I am a huge fan of Benjamin Stevenson. ‘Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone’ was one of my top reads of 2023, so I was very excited to read book #2. I love Ernest Cunningham’s narration and the format of the book is so fresh and interesting. I feel like I’m the Watson to Ern’s Holmes, and who doesn’t love being that engrossed in a story?

Unfortunately, the first 2/3 of Everyone on this Train is a Suspect fell flat for me. Especially compared to the first Ernest Cunningham story.
The last 1/3 of the book was everything I wanted. Acton packed, pieces falling into place, fingers pointed and questions answered.
The beginning was just too slow for my personal liking.
I do hope we see more of Ern!!

I read the first book featuring Ernest Cunningham, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, last year but apparently never wrote a review. I totally enjoyed it and its gimmick worked well, which is why I picked up #2, Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect. I don’t typically like meta elements in mysteries, but I like how aware Ernest, our first-person narrator is. He knows the rules of his genre and often references us as the reader and what we might be expecting from his sequel.

This time around, Ernest is a guest speaker at the 50th Australian Mystery Writers Society festival, which is taking place on a train. Of course, one of the authors is murdered and Ernest decides to investigate – and write his second book.

This book is funny and almost too clever. The characters are an interesting bunch, with plenty of secrets and more history than one might expect. Ernest is still witty and self-conscious. The plot is put together very well, with several twists and a couple of amusing epilogues.

I really enjoyed Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, so I was very excited to read this!

I love how meta this is and how Ernest breaks the 4th wall.
When I read thrillers/mysteries, I don’t usually try to figure them out, but since Ernest was giving clues, I did try in this book (I did not guess it).
I loved the fact that this was a locked room mystery with different twists and spoilers from Ernest that kept you guessing. I would definitely another book by Ernest (and Juliette 😉).

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the copy!

"It's not the writing that tells the story, it's the reading." But Stevenson writes Everyone on This Train is a Suspect in a way that makes the story one of the most fun and exciting stories I've read.

After reading the first Ernest Cunningham story, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, last year, (yes, I was late to the party) this sequel was one of the two books that I was most excited for this year. Everyone on This Train is a Suspect did not disappoint. It's Hercules Poirot meets Sherlock Holmes in this fun whodunit.

Ernest Cunningham boards a train across Australia with a handful of other mystery writers and one of them ends up dead. Ernest, writing the story down after the action takes place, tells the reader from the beginning certain things for which to be on the lookout. He then lays the story out in such a way that makes the detailed mystery solvable for the reader without being incredibly obvious or worse, a pet peeve of mine, an obscure one line sentence or phrase being the only clue to the killer.

I enjoyed Everyone on This Train is a Suspect just as much as I did the first Ernest Cunningham novel and hope Stevenson continues writing about Ernest and his murder mystery rules.

I think this one was better than the first book. The first-person narrator's insertion of commentary throughout the story was entertaining.

The "twist" at the end was unexpected. While it did take me some time to fully get into the book (like.. months), once I passed the halfway mark, I found myself unable to put it down.

I appreciated the author's commitment to the "fair play mystery" genre, as the narrator proved to be reliable, making the resolution satisfying and believable. The tally of the murderer's name mentions, added an interactive element that I found clever and enjoyable.

Although I read the previous book, "Everyone is My Family has Killed Someone," I believe this novel stands well on its own, making it accessible to new readers. However, I would advise double-checking the trigger warnings, as some sensitive topics are subtly woven into the narrative.

This book is a gripping closed-door mystery that kept me guessing until the very end, and I highly recommend it to fans of the genre.

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc!

I think it’s important to note that this is the second book in a series. In my opinion, one could read this book as a standalone mystery without having *too* much confusion, but it probably is best to start off with “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.”

That being said, I actually enjoyed this book more than I did the first one. In this second novel, Ernest Cunningham is on board a train for a writer’s conference with other mystery/crime authors. While Ernest is a newer author, the other writers have been in the game much longer and some have complicated histories with each other.

When one of the authors suddenly dies, Ernest is once again thrust into the role of detective. Many people on the train had motive to kill the author, including Ernest. As the writers dig deeper and secrets come out, Ernest is determined to get to the bottom of what really happened.

This author’s writing style is unique in the way that the reader is directly referred to. Stevenson gives us direct clues about what is to happen, referencing events that will occur in certain chapters or letting us know that the killer’s name is said a certain amount of times throughout the book. While the writing style can take some getting used to, it is unique and does give some more believability that we are reading about events that actually happened in Ernest Cunningham’s life. After all, the titles of these fictional works by Benjamin Stevenson are the titles of the same non-fiction books by Ernest Cunningham.

