I really enjoyed ‘Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone’ and am delighted to report that Benjamin Stevenson has remained true to form with his new novel ‘Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect’. I love the inclusion of the author as character, and this author is funny and flawed. The train in question is The Ghan, making the epic journey across the Australia from Darwin to Adelaide,
and is a character in itself – definitely one for the bucket list! The world of publishing, with author’s egos, the impact of reviews and the pressure of the second novel are all explored with a humourous touch, and the plot is a satisfying one. Recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for this book.

The sequel to Everyone in My Family is a Murderer, this murder mystery cleverly brings together several writers on a train journey through the Australian Outback. With the types of author (debut, forensic science, blockbuster, legal thriller, literary and psychological suspense) on board bringing a unique insight and contribution to the event, this novel kept me second-guessing until the end.

Better than the original – would recommend.

(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

I love the way the books in this series are written, it’s one of my favourite parts about them. They’re written through the perspective of the narrator who is actively writing the book and he keeps referring to us the readers which really helps engage you in the plot and connect with the main character. It’s charming and funny and I just love the way it's written, I’ve never read anything like it.

The mystery was full of twists and turns and many of the reveals I never saw coming (though I will brag and say one of the main twists/clues I got near the beginning and was very proud of myself). Only a few of the characters from the first book at back in the sequel which means we get a bunch of new side characters but it never felt overwhelming and they were introduced well so that you got to understand who they all and their unique personalities (cause there are some very fun ones).

I could read so many of these books and I hope the series continues to grow!

The plot is as deep and dark as it gets, multi-layered with 'who knew what when?' as the strands come together and the finer details get filled in. This is a compelling, gripping book full of mystery and suspense. Only a few authors can write deeply involving psychological drama of the very highest quality.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I absolutely loved Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, and was delighted to get this second novel. Here, the same protagonist is on a long train journey with a bunch of other crime writers. Again, there are nods and specific references to the classic crime novels, notably of course, Agatha Christie's Death on the Orient Express. Long train ride, murder, bunch of likely suspects....

Maybe it was because all the things that surprised and delighted me first time round didn't surprise me anymore, but I didn't enjoy this so much. But you know, I'm picky, and this is still a good book both in its own right and as a sequel. It's just not AS good.

Benjamin Stevenson is a good writer, but this, for me, feels like the weaker half of a two-book deal. I hope he will move on to a fresh new theme for his next book and recapture the refreshing bounce and originality of book 1. Tall order, I know!

However, I still absolutely recommend Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. That was a hoot! I stand by what I wrote about that one:

"If you like classic mysteries, especially the great British crime classics, you will absolutely adore this book. It’s both an education on the classic crime novel form and a great read as well. Highly recommended."

My thanks to Netgalley, publisher Penguin Random House and the auther for giving me a free copy of this book. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.

I wasn’t aware of the author’s first book so it was missing the background on our main character - all his meant for me was another book to add to my TBR. I didn’t feel like the first book background impacted the second book as our main character/ narrator informs us it isn’t a sequel with returning cast.
I enjoyed that chatty nature of the narrative for the most part, occasionally wishing for him to get on with it.
This was pretty close to a cosy crime mystery but with a little more edge, modern day Poirot rather than Miss Marple, seeing as it’s a murder mystery on a train with a grand reveal with all the guests at the end!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and provide my honest review.

Ernest Cunningham is back again. No murderous family members in sight this time. No, this time Ernest is at a literary festival for crime writers…….that is being held on a train. When one of the authors dies under suspicious circumstances, Ernest gets to murder solving.

I think I enjoyed this one more than the first. It was a good, fun read and rattled along (sorry) at a good pace. A certain element of disbelief must be suspended but not so much that spoils the enjoyment.

More fun for fans of the first.

The follow up to one of the funnest thrillers I’ve read in a while, If you enjoyed the first, RUN to grab the second! Such a joy to return to the world created by Stevenson, and I’m excited for the prospect of a third already!!

This book is quirky, funny (although there are some gruesome murders) and clever.

It is the story of a book festival on a train in the middle of the Australian desert ( which is pretty much, and while I don't want to disrespect the Australian desert in any way - the middle of nowhere). Tensions are high and then the murders begin while the train speeds towards a police station of some sort.

It is told by one of the authors and it is told from a hospital bed. The author is open about the clues that are being left, the murderer will be mentioned 106 times. It made me smile and the plot and mystery worked brilliantly

‘A sequel is an admission that you’ve been reduced to imitating yourself’

I loved Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, so I was excited to read the sequel – Everyone on this Train Is a Suspect. The book sees our protagonist from the first book attend a writer’s festival on a moving train (think Orient Express,) as he tries to come up with an idea for his second book. However, when a dead body is discovered, Ernest might have more inspiration than he was hoping for!

I enjoy the humour and wit in Benjamin Stevenson’s writing and this book certainly has the same charm as the original. There’s also a similar convention as the first book which highlighted the page numbers of certain events – this one has to do with how many times the murderers name is mentioned. It’s certainly clever and keeps the reader engaged with the story, as well as adding a ‘meta’ type element to the read.

