Sulari Gentill's latest is a homage to Agatha Christie and the mystique of the Orient Express. Successful crime writer Joe Penvale, who is recovering from cancer, and his twin sister Meredith are treating themselves to a healing trip on the Orient Express. As soon as they embark the cabin next to theirs is discovered covered in blood but no body can be found. When further murders follow it is up to a special group of passengers to solve the mystery. It's an interesting story with some lighthearted moments, plot twists and, as is Gentill's style, well written.

Gentill incorporates Agatha Christie’s “Midnight on the Orient Express” as the background of her mystery set on the Orient Express. Gentill loves to drop plenty of twists and turns and throws in plenty of red herrings. Her characters were well developed, the mystery was well written and kept you turning the pages. I would recommend this book for anyone who really enjoys a great mystery that will keep you guessing. Joe, a mystery writer, and his sister, Meredith have decided to take a trip on the Orient Express after Joe is declared cancer free. They are both so excited to be on the now famous Orient Express and to be able to picture Christie’s story. They fall into a possible murder on the second day of the trip. The compartment next door is covered in blood and there are no signs of the occupant. Where is the body and who has killed him. Join Joe, Meredith, and the other cast of characters to find out what happened to the occupant in 16G and will there be more killings. Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was everything I hoped for. It was dark. It was mysterious. It had the intrigue and the characters who's shoulders I felt like I was watching over the entire time. I could not stop.

The novel’s strength lies in its deeply layered characters. Each of the travelers is compellingly flawed, their relationships riddled with tensions that simmer just beneath the surface. Gentill masterfully peels back their layers, revealing hidden motives, old wounds, and unexpected alliances. No one is quite who they seem, and that’s what makes this book such a gripping ride.

The unpredictable twists, the eerie setting, and the way Gentill keeps you questioning everything. The pacing is relentless, the tension suffocating (in the best way), and the final reveals? Let’s just say I audibly gasped more than once.

If you prefer straightforward, linear narratives, the shifting timelines and multiple perspectives might take some adjusting. But honestly? That’s what makes this book so devilishly good.

Fans of Riley Sager, Lucy Foley, and Gillian Flynn will eat this up. If you love locked-room-style mysteries, unreliable narrators, and psychological suspense that lingers long after the final page, Five Found Dead is a must-read. A huge thank you to NetGalley for the early copy—now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go recover from that ending.

On a train, there are only so many places to hide…

Crime fiction author Joe Penvale has won the most brutal battle of his life. Now that he has finished his intense medical treatment, he and his twin sister, Meredith, are boarding the glorious Orient Express in Paris, hoping for some much-needed rest and rejuvenation. Meredith also hopes that the literary ghosts on the train will nudge Joe's muse awake, and he'll be inspired to write again. And he is; after their first evening spent getting to know some of their fellow travelers, Joe pulls out his laptop and opens a new document. Seems like this trip is just what the doctor ordered…

Sulari Gentill is fast becoming one of my favorite mystery author. This book is absolutely magnificent.

I have read Sulari Gentill before and was not disappointed. And yet again I was not disappointed. This was thrilling edge of your seat addictive. Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this gem

it's giving thriller mystery in every way. A book that's worthy to prop on your shelf front and center,

I love locked room mysteries and this one set on the famous Orient Express rises to the top! Twins Meredith, a lawyer, and Joe, a writer, decide to celebrate Joe's having successfully come through cancer treatment by riding the luxury train to Instanbul. Joe is hoping to write his sophomore mystery novel after a long drought of inspiration, and the two plan to relish this amazing experience. As the train's other quite diverse and interesting occupants are introduced during their first few hours aboard, the cast is (mostly) set, and it abounds with possible victims and suspects.

Enter the first murder. Or is it really a missing person case? Either way, blood is found around the cabin next to the twins' after the first night, and its single occupant is nowhere to be found. As the traveler on the other side of the bloody cabin is a retired French police detective whom they befriended the night before, the trio soon begin to investigate. When a steward's body is then discovered, the train's "conductor" creates a task force of passengers with law enforcement or legal backgrounds to investigate. Why not just pull in at the next stop of Venice and let the authorities handle it? Because it appears a strong and possibly lethal Coronavirus strain has been detected in two carriages, and with those people quarantined and the risk of infection high, the Italian authorities do not want to allow the train to make that stop. In fact, as the train is forced to turn around, more murdered bodies are added to the count, the task force makes little headway, Joe's writing has taken off like a speeding train in the night, the virus fear expands and all passengers minus the task force are quarantined, and murder suspects abound.

Will Joe and Meredith make it through? Will the killer or killers be found out and caught? Will the motive(s) be disovered in time? Will the virus spread through the train? Will the non-infected quarantined passengers riot to be released? These questions and their answers are all interwoven into a compelling mystery set aboard an historical luxury train with plenty of nods to Agatha Christie, Hitchcock, and other writers and directors and their stories and heroes. What fun!

Deliciously Done..
Writer Joe and twin sister Meredith are taking a well deserved trip on the sumptuous Orient Express, boarding in Paris, and hoping for luxury, rest, relaxation, rejuvenation and, in Joe’s case at least, literary inspiration. As they mingle with other guests and enjoy the delights that the train has to offer everything seems perfect - at least, until they discover the bloody and gruesome crime scene in the cabin next door. When more murders swiftly follow and bodies pile, and with several carriages of the train cut off with a dangerous contagion, they realise that they are trapped with at least one killer on board. A simply perfect locked room mystery with shadows and references to Christie’s classic, an eccentric and eclectic cast of well drawn and beautifully formed characters populating a pacy plot bubbling with red herrings and twists and turns aplenty, amply laced with wry humour. Deliciously Done.

At no point did I know where the book is going. I was on the edge of my seat. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.