I found this a bit disappointing. The Christmas murder game book was really good and this didn’t have the same appeal.

An enjoyable read that will have you hooked until the very end. I would recommend this book as one you should read.

"The Murder on the Christmas Express" by Alexandra Benedict offers a festive take on the classic mystery genre, set on a snowbound train with a cast of quirky characters. The setting and premise are undeniably charming, with a nostalgic nod to Agatha Christie’s style. However, the plot can feel a bit predictable, and the pacing is uneven at times. While it’s an enjoyable read, the twists might not be as surprising as you’d hope.

That said, if you’re in the mood for a light, holiday-themed mystery with a cozy atmosphere, this book delivers just that. It’s perfect for a winter evening when you’re looking for something fun and not too demanding.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alexandra Benedict and Poisoned Pen Press for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed this story! Who doesn’t love a good train murder mystery?!? I wouldn’t classify it as a Christmas story, it just happens to take place at Christmas, but there is definitely murder and lots of little reveals (especially toward the end!)

The characters were a fun variety, and there were definitely ones you love to hate. A bit heavier than I expected, there are some trigger warnings (sexual abuse, rape, emotional/mental/physical abuse.) The heavier topics really created a strong female role in this book, though, and that was much appreciated. The female characters were quite strong and a great symbol of solidarity.

So this is an nod to the queen of crime, murder on a train, locked rooms, evil men. A retired police officer needing to get home to her birthing daughter is trapped on a train with a killer. She has to unravel who dunnit ...

This had such an Agatha Christie vibe! People traveling on a train during Christmas time and end up getting stuck because of the snow. And then one by one they are picked off by a killer!

This definitely gives off cutesy Christmas vibes but it talks about some pretty heavy stuff! There’s mention of sexual assault and abuse. Kinda through me off with the seriousness of it. I really enjoyed that it started off with the first death and then it worked it’s way back to really set up the story and then continued from there. I did wish there was less characters and more focus on them cause it was a little confusing with how many characters there were. But overall an enjoyable mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

A combination of Christmas and mystery is exactly what I was looking for in a holiday read - an escape from the typical romance and back to my roots of murder 😅

As a huge fan of locked room mysteries, I was really looking forward to this! As usual with these types of books, it takes me a bit to figure out the characters and how they will contribute to the story. Stuck in a train in a snowstorm, Detective Roz finds herself with a mystery to solve on her holiday as not one but two people wind up dead, and the murderer must be on board. Not having the resources of a typical detective team, this was an interesting story to see how Roz navigates this with skill alone. Not necessarily a fast paced thriller, but one that allows the reader time to think and process through the clues themselves!

I expected this to be a bit of a cozy mystery set on a train, and while it was a mystery on a train it definitely had more depth than I was anticipating for a holiday read. And a bit of a dark, unexpected theme. Maybe if I had gone in prepared for this I wouldn't have been so taken aback. Able to reframe expectations, I did find this one still to be intriguing and engaging throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this e-ARC. I am anticipating reading this soon and reviewing on my socials.

Former Met Detective Roz Parker is on the sleeper train from London to the Highlands, in hope of reaching her daughter before the snowstorm closes all traffic. They are somewhat estranged and now her daughter is in labor, the perfect time for a mother to be supportive—if only she can get to the hospital.

That hope dims to nothing when the train derails and there aren’t any crews who can come to the rescue anytime soon. The passengers are a mixed group, families, teens studying for a trivia contest, an influencer and her boyfriend/manager, and a couple of singles.

When a body turns up, it looks like Roz has one last case to solve. After all, by the time the police could arrive, all the evidence could be tainted. A second death follows and she begins to wonder who can be trusted, who can’t, who’s lying, and who’s innocent. Murder on a derailed train in a snowstorm is the modern equivalent of a locked room mystery, the hardest kind to solve. Is there anybody Roz can trust?

This is not just a “who dun it’ mystery but “did someone do it, if yes, how did they do it, and why” tale. While it seems to move slowly in parts, it’s because the passengers are stranded, there’s no internet, no forensics team, or help of any kind. If you’re looking for a mystery with more thriller vibes than a happy holiday story, this is the book for you.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

I enjoyed a great deal about this book. I loved the concept; Roz is an interesting and capable lead; and Alexandra Benedict's writing kept me hooked from the very beginning. She's great at pacing and maintaining tension. That being said, given the obvious homage to Agatha Christie in the plot description, I was expecting this to be a modern cozy mystery. It hits many of the cozy characteristics, but I was unprepared for how sexual assault impacts this book. This was not the fun, light Christmas cozy I was expecting; it was an interesting mystery built upon assault and trauma that carries over and impacts several characters. Because I review cozy mysteries, I opted to not feature this one for professional review. I believe if this book had different marketing (perhaps something to denote the darker tones and themes of the mystery?) then I would have experienced it differently. It's a strong book, but I think readers should be prepared for the content.

