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.

Ernest is back with another murder, or two, and he's giving us a refresher on the proper rules of the murder mystery novel!

What I like the most about this series is the fact that it is unlike any other book I have read before. Ernest's asides really make you feel like you are a part of the story and helping to solve the crime. It took a little while for it to get going, but from the 50% mark it was a wild ride. While book 2 did not hook me as easily as book 1, I still enjoyed the writing and will always pick up another book narrated by our fearless hero.

Another fun, fair-play, Agatha Christie style mystery with our friend Ernest Cunningham. Since the last book, Ernest has become a bit famous among authors and joins some colleagues on a train trip/meet and greet. Ernest has a bit of imposter syndrome and worries that he isn't a real writer because he's only written about his own near death experiences. Luckily, he'll have more to write about as more near death experiences await him.

There are lots of clues for the attentive reader. Most interestingly, the author reveals early on how many times the killer's name will be mentioned, so the reader is welcome to keep track throughout.

Thank you to LibroFM and NetGalley for advance copies of this mystery. I eagerly await a third.

Off-beat mystery set on a train in Australia that is the setting for a literary festival on wheels. Our narrator is struggling to write his second book and hits the jackpot, so to speak, when a murder is committed on the train during the festival. Murder and also a bunch of other crimes, connections to past crimes, secrets that included crimes, and just about everything else related to crimes. Told in the first person, our struggling writer that now has his second book because of all these crimes narrates a murder mystery full of quick dialogue, clever clues, odd characters and much fun for the right reader.

A good sequel. I liked the setting. Very haunting to be stuck in the middle of a desert on a train with a killer. I love the insights into other books and their themes. It is so true and I didn't realize the patterns until this book pointed them out. I look forward to seeing if and where the next book goes.

Just when I thought that Benjamin Stevenson’s debut was the most fun and creative mystery I’ve read in a long time, he goes and completely outdoes himself! If you enjoyed Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, then buckle up - you’re going to love this one even more.

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect once again features author Ernest Cunningham as our entertaining narrator, breaking the fourth wall and providing his signature dead-pan commentary as he tells the story of the most recent murder case that he found himself in the middle of. This story begins with a group of mystery/thriller authors that are invited to be featured guests at a writer’s festival that just happens to be taking place on a train riding through Australia. It’s not long before someone is murdered, and Ernest and the other authors jump in to help solve the case - they’re all experts in murder in a sense, which may certainly help their detective skills, but may also mean that they’re capable of being the perfect killer. Just like in his first novel, Ern interjects throughout the story to offer his two-cents and additional clues along the way, yet still manages to totally surprise readers with the ending.

Just like his first novel, this book was twisty, clever, creative and just brilliantly executed! The tight plot was one that was easy to become quickly immersed in, and while the last 15-20% was a bit of a wild ride, I was there for every twist that came along and was almost surprised at how easy it still was to follow. Each character had their own unique personality, which made the larger cast of characters never feel overwhelming. I loved every single plot twist and was completely satisfied with the ending - once I saw where things were going, it was so fun to go back to see what clues led us there and what I did or didn’t pick up on along the way.

All in all, this was just a gosh darn fun book to read, and certainly one that I’ll be recommending to many different types of readers for the sheer entertainment value it brings. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Benjamin Stevenson and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The first half of this book moved a little slower than I would have liked. There are also a lot of characters and I found it hard to keep up with who was who. This was also a “sequel” and I have not read the first book, so I don’t know if that led to some of my thoughts about it. The second half did pick up and I enjoyed the part of the story that finally got to the “who done it.”

Ernest Cunningham, the author made famous due to murder. Now, he’s ready to write his second book. What could go wrong on a train with a writers retreat on board where someone has revenge on their mind.

I highly enjoyed Everyone on this Train Is a Suspect. Ernest Cunningham is a story teller and one who seems to always find trouble and dead bodies. Every character in this story has a secret and almost every one has a motive!


Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Will publish on the pub date per request.

Ernest has published his first book and is invited to participate in an author panel on the iconic Ghan. As you might suspect, someone dies not long after the journey begins. Ern plays by the rules of mystery writing, ensuring readers have all the clues they need to solve the mystery, but it's devilishly difficult to outthink Stevenson's plotting skills. Great for fans of golden age mysteries.

I loved the first book in the series, I was unsure of how a sequel would work since the first book is told in first person from someone not in law enforcement. But this book delivered. Ernest is traveling on a train for a mystery writer's conference. He had a successful outing with his first book and is now there to talk about his writing and experiences. This book has the same humor and wit as the first book. There are references to other murders on a train and mystery tropes. Overall this book was fun to read and hard to put down. The author makes reference to how much of a sequel this book is and that makes this book all the better. Loved it.

I have told so many people about Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and that I truly think it is one of the best, most inventive, unique murder mysteries I have ever read. Well, now I need to add the sequel Everyone on This Train is a Suspect to this list as well! How did Benjamin Stevenson do it - how did he write a sequel and make it just as good as the first one?

Ernest Cunningham is the narrator again in this installment and I just love how this character breaks the fourth wall, actually gives you the rules right in the beginning, and continues to give clues to the reader (and tells you they are clues!) throughout the book all while being witty, entertaining, and so intelligent!

I heard this compared to Murder on the Orient Express and Knives Out with its setting and humor - but I truly just don't even think it's fair to compare either of these books to anything else because they are just so dang unique! I absolutely loved the setting of being on a train and the added element this time of the group of writers and all their pretentious jealousy and backstabbing. Truly EVERYONE on the train was a suspect (except for Ernest of course and one other person who only an "IDIOT would suspect"!)

I was proud of myself that I completely figured out a puzzle right from the beginning, but I had no idea how that clue tied into any part of the murder or explained any of the events. Just like the first, Ernest's reveal of what happened and who did it was completely satisfying and made me flip back through the book to look at the clues he gave at the beginning to see all the details of how he reached his conclusions!

I recommend these books to anyone and everyone and I just cannot wait to see what's next for Ernest and how he finds himself involved in yet another murder mystery!

A fantastic second novel featuring Ernest Cunningham, this time a closed-room whodunit set on a train crossing Australia north to south. I really enjoyed the characters, the convoluted mystery itself, and the setting. The only reason I'm giving four stars instead of five is the resolution, to me, seemed a stretch.

This was a terrific follow up to the first book in this series. Earnest is such an excellent narrator. I love how he writes in first person and is so tongue in cheek and funny. I hope there are many more books in this series.