Here we are with Ernest Cunningham once again. Having survived a serial killer in the mountains, and subsequently published a book about it, Ernest has been invited to participate in the Australian Mystery Writers' Society function as they board the Ghan to trek across the middle of Australia. It's a locked room mystery, and we know from the start that 7 authors board the train, but only 5 depart at the end. Who dies and at whose hand is the mystery in this follow up to Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone.

I will say, as this book is the second in a series, it will be best enjoyed (and understood) if one reads the first book first. Ernest sets himself out as in the previous book, to be a "reliable" narrator, trying to help guide the reader to who will die and who has killed them. That said, sometimes Ernest can be quite annoying, and a bit of an ass. For me, I didn't figure out the killer, but I enjoyed the ride and the process, albeit not quite as much as I did with the prior book.

This is certainly a book for fans of Knives Out, Agatha Christie and the like. I've decided to round up to 4 solid stars.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

This was really fun. I enjoyed Everyone in my family has killed someone, so I was very excited to pick this one up. The humor and modern day agatha christie vibes are exactly what I wanted. I highly recommend to mystery fans.

4.5 stars.

I loved the format of Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, so I excitedly jumped into this continuation.

I love Ernest’s voice. I love that I feel like I get insight into the mystery and what’s happening. The way Ernest’s mind works just vibes with me. I’ve recently gotten into classic mysteries a la Agatha Christie and Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is really reminiscent of that era.

The pacing at first was a little slow, but once the first murder occurs I was all in. Another great and enthralling read in the Ernest Cunningham series.

Thank you to Mariner Books for the review copy.

This was very expertly written. Fantastic job and I had no idea it was a second when I went into it. Makes me want to read the first immediately!

3.75 stars

Ernest Cunningham is back with his quirky first-person, asides to the audience mystery writing. His first book, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, really set everything up and introduced the character and I think should be read first.

This follow-up takes place on a train -- a classic murder mystery set-up, of course. The train is barreling across Australia and contains a load of mystery writers, agents, publishers, etc. including Ernest who published his "true" account of murder in the previous book.

There are lots of humorous passages and great characterizations plus a little Ernie angst. Fast-paced and fun. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Ernest Cunningham’s second escapade of writing was suppose to be fiction. I struggled a bit through the first half, but then it picked up and I couldn’t swipe fast enough. It was still so much fun to have Ern talk directly to the reader. Even though he gave us all the clues, I was kept guessing until the very end. And that epilogue!

Thank you to Mariner Books through Netgalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to @netgalley and @marinerbooks for a free review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Wow. This is a fantastic follow-up to “Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone”. This is the type of reading experience where I want to savor it because I know I’ll be so sad when it’s over!

Readers who love Agatha Christie, Anthony Horowitz, and the Knives Out movies: PICK THIS SERIES UP. You definitely need to read book one first for the most enjoyment.

The writing is meta, witty, and sharp. I found myself wishing I had made a quick character list at the beginning to help as I played along with amateur sleuth Ernest Cunningham, and as I was reading, I flipped back to previous pages looking for clues I had missed.

For any of you reading it for the first time, just know that I’m jealous! Which if you ask me, is the mark of a great book.

**I will publicly post my reviews on the publication date as requested by the publisher**

"If you think you don't already know the rules to writing a murder mystery, trust me, you do. It's all intuitive. Let me give you an example. I'm writing this in first person... First person equals survival. Apologies in advance for the lack of suspense when I almost bite the dust in chapter 28.

The rules are simple: nothing supernatural; no surprise identical twins; the killer must be introduced early on (in fact, I've already done that and we're not even through the first chapter yet, though I expect you may have skipped the prelims) and be a major enough character to impact the plot. That last one's important."

An unusual voice, an utterly self-conscious and somewhat unhelpful narrator, Everyone on This Train remains me of Dear Committee Members and the The Thursday Murder Club series. Once I adapted to the voice, I enjoyed it a great deal until the ending which, pun intended, went a bit off the rails.

"Out. Out. Out!' Aaron ushered us into the corridor and shut the door. 'I can't believe you're making me say this, but could you not play games around a dead body?'"

