It was okay but not really my speed. The pacing was a bit slow and not the kind of slow I like. Also, the characters, especially the main character, were a bit hard to relate to.

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. This was a murder mystery set in space with robots and aliens. The book stared off humorous then got ridiculous toward the end but that was the point. Overall a fun read, I would definitely recommend.

The title suggests a sci-fi Agatha Christie pastiche, which it very much isn't. But it does try, for at least three-quarters of the book, to be a murder mystery. That, and a bit of a scabrous comedy, until it finally morphs into something resembling a conventional if breathless sci-fi adventure. Maybe because mysteries are hard, and comedy is harder, the return to some kind of comfort zone is required to stick the landing. It just about works.

The comedy is mainly centred in our lead character Bell Beauregard, a shirking factotum who carries out an aspect of her job on her alien hating planet and in the process is called a traitor, and is discovered to be cybernetically enhanced, strictly against the rules (indeed it seems that every part of her bar her brain has been replaced at some point). Denied an appeal she wakes up as maintenance crew on a spaceship full of cryogenically stored kids for colonization, and a few fellow maintenance prisoners, and aliens, just in time to be the prime suspect in a murder. Co-operating with the ship's artificial intelligence (whose systems conveniently drop out whenever a murder takes place) she has to solve the murder to clear her name, and save the ship full of kids that she isn't really that invested in.

Belle is a fun character, though there are points where Little seems to be pushing too hard for an edgy, dislikable protagonist which he slowly undoes through the book. The alien designs are fun, and there's some decent cross-cultural stuff during the investigation, But by the nature of science fiction, and the aliens themselves, the book can easily not play fair with its investigation, pulling out sci-fi reasons for the impossible to be possible. The interactions with the AI - which Bell names Loopy for annoying reasons - do end up being a little too cute too. And the eventual resolution, and shift into world-saving mode seemed a little out of context with the previous narrative (there's a real sense Bell wouldn't bother if it wasn't kids, which is not quite satisfying heroism). Nevertheless it is a solid stab at a sci-fi comedy mystery whose sci-fi bones are much stronger than the other bits.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
The idea of a murder mystery story set in space has always intrigued me. However, I have yet to find a novel where I find the premise to be well executed. This book wasn’t bad, and I can definitely see other people really enjoying it, but not me. Part of it is the writing style, which just wasn’t my thing at all. Another is the pacing, which just seems so off, at 20% into the book the murder still has not happened, which is rather odd for a murder mystery story. I understand that in a sci-fi book we need to worldbuild, but I think it would have been much better to have the murder happen in the first ~3 chapters and then intersperse the worldbuilding and introducing of characters throughout the investigation process. The horniness also just wasn’t my thing, and felt rather superfluous, but that is definitely up to personal preference.

I really thought this would be an interesting read, but I just couldn't get into the book. It was very slow and I just couldn't finish it

I’ve been dreading this day since I started posting these reviews… but today I have to post my first mostly negative review. As a writer myself this hurts a little because I know how much time, passion, and heart goes into creating a story. But, as we all know, this business is subjective. Little’s book is traditionally published and currently has a 3.92 rating on Goodreads, so I’m hopeful this won’t come across as too harsh. I’m not trying to be mean, just give my honest thoughts on the book, because how else will you be able to trust my reviews?

These are, obviously, just my opinions, and clearly a publishing house, and dozens of other readers disagree with me.

That being said… buckle up kids, because this review is a little bit all over the place… much like how I found the book.

I signed up for this as an ARC on NetGalley, but due to me signing up for WAY TOO MANY ARCs I am a bit behind and the book has already been released. So… Good News Everyone! After reading this review you can, if you desire, flock to your favourite book-buying thing-a-ma-jig and get your own copy.

I’ll start with what drew me to the book. 1. The title, and 2. The cover.

