Benjamin Stevenson, you have outdone yourself again!

I was a huge fan of the first book in the Ernest Cunningham series, "Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone". I was still thinking about the story weeks after I finished reading the book. It was smartly written. It had comedy and drama. It kept me guessing and at points laughing until the satisfying conclusion.

The second book, Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect, not only lives up to the hype of the first book but also exceeds it. I went into this book excited to jump back into Ernest's world. I can't help but to wonder if danger follows Ernest or does Ernest just find danger. I don't want to discuss the plot much in this review but this second book is just as fun as the first. If you've never read the first book, I would recommend reading both back to back. It's not necessary but you'll fun staying in this world for a lot longer.

Wholeheartedly recommend both books in this series!

First of all I need to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

With that said, what a pleasure it was to read this sequel. I had enjoyed the first Ernest Cunningham book so much. I was afraid that something would be lost in the second novel. Although I enjoyed the first in the series more, this was still a definite winner. Lots of fun. Here is hoping for a third installment.

Thank you for a netgalley of one of my most anticipated books of 2024.

I loved this book. I really did. The fact the narrator interacts with the reader the whole entire time is quite fun.

Yes Ern is quirky and odd at times. But that is part of his charm. What made me really enjoy this plot is the characters. There were so many, but once you have them down it is quite easy to follow along.

Yes it took a hot minute to get to the dead body, but worth the payoff. The story is well set up and I think the plot is well fleshed out. I did not find there to be a lag in the movement of the story. The ending where we find out who did it was fantastic. It is well explained and intricate enough that there are many ways it could go. But not so intricate that it was unbelievable.

Well there was one small moment at the end where I was like no effing way. But it did not bother me enough to question the ending.

If you have not read this series, I highly recommend you picking them up. But yes, you should read them in order.

Ernest Cunningham has survived his family and found himself with a book deal for a follow-up but he has writers block. Maybe a change of scenery will help him to work out his next book?

That new scenery happens to be a train trip with a who's who of mystery writer colleagues. The fourth wall is nonexistent, the spoilers flow (and are pointed out regularly), and the tone expertly matches the first in this series.

I loved it, I will follow Ernest on all of his adventures!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced readers copy of this book to be published January 30, 2024

If you are looking for a good, slow mystery Benjamin Stevenson one to deliver. I really enjoyed his first "Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone" so it was fun to pick right back up with familiar characters in "Everyone on This Train Is A Suspect". I had a slightly harder time getting into this book and it started a bit slow. I loved all the references back to the first book and how it reads like the author is telling you the story (much like the first book). It's fun, not a page turner but enjoyable and well written.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publication.

Ernest is taking a luxury train across Australia to the Australian Mystery Writers Festival when a murder or two happens. Ernest hopes to use the mystery writers on board and their perspective specialties to solve the murder and give you the opportunity to solve along with him. The narrarator breaks the fourth wall and talks to the reader the whole time. It’s funny, smart, clever and creative. Definitely for fans of Agatha Christie. Tons of red herrings, twists and turns. Totally different than any other mystery I’ve read recently. I didn’t read his first book before reading this and it was fine but he does make many references to his first novel which is fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Benjamin Stevenson writes mystery novels that are different from most that I have read. The main character/author (Ern) in the story writes in the first person and speaks directly to the reader. Ern is sure to follow the “rules” for writing a mystery book, gives clues for the reader to solve it for themselves (takes me back to middle school and trying to solve The Westing Game). There are plenty of rd herrings, plot twists and surprised to keep the reader engaged I. The story.

Just as fun and tongue in cheek as the first one. I really enjoy this author and will continue to pick up books by him.

Another highly anticipated sequel that did not disappoint

After enjoying Ernest Cunningham's voice in the first book in this series, I looked forward to reading this one. Even though these mysteries are following "the rules" of mystery writing and have a mostly-reliable narrator, they still manage to surprise and throw twists at the reader. The voice of the character is quite entertaining and caused some snort-laughing for me. But, though with a light step, some darker underlying issues are touched upon in the motives for the deaths. (And seeing Ern get his comeuppance from Juliette was chef's kiss!)

For fans of Golden Age mysteries and the previous novel in this series

Ernest Cunningham is back in this sequel to Benjamin Stevenson's "Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone." After the events in the first book (a family reunion on a mountain involving buried secrets, a serial killer, and an alarmingly high number of murders for what's supposed to be a vacation), Ernest published a successful book about the incident, and his publisher wants a second. He's having trouble coming up with a plot but when he is invited to a crime writers' convention taking place on a train, he hopes that will give him the inspiration he needs. Unfortunately, that inspiration comes in the form of more people dropping dead around him--good for his writing career, not so good for the people who were murdered. Ernest must put his detective skills to work to find the killer before the train reaches their destination.

If you liked the first book in the series, you'll likely enjoy this one as well--the humor, narration, and everything that made the first book feel so original are back here. I think the author does a good job of making this feel "similar-yet-different" to the first book and I probably enjoyed this one more than the first. There are still a lot of characters to keep track of, but the narrator does a good job of keeping everyone straight and periodically providing recaps of suspects, clues, etc. in an attempt to be a "fair play" mystery that provides the reader a chance to solve the mystery along with him. I felt like the characters and plot of this were a bit easier to follow than in book 1, and the locked room setting of the train is enjoyable.