Enjoyed the Christmas flair but definitely a book that’s best during the season! Enjoyed the older lead. Wish it had a character list. Holiday brain is real!

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train from London to the Highlands derails, along with the festive plans of its travelers. With the train buried in snow in the middle of nowhere, the passengers have only each other, and not all of them will reach their holiday celebrations.
As a killer tries to pick passengers off one by one, former Met Detective Roz Parker can't resist one last investigation, but murder in a locked room is a formidable puzzle for even the most seasoned investigator. As accusations begin to fly, the group of travelers fractures and unexpected alliances form. Can Roz find the culprit before anyone else is lost?
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for giving me an advance copy.

I picked this book because I thought it would be a nice seasonal mystery.. It ended up being a lot deeper than I thought and i didn't see the ending coming.. A train trip a few days before Christmas has some anxious travelers. When an influencer is found dead in her cabin the mood instantly changes on the trip and a former police officer has to solve the crime to make sure the train doesn't get help up and force her to miss her daughters delivery. There are some potential triggers in this book concerning mental and physical abuse.
When a second murder occurs the stakes get even higher as well as the danger..

Author Alexandra Benedict has made an avocation out of Christmastime murder and mayhem. I previously read Benedict’s so-so The Christmas Murder Game, and there’s another I haven’t read, The Christmas Jigsaw Murders. I’ve returned to read her latest Noël-themed mystery, Murder on the Christmas Express.

This time around, a retiring Met detective named Roz Parker and the other train passengers get stuck on a derailed train while heading to Scotland. Needless to say, there’s a murder. (It’s in the title, right? Plus the girl is killed even before the first chapter.)

Murder on the Christmas Express has the feel of a later book in a series, but I couldn’t find any previous entries. Which is a pity, as I would love to know more about Parker’s odd relationship with her lesbian daughter and about the other cases that Benedict alludes to.

It’s as if Benedict took J. Jefferson Farjeon’s excellent Mystery in White, and decided to riff on the original. Benedict’s writing has improved since The Christmas Murder Game, but there’s still some clunky writing and an denouement that defies belief on several counts. It's not bad, but I found myself flipping through the book to just get to the end. My advice? Read the 1937 original and skip this one.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an e-copy for an honest review.

This is an isolated close circle Mystery.
This was such a fun, Christmas read. A large group of characters all traveling on the train from England to Scotland on an overnight train. But a snowstorm has covered the rails and the train is stopped. Slowly people are dying or getting murdered. Our main character is a retired detective and with the help of another passenger starts investigating the deaths.

I loved this book, so fast paced, short chapters. You wanna fall in love with some characters do you wanna eat some characters and just love the setting.

Five stars all around for this book! I loved this book!! The characters were great and likeable. The mystery had me guessing throughout the book!

Passengers on a train get trapped (of course) with a murderer in their midst. Although I read this author's previous book and enjoyed it, this one didn't do it for me. The characters were obnoxious and unlikeable so you didn't really care if they were murdered, and there were quite a few dark themes in this book which seems like it was a "Christmas" story - but wasn't. This is one I would give a pass to. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Retired Met detective Roz is on the sleeper train to Scotland to spend the holidays with her daughter who is about to give birth. But when a popular reality tv star and influencer is murdered the train comes to a halt. When another murder is committed Roz can’t help but try and find the murderer. As the passengers seem to have links to one another the case is complicated and Roz is distracted by the updates about her daughter giving birth in the hospital. Will Roz be able to solve the mystery by the time the train gets to Scotland and her daughter?

This was a well written, Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery that kept me reading and wanting to find out who the murderer was. I do wish it was a little more lighthearted, but enjoyed it nonetheless!

Like other reviews on Goodreads, this was not a cheery Christmas book. There was a lot that happened before the murder plot line really happened and it was not the Christmas mystery book I was really looking for this time of year. It was a little too dark for my liking.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to honestly review.

Happy to include this title in a holiday round-up highlighting seasonal-themed reads for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)