The title evokes the feeling of the all-time classic Murder on the Orient Express, except it’s sci-fi so I feel like I’m being promised a classic whodunnit in space. Sounds like a fun ride, right? I thought so too but… it doesn’t deliver on that promise. Not at all. True, we are in space, and yes murders do happen, but there is no solid sleuthing, no tricky red herrings, no secret clues, no questioning of suspects. Murders happen and chaos starts to ensue.

So, an okay storyline to be sure, but not what I expected from the title.

The cover… speaks for itself: oooooooooo!

This book was listed under the “humour” section on NetGalley, and while there is a lot of profanity (I approve) and some little dirty jokes (I also approve), I didn’t find the overall experience to be one I would dub “humour.” There are some truly dark elements in this book, and not a lot of fun romping, which I would usually… ahem… expect… from a humourous sci-fi. Or at least a lot more satire.

It is much more like a sci-fi story with some humorous elements and swearing. Again, that’s fine, it’s just… you guessed it, not what I expected!

The storyline morphs from one of the murders on the ship to a whole other love story across time, to sticking it to the evil man in a way that felt like I was reading two stories mushed together. The murders felt like an unnecessary buildup to the real meat of the story. I’d be interested in both stories, by the way, I just didn’t quite dig they way they were mashed together in this particular book.

When I started this story I was not drawn in, kids, I did not connect with Bell as much as I wanted to in order to take this project on it was a close DNF for me. If it hadn’t been an ARC copy I might’ve just stopped reading. This story simply starts in the wrong place. The opening is slow and does nothing to get me into the interiority of Bell and there is also no action to dig into. It starts with a court scene. I felt like once I was 10% in and she’s on the ship… that’s where the story starts. There was too much exposition and description in that first 10%, and little to hint at what the main conflict of this story would be. Little could’ve easily sprinkled in the tidbits about the world as the story went on, building intrigue into who the heck this Bell person (main character) is, and what on not earth is she doing up there on the ship.

The pacing was also problematic for me. It felt long. It’s not overly long on page count, but I think it’s just that I didn’t really care about the characters at all until we got past the murders and into the real reason they were there. I admit I did a lot of skimming to get to where the action starts.

Bell is a synthetic character, but with the mind of a human. So I get she’s pretty invincible, but I needed some vulnerability from her that I just didn’t get. I enjoy her snarkiness. I like that she’s not overly feminine. I am a fan of female characters that swear and don’t shrivel up and can kick ass. But I still felt I needed something more to her. She was all flash and no substance. No doubts, no big plots or dreams, no real worries (despite the situation she finds herself in), no sorrow, just a lot of horniness and angriness. I’m also a fan of those last two, by the way. There was also a lot of filtering, which removed me further from Bell, and I craved some sensory details. What does it feel like to be in that kind of body? When she touches the cryopod, what do her fingers feel? Don’t tell me it’s cold. Show me.

When Little revealed her true past that’s when I cared about her. So at the last 90% of the book I was really turning the pages, but it took a lot of time to get there.

The writing didn’t flow for me at first. As the story progressed it got better. I feel like a strong edit would really make the prose shine, removing crutch words, some of those pesky adverbs, adding a lot more sensory details, deleting a lot of filtering, and focusing in on showing vs. telling a lot more.

All in all, there was nothing truly horrible about this book, it just didn’t hook me, and perhaps that’s just a case of expectations letting me down. Objectively this should be all up my alley: Murder? Check. Sci-fi plus humour? Check. Snarky badass female MC? Check. But somehow none of it quite landed for me.

But maybe it will for you. Go on, give it a look-see and maybe you can write your own compelling counter-review that proves all of my points wrong.

I could not with this book. I just could not. When the blurb spoils that the POV character is going to prison, and it immediately opens with her mega convinced that she's not going to serve jail time, and her lawyer REINFORCES that belief... No. Just no. Could not get throught that section. Shame, because if I'd gotten to the actual murder mystery part, the blurb made it sound exciting. I just couldn't make myself read what was sure to be a trainwreck of a trial. The prospect of seeing all the MCs hopes and dreams come crashing down on them on chapter 2 did not get me hooked at all. DNF at 4.5%

Murder on the Interstellar Express felt to me like a mixture of Among Us, Agatha Christie, and a sprinkle of the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The characters were SO fun and different, and the pace kept me buckled up and ready for the next chapter. I can’t wait to see what Bell begrudgingly solves next!

Murder on the Interstellar Express was a fun combination of sci-fi and mystery. While I loved the humor and the satire. Some parts of the story fell a little short. Some of the humor did not hit its mark. But while that was the case Murder on the Interstellar Express was a fun read.

Bellerophona "Bell" Beauregard, lately of the human colony in Anaranjado, has spent all of her life spitting on the face of authority. Up to the moment we meet her, that has meant mostly engaging in relatively petty violations of law--such as having replaced a good 99% of her body with cybernetics--and avoiding work. Including actively doing any spitting; so long as she continues to be paid, that's enough "sticking it to the man" for her.

Then, in a moment of weakness, she actually does something: she replies to a call for assistance from another colony--and unleashes an invasion of the planet by a bunch of cannibalistic forms of life.

Oops.

Beware: lots of swearing, some of it pretty inventive; so many double entendres and sexual innuendos, it almost crossed into "that got old" land; quite a bit of gore, some of it explicit; mental and emotional abuse.

Bellerophona "Bell" Beauregard, lately of the human colony in Anaranjado, has spent all of her life spitting on the face of authority. Up to the moment we meet her, that has meant mostly engaging in relatively petty violations of law--such as having replaced a good 99.9% of her body with cybernetics--and avoiding work. Including actively doing any spitting; so long as she continues to be paid for doing as little as possible, that's enough "sticking it to the man" for her.

Then, in a moment of weakness, she actually does something: she replies to a call for assistance from another colony--and unleashes an invasion of the planet by a bunch of cannibalistic forms of life.

Oops.

It has been a while since I've read non-romance science fiction, so not only I am not familiar with the author's work beyond this book, but if there are any common genre tropes present in the text, I likely missed them. I also don't have cable or do streaming, but even a Luddite like me has been exposed to the basic premise of "Among Us", so I must gather the similarities have already been noted.

The story is narrated entirely from Bell's deep point of view; she's foul-mouthed, sarcastic, has the attitude of a spoiled yet resentful teenager, and is perennially horny. I strongly recommend checking out a sample of the book if you can, because if her voice doesn't click for you, then it's not likely you'll enjoy the book.

With that said: I started reading this late on a Saturday, and didn't look up until I finished, and the birds were singing outside, on Sunday.

The worldbuilding is so very good, complex yet easily accessible, internally consistent yet dynamic; there is enough detail about both the physical and geopolitical aspects, as well as the social and cultural issues to ground the story, to ground the story, presented organically as Bell moves in the world.

All the secondary characters, from Bell's love interest to the ship's brain (indeed, an organic brain--even if "meat is the worst"), to each and everyone of her fellow crew members and a few others, are very well rendered as individual beings, with different levels of detail (one is fully mechanical, two are non-human lifeforms); partly depending on how big a part they play on the action, but also because of Bell's own biases and prejudices.

Our heroine does have some very strong opinions about a good many things.

The plotting is exquisite, and only more so because the action moves so quickly, and--provided the reader is into Bell's voice--that it's only after being utterly gobsmacked very near the end, when all the breadcrumbs pay off, that just it becomes apparent just how cleverly it is all done.

Here I'll note that, when all is said and done, there is a lot of commentary on current events in both the plot and the worldbuilding, but while there are are hints and sort of throwaway observations from very early on, it hits a lot harder near the end (especially if you pay any attentions to the news).

Also, let's hear it for the channel titles, they are most excellent indeed.

