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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Not as good, I thought, as the first book of the series but equally fiendish. The plot is well laid out with teasers, red herrings and genuine clues all along the way. the humour at places is somewhat more forced than book one but that's a moot point. Overall I like his style and waiting to reaad third book of series.
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I had my eye on Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect from the minute I bought Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. It's the perfect sequel, with spoiler-free callbacks.
The title also does a brilliant job of giving you a peek at the plot, reminding you of Murder on the Orient Express, and doing all that with a little wink so you know not to take it too seriously.
After reading these novels, I think of Benjamin Stevenson as the Penn and Teller of crime fiction.
Like the American magicians, Stevenson is a master of his craft, but with a unique and humorous approach. He blends superb storytelling skills and perfect comedic timing with an in-depth knowledge of murder mysteries.
On top of all that, Stevenson (or Ernest Cunningham as the narrator) regularly breaks the fourth wall to stand shoulder to shoulder with the reader. He plays fair and gives you the same information he has access to, pointing out clues as they appear in the story.
Of course, there are twists and secrets hidden within the layers of information that you discover as the train makes its way from Darwin to Adelaide.
Best of all, Ernest tells the reader how many times the name of the killer will be mentioned during the story. There's even a great horse-racing-style commentary based on a running tally of their mentions to date.
Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect is an excellent read if you like crime fiction that doesn't take itself too seriously. That's why I'm hoping there'll be more Ernest Cunningham stories in the near future.
An awesome sequel to the wonderful first book!
I loved the first book in this series, so I have been looking forward to this book for months! It has the same charm, wit, and turns that the first book did. I appreciate mystery books that aren't just A + B = C.
It's not necessary to read the first book to appreciate this sequel!
I loved the first book in this series, so I have been looking forward to this book for months! It has the same charm, wit, and turns that the first book did. I appreciate mystery books that aren't just A + B = C.
It's not necessary to read the first book to appreciate this sequel!
3.5 stars
As far as sequels go, I think this one did a good job at following up the first book but also doing exactly what it said it was going to in the first few chapters - be similar enough to keep readers of the first one interested but not too similar so that people aren’t bored / new readers can keep up. However, I was not enthused by how much of the beginning of the book spent on justifying itself as a second novel and how they are notoriously difficult.
I have not been the biggest fan of books about writing and this one proved similarly. I didn’t mind the concept of all the writers together and the way it impacted the plot but I wasn’t a huge fan of the way a lot of the plot hinged on the fact that Ernest was having trouble writing a second novel. The lack of recurrence of characters was fine and the first novel was alluded to a fine amount but there was just a little bit too much about the details of the publishing of the first book that I didn’t find necessary. I did like the commentary on some more contemporary topics - the rise of BookTok and AI. Didn’t think it came across too corny.
Despite the somewhat slow and meta beginning, I thought the details and the plot were well constructed and the reveal was well done. This man cannot get a break with his relationships though - the lack of emotional intelligence is rough. All in all, I liked this one pretty much as equally as the first novel, I like them and they’re fun reads but not necessarily my favorite in terms of tone and narration (though I respect trying something different).
As far as sequels go, I think this one did a good job at following up the first book but also doing exactly what it said it was going to in the first few chapters - be similar enough to keep readers of the first one interested but not too similar so that people aren’t bored / new readers can keep up. However, I was not enthused by how much of the beginning of the book spent on justifying itself as a second novel and how they are notoriously difficult.
I have not been the biggest fan of books about writing and this one proved similarly. I didn’t mind the concept of all the writers together and the way it impacted the plot but I wasn’t a huge fan of the way a lot of the plot hinged on the fact that Ernest was having trouble writing a second novel. The lack of recurrence of characters was fine and the first novel was alluded to a fine amount but there was just a little bit too much about the details of the publishing of the first book that I didn’t find necessary. I did like the commentary on some more contemporary topics - the rise of BookTok and AI. Didn’t think it came across too corny.
Despite the somewhat slow and meta beginning, I thought the details and the plot were well constructed and the reveal was well done. This man cannot get a break with his relationships though - the lack of emotional intelligence is rough. All in all, I liked this one pretty much as equally as the first novel, I like them and they’re fun reads but not necessarily my favorite in terms of tone and narration (though I respect trying something different).
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes