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A review by a_mae13
Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
4.0
"If one of the six of us was to die right now, you'd have five suspects who all know how to get away with murder."
I was about to agree with McTavish and his review for SF Majors, three stars overblown, but that ending! The faux ending and the actual ending really caught me off guard. Up until that point, it felt like there were too many characters to keep track of and since Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone was based on Ern's family, it was easier to keep track of who is who and why they're there. I was also worried that this book would take on a Murder on the Orient Express vibe since the narrator mentions Christie as one of his inspirations. But, this book could not have been more different.
Characters: Ernest, Juliette, Henry McTavish, Lisa Fulton, SF Majors, Alan Royce, Wolfgang, Simone, Wyatt, Brooke, Aaron, Cynthia, Douglas, Jasper, Harriet, book club ladies.
Ern and his girlfriend Juliette (from the first novel) are aboard the Ghan, a passenger train that is hosting a writers conference. Infamous mystery author Henry McTavish is the special guest, along with Lisa Fulton, SF Major, Alan Royce, Wolfgang (who is a literary fiction author), and Ernest are on the panel, along with two publishers, Wyatt and Simone. As soon as everyone boards, they discover that McTavish left each author a one-worded review on Goodreads with a star count. Ernest got a one star review that said "ghastly".
McTavish obviously gets the most questions in the panel; specifically from a young girl named Brooke who is the president of his fan club. We quickly learn that McTavish is an alcoholic as he struggles to answer any questions about his books or fan inquiries while on the panel. The other authors aren't asked many questions, besides Ernest. Douglas, a guest on the trip, asked Ernest about the truth behind his last book. Did he really kill someone? Did he make it all up for fame? How did he feel watching his brother die? That's not suspicious at all.
The next day, McTavish suddenly has a heart attack. And he dies, right there in the middle of the train. He clearly has an alcohol problem, as he was drinking while he died, and was already crippled from a car accident earlier in his life. It's not all that surprising that he dropped dead. But, of course, this is a mystery novel so there's a murderer on the train. Ernest teams up with Alan Royce who's a former forensic pathologist and asks to see the body. The tour guide, Aaron, begrudgingly lets them in to see the body and they start their investigation. Alan believes it to be poison, a drug overdose of sorts, and wants to check the body for track marks or broken veins. They find none, and that his flask was already cleaned by the staff. Again, not suspicious at all. But Ern catches Alan grabbing something from under the bed and stuffing it in his pocket. They also catch Brooke in McTavish's room.
Ernest questions Brooke and she tells him the history of McTavish. 20 years ago, McTavish was on the same panel with both Lisa and Majors. Suspicious? Absolutely. And from the looks of it, they were all close friends at the time. Now, they hardly speak to each other. Why? McTavish stole the idea for his book Off The Rails from SF Majors. Allegedly, the story happened to her in real life and McTavish only changed a few minor details and made it into a top seller, despite Majors expressing her desire to write it. Ern takes this information to do a bit more digging, and discovers the tragic backstory for this novel. Who would profit the most from McTavish dead? Majors would be able to come out with her story, but Wyatt would be able to sell his books posthumously. But, Wyatt is found dead the next day.
Now things are heating up. It's clear that they were both murdered. Everyone is in a bit of a panic. Ernest even accuses Juliette of the murders, to which she leaves the train. We circle back to the reviews (which I thought was the easiest part of the mystery, but I didn't know who was behind it) and the reviews spell out the word "ghost". Ghastly, Heavenly, Overblown, Splendid, and Tremendous. So, McTavish may have had a ghostwriter to write his books. But who? We learn that Douglas was married to one of the teachers that was killed in our tragic backstory, and he finally was able to spread his husband's ashes. Majors was jilted from her story. And Lisa was raped by McTavish. Brooke? Her daughter, fathered by McTavish. It's a bit Orient Express but there was only one killer. A couple on the train, Jasper and Harriet, become the main suspects. Why? Jasper was the ghost writer for McTavish.