My only quibble--and it as quibbles go, it's minor--was that occasionally Bell was just a bit too much. I believe that she is coded as having ADHD--the short attention span, the sudden fixations, and so forth--but the relentless horniness got a bit on my nerves, as did the almost-willful lack of verbal filter.

Both the dedication and the acknowledgments at the end indicate that this novel is a departure for the author; I am glad he decided to go for it. And, as it is also a first in series, I can look forward to the next time Bell has to--very begrudgingly, of course--put some effort into solving a mystery.

Murder on the Interstellar Express gets a 9.25 out of 10.

Murder on the Interstellar Express offers a unique blend of sci-fi, mystery, and humor that kept me entertained, but it didn't fully win me over. The concept is intriguing, and the plot has some engaging twists, but the humor was hit or miss for me, and the protagonist, while fun, felt a bit cliché at times. The external POV might have had something to do with that, as the humor didn't land as well as it would have, had the story been written in first person POV. The side characters had potential but were underdeveloped (especially the aliens! I wanted to know more about them before [spoiler] they died tragically. The plot moved steadily throughout the book, except in the ending. which felt really rushed - the author dropped a lot of lore all at once, in a very clear "tell, don't show" way, and that took a bit of the fun of the ending away for me.
Overall, it's a good read if you're looking for something light and quirky, but it didn't quite reach the heights I hoped for.

2.5 rounded up
Things I liked
-the humor, there were times when I enjoyed the humor and it made me smile more than a few times. It was hit or miss though.
-the main character was a fun protagonist. She was your typical hothead but I like that she didn't always have to charge in or make a scene. The synthetic additions to her body were cool and made for some interesting situations and humor
-the setup of the mystery drew me in and was interesting at the beginning.

Things I didn't like
-the humor, there were times when I just rolled my eyes or sighed at the jokes being made. If you like the humor of a 13 year old boy, you'll probably like this.
-the side characters were underutilized and underdeveloped. I wanted to spend more time with each of them, especially the aliens. I did like Loopy though!
-the mystery got less engaging as the story went on and I'm not sure how I feel about the resolution of the mystery. I didn't see it coming and while there was a little foreshadowing, I think the clues could've been better.
-the end of the book felt a bit rushed and the author included some stuff that I didn't really feel was necessary to the story.

What drew me in was the first line of the description: "Deadpool’s sarcastic potty mouth meets a closed room murder mystery in space." Unfortunately, I couldn't find Deadpool's sarcastic potty mouth. The book is written in third person narration and that makes any sarcastic remark a commentary on the people in the scene and by that less funny than a first person potty mouth remark à la Deadpool. This is why I had a hard time sticking to the book and eventually DNF'ing at about 30%. It just didn't work for me based on that Deadpool premise. I might have stuck with the book had there not been that marketing parallel.

DNF at 20%

When I saw this book I was ready to see a funny murder mystery set in space. Sadly, nothing worked out for me.

This is not Deadpool humour. Just because the F word is used a lot, there are innuendos and some sarcastic remarks, it doesn't mean it's like Deadpool's. There are other subtleties that make it work that I didn't see present here. For starters, the third-person narrative wasn't a good choice. This turned innuendos and sexual jokes that should have come from the character into the narrator sexualizing the character. I felt I wasn't laughing with the character but instead laughing at the character. Deadpool narrates his own story so any sexual jokes are about himself or, if they are about others, they are never in a demeaning or judgemental way.

This brings me to another point, the protagonist is a female character. In the early chapters, there is a joke about the character being versatile in linguistics and referring to her talent to use her tongue in other ways... if you know what I mean. Wink, wink. And this joke would be fine if it wasn't told by the narrator. When I read it, all I could think of was every time I listen to teenage boys and even grown men and women, making this sort of remark implying the female in question was a slut. So the main character, the one I should root for, laugh with and accompany in this book and in the ones that will come after, was reduced to an object, sexualized, judged and disrespected. And this was not what I signed up for.

