This book was good. I liked it... enough.

I've read many books with very similar ideas, but overall I did like concept. I wish it had more (felt like it was lacking in plot sometimes).
3.5

This book had an eye-catching cover and a premise that immediately drew me in, but the pacing made it feel longer than expected. I was captivated by the author’s sharp prose—Agatha’s dry wit and observations added a layer of humor that kept things lively.

The nonlinear structure, shifting between past and present, created intrigue but also made certain parts feel disjointed. Still, despite a few pacing issues, the atmosphere was masterfully crafted. While I didn’t form a strong connection with every character, the story remained gripping from start to finish.

A fast paced mystery with strangers stuck together in a train in bad weather. Agatha’s character is complicated and layered and the story is full of twists and turns that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Very much a homage to Murder on the Orient Express.
6:40 to Montreal sets up the perfect locked-room mystery—snowbound train, an eclectic group of first-class passengers, and, of course, a murder. Agatha St. John, a struggling writer is gifted a one-day train retreat by her husband, suddenly finds herself caught in a deadly puzzle when the train stops unexpectedly and a fellow passenger turns up dead.
The writing is engaging, and laced with dark humour, but the stream-of-consciousness style and timeline shifts can feel a bit disjointed at times. The twist at the end requires a hefty suspension of disbelief—but on the whole the story is very entertaining and well worth a read.

Agatha St. John, a mystery writer whose debut novel surprised everyone by becoming a best seller, is trying to come up with an idea for her next book with little success. Her husband Teddy gifts her a ticket on the 6:40am train from Toronto to Montreal. He thinks she will use the journey, away from the distractions of their young child, wifi, interruptions, illness, and other responsibilities, as a writer’s retreat, but Agatha has other plans for the day. She finds herself stranded on the train with 5 strangers and a former friend turned enemy, in the middle of a snow storm and a real life murder mystery, and she may be the intended victim!
I chose this book because had read “The Department of Rare Books and Special Collection” by this author and enjoyed it. I am also a big fan of Agatha Christie mysteries. There are some similarities to Christie, especially in the way all the clues are there if you know where to look, but nothing is given away easily, which makes for thrilling plot twists and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Unlike in Christie’s novels, there is not a traditional detective in the story. The passengers are trying to survive the emergency and make it home alive. I feel this added a new dimension to the story and gave the story some of its drama while making it seem more realistic. I feel like I realized the culprit at the same moment Agatha did, which I think is a sign of good storytelling! If you like interesting characters and an engaging mystery full of surprises you will enjoy this book.

3.5 ⭐️

As a huge Agatha Christie fan, I was so excited to read this—snowbound train, a locked-room mystery, a murder. The setup had everything I love, and even the cover screamed Murder on the Orient Express. Plus, this was my first ever ARC, which made it feel even more special.

We follow Agatha St. John, a writer struggling to finish her second book after her debut became a surprise bestseller. Her husband gifts her a first-class ticket for a one-day train trip from Toronto to Montreal—a mini writing retreat with no distractions.

From the very first pages, it’s clear that Agatha notices everything. She fixates on the tiniest details, and the way she zeroes in on these small imperfections says a lot about her state of mind—denial, frustration, or maybe just a desperate attempt to control something. Things get even weirder when she realizes that an acquaintance of hers is on the same railroad car. Coincidence?

The train ride is supposed to be uneventful, but then a blizzard hits, the train stops, and someone ends up dead. The remaining passengers, plus their car attendant, are now trapped in a first-class cabin with no Wi-Fi, no cell service, and no way out. Suspicion spreads fast—everyone has secrets, and everyone is guilty of something.

Let’s talk writing. I really liked the author’s prose—it’s engaging, and Agatha’s biting commentary made me chuckle. But the book’s structure? That’s where I had mixed feelings. The timeline jumps between past and present, which adds mystery but also makes some sections feel a bit scattered. The narration sometimes takes a stream-of-consciousness approach that mostly works, but occasionally lost me.

That said, the atmosphere was immaculate and while I didn’t connect with every character, this book was a total page-turner. The reading group guide and interview at the end were also great additions.

If you love locked-room mysteries with unreliable narrators and a touch of suspense, this one’s worth checking out.

I enjoyed this story. The main character Agatha was complicated and dimensional. The story is layered and tiny pieces are parcled out till you have an “AHA” moment. I did think the story was going to be much darker than it was but there are plenty of tricks up the authors sleeve.

