Everyone on This Train is a Suspect
4.5/5
Synopsis
When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out.
The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty:
the debut writer (me!)
the forensic science writer
the blockbuster writer
the legal thriller writer
the literary writer
the psychological suspense writer
But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime.
Of course, we should also know how to commit one.
How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?
Genre
Mystery/thriller/murder Mystery/metafiction
Content Warnings
Murder, violence, sexual assault
What I Liked
Once again, Benjamin Stevenson convinces me I need to visit Australia, and now add taking the Ghan. Still no killer spiders mentioned, so I feel pretty good about this future trip. Plenty of movies and books about being trapped on a train exist, and with a murderer afoot, there was potential to go the way of “TranSiberian”, one of the most terrifying non-horror movies I’ve ever seen, but I am happy to report that it did not. (Not that I really expected it to given how the last Ernest Cummingham book was, but still. Always gotta be prepared.)
Characters
This has a huge cast of characters, as only would make sense with it taking place on a train. With so many characters, there’s always the risk of some getting forgotten about, but I didn’t find myself flipping back through the book trying to remember who people were, which sometimes happens with such a big cast (yes, even in my own books…). The name count helped, as Ernest promises he will say the murderer’s name 106 times, so he keeps a running tally throughout the book. It’s pretty hard to forget the characters when they’re listed multiple times. Of course, I loved having Ernest back as our narrator/author, and I was so happy that Julia from the first book was back and an important character (both to the story and Ernest).
“If one of the six of us was to die right now, you’d have five suspects who all know how to get away with murder.”
Setting
The setting was so fun. Another locked-in story, but with changing outside scenery. It had serious Murder on the Orient Express vibes. The descriptions were so vivid, even without knowing what the Ghan looks like or the route through Australia, I had no problem picturing it.
“Rocky outcrops with scraggly, crooked trees, no taller than Alan Royce, backs bent low as if shielding themselves from the bright sun, gave way to spinifex-pocked orange sand, made all the more vibrant by the unblemished blue sky above.”
Plot
Because of the similarities to Murder on the Orient Express, I spent much of the book trying to figure out if the plot was going to follow in Orient Express’s footsteps (train tracks) or not. And no, I will not tell you if it does. No spoilers, sorry! I will say I was pleasantly surprised once again that I had completely guessed the wrong murderer. Everything is solved in the end, no loose ends, no plot holes, just a lot of ‘aha!’ moments.
“Hell, like you say, everyone’s got a motive. Maybe everyone did it.”
“I think that’s been done before.”
“Nothing beats a classic.“
Themes
The themes of imposter syndrome and insecurity really resonated with me as a writer, but it can happen to anyone in any career or stage of life. I am feeling it right now as I write this blog and am trying to find a page number for a certain that I for the life of me cannot track down, and I’ve searched a few blogs hoping someone else will have made note of it. And, of course, now I am questioning everything I’ve written after reading these beautifully done blogs. Anyway, the story also touches on jealousy and competitiveness, and sometimes we need to work together instead of against each other to reach our goals.
“We all have imposter syndrome sometimes, it’s not unique to novelists. No one is immune from trying to prove something to themselves.”
What I Didn’t Like
I can’t actually explain what I didn’t like without spoiling the ending, but I will say it’s not necessarily the ending, more just one small detail. I’ll give you a hint: it has to do with what happens after the murderer is revealed. I get why it went the way it did, and it was definitely a nod to an old classic (though plenty also have issues with this plot point in that storyline too), but maybe it just felt a little rushed. Something was off with it. Message me after you’ve read it, and we’ll see if you’ve figured it out.
If you have a book you’d like to recommend, please leave a comment! Happy Reading!