The humour really missed the mark for me. And about the murder mystery part, it was only about 20% of the story when the murder happened. I can't speak of how good or bad the mystery will be. I wasn't enjoying the narration, I didn't connect with the characters and there wasn't anything to keep me going. Forcing myself to continue reading this book wouldn't turn it into a favourite despite how good the mystery might be. I would only get more upset. So the best thing to do is close the book and move on.

I love science fiction mixed with mystery, and the homage to Agatha Christie in the title drew my attention. To me, this is heavier on the humorous part of science fiction and lighter than I cared for in the mystery aspect. The dialogue and inner dialogue of the main character Bell are lengthy and rarely funny. We're bashed over the head with how horny and quirky she is, and I just didn't care. I think this is a plot-driven book that still depends heavily on whether you can handle spending that much time with Bell, and ultimately, I got tired of her very quickly.

A special thank you to Net Galley, Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing and Gregory D. Little for the opportunity to read this novel ahead of publication!

This book caught my eye because it was described as a murder mystery in space with a comedic MC, and I agree with this 1 0 0 %.

I had SO MUCH FUN reading this book!! Bell’s inner thoughts and the characters’ dialogues made me laugh out loud, and whenever I read Bell say something I thought, “That’s so on brand for Deadpool”. The novel's cast of characters are memorable because they are unique. As someone interested in psychology and linguistics, I was fascinated by their technology and appreciated how integral it was to the plot, character designs and the mystery. The story explores the exploitation of people for the benefit of the wealthy, and what happens when inventions originally created for the good of many are put in the wrong hands. The fast pace and unexpected twists of this thrilling, high stakes sci-fi novel kept me engaged and wanting to know what could possibly happen next.

Overall, this book was such a fun mix of sci-fi, mystery, thriller, and comedy with a dash of romance. I enjoyed the sense of humor and look forward to the next instalment of Bell's story!! You will enjoy this book if you like:
🌱 books involving advanced tech and space
🌱 funny MCs and equally hilarious side characters
🌱 high stakes and fast-paced murder mysteries

This book is the first of the series, "Bell Begrudgingly Solves It". It comes out on August 13, 2024, go check it out!!

This Agatha Christie-sque in space, lives & dies with its lead character who is profane, vulgar & sarcastic all the way through this entertaining, hilarious and “loopy” novel

MCU in their Phase 2 and 3 became popular for prefacing their release by juxtaposing the comic book movie in a different genre movie - like The Winter Soldier was a comic book movie as a political thriller, and Ant-Man was a comic book movie in a heist. Increasingly, SFF books also have juxtaposed murder scenarios in a fantasy or an SF setting. One of the most entertaining books of the year was The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett featured murder in a Pacific Rim-like Leviathan-dominated environment. Murder on the Interstellar Express sets the murder on a half-built colony ship and has our narrator, Bell Beauregard serviced to indenture on this ship, being woken up halfway through the journey as part of the emergency maintenance crew and finds herself enmeshed in a murder investigation immediately. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

“You are like a little kernel of disruption, Bell Beauregard. Everywhere you go, smooth currents are cast into turbulence, focus becomes distraction, order yields to chaos”

This is a book that will live or die basis how much you love and relate to Bell. Bell is easy to root for in some ways because she is super snarky and humorous (intentionally and unintentionally). She isn’t always easy to root as a lot of her humour is significantly inappropriate. Bell hasn’t met a dirty joke that she couldn’t sully further as a defense mechanism. Throughout the book, Bell displays a healthy disdain for authority and a cynicism that befits someone bred in relatively high society. She is also someone who is only part human - having converted significant parts of her body into cybernetic augmentations. And she is super horny to boot for most of the book - all of which make for a character providing immense entertainment even as she is the prime suspect for the murder on board. She also got the immense hots for another member of the crew, Tas who isn’t enhanced in any way and that adds a level of intrigue and mystique for Bell.