I will say that if you have not read the first one, you may want to do that before starting this--there are a number of references to events that take place in the first book that really only make sense with the full context of that book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE was one of my favorites last year so I was very excited to get my hands on an early copy of the sequel. It did not disappoint! I love how witty and interesting Stevenson makes his books. I am a little sad that I couldn’t figure this one out however, I always enjoy when a book has a surprising ending and this did. I will be eager to read whatever Stevenson writes next!

I absolutely loved Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, so I knew I was going to love Everyone on This Train is a Suspect--and I was right! This had a real Agatha Christie-feel to it and some crazy characters alongside our hero from the first book, Ernest Cunningham. The other mystery writers that join him at the Australian Mystery Writers Conference that is being held on a luxury train are all so different, with tons of secrets of their own. There's lots of backstabbing and twists that were so surprising! I also absolutely love how Stevenson uses Ernest to break the fourth wall once again and pull the reader right into the story.

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson is a follow-up book to Everyone In My Family Had Killed Someone. The first-person narrator Ern Cunningham has been invited to a literary mystery writer festival, and all the authors are traveling to the festival on a train. As the title suggests, a murder occurs making everyone a suspect. I loved the first book and enjoyed the campy humor and found this sequel to feel more like Agatha Christie with a complex plot and only dashes of humor. What makes Stevenson stand out is breaking the fourth wall with clues like the number of times the killer's name is mentioned. The clever title and great cover will have readers picking it up and giving it a try.

I absolutely loved the first book in this series - I flew through it in just a couple of days, and it made me gasp and laugh out loud and completely shocked me. I knew it was going to be hard to live up to that one, and while I still liked this book a lot and thought it was a masterfully crafted mystery that kept me guessing while still all clicking into place, I thought this one was just a little bit underwhelming. The characters in this sequel weren't as poignant as the first book, and I just didn't care about them as much, which was a shame. Even Ernest, the narrator, felt like a different character in this one, especially with his relationship with Juliette. I found myself getting annoyed with him and his actions a lot more in this one. Still, this was a fun and clever mystery, and I still loved the fourth wall breaks and thought it was a really unique way of telling a story. Would definitely recommend! It doesn't quite live up to the first one, but I thought the first one was genius. Probably not fair for me to compare, but it is a sequel, so I may as well.

Loved this book. The writing style, especially it being in first person makes it all so much better.
Ernest has to write a second book. But he swears he can't write fiction. He needs an actual murder. So, all these writers together on a train, what could go wrong? There's anguish and fighting among them in more ways than one that gets revealed as the story goes on. Murder is definitely on the menu.
This book was great. Go read it now!

After reading the first book in this series, I really wasn't sure how the author was going to be able to create a second book. I sought it out on NetGalley to see if it happened to be available and I got lucky and was given access to it.

While I wouldn't say it was better than the first, it was certainly on par with the first. If you loved the first one, I do recommend also getting this one. Our narrator is just as funny, clumsy, oblivious, and keeps making decisions that make you cringe a bit while still managing to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together... while adding in his tidbits about how murder mysteries are written. It was a fun ride for me and I quite enjoyed it. I'm sure it isn't for everyone, there were a lot of characters to keep track of... however this isn't any different than the first book. Most characters from the previous book don't make an appearance but there are exceptions.

I would say if you enjoyed the first book, give this one a read too. If you didn't read the first book, you don't need to read it to enjoy this story, but you understand the relationships of the two returning characters a bit better. Not necessary to the story... our narrator explains them just fine... it just gives you that extra knowledge.

Stevenson's locked room mystery is made all the more interesting because it's written in the first person. Therefore, the reader is intimately involved in the process of discerning just who the murderer might be. Because the train is filled with successful writers, there's no shortage of suspects who would know just how to commit—and get away with—murder. But I found the solution to be a genuine surprise.

I loved Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, but I have to tell you, this one was better! It had all the great nods to Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, but was still incredibly funny and full of lovable characters. Juliette is back, and just as smart as before. Simone, the agent, was probably my favorite character ( I kept picturing Estelle, Joey’s agent in Friends 😂). But the best part was that each writer on board the train brought a certain specialty to Ernest’s narration, from forensics to legality to psychology. I loved all the helpful hints Ernest offers, even though I did not figure out who did it. I really just didn’t want it to end. 5 ⭐️

5 stars for this creative, funny, smart, twisty, and fast-paced mystery by Benjamin Stevenson. I haven't read his first, but now I am definitely gong back to it. I loved the nod to Agatha Christie and the whole "locked room" (in this case locked train) mystery. The author breaks the fourth wall several times, providing clues and comments along the way. The reveal is spectacular...while you think you might know, you really don't, and if you do know, you probably don't know why. I can't wait to see what this author does next!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC.

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

I think this was a solid 3.5 stars.
I hadn't read the first book, but that didn't matter. It gets talked about a lot. It felt like too many times, but they are in this trip because of the book, and it's Ernest's main defining trait, so I don't know.

The structure of the book was interesting. It was like a mystery book for beginners, using fourth wall breaks to point out clues and rules of a mystery. I thought it did a good job of making the information gathered clear so that you could have a good chance at deducing the killer, without making it too obvious (although some of the potential motives were a bit flimsy). However, the blurb was a bit misleading. It sounded to me like the authors were going to all be investigating and possibly come together as a team with one of them potentially being a saboteur. That's not what happened.

Overall, it was a pretty quick read with a light tone. Good if you like mysteries but like to have someone helping you put the pieces together.