Benjamin Stevenson’s first novel was a fun, tongue in cheek locked room mystery. This sequel just wasn’t as much fun for me. His irreverent tone and the set up felt over baked this time around.

An absolutely phenomenal sophomore book from Benjamin Stevenson! I adored his debut, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, and had the highest of expectations for the sequel. All of those expectations were met. All of them.

This was a thrilling, hilarious ride of twists and turns told by my favorite author/kind of detective/right place right time guy Ernest Cunningham. His voice is so refreshing, honest and humorous that I couldn't put this book down.

The mystery was excellent, with foreshadowing left and right; an eclectic cast of characters, each with depth and growth; and such a unique setting and insane circumstances that it's impossible not to get sucked in almost immediately.

An incredible piece of literature that I have already begun rereading. Benjamin Stevenson, you've done it again. I truly hope we see more of Ernest Cunningham's (mis)adventures in the future, and I look forward to checking out the rest of Stevenson's works.

A huge thank you to Mariner Books, NetGalley and Benjamin Stevenson for the ARC!

I’ve caught up with Rachel Hawkin’s writing, and I have to say I love all of her books. I have finished them all in the span of 24 hours, and The Heiress is no exception. This one might be my favorite of all.
This story was intense and intertwined. I felt like it was a thriller version of Evelyn Hugo, and it made me so happy. Hawkins is so good at creating complicated relationships and deep complex characters.
Ruby was stolen as a toddler, and luckily brought back to her family. The twists and turns from there are page burning, and you will love how it all ends tied up in a dysfunctional bow.
I will be recommending this book to everyone.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

After Ernest Cunningham's first book, he is looking for some inspiration. So when he is invited on the Australian Mystery Writers festival aboard a train through the Australian desert, he is preparing for some dedicated writing time to jump start book two. Surrounded by mystery writers should be good motivation. When one of the guests is murdered everyone on board is a suspect and also trying to solve the murder. There is no shortage of secrets and grudges among the travelers and unraveling who to trust is complex.

I loved the first book in this series and the writing style that breaks the wall between writer and reader. In book two we again get hints as to who the murderer will be all the way through. As a locked room mystery, this is done very well with lots of complex characters. As the book progresses, everyone's secrets begin to be exposed. Some are red herrings which keeps the reader guessing until the end of the story when we get the big reveal.

I am looking forward to more from author Benjamin Stevenson and hopefully this series continues.

I LOVED Stevenson's first book - Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone. It was such a delight to read, and so I couldn't wait to dive in to Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect. And this new story did not disappoint! I love that the "writer", Ernest, narrates the story, and he, himself is in the story. Such creativity! And such wit! I laughed out loud numerous times, as Ernest participates in this writers' event on the train.

The story moves along smoothly until about halfway through, I'd say, and then it begin to get a little complicated. I should have made a list of each character to refer to as I read the story, because I got confused several times. There's a lot of fun deviousness going on, as well as some murders, and I needed to reread parts of the book for it all to make sense. But so much fun it was!

Highly recommend!

I devoured this book! I could not put it down. I love the way Ernest talks to the reader through out the book. He seems so real and it’s easy to feel like you’re running through the train solving the crime with him. The book sets you up like you can easily solve it. I mean, he gives a lot of blatant clues, and yet I was still absolutely surprised in the end!!

I ADORED Stevenson's first book, and I was thrilled that he wrote a second one about our favorite bumbling accidental detective, Ernest Cunningham. This time it's a tale reminiscent of Murder On the Orient Express, except with much more drinking and much less glamour (in a good way). I don't know what it is with this guy, but murder (and subsequent novels) seem to follow him wherever he goes, and readers are all the more delighted for it. A worthy sequel to a nearly perfect first installment.

3.75

I just finished “Everyone on this Train is a Suspect” and I don’t even know what happened! I mean I know what happened, but it was such a whirlwind.

This is a sequel to “Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone”, which I didn’t remember as much as I thought so I had to go back and brush up on some of the details, difficult since only the audiobook was available from the library and I didn’t know where to start. After that side trip I was back.

Not only is this written in the same voice as Ernest Cunningham, but he tries to make you think that he’ll be delivering the solution to you so easily that you’ll know who did it ahead of time. You won’t. It doesn’t matter that he told you that he would use the killer’s name exactly 106 times (which he technically didn’t do, technically). It doesn’t even matter that he gives updates on the number of times names were used and addresses what he assumes are your assumptions.

I was back-and-forth on this book. I had a hard time getting into it even though a murder on a luxury train across Australia?! I mean, hello!

Finally, I was getting into it, though what was that with the Range Rover and the mines and the Mission Impossible catch up onto the smoking deck? The time passed alone made that impossible. It probably could have been left out. This isn’t really a spoiler because you won’t know what I’m talking about until you get there and it’s not really gonna give you the answer anyway. If anything, it’s a red herring and you know how he feels about red herrings!

My feelings are mixed a little. I was a little slow to the uptake, but I do love a good false narrator á la Anthony Horowitz. This isn’t quite as gruesome thriller like as the first book. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely death, but not so much fear and having a hard time going to sleep after reading. It’s definitely worth a read and I mean, Australia! That’s a bit of a niche and it’s nice to have a change of pace, though I don’t know that I cared for all of the effort spent telling us how he’s having a hard time writing the novel and how real life is turning in to a book and how lucky he is. We already know you’re not writing a novel.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for providing an unbiased review.

I don’t really know why this was kind of a miss for me. I had a hard time keeping up with all the characters and their motives while also following our main character’s own inner dialogue. It was still a fun ride (pun not completely intended) but I don’t think it lived up to the first book. But my opinion, thus far, seems to be in the minority so pick this baby up JANUARY 30!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy

Metafiction. Definition: “Fiction in which the author self-consciously alludes to the artificiality or literariness of a work by parodying or departing from novelistic conventions (especially naturalism) and traditional narrative techniques.” (Oxford Languages)

Stevenson writes in the first person as Ernest Cunningham, a guy who keeps getting involved in murderous situations. In the first book in the series, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, it’s killings at a snowed-in ski resort where his family is having a (less than amicable) reunion. Ernest’s book about that experience was published and he’s now on an author book tour by train from Darwin, at the top of Australia, through the vast desert to Adelaide.

Ern’s been paid a sizable advance for a second book, but he hasn’t got much of an idea of what to write, except that he expects it to be a novel. Even though he used to write tracts about how to write mystery novels, actually writing one is another thing. He makes notes about what he sees on the book tour; a lot of sniping among the writers, agents and publishers, and some sketchy behavior from some of the book tourists. Then a murder occurs and he’s relieved that he can write another true crime book—if he’s not killed or charged with murder himself.

I’ve read some metafiction before, but none more meta as this one. Ernest constantly talks to the reader about the rules of crime fiction and how they apply to the case at hand, gives hints about how this will all turn out and provides sort-of scorecards about suspects as we go along. At the same time, as a mystery it’s full of action, interesting characters, and neck-snapping twists and turns. It’s a hoot.

The good news if you’ve read the first book in the series is that this one is even better. I’m not wild about the schtick of Ernest constantly being insulted by everyone else in the book business, but otherwise this is a terrifically entertaining spoof of all those Golden Age mysteries set on trains.

As someone who loves donning my detective cap, I appreciate the way that these books are written out to entice the reader into participation in solving a murder - it is a fun and unique way of reading! That said, I enjoyed this locked room mystery, set on a train, with a kooky cast of characters, all authors, who’ve spent their careers writing about murder. My favorite scenes were when they came together to try and solve the various murders - talk about too many cooks in the kitchen! It was amusing to read, but I do wish there was a little more depth in the characters themselves, particularly Ern. Fast paced, witty and entertaining!

