Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect

This is a lighthearted mystery novel with a wacky cast of characters. The narrator is kind of giving “I’m not like other first person narrators, I’m QUIRKY” and I found that mildly irritating at times. It’s an interesting concept in that the narrator (Ernest) is actively “writing” the book as he goes through the story, but I do think his constant “real time” interjections took away some of the ~tension~ I like in normal mystery/thrillers, though it did play on the classic mystery tropes, and the whodunnit reveal was very satisfying. All the pieces the reader needs to figure it out are there and you get to see them fall into place.

The real epilogue was a bit overboard, in my opinion - did we need to get that graphic and wacky right at the end? I also feel like the sexual assault plot line was treated a little too lightly… I would have appreciated some more sensitivity there

overall, a fun mystery read if you don’t want anything too dark or thriller-y, definitely more tame, but not an absolute must read.

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lialovesreading's review

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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rochelleisreading's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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le_mur's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

5.0

Finished reading: July 17th 2024

"It’s the stories themselves, not the covers and the shelf space or the festival invites, that outlive us."

I finally read Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone earlier this year and was absolutely blown away by it. I then added this sequel to my TBR straight away, and I've been looking forward to read it ever since... Now that I've had the chance to do so, I'm happy to announce that I loved it just as much as the first book! This was EXACTLY the dose of quirky, dark and humorous thriller I was craving, and it turned out to be another title for my list of 2024 favorites. As with most unique and quirky books, it's definitely not a story for everyone... If you are able to click with the writing style and humor though, Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect is SUCH a fun ride. I love a story with a bookish angle, and there are so many bookish references to be found along the way... The murder mystery is clever as well, and while I did end up guessing who was behind it in the end, the journey alone was worth it. This story is told from a first person POV, which doesn't always work well for me, but in this case Ernest's voice is perfect. It was great seeing Juliette appear again as well, although the rest of the characters are completely new and you can easily read this book as a stand-alone as well without missing out on too much. The fact that it's set on a train with only limited suspects kind of gave you that locked room vibe... Only without the locks like Ernest mentioned, because the majority of the cabins on board can't be locked. All in all it doesn't come as a surprise when I say that I loved every single minute I spent with this story, and I simply couldn't stop reading. I also still can't believe I have waited this long to read his books! I'm predicting a double mention on both my 2024 favorites and 2024 favorite new author discoveries list.

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goeagles91n's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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daniellekat's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I enjoyed the format but the novelty had worn off from book #1. I found the characters more unlikeable and the big reveal was lazy. Honestly, this would probably be closer to 3 stars if not for the last 50 pages.

So much of the book was sort of commenting on sexism and mistreatment of women and to have the aha moment boil down to sexual assault, supremely disappointing.

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