Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect
Benjamin Stevenson
Reviewed by Helen
Ernest Cunningham is back, his first book a true telling about what happened in the mountains with his family reunion, he has been contracted to write a second book, this one fiction and he is struggling. When he is invited to the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society fiftieth anniversary crime writing festival aboard The Ghan, a train trip from Darwin to Adelaide, meeting some of the best Australian mystery writers is sure to give him ideas for the new book, he takes his girlfriend Juliette as his guest.
Along with the writers there are agents, publishers, editors, reviewers and fans, Ernest’s own agent Simone is there and she is putting pressure on him about his new book, there are panels for discussion but Ernest can feel the pressure from the start after all Ernest is a debut author and his was a non-fiction story, writing a fiction story is very different, his confidence is lagging, will this trip be what helps him?
Seven authors’ start the journey only five will leave alive and one in handcuffs. When one of the authors drops dead, the other authors decide that they will be able to use their knowledge to solve the mystery but of course it also means that they have to knowledge to cause the death as well, Ernest feels like he is back on the mountain with another death and just maybe he will have another book all be it another non-fiction book and when there is another death he knows he can write another book, but the pressure is on to solve the murders.
This is another fabulous story written in the same way his first book, Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, it is witty, clever and funny as Ernest talks the readers through the clues and the ways and how’s along the way, there are some very good characters and such fabulous dialogue, you can feel the pressure Ernest is under, I didn’t work out who done it. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it was a fabulous train trip and I highly recommend it to any mystery reader.
Along with the writers there are agents, publishers, editors, reviewers and fans, Ernest’s own agent Simone is there and she is putting pressure on him about his new book, there are panels for discussion but Ernest can feel the pressure from the start after all Ernest is a debut author and his was a non-fiction story, writing a fiction story is very different, his confidence is lagging, will this trip be what helps him?
Seven authors’ start the journey only five will leave alive and one in handcuffs. When one of the authors drops dead, the other authors decide that they will be able to use their knowledge to solve the mystery but of course it also means that they have to knowledge to cause the death as well, Ernest feels like he is back on the mountain with another death and just maybe he will have another book all be it another non-fiction book and when there is another death he knows he can write another book, but the pressure is on to solve the murders.
This is another fabulous story written in the same way his first book, Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone, it is witty, clever and funny as Ernest talks the readers through the clues and the ways and how’s along the way, there are some very good characters and such fabulous dialogue, you can feel the pressure Ernest is under, I didn’t work out who done it. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it was a fabulous train trip and I highly recommend it to any mystery reader.
5 stars
October 17, 2023 by Michael Joseph
