Everyone On This Train is a Suspect (Ernest Cunningham #2)

Not to be TOO on the nose with the theme this book centers around, but this literary train was a little slow to get moving and definitely took the scenic route, but it finally built up enough steam to make it a decent trip overall! 

Ernest Cunningham is back after the murderous events of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone having written a successful book about it, and is now attending the 50th Australian Mystery Writers Society festival with his girlfriend Juliette aboard a train ride through the desert. With him are six other well-known authors, a couple publishers and a number of fans there to interact with their favorite authors.

I won’t rehash the whole plot, but suffice it to say it takes inspiration from Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, only with Ernest playing the Poirot-role as murder inevitably takes place. If the train was leisurely chugging along at this point - and it was - it definitely started powering down the tracks a bit faster after this! Luckily, by the time the book approached its destination, I was having a lot more fun!

It’s a little hard for me to rate this. I did like it - especially after my library hold on the audio came in and I added in listening to it about halfway through. For me, this series just works better on audio, due to Ernest’s humor and fourth-wall breaking narrative style.  When I was just reading it, I found it harder to maintain my attention and enthusiasm. I also don’t hate, but don’t love locked-room mysteries, so the audio provided the extra zing I needed.

I did miss Ernest’s crazy family this time around - these publishing world characters weren’t as fun for me, and the train setting ironically wasn’t as dynamic as the snowy ski-lodge of the first book. Having said that, I really enjoyed the final reveal and watching Ernest put the pieces of the murder mystery puzzle together. I also loved the epilogue(s). Very clever! I’d say this was at a solid three stars until the second half, where the pace and fun picked up, allowing me to end on a satisfying note!

All-in-all, I didn’t like it quite as much as the first book, but I don’t regret taking this trip one bit!

★★★ ½  

Thanks to Mariner Books, NetGalley and author Benjamin Stevenson for the digital ARC to honestly review and my library/Libby for the audio. It’s out now.