Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
.
Ernest Cunningham has had a really rough go of things recently, which you would know if you have read his book “Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone”. Now Ernest is traveling on a cross country train and trying to enjoy his trip. Andrea then someone dies.
.
What I loved:
-Both of these books are just lots of fun, some excellent dry humor, and tricky murder mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed both of then and hope that there are more to come!
-Even though there are a LOT of characters with their own back stories, the story was told in a way that made it easy to keep track of everything and follow along.
-Ernest gives us clues throughout and tells us to remember things because they are important and I still raised my eyebrows at some of the reveals!
.
5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I think these books are both brilliant, real “firecrackers” if you will, peerless and unputdownable.

The wit and fourth-wall breaking of 'Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone' had me excited about a sequel. This book seems to break the fourth wall even more, with the narrator guiding the reader along in solving the murder mystery, spelling out what will happen next. I loved it. Imagine Deadpool, if he were genuine human being who was nicer, telling you a classic murder mystery. I enjoyed the humor aspect of it, and the way that it still felt grounded in reality. This book is perfect for anyone tired of the same old mystery stories with the same old tropes but still wants to stick with the genre. It works well as a standalone or a sequel, both new and old readers can enjoy it, though I imagine if you start with this one you'll immediately pick up the first one. I'm looking forward to more from Benjamin Stevenson, but after that final twist, I'm not sure what to expect.

I'm a sucker for this kind of meta 4th wall-breaking writing style, including the ultra genre-awareness of explaining the rules at the beginning and then pointing out exactly where they come into play during the book. An enjoyable locked-room type of mystery with an ending that made sense and characters that were interesting. If you hated the writing style of the first book in the series, then this one is not for you either. But if you liked it - I highly recommend the follow-up!

This fun mystery is a sequel to Everyone In My Family Has Killed Somebody, though it can be read as a standalone. The conceit of the first novel was that the narrator, Ernest, was an expert on mystery books who was writing a non-fiction account of some crazy stuff that happened to his family. In this book, Ernest is invited to a mystery writer festival which is taking place on a long train ride through Australia, where of course someone turns up dead.

Once again, there’s lots of snark, talk about mystery book conventions, and plenty of breaking the fourth wall to talk to the reader. But also a fun mystery with both plenty of surprises but also that makes sense once revealed. A really enjoyable and original series, and if a third book gets written, I’ll be there!

I enjoyed the unique writing style. For instance, the way the m.c talks to the audience does give a private I voice to the story. The story was intriguing in the beginning however I felt it got a bit slow with little to nothing happening over 30% of the book. I didn’t find the actions or description's of the characters were a setup for the suspect list. It just felt like characters doing regular day to day things (drinking coffee meeting talking etc) with the narrator feedback. When the m.cs wife went on a tour I kinda wished I went with her. The story dragged and I was hoping for a little bit more suspense and mystery. The reaction of the m.c and he’s wife to the murder was such as it was an opportunity for him. I didn’t feel any fear considering they are trapped with a potential murder on a train. In my opinion if the author got to the point or to the murder that is and the setup was a little darker it would have been a more atmospheric, eerie captivating story. Author has great ideas just needs a little bit more excitement.

My Rating: 5/5 stars

Thanks to Mariner Books and Netgalley for an early copy of this book to review!

My Thoughts: I read the first book in this series and absolutely fell in love with the author’s writing style. When I came across the sequel in Netgalley I desperately wanted to get my hands on it. It’s told in a first person point of view, and the narrator is telling us the story after the fact. I love books that are within books. The narrator, Ernest is hilarious in a sarcastic witty way. I’ve found myself laughing out loud multiple times.

Something else I love about this book is the rules it goes by and how it feels like a classic mystery. There aren’t crazy paranormal plot twists, just realistic ones that are still extremely twisty. I haven’t been able to guess the ending yet! I can’t wait to continue reading in this series. I think lovers of a classic mystery will love this book. And you should check out Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone before reading this one. That book was absolutely amazing!