“The truth is I have trouble staying on task with things I find unpleasant. I tend to default to whatever I find most comfortable” “And that would be hitting on me?”

There are other crew members that have been woken up for the emergency maintenance that the colony ship needs, both human and non-human species, and the sentient AI, that Bell christens Loopy. The half-constructed nature of the colony ship adds to the sense of malfunction pervading through the ship even as systems conveniently go off-track as the body count starts to pile up. Every suspect seems to have an alibi and Bell is literally cast as the default suspect by everyone else (entirely due to her big mouth). All this even as systems begin to fail across the ship leading to a sense of urgency overall

“It was perhaps the first time in history where both members of a romantic partnership were punching above their weight class and could do better simultaneously”

As said before, this is a super fun book depending on your enjoyment but what is undeniable is the propulsive nature of the narrative. The start of the book is a bit confusing and Bell’s motives aren’t fully explained but once she is woken aboard the ship, it is tremendously entertaining. What the book does rather well even as it is set significantly in the future is to comment on the very human nature that hasn’t changed even in the future. The humor element is present throughout the book but as things go down to the serious end, other things start to pop up - some of the backstories start to become important and the book ultimately becomes about names, masks, and memories and the false nature associated with them.

“The power, the stakes. I guess when you are that rich and you know no one dares hold you to account, you have to go way, way beyond the pale to find anything resembling a thrill”

There are a few twists that appear towards the back end of the story and escalate the stakes - things that seem unconnected come together at the end, but not very smoothly. I believe that was a part that should have been less clunky and telegraphed better throughout the book. It also tries to tie things back to events happening eons ago - while I wasn’t fully on board with the events and the emotions, the writing in that part of the book was particularly strong. The book ultimately builds up to something bigger than just the murder mystery and those sequences, if a bit on the petty side, are a commentary on human nature more than anything. That said, the ending presents an interesting conflict for Bell and her actions and choices at the end do remain consistent with who Bell is - impulsive, snarky, cynical but still soft at her very core.

Murder on the Interstellar Express is a fascinating, funny, and entertaining murder mystery that does keep you guessing on the perpetrator and the motivation - the murder mystery is quite well done while the overarching mystery and tension needed some finesse and heft to really make it count. Bell is a fun character and narrator who drives the story forward and ultimately is the barometer of your enjoyment of the story.

Rating - 3.5 Colony Ships on 5

As a fan of both sci-fi and Agatha Christie, Murder on the Interstellar Express immediately caught my attention. The story follows Bell Beauregard, who’s definitely not your typical hero. After being labeled a traitor and shipped off-world, she’s woken from cryosleep on a half-built colony ship, only to find herself accused of murder. The title’s nod to classic mysteries had me intrigued, and the plot delivered with plenty of twists as Bell tries to clear her name.

The humor is hit or miss, with Bell’s sharp tongue and sarcastic remarks sometimes feeling a bit over the top. That said, I liked how the story moved quickly and kept me engaged with its mix of mystery and sci-fi elements. The whole “closed room” setup in space works well, and while I wish there was a bit more depth to some of the characters and world-building, it was still an enjoyable read. Bell’s reluctant detective act and the evolving dynamic with Tas added an extra layer of fun to the story.

I was a couple of pages into this book when I decided that I didn’t like it. The tone felt a bit all over the place and the sci-fi buzzwords and clumsy tech-talk were kicking around in abundance. I’m glad I stuck it out, though. I didn’t care for the opening, wherein the main character is introduced and she is given a reason for being on the ship. Once we get onto the ship, however, things pick up hugely.

It’s not the first book with an offputting opening. One of my favourite novels is the Scottish classic, Sunset Song, and it has an introduction that I recommend people skip and then return to later. The opening pages of To Kill a Mockingbird aren’t great either, and that book goes on to soar. Sometimes these stories take a bit of setting up, or are slow to get off the ground.