The ending is also very clever, and all of the threads came together to make for a high impact conclusion. However, I didn’t find the pace of the rest of the book as quick as the first book and some bits did drag in places.

Overall, Everyone on this Train is a Suspect is a fun and clever read and I’m very excited to see what Ernest will get up to in his quest to write his third novel. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House – Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Never travel with Ernest Cunningham... it's murder. I love the twistiness of these tongue-in-cheek books, Ernest makes me smile and I love the asides that come with the first-person style. These are great books, and I sincerely hope there are more.

Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect is a great follow-up to Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.
This time the setting is aboard a luxury train hosting the 50th Australian Mystery Writers Society festival. The story follows Ernie who, once again, finds himself in the midst of a murder mystery!
Another fantastic read!
Many thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The Australian Mystery Writers Association are doing an event on an iconic train journey in Australia, what could possibly go wrong? With crime writers on board and there is a death can they solve a real life mystery or have they turned their fiction into fact? Who will make it to the end of the journey and the book? Told in the first person by the newest author, all sorts of secrets and jealousies are revealed.

This is the second in a series, but you don’t need to have read the first as I had not but I will go and read the first one now.

I adored the previous book by this author and this was just another brilliant treat on every level. A must read (on both books) if this book isn't already on your radar.

I absolutely loved this! I wasn't sure how a sequel to "Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone" would work, as it seemed very much a complete story, but Benjamin Stevenson has pulled it off. I love the meta nature of the writing style - Ernest (the protagonist) knows what we are expecting from the genre and goes to great pains to play fair and flag clues for us - he is writing this as a "diffucult sequel" to his first surprise bestseller and once again is basing it on events that have recently happened. This book is reminicent of Anthony Horowitz's Hawthorne series where the lines between "real" and "invented" are intentionally blurred. The setting is absolutely perfect (The Ghan train as it crosses the romantic and remote interior of Australia), the cast is suitably qualified (a crime writing convention) and the entire book is a charming, self aware and playful take on how to write the perfect murder mystery. Thoroughly enjoyable and I will be widely recommending to fellow crime readers.

After the terrifying events the previous year, Ernest Cunningham has written a book and now he has been invited to take part in a Crime Writers Festival. The bonus is that it is a three-day luxury trip on The Ghan, a train from Darwin to Adelaide. Ernest boards hopefully but he finds his fellow authors quite unpleasant and there are obviously tensions. When a best-selling writer is murdered Ernest finds himself at the centre of a mystery again.
This time Stevenson's focus turns to homage of 'Murder on the Orient Express' and it's great! The detection is suitable opaque, the plot nicely twisty and our anti-hero quite engaging. Essentially this is a book which updates Golden Age writing and plot construction with a modern and very humorous attitude.

I really enjoy the writing style of this. It’s fun that the author almost pokes fun at the genre they’re writing.

Just didn’t think this was as strong plot wise as the first book. I started to feel a bit bored by half way and nothing really shocked me. Didn’t have that jaw dropping reveal vibe I like in a crime/mystery book.

The whole murders on a train being solved by mystery writers felt quite cliché and like similar has been done before.

It was an ok read and I’m sure lots of fans of this genre will enjoy. It didn’t live up to the first for me, which is kinda funny as the narrator says how hard it is for a sequel to succeed.

I was probably the one person in the world who was a bit on the fence about Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. The book felt like The Nine Wrong Answers in overdrive, with constant challenges to the reader, and I felt that despite it being a very clever mystery, the tone never quite clicked with me.
Going into this one knowing what to expect made this one much more palatable. The game playing is cranked up to eleven – for example, Cunningham discloses early on how often the murderer’s name appears in the book and every now and then gives an update so that the readers who are more inclined to guess (or possibly gamble) can place their bets.
Cunningham’s voice worked much better for me this time round. He makes some bad decisions – in particular one in the middle and one right at the end – but he’s a much more likeable character here, and I thought the revelation with his girlfriend was very well done.
Plot-wise, well, this never stops moving, with constant little misdirections and reveals as the book progresses. The murder plot twists and turns all over the place, with some surprising reveals concerning what is going on and how everyone is linked together. The plotting is really impressive – nicely complex but still completely understandable.
While everything is clued to an extent, I did think that towards the end, Ernest becomes a little too much of a super-sleuth, deducing almost everything correctly almost at the drop of a hat. He’s just a little too accurate about the details and this was just a little bit jarring that he goes from not knowing much to suddenly having almost the complete picture.
All in all, though, this was a really entertaining read and a great homage to the classic era of mystery fiction. The more I think about it, the cleverer that I think it is. Well worth your time.

Benjamin Stevenson is becoming a favorite and his update version of the classic detective is clever and well done.
This is a compelling and well plotted mystery set on a train, the perfect setting for a closed circle plot
There's a limited number of suspects, red herring and a lot of fun.
Love it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Engaging and entertaining, following firmly in the footsteps of the first Ernest Cunningham book. There's the same meta-layered writer-narrator explaining his craft, the knowing voice, and the same Golden Age of detective fiction feel with the twist on the locked room mystery, in this case a long distance train journey. Ernest is a bit too knowing at times, but it's a quick and enjoyable read.