Reviewed by Alma Boucher for Readers' Favorite

In Travels of a Hanging Rope by John M. Langley, the story of the hanging rope starts on December 5, 1900. It was the last time anyone saw a man by the name of Ed Tusker alive. John Pearl was hired by Ed Tusker, but a few days later, John presented a deed stating he had bought Ed’s property. John was found guilty of Ed’s murder and was sentenced to be hanged until death. Alberto Vargas murdered a respectable woman. Although she had not made any overt moves toward Alberto, he was still attracted to her. When Alberto discovered that the woman was engaged to someone else, he decided to kill her and himself so they might be together. However, Alberto survived and was sentenced to death.

Travels of a Hanging Rope is told in the hanging rope’s own words. Before December 1900, there was no use for the hanging rope, but one fateful day set the course of its life, and it was never the same thereafter. It was the last thing four men came into contact with before they crossed over to the unknown. This unique story is about how the hanging rope’s journey started as an executioner and how it came to take his first life. John M. Langley did an excellent job of writing this story from the hanging rope’s perspective. I was intrigued from the start and could not put it down. It was an extremely interesting read, and at the back of the book, the author includes a list of all the people involved in the different cases and the resources that were used.