Even though Stevenson leaves us a trail of clues, I did not see this plot playing out how it did. This novel is filled with twists and surprises, and while I don’t wish for Ernest Cunningham to have to keep dealing with all of this death, I do hope his story isn’t over yet. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys mysteries. While this may be cliche, I did sometimes find myself reminded of the Hercules Poirot series, which was part of why I enjoyed this book. Read “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone” first, and then hop on over to this one!

I had such high expectations for this book; it has a delectable concept-a train full of crime writers on their way to a prestigious conference, and then the murders start. Stevenson is hilarious and adept at profiling self-involved authors, and there are so many red herrings they could fill a mystery publisher’s fish shop. As in the first book in this series, the narrator is Ernest Cunningham, the author of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, a best selling account of Ernest’s harrowing experiences with a serial killer. Ernest has been invited to this gathering of seasoned authors on the basis of this work and now, is suffering with ferocious case of writer’s block and on a deadline for his next book. The big draw of the event and the star of the gathering is the famously reclusive Henry McTavish, a literary nova known for his legendary novels featuring Detective Morbund. Publishers, fan club members, and plus ones round out the cast of characters who bring a Christie/Clue like atmosphere to the setting accompanied by their many bottles, mugs, snifters and wine glasses . The tongue in cheek irony and deadpan satire of the tropes and conventions of mystery fiction are front and center, with Ernest, shepherding us though every one of them, repeatedly, including a running tally on how many times the potential killer’s name is mentioned in the book (the magic number is 106). This is great fun until it becomes a joke that goes on too long. I also found Juliette, the mostly selfless romantic partner of Ernst, rather annoying in her constant pandering to his doubts and obsessions. Juliette does develop a bit of a spine as the narrative develops, but by then I was past caring. There are also so many references to Stevenson’s first book, cloaked in the guise of his narrator, that it becomes a prerequisite in order to fully grasp this book. Some surprising twists and turns pop up at the end, but for me, the train derailed halfway through the journey. My thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books.

The best one word review I can think of ( to go along with the infamous one star review in this novel) is: FUN.

This was a wild (train) ride of a thriller, but so different from anything else in this genre. Stevenson has such a unique “meta”’narrative with the Ernest Cunningham books, and as an avid thriller reader, it’s fun to see one that doesn’t take itself so seriously!

Fair, twisty mystery. Engaging, if slightly angsty, hero. Excellent secondary characters. Great setting. Sly, metafictional narrative, with an affectionate wink. Satisfying as a straight up mystery, but also a lot of fun as a commentary on the genre.

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is a worthy follow up to Everyone in this Family Has Killed Someone. The same wit and 4th wall breaking is present, and Ernest remains a favorite character. While I felt like the action took a bit too long to get started, I still enjoyed my time getting to know the new characters. I am so happy that this is a series that is going to continue.

Not to be TOO on the nose with the theme this book centers around, but this literary train was a little slow to get moving and definitely took the scenic route, but it finally built up enough steam to make it a decent trip overall!

Ernest Cunningham is back after the murderous events of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone having written a successful book about it, and is now attending the 50th Australian Mystery Writers Society festival with his girlfriend Juliette aboard a train ride through the desert. With him are six other well-known authors, a couple publishers and a number of fans there to interact with their favorite authors.

I won’t rehash the whole plot, but suffice it to say it takes inspiration from Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, only with Ernest playing the Poirot-role as murder inevitably takes place. If the train was leisurely chugging along at this point - and it was - it definitely started powering down the tracks a bit faster after this! Luckily, by the time the book approached its destination, I was having a lot more fun!

It’s a little hard for me to rate this. I did like it - especially after my library hold on the audio came in and I added in listening to it about halfway through. For me, this series just works better on audio, due to Ernest’s humor and fourth-wall breaking narrative style. When I was just reading it, I found it harder to maintain my attention and enthusiasm. I also don’t hate, but don’t love locked-room mysteries, so the audio provided the extra zing I needed.

I did miss Ernest’s crazy family this time around - these publishing world characters weren’t as fun for me, and the train setting ironically wasn’t as dynamic as the snowy ski-lodge of the first book. Having said that, I really enjoyed the final reveal and watching Ernest put the pieces of the murder mystery puzzle together. I also loved the epilogue(s). Very clever! I’d say this was at a solid three stars until the second half, where the pace and fun picked up, allowing me to end on a satisfying note!

All-in-all, I didn’t like it quite as much as the first book, but I don’t regret taking this trip one bit!

