Ernest Cunningham returns in Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect. Once again, our totally reliable narrator, finds himself in a situation where folks are being murdered. This time, on a luxury train celebrating the 50th Australian Mystery Writers Society festival.
Ernest, of course, is the “author” of Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. His agent has gotten him an advance to write a second book - a novel, this time. But he’s got a colossal case of writer’s block.
If you don’t like books where the main character breaks the fourth wall, steer clear. The whole book is addressed directly to the reader, The humor is here in spades. But there’s also pathos. Ernest is suffering from both imposter’s syndrome and survivor’s guilt. He also learns to recognize his own egotism.
I adore this style of writing. The author taunts the reader, daring us to “count the number of times the murderer’s name is mentioned”, to figure out the clues. And in the end, telling us a “comma will save the day.” Or this: “So I thought I’d pause here and give you, you know, one last chance to put your guesses in. This page is the last page where you get to brag about figuring it all out before I do.” I was not one of those that figured it out ahead of Ernest. So, I’ll give big kudos to Stevenson for a brilliant resolution.
I will admit to having to google what “meta fiction” was, having seen the phrase numerous times in other reviews about this book. So, yes, it’s a parody and a “self conscious narrative.” OMG, it took me back to my major in Semiotics. I’m showing my age. But regardless of what you call it, I love that Stevenson has found a way to take the golden age “locked room mystery” and totally bring it forward to the current day.
My thanks to Netgalley and Mariner Books for an advance copy of this book.

*3.5 stars rounded up*

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is the sequel to Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone and we follow Ernest on another murder mystery. The train is full of authors for a reading festival and one of them ends up dead. Ernest is writing the book from the past as a character in the story and the narrator so he knows the ending. He has a lot of witty remarks and clues sprinkled throughout the book as he talks to the audience.

I enjoyed this book but I don't think it was as good as the first one. I really loved the first one but this one fell a little flat for me. I feel like it dragged on a bit and it was not as witty and funny as the first book. I did enjoy the literary aspects of this book as it talks a lot about publishing and the book world. I also loved how Ernest was a character but also the narrator who was talking to the audience. It was witty and fun.

I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for a murder mystery that is a bit different and fun. I really enjoyed the first book but this one was not as good unfortunately. There were still a lot of fun clues and jokes sprinkled throughout and I had a fun time reading it.

Thanks so much to netgalley and Mariner books for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

You may remember that I stumbled on Benjamin Stevenson's Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone last year and I just loved it! You can find my review of it here:

https://nostalgicitalian.com/2023/02/24/book-recommendation-everyone-in-my-family-has-killed-someone/

I have been waiting a long time for the follow up sequel - Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. Thanks to the good folks at NetGalley and Mariner Books, I was able to read an advance copy of it. It did not disappoint.

The main character of the book is again Ernest Cunningham. In this sequel, he has had great success with his first book (Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone) and comes face to face with some authors who are, well, much better known than he is. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Ernest Cunningham returns in a deliciously witty locked room (train) mystery.

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out.

The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty: the debut writer (me!), the forensic science writer, the blockbuster writer, the legal thriller writer, the literary writer, and the psychological suspense writer.

But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime. Of course, we should also know how to commit one.

How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?

It is just as entertaining as the first book. Ernest will, as he did in the first book, keep you abreast of things that you need to know. He offers up hints as to what is coming, etc. That was one of the things that I loved about the first book.

We see a bit of insecurity in Ernest this time around. He is the newly successful writer who is now among all of these other writers and he feels that he really doesn't belong. He feels that way because he really didn't come up with the story he wrote, he just wrote down what he experienced. He didn't actually come up with the plot. He feels these other authors are way above his level of writing.

Now, his publisher wants another book from him. We learn fairly quickly that he has - nothing. No idea, no story, no nothing! Well, that is until one of the authors is murdered. The events that unfold on the trip come together and wind up being this story.

Once again, I was guessing right up to the end. Benjamin Stevenson does such a wonderful job in keeping you guessing. I love that we get the thoughts of Ernest and how he speaks directly to the reader at times. How it all plays out and how it all comes together is like wrapping a Christmas present - everything falls into place and it is tied up with a nice ribbon on top. 

I loved it just as much or more than his first book. I truly hope that there might be another book in the future. I enjoyed this so much!

Thanks again to Net Galley and Mariner books for allowing me to read such a wonderful mystery!

This was so good! I think it was even better than the first book and I had a hard time putting it down. I was bummed when it was over. I hope the series continues.

What I found fun about this book was that it read like a nonfiction book. It was written in first person, but it was written in a way that made it seem like the author was the protagonist. I also loved the witty writing style. It kept me entertained and engaged the whole time.

I love the twists and how it kept me guessing the whole time.

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I randomly picked up Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone earlier this year (yes I was late to the party), so I immediately jumped at the opportunity to request an ARC of Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. There is something so refreshing about Benjamin Stevenson's writing -- it is not stuffy or formal or overly verbose -- and the protagonist Ernest Cunningham is just the right amount of self deprecating. I was initially worried that it may read too much like Murder on the Orient Express, but those worries were unfounded. Overall, I thought it was a great storyline/setting and am looking forward to Ernest's next book (hopefully)!

After loving "Everyone in my Family has killed someone," I immediately requested the ARC for this book and I was not let down at all. One of the things that I love the most about the way that Benjamin Stevenson writes is that he consistently "breaks the fourth wall" and invites the reader into the story, in a sarcastic way that feels incredibly real. I loved this book so much

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect opens with so many mentions of sequels and how the book is sequel, etc, that I almost gave up bothering since I didn't read the first book. However, I pushed on, determined to read it, until the list of things to expect in the story included a rape. No thanks. What era are we in that the author is probably going to use a throw away rope scene as a plot point. Gross.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of Everyone on this train is a suspect by Benjamin Stevenson!

I was a huge fan of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, so I was THRILLED to have the opportunity to read Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect. In this book, Ernest has been invited to a writer's festival taking place on a train. He's signed on to write another book to follow up his first hit, but he's struggling to find a story. But it seems like the story has come to him when one of the authors is murdered on the train, and Ernest finds himself deep inside another investigation...

While this didn't hit in quite the same way as the first book, I really enjoyed entering Ernest's world again. I love the unique break-the-fourth-wall style and would be happy to see this series continue - though I'm not sure how many more people can die around Ernest before it starts to get weird.... :)

EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT is a fresh take on the Golden Age Murder Mysteries and a fitting homage to the locked-room mystery queen, Agatha Christie.

Looking for inspiration for his second book, author Ernest Cunningham heads out on a cross-country rail adventure with mystery authors, members of the publishing industry, and fans for the Australian Mystery Writers Society. When a murder (or two!) takes place, Ernest seeks find the culprit within this group of passengers familiar with the murder in the pages

Ernest is a snappy narrator who breaks the fourth wall speaking directly to the reader as he provides commentary on the most recent set of murders he finds himself in the midst of. The story told in second perspective really grabbed my attention and was a modern spin on the classic mystery. Ernest makes astute observations about the detective fiction and the tropes/”rules” for writing a formulaic story true to the classic genre.

Readers will be entertained as we are invited to play along and attempt to solve the mystery with the vague yet clever cues Ernest provides. While this is the second book in the series it easily reads as a standalone. I haven’t read EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY IS DEAD and had no difficulty picking up book 2. I couldn’t get enough of Ernest and look forward to reading his next murderous mis(adventures).

READ THIS IF:
-You enjoy classic locked-room mystery with a modern twist
-A quick-witted narrator grabs your attention
-Stories set in the publishing industry spark your interest

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: January 30, 2024

Many thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After I unofficially declared “Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone” my favorite book of the year way back in March, I was so excited to get an advanced copy of Everyone on this Train is a Suspect and it did NOT disappoint. I love the way these books are written so much - I need Rian Johnson to make this series his next adaptation project. Fans of classic mystery novels will absolutely love Ernest Cunningham! All the stars!!