The narrator is Ernest Cunningham, a former pamphlet writer who wrote short pieces on how to write (one of the ironies of the book, of course, being that he hadn't ever written one), until a series of real-life murders befell him. He made the jump to pro leagues, published his 'true-life account' as a book (the first book in this series) and subsequently signed a lucrative contact for a fictional murder mystery. Alas, poor Ernest is suffering from writers' block; fiction is hard.

The plot starts off when Ernest and his girlfriend Juliette are invited to a writers' mystery event, held on a cross-country train (shades of Agatha Christie). Seven murder mystery writers, their various professional connections, and fans all give Stevenson the opportunity to skewer publishing, writers, fans, and the mystery genre. As someone who prefers more sincere narrators, at times it felt excessive. The trick, I discovered, was to accept that Ernest was basically an amusing ass and to realize that no matter what befell him, much like the protagonist of Dear Committee Members, he would probably deserve it.

"His eyes were slightly bloodshot. If I'm honest, he looked like he was coming down off something, and not just a high horse."

I mean that in the nicest possible way, of course, because a lot of the time he is bitingly hilarious; I didn't actually hope he will get murdered. It is just that I learned to embrace the tone by genuinely letting go of any stakes in the outcome.

"I recognized it as the same look Juliette gives me every time we reverse out of the driveway at home. That's not sexist, by the way; I refuse to be the male protagonist who makes snide remarks about his girlfriend's forgetfulness. I mention it because it's a plot point."

I did enjoy the commentary on the industry. I thought the Stevenson did a great job with Ernest's voice although bringing in compassion sooner could make him more nuanced. I do think there could be a little more smoothing out for readers who haven't read the first book, as Earnest makes frequent reference to events as if the reader is in the know.

Stevenson also uses a couple of narrative devices that initially make it challenging to understand what's going on. The book starts with a Program for the (fictional) Australian Mystery Writers' Festival, then a Prologue, which consists of an email from ECunningham, followed by a Memoir, which is the overt commentary about writing a mystery. Oh, and a map of the train and car is included, which I appreciated. The program/email weren't particularly helpful, because I didn't actually know if any of these people existed, and if we were going the reality-based fiction direction, or the strictly-imaginary type. It was excessively confusing, particularly with formatting, and I suspect starting with the Memoir would have been more than adequate.

Overall, entertaining, and once I boarded the train, I found myself excited to pick it up again. In my mind, a bit of tweaking at the engine and caboose and it'd be a five-star ride.

Many thanks to NetGalley for my advanced ereader copy. All quotes are subject to change in final publication but I think give a nice flavor of the voice. And of course, all opinions are my own.

Ernest Cunningham, the most reliable narrator in true-crime world, finds himself in yet another deadly retreat, this time surrounded by fellow writers in this locked train mystery.

After the success of his first novel, based on a true story, Ernest is tasked with writing his second book, but this time it has to be fiction. Cunningham gets invited to the crime-writing festival along with other true-crime writers, editors and fans, hoping this retreat would inspire him to write something that does not include real-life murders.

However, when one of the writers turns up murdered Ernest knows it's his time to shine - to solve this case before it turns into last year's tragedy. But how can you effectively solve the crime when most of the suspects know how to get away with murder?

Whoever said that sequels are not as good as the first installation definitely hasn't read Ernest's story. Full of witty dialogue, hilarious inner monologue of our main character and immersive story "Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect" transfers you right in the middle of the investigation.

Ernest Cunningham is one of my favorite characters of all time and I'm excited to see how his journey continues.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Benjamin Stevenson, for the last year, has been on my list of top 5 authors and after reading this book... HE STILL IS!

A good mystery that really kept me going. This is a great weekend read to escape in. Thanks for the opportunity to read as I thoroughly enjoyed.

There's just something about the way Benjamin Stevenson writes, it is witty and blunt. I really enjoyed his first book, but loved this one even more. There were a lot of characters but the author does a good job of defining them to make it easy to tell them apart. I'm awful at mixing up characters, but I felt like I knew who was who and wasn't confused at all.

I love that the entire book takes place on a train and that I had no clue where it was going. Surprise. Then another surprise. Then another one. 🫠 You definitely don't get the feeling that the book was due and he made up a 5 second ending to get it done in time! It's well thought out and makes sense while also not being super obvious.

I look forward to reading more books from this author! Definitely worth a read if you enjoy mystery! (Or just a good book!)

I loved this book just as much as the first one. Ernest is back, this time on a train through the desert surrounded by fellow authors invited for a literary festival instead of his family, and he's desperately in need of inspiration for his next book. Much to his horror (but also relief) someone dies on the train.

I found myself laughing out loud multiple times, and spent a solid hour theorizing about the mystery with a friend. Would definitely recommend for anyone who loves a good mystery.

I enjoyed the authors previous "Everyone in My Family...", so of course I just had to read the next installment of Ernest's adventures! And "Everyone on this Train.." is a very worthy follow-up, indeed! Cunningham's on an Aussie train full of writer's & someone get's whacked, yes! Love me a "locked room" type mystery & the dark humor is also on point! Loved it & recommend - ALL THE STARS!! My sincere thanks to the publisher & Net Galley for the complimentary DRC, my most sincere pleasure to review it!

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this book. Benjamin Stevenson has done it again. This is his second locked room mystery (this time on a train). It represents the best of the Golden Age British mysteries, with a dose of postmodern self-awareness to prevent eye rolling or claims of fan fiction. Just like his first novel, the mystery is multi-layered and exquisitely crafted. Even if you figure our a couple clues, you will not figure out the whole thing. To top it off, he is funny. His books are a pleasure to read. Not a word out of place.

I love a book about a book. An entire cast of writers? Even better! Written in the same format and style as Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, this fun and entertaining whodunnit is an excellent sequel to Ernest Cunningham's ski resort adventure. While the author offers some background, I highly recommend reading the first book before starting this one.

As a new bestselling author, Ernest is invited to attend a writer's festival aboard the Ghan train. In addition to (hopefully) gaining notoriety amongst his peers and fans, Ernest hopes this cross-continent adventure will help spark an idea for his next book. Luckily for Ernest (and perhaps unlucky for the other passengers), the amateur detective/writer finds himself amid yet another murderous vacation that soon becomes the focus of his new manuscript.

As expected, the second installment of the Ernest Cunningham series did not disappoint! Stevenson's writing style continues to be engaging, witty, and addicting. I didn't want to put this book down and am so thankful to have the opportunity to read an advanced copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this opportunity!

This was so much fun to read!
It is a locked room mystery . And it was set in a train. I loved this story. It is so easy to read and i was actually surprised by it. I’ve read it in couple hours and loved it.

He’s back! Ernest Cunningham is back in this this locked room thriller, only on a train this time.

Ernest has been invited to a crime writer’s festival, The Australian Mystery Writers Society. The festival is on the Ghan. Six writers have been invited. One being a huge name in the genre, who Ernest is dying to meet.

While on the trip, Ernest is hoping for inspiration as he has a new book to work on. He has been given an advance of $100,000. That alone should be motivation enough right. This time it’s supposed to be fiction, which he is hesitant to write.

When one of the authors has been murdered, everyone becomes a suspect. Who did it and why?

One thing I enjoy about Ernest is his witty banter. The guy is quite funny. However, it just didn’t save this one. I had a rough start and had to keep randomly going back to this. I enjoyed the first one much more.

I’d like to thank Mariner books, NetGalley, and Benjamin Stevenson for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own. Expected publication date January 30, 2024

This was what I was hoping the first in the series would be like! It was quirky and fun. Though there was one small part where it got a little muddy and confusing, it was overall a bit cleaner. I think the author works to try to keep the reader guessing which can be tricky to do without losing them

I've been looking forward to the new book because I loved Everyone in my family has killed someone. The author is a comedian and you can tell by the way he tells stories.
In this book, Ernest is tasked with trying to solve a locked room mystery on a train. Just like in the last book. I got to learn things about Australian geography that surprised me. It would be great to do a literary tour of the places Stevenson writes about.
I love how clever the mystery is, and how many other moving parts are integral to the story. Nothing feels extra though; the story seems organic as is.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for letting me read this