Book Review & Author Interview: EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT by Benjamin Stevenson
Fans of murder mysteries and whodunnits are not gonna want to miss this one!!
IT’S BETTER THAN THE FIRST BOOK.
IT’S BETTER THAN THE FIRST BOOK.
IT’S BETTER THAN THE FIRST BOOK.
I DON’T KNOW HOW IT’S POSSIBLE, BUT IT’S FREAKIN BETTER THAN THE FIRST FREAKIN BOOK!!!
EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT IS THE BEST WHODUNNIT I’VE READ IN YEARS.
That’s the review. That’s all you need to know. The sequel to JBC TOP 10 pick EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE is so damn good. Like, shockingly good. As in, I had sky-high expectations in the wake of the first book, and somehow this book managed to blow them out of the water.
Before I go any further, I want to be clear: you do NOT need to read the first book in the series to enjoy TRAIN. You definitely should read that book, because it’s a clever delight, but EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT can very much be enjoyed as a standalone. Think of it like a Poirot mystery. Each case can be enjoyed on its own.
The sequel is set shortly after the events of the first book, as Ernest Cunningham -our acerbic 4th-wall breaking main character- attends an Australian Mystery Writers’ Conference on a famous luxury train traveling across Australia. However, when one of the writer attendees is murdered, Ernest and all the “armchair detectives” onboard must solve this puzzle box mystery before one of them is the next victim. The only thing worse than a train full of people who think they have the skills to solve a murder, is a train full of people who also have the skills to pull off the perfect murder!
I’m still shocked that Stevenson somehow manages to one-up his previous book, elevate the stakes, introduce readers to more devious backstabbing characters, play with genre tropes and flip them on their head, and execute twist upon twist upon mind-boggling twist. It’s maybe the most fun I’ve had with a book in a long time, and I am in awe of how the author managed to tie all of the subplots and mysteries together at the end in a truly memorable and mind-blowing way. When it comes to murder mysteries, no one is doing it like Benjamin Stevenson (except for maybe another JBC favorite author who Ben references below). I was lucky enough to sit down with Stevenson earlier this week, and we talked all things EVERYONE and whodunnits in general. Enjoy!!