Bear Claws

The Iron Horse Chronicles #2

by Robert Lee Murphy

Fifteen-year-old Will Braddock works as a hunter for his uncle’s survey team, as the transcontinental railroad extends across Wyoming in 1868. Paddy O’Hannigan is determined to get even with those who caused the death of his father—which
means Will, his uncle, and former slave Homer Garcon. And Paddy has other nefarious designs: he intends to blow up presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant’s train on the general’s campaign trip into Wyoming. After saving a German count from a bear attack, in which he himself is badly mauled, Will must immediately turn his attention to his human opponent, the deadly and ruthless Paddy O’Hannigan.

287 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2015

About the author

Award winning author Robert Lee Murphy graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a business degree. Throughout his career, he worked with national and international agencies and institutions on all seven continents, including Antarctica, where Murphy Peak bears his name.

In conducting research for The Iron Horse Chronicles trilogy, Murphy traveled the route of the transcontinental railroad and walked the ground where the action takes place.

Eagle Talons,the first book in The Iron Horse Chronicles was awarded the 2015 Bronze Will Rogers Medallion. In 2016, Bear Claws, the second book, received the Silver Will Rogers Medallion and was awarded First Place in Fiction by The Wyoming Historical Society. Golden Spike, the final book in the trilogy, won the Silver Will Rogers Medallion in 2018.

Bozeman Paymaster: A Tale of the Fetterman Massacre was awarded First Place in Fiction by the Wyoming Historical Society in 2023. Bozeman Paymaster: A Tale of the Fetterman Massacre also received a Copper Will Rogers Medallion in 2023.

Robert's latest historical novel, Bear Flag Revolt was released by Thorndike Press in March 2025. This tells the tale of how Kit Carson and John Frémont "steal" California from Mexico in the 1840s.

Robert is a member of Western Writers of America, The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and the Historical Novel Society.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

I started this second volume in the series immediately after finishing the first book. I'll be starting the third volume now, I can't wait to jump into it. The characters are so interesting to me and I find myself cheering for them. The amount of research done by the author must have massive as there are a lot of details.

[AmsD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Two and another entertaining read by Murphy. I enjoy the mix of historical and fictional characters and events especially the meeting at Fort Sanders and how Murphy creatively omits the fictional characters from the final historical photo. I have Book Three sitting next to me and starting it soon.

[Lauren Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of Robert Lee Murphy's Bear Claws, Book Two of the Iron Horse Chronicles. This is an action packed novel that kept me on the edge of my seat from the moment I opened the cover to the very last paragraph. There were bear attacks, poisonous snakes, exploding train tracks, and stage coaches being pursued by Indians, just to name a few of the highlights. The historical details provided by the author, from how the reins of a six horse stage coach are worked by the driver, to how to mix up a lethal explosion of nitroglycerin, clearly demonstrate the amount of historical research that went into the making of this book. It is those details that make the reader feel like he (or, as in my case, she) has been transported back in time and is watching the events play out before his very eyes. I am looking forward to the continued adventure of Will, Jenny and all the others in book three.