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3 1/2 stars out of 5)

This book releases January 30! Thanks to @netgalley I was able to take this Agatha Christie-like whodunnit mystery on vacation with me! I powered through the first book in this series on audio, but I enjoyed this ebook format much more!

What I liked:
•the narrator’s sense of humor and sarcasm. I definitely laughed out loud a few times. Murder, mystery and comedy?
•the narrator hinted often at who the suspect(s?) might be. So gets you thinking.
•the opening 1/3 and closing 1/3 of the book were the best parts for me and kept my attention.
•the setting on The Ghan Train in Australia. Google it! https://www.journeybeyondrail.com.au/journeys/the-ghan/

What I didn’t like:
•way too many characters for me to keep track of. I had to take notes and use the kindle lookup feature often.
•I never really could guess who did it, because I didn’t really get to know all the characters well enough.
•Again with this book much like his last, it was a novel about the process of writing a book, but the book was the story we were reading. Again…the broken 4th wall, and occasional “this isn’t fiction, it’s real life” comments rub me the wrong way.

If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie or big cast mysteries, then read both this author’s books!

Book 4 of 2024
Read January 17-27

If you enjoyed the first Ern Cunningham book, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, rest assured that this book is even better! If you have not read the first, you can enjoy Ern’s second experience with real-life murders, but I recommend reading the first book first to get better immersed in Ern and his background, although our narrator is careful to avoid spoilers.
The setup for this series is clever, and author Benjamin Stevenson makes the most of it. As the author of several books on how to write mysteries, narrator Ern Cunningham is an expert on techniques for solving crime and for knowing how to presenting details to a reader to challenge the reader’s own crime-solving skills. In this book, he describes attending a mystery writers’ conference being held on a train traveling through Australia from Darwin to Adelaide. When an apparent murder occurs, there are a number of “experts” to help with the investigation, or maybe hinder it if they are the murderer!
Although Ern is certainly serious about solving the crime, the book does not hold back on the wry humor. My first smile came at location 85 when the mystery authors are introduced and one of the books is titled My Lab Partner is a Serial Killer. Then as he introduces the book, Ern says that his writing a second book is good news for readers who wanted more but more unfortunate for those who had to die so he could write it.
It is common for a mystery book to contain certain tropes and challenges to the reader, but Ern makes them explicit and drops specific hints and challenges to the reader. There are touches like an alert that he will use the killer’s name exactly 106 times during the rest of the book, a hint that a comma will be helpful in solving the case, and a comment that having a drink with bestselling Scottish mystery author Henry McTavish later in the book will serve as an inspiration.
Ern is more than a narrator, though. He is also a character, and I warmed to him and his reactions to the violence around him. His personal life is also affected by the events, because he has brought an engagement ring on the trip and planned to propose to his love Juliette. The atmosphere is not exactly conducive to romance.
Another interesting but low-key aspect is the trip through the Australian desert, a part of the world most readers know nothing about.
But what about the murder aspect? This part of the book is done as well as one would expect from a knowledgeable narrator like Cunningham and had lots of interesting twists. I confess, though, that he lost me and I found the ending very clever but a bit unsatisfying. I admit that Ern was writing from life and could not tailor events to make his book easier for the reader to solve…. Maybe he should consider fiction!
I received an advance review copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher.

From the author of Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, comes a fun locked-room mystery. I found some superb qualities of Agatha Christie's novels. Brilliantly written and a suspenseful mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This whodunit takes place on the experiential tourism-oriented passenger train, The Ghan, that travels through Darwin and Adelaide in the Australian Desert. There are 7 writers that belong to the Australian Mystery Writer's Society aboard the train, 2 will be dead by the end of the journey and 1 will be in handcuffs.
How do you find a killer when all of the suspects know how to get away with murder? These writers also know how to solve one.
The book is directly addressed to the reader, giving endless clues to who the killer is. The narrator is a debut writer, Ernest Cunningham. He suffers from impostor syndrome and becomes intrusive inside of the story reminding us it is a fiction and inserting himself to the reader. He is on this journey with his wife Juliette who thought it would inspire him to write his book aboard the train. Little did they know they would encounter a real-life mystery to solve.
Brilliantly written and fun to digest as if we are getting a first hand experience aboard this train ride through Australia. Thank you NetGalley and Mariner Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Title: Everyone on the Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
Publication Date- 01/30/24
Publisher- Mariner Books
Overall Rating- 5 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I never thought I would say this but this was someone better than the first one. If you were worried about Stevenson would follow up Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, he does and he does it even better. I am not going to spoil the first novel, or this one for that matter but I will warn you, you need to read the first one, first. He leaves it open such that you technically can pick this up and not fully be spoiled by the first novel but I would recommend reading Everyone in My Family first, there’s a lot of easter eggs.

Where to even begin for such a fun novel. Stevenson balances a very solid, thought provoking murder mystery with comedy, social commentary, a character study and so much more. There truly is nothing else out there like this series. I would say the closest and not to be compared because on it’s own great level, but that would be something of the like of Anthony Horowitz which I adore.

What sounds out in this series is how on the nose and smart it is. You truly go alongside the detective, who is open and honest about everything that is happening and man I ate it up. I love these characters so much and it was such a privilege to spend another novel with them.

For a sequel, you never want it to be too much like the first but not so far away you don’t recognize it. This hit that balance perfectly. If you are a mystery fan you don’t want to pass this one up.

4.5! (maybe 4.75....????) Better than the first one!! The second of the series, somehow both very meta and also a classic locked room mystery at the same time?? The format of the narrator talking to the reader is done so well here and really had me trying to figure everything out before the reveal, which I did (yes a brag) but in a way that felt really satisfying because it wasn't obvious and even through that I was still surprised at so many pieces of the reveal and the actual ending!! Assuming (hoping...) that there will be more and definitely looking forward to them!

This book about a murder that takes place on a train in Australia during a gathering of mystery writers and their fans was just okay for me. I did not read the first book so perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I had done that. I'm also not a nuanced mystery reader so that was also an obstacle to my enjoyment. I did like the first person narrative, the landscape descriptions, and the humor.

Ernest Cunningham is struggling to write his second book but first foray into fiction after the events on the mountain. When he is invited to attend the Australian Mystery Writers Society crime writing festival as a featured author, he jumps at the chance to attend with his girlfriend Juliette and seek inspiration for his book. Traveling on a historic train from Darwin to Adelaide through the Australian Outback, Ernest unfortunately gets his inspiration in the form of a murder. One of the featured writers, the incomparable but absolutely horrible Henry McTavish drops dead during the second day of the festival. Ernest sets out to find the killer using the expertise of his fellow crime writers. The task is harder than it seems given the victim gave everyone plenty of reasons to want him dead and all of the suspects are experts on how to commit murder and get away with it.
Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson is the follow-up to one of my favorite books from last year, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. Somehow this book is even better than the first. Stevenson is fantastic with characters. Ernest is snarky without being annoying and the first person narration allows the reader to really connect with Ernest and solve the mystery along with him. Unfortunately for poor Ernest, I hope Stevenson continues this series.

I absolutely loved the first book in the series (it was a rare 5 star read for me), and I was so excited to pick this one up. Maybe it was my mood (as there are plenty of positive reviews on this one), but I just did not get the same excitement out of reading this newest installment. There are SO MANY CHARACTERS, and not all of them are as well developed as they should be for the role that they play. I did not find myself wanting to turn pages late into the night, but rather it took me several days to get through this one because I just wasn't excited to jump back in. I do love Stevenson's unique style. I loved the setting on a train in rural Australia during a writer's convention. I enjoyed the premise behind the plot, but I just felt like it was over-the-top outlandish at times (and not in a good way). I will absolutely pick up Stevenson again.....but with the hope of the excitement of book 1 of the series.

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect was an interesting take on a locked room mystery. The narrator is both a participant and author of the story, and they are writing after the murder(s) have taken place and the mystery is solved. So there are conversations between the narrator and the reader throughout the whole book about the rules of mysteries and why characters can or can't be the murder. I found this component took me out of the story a bit because it kept breaking up the flow of the book, but it was something I enjoyed in small doses. I had not realized this was a second in a series and I think there was a lot of backstory in the first book that would have helped me be more connected to the main character.

Overall, I liked the approach and the connection to the Agatha Christie style of Murder on the Orient Express. You have a set list of possibilities and I enjoyed the path of trying to determine the murderer. Enjoyable cozy mystery.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is for anyone that loves a locked room mystery plus it involves writers, publishers, and readers! It was a captivating read. This is Stevenson's second Ernest Cunningham novel and I felt that it was much better than the first. I look forward to the third installment.

Thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book for my opinion.

I read the first book by Stevenson, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, and enjoyed it. There was some verbal trickery that I didn't quite agree with but still, a fun book. Having read that book made this one more enjoyable and so did expecting that the author would toy with the readers expectations.

Ernest Cunningham returns as the first person narrator. He's been asked to come along as the debut writer on the Australian Mystery Writer's Society's fiftieth anniversary of their Festival. Along with five other writers, he will be doing a series of panels for a select group.
Also on the train is his girlfriend, Juliette, and his literary agent, Simone Morrison, as well as any number of other characters. Ernest is not excited to see Simone as he is late on delivering his next book, the one he has already gotten an advance for. It's just too bad because he just doesn't have a brain for fiction. So it's with mixed emotions that Ernest realizes that a death along their journey may not be entirely natural. He decides that he is going to investigate, all while writing his next book (the one we are reading) while adhering to the rules he lists at the beginning of the book.
As in the first book, Ernest drops clues as to who the murderer will end up being. Also like the first book, many of those clues were deft red herrings. It made it a little hard to read and some of the story felt a little thin but it was overall a very nice read and I'm hoping that the epilogue is a hint to how the next book in the series will be rolled out.

Four stars
This book comes out January 30, 2024
Follows Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone
ARC kindly provided by Mariner Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

The second book in the Ernest Cunningham series was just as entertaining and fun as the first book. It was clever and funny - if you liked the movie Knives Out, then I think you would enjoy this book. I hope Benjamin Stevenson continues this series. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

3.7
Clearly clever but curiously uninteresting. I mean, it's probably me, but...I was watching the smart parts go by this whole book without even a spark of interest, so.

I enjoyed Benjamin Stevenson’s, Everyone In my Family Has Killed Someone, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of his latest madcap mystery novel, Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect. I do recommend that you first read Everyone In My Family… as references are made to that novel several times.

As with the first book, our narrator, Ernest Cunningham, is a highly likeable author, who stumbled upon writing murder mysteries, after he wrote about his own family’s murder mystery caper. It is through the voice of Ern that we are taken backstage, as amateur sleuths, and with our narrator at our side, we work to solve the murders together.

As the title suggests, this murder mystery takes place on a train, and much in the vein of Agatha Chrisitie’s, Murder On The Orient Express, we navigate a large cast of characters, suspects and murder victims.

The first half of this book dragged somewhat for me. There was quite a bit of rehashing from the first book, as well as set-up for this book. At about 50%, the story really got going and I was hooked to the end. I enjoyed navigating through the action scenes (as in the first book the action scenes are quite far-fetched, and have a made-for-the-big-screen feel), who-done-it moments, and a few surprising twists.

I recommend, Everyone On This Train Is a Suspect, to fans of Benjamin Stevenson’s first book, lovers of Agatha Christie, and anyone who enjoys a cozy mystery. Stevenson’s latest mystery is fun ride for sure!

3.5 Stars - rounded up to 4 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the eARC of Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson