western hybrid "Holmes on the Range," was a finalist for the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony and Dilys awards. He went on to write several sequels (with more on the way!) as well as the tarot-themed mystery "The White Magic Five and Dime" and the New York Times bestseller "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls." He also teamed up with educator “Science Bob” Pflugfelder to write the middle-grade mystery "Nick and Tesla and the High-Voltage Danger Lab" and its five sequels. Learn more about him and his writing at stevehockensmith.com.

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4.4 out of 5

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Holmes

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2024

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A very good work that moves fast, has lots of action, and a bunch of twists and turns. I want more.

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2023

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This time Big Red and Old Red "Holmes" try out their detective skills for the railroad, and end up on another crazy and humorous adventure! I admit, there is a part of me that finds the story ridiculous--but it is engaging enough that I can't put it down! For a fun time, read about the "Holmes" brothers! I love how dedicated they are to each other, even as they have their sibling-spats. Thanks for the good read! Onto the next in the series!

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Kindle Customer

Every bit as good as the first time

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2023

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I read these books when they first came out and loved every word of them. Some don't stand up to a re-read but so far this series has. Steve Hockensmiith has earned his spot on my favorite authors list.

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Kenneth C. Mahieu

Cosy Readers - check this book out !

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2013

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"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.

3 people found this helpful

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E. D. DORSOGNA

great detectives; great writer

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2022

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I first encountered Big Red and Little red in the pages of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. I could quickly tell that these characters were on their way to becoming classic and also that the writer, Mr Hockensmith is one of the great practitioners of mystery fiction; he needs to be widely known and enjoyed. ON THE WRONG TRACK has everything: cowboys, evil bad guys, a great and convoluted plot that is easily followed, and an ending that is a white knuckle masterpiece ready for adaptation into a major motion picture. Most especially, though, the characters of Big Red and Old Red are unique and uniquely lovable detectives brought to vibrant life by Steve Hockensmith who has flawlessly mixed humor with suspense and intrigue. I have obtained from Amazon the whole oeuvre of Big Red and Old Red's adventures and have found each to be astouindingly entertaining. Snap up ON THE WRONG TRACK!

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Don Kidwell

"Gunpowder and nerve ain't enough anymore--

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2017

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--not with all this pansy-talk of 'clues' and 'dee-ductions' and what-all..." Witty Western/Sherlock Holmes mash-up with likable characters and a spirited stumper that kept me guessing. Would easily read more of the series given its' flair for the humorous such as passages like 'There were days my brother hardly spoke at all, except to say "Mind that gopher hole" or "We'll camp here" or (when our unvarying trail diet of pemmican and beans led to its inevitable consequences) "Whew! Damn!" and 'When he spoke again, the nostril-singeing scent of cheap whisky blasted into our faces like the heat from a blacksmith's forge. It's a wonder the man's floppy mustache didn't burst into flame." A fun, quick read and am looking forward to reading "Dear Mr. Holmes: Seven Holmes on the Range Mysteries" next.

One person found this helpful

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Marie Smith

Two cowboys, turned detectives, deal with a train, a headless body, and a poisonous snake!

Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2021

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In the book, On the Wrong Track, the author continues the adventures of Gustav “Old Red” Amlingmeyer and his younger brother, Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer. The brothers have decided that they are going to quit working on ranches as cowboys and apply at Pinkerton offices as detectives. Due to their inexperience they are only able to get jobs as railroad detectives and are assigned to a train that had been robbed recently by a gang of bank robbers. While aboard the train they discover that the baggageman had been killed and thrown off the train. While investigating the murder, they run into the various passengers, each with their own agenda, that are returning home from a visit to the Chicago Exposition. The cowboys-turned-detectives have to figure out the crime, who the suspects are, and deal with bank robbers too!
I found this book to be an enjoyable adventure and it was nice to see the progression of the main characters as they pursue their dreams of becoming just like their heroes, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.

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RFT

And the story goes on

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2011

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The second book continues in getting the reader to know the Amlingmeyer's better. The interaction between Old Red and Big Red adds much to the story of Old Red's sleuthing desires. The story was interesting, some parts predictable, some with a twist. Some of the language is a bit over done, but mostly fits the characterization of the players. I enjoyed it and will in all likelihood enjoy the following 3 books and whatever else will be written.

I had problems with the Kindle version. Does anyone at amazon.com proof these books after being Kindled? In particular, I did not like the start of the chapters having type so light it was nearly impossible to read.

4 people found this helpful

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NJ

The Further Adventures of the Red-Headed League

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2017

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"Big Red" and "Old Red", the cowboy brothers first introduced in Holmes on the Range, return here with a new profession: following Old Red's obsession with Sherlock Holmes they sign up as railway detectives along a stretch of track that has been targeted by notorious bandits...and, lo and behold, soon find themselves embroiled in a closed-circle mystery as murder and strange happenings begin to hint at a much larger series of events than originally anticipated...

Steve Hockensmith has done a great job bringing the cowboy aesthetic to a Holmesian setup: Otto and Gustav feel like real people, frustrated by the limitations their life has imposed upon them, and desperately trying to achieve something better for themselves. We know they'll get to do some investigatin' detectin' but Hockensmith doesn't simply steamroller all opposition out of their way because they're the protagonists. Their gains, consequently, feel well-gained, and it's difficult not to root for them and to enjoy their successes when they come.

This is something more of an action-adventure novel than the first in the series, but it's also not without some quite fabulous puzzle plotting motifs - the box that's turned around, the vanishing brick, the mysterious teacup...there's a great tapestry built up here, and if you're paying attention it all makes sense and hangs together brilliantly well. It helps that a lot of the people along for the rife are also fleshed out to include their own little stories and motivations: Burl Lockhart, El Numero Uno, Dr Chan...the characters here are people first and foremost, and so while the plot doesn't exactly rocket along for the first third or so you do really feel invested in these people and their problems.

It is also extremely witty, yet carries with it the same casual disregard for life that feels era-appropriate, and these two tones are extremely hard to juggle without a misstep making the humorous crass or the tragic trivial. No fear, Hockensmith has this down perfectly, and as the adventure gets more action-packed the humour comes thick and fast and the tragedy is never more than a stray bullet away. Surely this just might be the most interesting detective series being written today...let's hope more of them are due to follow!

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On the Wrong Track: A Western Mystery Series (Holmes on the Range Mysteries Book 2) Kindle Edition

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Review

From Booklist

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Review

About the Author

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details

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Steve Hockensmith

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