Review - Lost and Found by Jack Cartland
Lost and Found
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Volume 1 of Boxcar Idols
Tags: Erotica Novella Depression Era
Posted in Book Reviews on 28 June, 2026
It’s the height of the Great Depression and Mike is lucky to have a job fixing train engines. It doesn’t pay much but he has a roof over his head and can put food on the table. Mike does get lonely since his last lover moved back east to take over the family farm. When he’s in the mood for company, Mike visits Eddie’s, an underground bar selling bootleg liquor. There are also always a few young men in the bar willing to exchange sex for a few dollars. One night, Mike spots Dan across the room. He is instantly captivated by the handsome young man. The two agree a price and Mike takes Dan back to his place. Dan has been riding the rails across the country, trading sex for enough money to eat. It’s rarely pleasant but Dan is used to it. Mike proves to be different than any John Dan has gone with. He is gentle and seems to care about Dan’s pleasure as well as his own. A night turns into a weekend, but could it be more?
This erotic novella explores the start of a seemingly unlikely romance. A love affair with a sex worker isn’t exactly a new concept, but the setting of this story makes it a little different. The Depression is an unusual setting for modern fiction, but it makes for a very believable background for this story. It was a time when many, if not most, young men were out of work, and some of them would obviously be willing to do almost anything to get fed.
The narration is essentially third person, switching between Mike and Dan. We get to know both men surprisingly well for such a short book. It all happens naturally as the two get to know each other in between bouts of hot sex. Mike is older and more experienced, having served in the army during World War I. Mike’s treatment of Dan before he even starts to develop feelings for the young man suggests he is a good guy.
It seems that Dan was just getting started in life when the market crashed. It’s hardly surprising that a handsome young man would turn to sex work in order to eat under such conditions. There weren’t many options for anyone at the time, and it appears that Dan was already inclined to like men.
“Lost and Found” is available from Smashwords.
