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.

The beginning of this book is a little slow going. Maybe I would even go so far to say the first half. But once it picks up, it’s great. I never quite catch all the clues that Ernest does, but are you really supposed to? The Oxford comma is the best though!

Ern Cunningham is back! This time he's managed, luckily enough, to come upon another set of murders.

The book immediately had me hooked and not just because it was set on a train. It had an interesting cast of characters where I suspected everyone at one point or the other which is how a great mystery should be done. It was even funnier than the first book.

I love how genre-savvy and meta the book is but I wish Ern stopped telling us how honest he was or informing us about the page numbers. Other than that and some plot points involving his personal life, I had a lot of fun reading it.
Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Mariner Books for the e-copy!

The sequel was very aligned with the voice of the first, however I find our MC/narrator to be whiny and annoying. He has zero credentials criticizing everyone else. Probably won’t be ready any further from him.

5 stars! adventurous, funny, lighthearted, mysterious, fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Every bit as funny, twisty, thrilling as the first Ernest Cunningham novel. Maybe even better! I enjoyed how different this was from most mysteries I’ve read. I really hope EC comes back for a third book!

This started out a bit slowly and I honestly almost set it aside, however it more than delivered in the reveal of the killer. I love how Stevenson not only created this intricate world in which Ernest plays amateur detective but also peoples it with so many secondary characters. I am also enthralled with all the layers found here from the ways firecracker was incorporated to the little clues dropped about the killer being named 106 times. Ernest picking apart the genre and trying to hold himself to specific word counts as he told “his story” made this much more fun than reading a regular detective novel. I’ve already recommended the first book to several friends and I am delighted that the sequel lived up to the first.

This is the second installment in the series, and it was so much fun! Just like in the first book, we get all of the witty banter and the narrator feeling as though you are friends just having a chat about things.

This book follows writers on a train who end up getting killed one by one, and I must say that this was so much fun. I would go into it with as little knowledge as possible, as this makes it even more fun and enjoyable to read. I highly recommend, especially if you liked the first book!