A review by bibliomania_express
Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson is a fantastic mystery and a worthy follow up to the first book. It has the same fourth-wall breaking charm, frank narrative voice, and sly introduction of clues as the first, with a new setting and cast of characters. I had so much fun following Ernest as he tries to navigate the world of authors and literary festivals, blunders about his personal life, and unravels multiple secrets from the past. 

There were some things that I guessed, wondered if I was wrong, and then was vindicated. But that just enhanced my enjoyement of the story. There were also a lot of things I didn't guess, and I loved the whole denoument scene. And it's so fun thinking back to all the "spoilers" in the first chapter and seeing what they mean once you know. 

I also really enjoyed the setting and how vivid the Australian countryside is. The bit about opal mining was particularly interesting. I also appreciated that the book has a map of the train, which made it clearer to see where everyone was in specific moments. 

This book does deal with some heavy topics. In line with the fourth wall breaking, Ernest lists all the crimes committed in the first chapter. 
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