Thank you to Mariner Books + NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I did not read Stephenson’s debut, so I walked into this novel with no knowledge of the first book or how Ernest’s mind works. I quickly fell in love with the narrator’s quirks and foibles (don’t ask him for romantic advice), and I genuinely enjoyed his commentary.

I took off one star because there were a good deal of references to book one in the series, almost to the point where I considered dnfing it because I wasn’t getting the allusions to the earlier work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Another literary thriller from Benjamin Stevenson. This time a group of writers attend a book festival on a train crossing the Australian continent. No one is who he/she claims to be and is hiding secrets. There is much animosity displayed before two bodies end up murdered. Ernest Cunningham using first person narration draws the reader in, making the reader feel part of the plot. This is the second of the Ernest Cunningham series and is as equally satisfying as the first. Allusions to mystery writers and writing a fair mystery are again included. The tale is twisty and erudite. I look forward to the series continuing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read prior to publication.

DNF @20%

The writing style was heavyhanded and obnoxious from the start. I should have given up after the prologue.

This one took me a minute to get into because there were a lot of character intros at the beginning. I stuck with it because of the humor and because I loved his last book. So happy I did. This picked up steam and kept going. In the end, I absolutely loved it and would definitely recommend it to our customers. Thank you for the great read!

A year after the events of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, Ernest Cunningham is once again thrust into a murder mystery at a secluded locale. This one, though, is mobile. The train setting is classic and a fun way to explore Australia on board the iconic Ghan. A bit more romance in this one, as Ernest and Juliette are officially a couple. Both have written books about what happened at the Cunningham family reunion a year before at the ski resort, but Ernest is the one who gets an invite to speak at a mystery convention on board the train. He thinks it'll be a great way to come up with ideas for his new book. Boy, does it. Like the first adventure with Ernest, the characters around him are colorful and varied. There's a bunch happening plot wise that all ties up neatly at the end. I'm looking forward to Ernest's next adventure.

Once I read that Benjamin Stevenson is/was a comedian, the writing style of this book made sense.

If you're looking for something juvenile that doesn't necessarily take up too much brain space, Everyone on This Train is a Suspect was a great read. It alludes to the great detectives created by phenomenal writers but makes no attempt to measure up (which I appreciated).

It's kind of cheeky in how it's written which could be a good thing if that's your style. In the world of theatre or film, he broke the fourth wall. I don't necessarily love that style in books.

Stevenson knows how to craft an unputdownable locked-room mystery. This was a real treat: twisty, compelling, and laugh out loud funny.

I think these books might be written to appeal specifically to me. I just love a classic, omniscient narrator murder mystery! I love it when the detective/narrator tries to trick me but has to do it in a clever way because they have promised not to lie. I love it when published authors write books full of jokes about authors and publishing! To me this is literature.

I was one of those who loved Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone. I found the quirky first-person narration and breaking of the fourth wall to talk directly to readers unique and engaging. The second book in the Ernest Cunningham series carries on this style and is a fantastic homage to Murder on the Orient Express.

Ernest is on a train across Australia as part of a multi-author book tour promoting his first book, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, and with the caliber of authors in attendance, he is suffering a bit from impostor syndrome. It doesn't help that he has a case of writer's block about his next book. That is, until there is a murder on the train, and Ernest works to discover the truth amidst lies and secrets that tie the travelers together.

This is a fantastic locked-room mystery with lots of twists and turns. It is one of those books where you suspect everyone and no one. Ernest's self-deprecating humor amid murder and chaos makes him a fun protagonist to root for, particularly as he addresses the reader directly throughout the novel. There are a lot of characters in this book, and a couple of times, I found myself scrolling back to remember where we had met the characters and what we already knew of them. You get a handy train map as part of the book, a helpful reference throughout as Ernest discovers clues in this throwback to a classic whodunnit.

Thank you to @netgalley @harpercollins and Benjamin Stevenson for the opportunity to read this book before its publication in exchange for my honest review. You can grab a copy on January 30, 2024.