Once we’re on the ship, the Ultima Thule, we are immediately a claustrophobic world of intrigue, murder, and humour; all delivered via compelling, interesting, and distinct characters. The characters are the real strength of this novel. Our no-nonsense protagonist, Bell, is sentenced to indentured servitude aboard the hastily-built Ultima Thule colony ship and the subsequent colony that will follow. Her dry humour and determination make her relatable, as she jokes and flirts her way through the story. Whilst the characters of Tas, Fault, and Xian are also very interesting to me, my favourite secondary character is the Ultima Thule itself, or rather the ship’s biological brain. Given that the ship launched early, it wasn’t quite ready and so has a quirky personality that seems to flip between coy and arch at a moment’s notice. I’ll come back to that.

The central mystery of the novel is well constructed. Regular readers know I like a good investigation, and have written at length about structuring them for investigative roleplay. The pacing of the investigation feels spot-on and escalation and progress, when they occur, feel earned.

Dialogue is very well done, and characters have their own clear, unique personalities. Interactions between characters feel genuine, and take those personalities into account. The interactions with the ship’s brain are the most interesting ones, especially as it starts to show signs of strain and the faults in the ship become more apparent. I did say I’d return to this character. This is a blog that is primarily about tabletop gaming, and in this character, I see elements of a more adolescent version of Paranoia’s Friend Computer. I’d love to run a game of Paranoia based on this book. I think it would work really well as a solid Paranoia one-shot.

The ending is a little drawn out and perhaps a little much. I think that things could have ended a little more simply, or a little sooner and the book would have been better for it. Still, I see what the author wants to do, and it does work, even if it’s a little Altered Carbon.

If you’d told me at the start of this novel that I’d have been rating it 4 stars, I wouldn’t have believed you, but I had a lot of fun with this book, and I didn’t want to leave the Ultima Thule by the end. I didn’t realise when reading it that it was going to be a series. I’m happy to see that.

*Murder on the Interstellar Express* is a sci-fi/fantasy pastiche that blends beloved genres with a fresh, intergalactic twist. Gregory D. Little’s foray into this type of storytelling results in a novel that is both engaging and complex, though it may not be for everyone.

The story revolves around Bell, a lesbian cyborg detective, who navigates a web of intrigue and murder aboard the Interstellar Express. The plot is filled with twists and turns, and the mystery at its core keeps readers hooked. Little's creativity shines through in the diverse array of characters, including a variety of aliens and humans who are far from ordinary. The interplay of these characters and their distinct traits adds depth to the narrative, making the book an enjoyable read.

One of the standout aspects of *Murder on the Interstellar Express* is its unique concept and the execution of its plot. The title alone is enough to pique interest, and the synopsis promises an exciting adventure. The book delivers on this promise with a story that is more complicated and engaging than it initially seems. The plot twists and mysteries are well-crafted, making the story's progression intriguing and dynamic.

However, the humor in the book can be a hit or miss. Some readers may find the attempts at humor forced and the jokes repetitive. Bell’s over-the-top personality and constant innuendo might be overwhelming for some, but others may appreciate the bold and brash style. Humor is highly subjective, and while some readers may not find it effective, others might enjoy the lighthearted and irreverent tone.

The pacing of the novel is generally good, though the ending may feel abrupt to some. The open-ended conclusion leaves room for sequels, which could further explore Bell's adventures. While the characters are unique and well-drawn, there are moments where the story feels surface-level and conventional. Despite this, Bell remains a compelling protagonist who manages to carry the story effectively.

Overall, *Murder on the Interstellar Express* is a good book for fans of space operas and those who enjoy a blend of sci-fi and fantasy elements. It’s an original take on a classic trope, filled with humor and mystery. While it may not be the best introduction to speculative fiction, it’s a fun and highly readable novel that offers a fresh perspective on the genre. For those willing to embrace its quirks, *Murder on the Interstellar Express* provides an entertaining journey through the stars.

**Rating: 3.5 out of 5**