A great locked room mystery on board a train, after a snowstorm hits. With no power or contact with anyone outside of the carriage, chaos, murder, and suspicions ensue! The writer character layer was especially fun and self-aware. The pages seemed to vanish as the pace picked up and I really enjoyed the ending.

The feud with a past inspiration, while wrangling her next inspiration, was tense and added the humour needed when the bodies are piling up! An enjoyable mystery with characters you’re never sure whether to root for.

I loved this "locked room/stuck on a train" mystery until about halfway through. There were also a few crude spots I wasn't a fan of and didn't help the story along. Disappointed in the abrupt ending. Less inaction in the middle, more action in the end would have helped.

Good cover, location, set-up and the main voice but the secondary characters and the execution of the mystery part felt off to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review and feedback. I am looking forward to reading this upcoming book scheduled to be released on September 23 2025.

Agatha's husband has bought her a first-class ticket on the scenic six-hour train from Toronto to Montreal as a gift—a one-day writing retreat so she can get some serious work done on her new book, a highly-anticipated follow-up to Agatha's runaway bestseller debut novel. The first-class car is the perfect place to be productive, with only a handful of other passengers, plenty of snacks and drinks, and beautiful views flying by outside the window. But Agatha has other plans for her day out… plans that are unexpectedly derailed when the train breaks down in the middle of the frigid Canadian woods and one of Agatha's fellow passengers dies quietly in his seat. Soon, a pleasant morning in transit turns into a fight for survival against an unknown and unseen enemy. Will Agatha—or any of the passengers—make it out alive? From international bestselling author Eva Jurczyk, 6:40 to Montreal is a claustrophobic, deceivingly bloody thriller that twists and turns until the very last page.

It was an OK read. I expected something like Agatha Christie's novel but this feel short of expectations. It did not keep me engaged enough to complete the book as it was a bit slow-paced for my liking.

Eva Jurczyk breathes new life into the murder on a train trope with 6:40 to Montreal!

I've never been on the 6:40 train to Montreal, and I do not care whatsoever, as it has been pointed out, that there are no mountains visible from this actual train route! I 1000% wanted to read this book because of the cover, which is gorgeous and eye catching. I'm so glad the cover reeled me in because I adored this book. Of course it has Murder on the Orient Express vibes, and I will even say its giving Bullet Train vibes. This novel is dark, quirky, and hilarious. If you love mysteries and appreciate dark humor DO NOT pass this one up. Every single one of the characters are shady so it definitely kept me guessing, and the ending was perfect.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

Writer Agatha’s (natch, and the whole thing clearly owes a nod to the original-and-still-best murder on transportation book EVAH, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, God bless us, everyone, there shall be none greater.) husband gifts her a first class ticket from Toronto to Montreal as a one day writing retreat for her to work on her sophomore book. Break for a poll: is this a good gift? “Here, honey. Now go out and earn your keep.” I don’t know.

Anyway…it seems Agatha has secrets and so do the others sharing her first class cabin. Car. Whatever.

Then the train comes to an unexpected stop and the group, along with their car attendant, is trapped. And one of the passengers dies. Then there is more mayhem. What is happening and why?

OK, there’s one thing in the setup about which you will have to suspend so much disbelief that your brain may atrophy, because it would be sooooooo illegal for about six thousand reasons, about five thousand three hundred and two will come to mind immediately (sorry. I’m a lawyer. This is the way I think. It’s a problem, believe me.) But if you can separate out that, then you’ll get to, “well, this isn’t really what I expected.” Or maybe you did. But I found it all rather engaging and everyone is a suspect….of something, but probably not murder. So it was actually good fun, but I had to take off half a star for the great big problem. Still enjoyed it, though.

In the initial chapters of the book, I began to feel that the author was suffering from writer's block. The symptoms were all there, and they were beautifully enacted, too.

The author effectively uses dark humor, and oh boy—some of the sadistic thoughts really made the protagonist's feelings come alive. The author uses words creatively to show dissent, frustration, anguish, and hate.

I particularly enjoyed the character formation exercise and wondered how funny it would look to a stage audience watching a live theater act. It just shows that authors are essentially human beings stretching their imagination to the limit to bring a good story to you. That part about Goethe and Chekov was so funny, I read and re-read it thrice! There was a touch of Shakespearean genius at play in that piece :)

What I did not like about the story was that almost the entire length of the train journey/book seemed like a tirade/rant/outburst of sorts. Sometimes it was the expletives, sometimes explicit descriptions of female genitalia made me wonder what point was the author trying to make. The rants were scattered and almost everything in the narrator's life was an invisible force trying to connive against her. Sadly, every little new information or memory appeared as an unconnected tangent, leaving me, the reader in a mess of thoughts.