What a fun read, a nice follow up to last year's Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone. I love how Stevenson takes the mystery genre, tropes and themes and all, and somehow both honors them, gently pokes at them, and makes them fun and fresh (at least for me). Trains, a group of eccentric mystery writers, Ernest's breaking of the fourth wall and winking nudges at the audience and his foreshadowing ... all come together for a fun mystery that holds up and leads for a strong conclusion.
A note to readers... this style might take a minute to get used to, the pacing at the beginning felt a smidge slow, but get into it, it's a fun read and great for mystery fans!
Thank you to Mariner books for the review copy, a definite recommend for fans of the author's previous book, Agatha Christie fans, and for readers looking for something fun, a little different, and pretty fast paced. Great for a snowy weekend or weekend get away and of course I would love to see people on trains reading this and having fun with it.

Once I got all the characters straight in my head, I attempted to guess who did it. I thought I was close a few times and then a twist did me in. Benjamin Stevenson wrote an interesting story of writers and their relationships with others. I never saw the ending coming. Thank you, net galley and Edelweiss and Mariner for this ARC.

Strong 4 stars, wavering between 4.25 and 4.5.

This was, like the first book, an absolute delight. I am not typically a mystery reader—that said, I love the quirky voice of Ernest, the nature of the FairPlay mystery, and the continual winks to form. While I think this dragged slightly in the middle and suffers from being decidedly improved by knowledge of the first book, the ending is worth five stars.

Highly recommended for fans of Richard Osman. I can’t wait to read book three.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy. Everyone On This Train is a Suspect follows on from his Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie, A group of writers, agents, publishers, and fans convene on a rail trip across Australia on The Ghan for the 50th anniversary of the Australia Mystery Writers’ Festival. It’s not long before there is a dead body. Natural or murder? It becomes quickly apparent that murder is the answer and the narrator, Ernest Cunningham, and others, set out to solve it.

It’s fun to see the reasons attendees are there and to watch as the motives emerge. It is atmospheric. The story is constructed using some foretelling by the narrator yet keeps you guessing until the very end. It looks at the creative process, the use of AI, and what’s considered art. “…true art is undervalued, and commercial art can be concocted”. There are with many twists until the denouement. This was a fun read though it took a little while to get going.

What is it about trains that scream murder mystery??? Perhaps this association is just limited to readers 😂 but I swear trains always give me a bit of an eerie vibe.

Amateur sleuth Ernest Cunningham returns with an attempt at writing a second book—fiction this time—and hopes to gain some inspiration while traversing the countryside of Australia on a train for a crime writing festival. He might just get the inspiration he needs when a fellow crime writer ends up dead and everyone becomes a suspect…

If you read Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, you will absolutely LOVE the second installment of Ernest Cunningham—It seems impossible but I like this one EVEN MORE. If you haven’t read the first, do yourself a favor and grab both books, they are such a treat. Stevenson’s writing is so clever, so tongue in cheek, so entertaining, so—perfect.

Cunningham addresses the reader directly so I felt totally immersed in the story and was trying to put the clues together as I went along, but alas, I was foiled again!

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect publishes on January 30. Thank you to @netgalley and @marinerbooks for the digital ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mainer Books for giving me an advanced reader copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.


Earlier this year, I read Stevenson's previous book, "Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone" because that's a really eye-catching title. I picked it up on audiobook and after what I thought was a slow start, really enjoyed the book. (I was a little disappointed that it wasn't about a family of assassins but it is what it is.)



When I saw the sequel on NetGalley, I immediately requested it because not only did I like Steveson's writing style but I also wanted to catch up with Ern, our (mostly) reliable narrator and protagonist.


Summary according to GJ: Approximately 2 years after the disastrous family reunion of the first book, Ernest Cunningham and his SO Juliette have both written books about their experience. Ernest gets invited to a mystery writers' convention that is taking place on the historical Afghan Express ("The Ghan" as it's often called). Caught between his Imposter Syndrome, writer's block, and the strange atmosphere between the writers, a special guest suddenly dies. Seriously, Ernest hasn't found himself among another murder mystery, right?


Right?


Review: I feel like saying if you liked the first book, you'll also enjoy this one is a copout. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely think it's true but let's go a little bit deeper.


When I saw the sequel on NetGalley, I immediately requested it because not only did I like Steveson's writing style but I also wanted to catch up with Ern, our (mostly) reliable narrator and protagonist. Ern spends a significant amount of the plot assuring the reader that he's not messing with us and that he stumbled over many of the red herrings that tripped us up.


I appreciate that Steveson tries to give the reader a fair shot. I'm the type of reader who will fixate on any small details in a mystery. Which is fun but can be punished by certain writers. Stevenson, however, trims the excess details and will have tallies for a specific thing to make sure you remember. It gives me a more narrow field to focus on so I can actually remember everything and when Ern does his big denouncement, I keep up with him as he goes around the room.


I also appreciate that Ern is an idiot. Not in a "YOU FOOL, THE CLUE IS RIGHT THERE!" type of way but in a "I love you but please get your head out of your butt" way. Part of this book discusses the bittersweet nature of writing a second book. To quote Linkin Park "Even a blueprint is a gift and a curse....Everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first".


The mixture of Ernest's dread of writing a second book as well as his PTSD has Ern on edge for most of the book. It's very understandable from a human prescriptive and even helps you understand the other characters on the train. The treacherous waters of the publishing industry are very much a plot point of the story. The other writers are all kind of Ernest but ones who gave into their cynicism and isolation so seeing our very flawed and squishy hero get out of his own way is rewarding.


(That said, I did reach a point where Ern's stupidity was just too much and put the book on ice for a while. It was like watching dashcam footage where you see the wreck about to happen and you're stuck stomping on your imaginary brakes. That scene was rough but well done to Stevenson for making me feel VERY real feelings.)


In the end, some of the meta stuff occasionally got too much but I really did like this book. I give this book 4.5 stars


"Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect" comes out on January 30, 2024!



TW: Mentions of sexual assault, mention of sexual assault of a minor, suicide, sexual harassment, murder, blood, vomit, handling of a dead body, alcoholism, PTSD

“So I’m writing again. Which is good news I suppose, for those wanting a second book, but more unfortunate for the people who had to die so I could write it.” Here are reasons to read the mystery book:

Australian Train - Aboard the Ghan, an Australian train that runs from top to bottom of the continent
Writers Conference - a group of mystery writers gather for a conference
Sequel - Among them is Eddie Cunningham, who has to write his sequel
Unique - And if you have read the first book by this author, you know how unique his voice is, and that there will be at least one murder

If you have been following my posts throughout 2023, you know that the first book, Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, was in my top 5 for the year and I actually read it twice. That being said, this book took me awhile to get the same feel as the first. Same fun author voice, but the cliffhangers are not as great. However, the ending is genius yet again, so it still ranks pretty high for me.

4 stars! Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone was SO good, that I was both very, very excited, and also a little bit nervous to pick up Benjamin Stevenson's second book — I did not want to be disappointed, and I wasn't!

This time, Ernest Cunningham finds himself on the Ghan, a luxury train traveling Australia from top to bottom, with other writers and guests invited for a mystery writers festival. Just like with the first book, I have to say I've never read a mystery novel quite like Stevenson's. It's impressive that the narrator can tell you exactly what's going to happen, and as the reader, you're still surprised and captivated as the story unfolds. There's also a comedic element that makes it really fun, and the story feels so easy to connect to as Ernest breaks the third wall, speaking directly to the reader and candidly admitting that he's writing this story, telling it as it unfolds. I might be slow to follow, but true to his word, Ernest did give you all the clues you need to solve it yourself! I just prefer the surprise of the reveal at the end :)

I also think Ernest grew a lot as a character in this book! It's a bit more reflective and there's more relationship building. The new cast of characters is fun, and each character is unique and well developed.

Overall, this was really fun! I will definitely be picking up anything else to come from Stevenson, though I would be open and excited to a new narrator.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins for a DRC in exchange for my honest review!

I wondered if Stevenson could meet the high standard he set with Everyone in My Family has killed Someone, but he has, and then some. Ernest Cunningham returns to narrate the second book, as one of six mystery authors attending a major Australian conference held, of all places, on a train that’s crossing the country. The writers have history, sometimes contentious, with each other. When one of them is killed, police have five suspects with motives — and they all know how to mislead the cops and get away with murder. I love the humor and the sharp portraits of a bunch of flawed and competitive authors. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy a quirky mystery that doesn’t fit the standard mold.