Ernest Cunningham is attending a crime writers festival. He is among the crème de la crème of crime writers and he’s hoping for some inspiration for his next book. And he’s praying that nobody is murdered on this excursion. But as we know, not everyone’s prayers are answered the way they want. Which means one of the crime writers dies. Was it murder or was it natural causes? If it was murder, how is Ernest gonna figure out who it is when most of the suspects are well equipped with how to get away with murder??

I couldn’t wait for this book when I saw it was being published! And it didn’t disappoint! I was determined to figure out who the killer was but it alluded me! This felt very much like an Agatha Christie book! From the murder being committed on a train, to all the clues I missed, and to the epic reveal at the end. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves mysteries!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ernest Cunningham is back, people. The protagonist to "Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone" is attending a mystery writers conference ON A TRAIN when the keynote speaker is murdered. As writers of many murders, everyone on the train is a suspect, since they have researched the art of murder so well. I LOVED EIMFHKS and this book is even better. I had such high expectations and every single one of them were exceeded.

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect was a really entertaining and quickly paced read. I have not read the entry in this series, but I certainly will after reading it's sequel. I love how it feels like Ernest is sitting next to me telling me this crazy story about his life. Recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

Ernest Cunningham has been given a 100k advance for his first fiction book after his bestselling book about his own horrible experience with murders. He has been having a hard time with writing and goes to a mystery festival that takes place on a train with his girlfriend Juliette.

“Seven writers board a train. At the end of the line, five will leave it alive. One will be in cuffs.”

When the first writer dies, Ernest and his fellow writers become detectives on the case. It's a perfect opportunity for these mystery writers to use their knowledge of their genres to their advantage. Who will be the one to crack the case?

Everyone on the Train is a Suspect was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it delivered. This was a great follow up to the first book and didn't fall into the sophomore slump. I love metafiction and Ernest Stephenson continues to execute. The fresh cast of characters was great to keep you on your toes.

When Ernest accepts an invitation to join a crime writing festive taking place aboard a train, he thinks he will finally have the opportunity to work on his new book (fiction this time). Things naturally do no go as planned. A murder takes place on the train and given that everyone in attendance is a crime writer, they all should be capable of solving a crime. Unfortunately, they all also know how to commit one and maybe even get away with it. All the authors start playing detective but how do you know who to trust when everyone is a suspect.

A 4 star rating and every bit of it is earned. If you liked Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, you'll enjoy this one as well. It's silly, unrealistic, and so much fun while still being a mystery that's interesting to see get solveD.

Ernest is back...and struggling to write a fiction follow up to his memoir, "Everyone in My Family is a Murderer". Stuck on a train trip with a bunch of other insecure authors, he is hoping to find some inspiration. But luckily, or not so lucky depending on who you ask, there might be another mystery for him just around the bend.

***

I had no idea this was a sequel, but boy was I delighted to find out there was another Ernest mystery for me to dive into! What a fresh perspective on the mystery genre, while delightedly referring and showing reverence to the old guard. This is one of those reviews that is so hard to write because I feel the way Stevenson writes these books are genre invigorating. Nothing totally game changing, just a really pleasant edition to the mystery genre that is fun and fresh!

Absolutely for fans of Anthony Horowitz. Do not go in with any expectations, and you definitely do not have to read the first in the series.

Murder seems to follow Ernest Cunningham wherever he goes. Australian Mystery Writers’ Society has invited him to travel aboard the Ghan, an elite train journey between Darwin and Adelaide, in Australia, he’s hoping for some much needed inspiration for his next book. Once onboard everything goes awry quickly. When a prominent author turns up dead, everyone is a suspect. After all, everyone has a motive. Ern quickly goes into detective mode hoping to use his findings in his new book. When a second murder occurs, there’s even more material…but will Ern solve the case before there are more deaths or, will he himself be in peril? Another fun and witty locked room mystery by Stevenson. One that will have you riding the rails from start to finish. Thank you to Penguin and NetGallery for an ARC of this book.

I started 2024 by reading Stevenson's superb "Everyone in My Family," so it is fitting that the first book I read in February is the follow-up "Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect." It did not disappoint. Our narrator Ernest has achieved some success with his first book and has been invited to a Crime-writing festival aboard a luxurious train. Lots of suspects in this locked-room mystery. This is meta-fiction that works with Ernest giving clues along the way. I loved the take on the publishing industry, rabid fans, jealous authors, etc. I did suffer some confusion with keeping all the characters and their motives in mind, and because of that, I am rating this book a 4-star. But it is a fun book that I highly recommend, and I definitely hope there is a third book. It is best if you read the books in order.