The only other saving grace for me was the fluidity in the writing style. The prose glided on waves of virtual paper effortlessly, devoid of incongruous words used only for effect or panache. Sadly, the flip side to the continuity of the proceedings was the super-long sentences, many containing over 40 words each and two to three commas in between. This made me slow down and start over on more occasions than once since it got so hard to read and comprehend at the same time. I'd use the Hemingway app or MS Word to revisit and break up the complex sentences into more bite-sized, palatable portions. Saying this since there's still time for publishing, and if it helps to go a little distance to provide a better reading experience.

I discovered at the end of the book and felt that the story could be part-autobiographical, or at least somewhat inspired by the author's personal circumstances, so want to put it out there that this review is objective and only analyzed from a reader's standpoint of a fictionalized work of literature.

I liked reading the 'Reading Group Guide'. I ended up doing this brainstorming exercise with myself and came out appreciating the characters a lot more. I also felt that a lot of loose ends suddenly got tied after I reached the end of this section.

I wish the author good luck and success for the book. Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to preview it, & can't wait for it to be released to follow other readers' reviews & opinions about it.

I love a locked door mystery and this was a great take on the genre. There were so many little mysteries about Agatha and her life that we slowly got peaks into, which I think kept the pacing quick before we got into the real train mystery. Agatha herself was sometimes a tricky character to like, but I think that made it all the more interesting to go through the stories through her eyes and mind. The twists were well-built but still surprising, making this a really enjoyable mystery that I read in almost one sitting.

This is a crackerjack, Christie worthy mystery. In the business class car of the 6:40 train to Montreal a man is dead. Who killed him? It would simply be a matter of calling the police but the train is snowbound in an area with no cell service. The safety locks have trapped the passengers and crew in the car. Will they work together or turn on each other? Mystery writer Agatha (yes!) has taken this trip as a writer's retreat day in hopes of curing her writer's block. Looks like she may overcome the writer's block if she doesn't end up dead.

I think I have no idea what happened in this book, who was the killer, etc....it's definitely completely twisty and maybe I should read it again, but most likely we are not meant to know what happened. Thanks Eva Jurczyk for a fun read.. I saw your note saying no libraries in this book, but your first was my favorite, so maybe we can go back to a library next time round?
PS If anyone can explain the ending, please contact me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book, with my honest review below.

6:40 to Montreal had me sitting on a train with our protagonist Agatha (yes, clearly a spin on that Agatha) in real time as she spent the next few hours meeting, and in the nightmare scenario of being stuck with, a host of characters both good and bad as the worst happens. One might think initially the worst has already happened to Agatha as she is stuck in a funk after battling cancer and releasing a best seller that never led to the dream next step she imagined. But when she gets on the train and gives readers an indication that what waits for her in Montreal is going to be far worse, the mood is already set that we should be tense as to what all we find out about Agatha. Unfortunately for her (or really, fortunately), the train is stopped during the journey due to a major snow storm and accident which brings Agatha and her fellow travelers face to face with a massive mystery of who is the murderer on board (and who is next).

I loved this due to it seeming a quick read based on how the events unfolded so rapidly, but in a way that felt on pace with my attention. We learn more about Agatha’s backstory and intent as we go but also the other passengers (one in particular who is a not so distant blast from the past that seems like she’s up to no good). There were mysteries within mysteries, some of which unfolded only at the very end and left me disturbed at what might happen off page.

If you like suspenseful mysteries in the style of Alfred Hitchcock and, yes, Agatha Christie, this is your perfect read! I am already eager to go back and re-read knowing what I know now, so be sure to set yourself up for a cozy few days out in the Canadian snow as you find yourself on the tense train journey, maybe more than once.

6:40 to Montreal was a trip I hope never to go on. Featuring a flawed (but not annoyingly so) protagonist, and a cast of characters that came alive, this book was a suspenseful trapped-in-a-room-with-a-dead-body delight. The author peeled back layers of the main character/narrator as the story went on and the ending, while not actually explanatory, was satisfying. This isn't a feel-good story about an author, but it did a good job of getting inside someone's head who's dealing with a lot and not handling it super well. And, I was "in" the story enough that I began to worry about where my next meal was going to come from.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants a thriller they absorb in pretty much the amount of time it's supposed to take place in.