BUT his wife Harriett was the one that killed them both. McTavish's death meant that Jasper could write under his own name, but Wyatt didn't want that. He wanted more McTavish books because now they would be worth more. Harriet wanted him to be his own person, and killed them off. Once found out, she escapes to the top of the train, Ernest and Jasper after her. Jasper says "use my name" and grabs his wife, and they jump off the train. That got me. I did not expect that to happen. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE. Harriet survives the jump and hunts down Ernest to take him out. But Juliette happened to be there to save the day. It was a wild twist right there at the end.
I was about to agree with McTavish and his review for SF Majors, three stars overblown, but that ending! The faux ending and the actual ending really caught me off guard. Up until that point, it felt like there were too many characters to keep track of and since Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone was based on Ern's family, it was easier to keep track of who is who and why they're there. I was also worried that this book would take on a Murder on the Orient Express vibe since the narrator mentions Christie as one of his inspirations. But, this book could not have been more different.
Characters: Ernest, Juliette, Henry McTavish, Lisa Fulton, SF Majors, Alan Royce, Wolfgang, Simone, Wyatt, Brooke, Aaron, Cynthia, Douglas, Jasper, Harriet, book club ladies.
Ern and his girlfriend Juliette (from the first novel) are aboard the Ghan, a passenger train that is hosting a writers conference. Infamous mystery author Henry McTavish is the special guest, along with Lisa Fulton, SF Major, Alan Royce, Wolfgang (who is a literary fiction author), and Ernest are on the panel, along with two publishers, Wyatt and Simone. As soon as everyone boards, they discover that McTavish left each author a one-worded review on Goodreads with a star count. Ernest got a one star review that said "ghastly".
McTavish obviously gets the most questions in the panel; specifically from a young girl named Brooke who is the president of his fan club. We quickly learn that McTavish is an alcoholic as he struggles to answer any questions about his books or fan inquiries while on the panel. The other authors aren't asked many questions, besides Ernest. Douglas, a guest on the trip, asked Ernest about the truth behind his last book. Did he really kill someone? Did he make it all up for fame? How did he feel watching his brother die? That's not suspicious at all.
The next day, McTavish suddenly has a heart attack. And he dies, right there in the middle of the train. He clearly has an alcohol problem, as he was drinking while he died, and was already crippled from a car accident earlier in his life. It's not all that surprising that he dropped dead. But, of course, this is a mystery novel so there's a murderer on the train. Ernest teams up with Alan Royce who's a former forensic pathologist and asks to see the body. The tour guide, Aaron, begrudgingly lets them in to see the body and they start their investigation. Alan believes it to be poison, a drug overdose of sorts, and wants to check the body for track marks or broken veins. They find none, and that his flask was already cleaned by the staff. Again, not suspicious at all. But Ern catches Alan grabbing something from under the bed and stuffing it in his pocket. They also catch Brooke in McTavish's room.
Ernest questions Brooke and she tells him the history of McTavish. 20 years ago, McTavish was on the same panel with both Lisa and Majors. Suspicious? Absolutely. And from the looks of it, they were all close friends at the time. Now, they hardly speak to each other. Why? McTavish stole the idea for his book Off The Rails from SF Majors. Allegedly, the story happened to her in real life and McTavish only changed a few minor details and made it into a top seller, despite Majors expressing her desire to write it. Ern takes this information to do a bit more digging, and discovers the tragic backstory for this novel. Who would profit the most from McTavish dead?
Now things are heating up. It's clear that they were both murdered. Everyone is in a bit of a panic. Ernest even accuses Juliette of the murders, to which she leaves the train. We circle back to the reviews (which I thought was the easiest part of the mystery, but I didn't know who was behind it) and the reviews spell out the word "ghost". Ghastly, Heavenly, Overblown, Splendid, and Tremendous. So, McTavish may have had a ghostwriter to write his books. But who? We learn that Douglas was married to one of the teachers that was killed in our tragic backstory, and he finally was able to spread his husband's ashes. Majors was jilted from her story. And Lisa was raped by McTavish. Brooke? Her daughter, fathered by McTavish. It's a bit Orient Express but there was only one killer. A couple on the train, Jasper and Harriet, become the main suspects. Why? Jasper was the ghost writer for McTavish.
BUT his wife Harriett was the one that killed them both. McTavish's death meant that Jasper could write under his own name, but Wyatt didn't want that. He wanted more McTavish books because now they would be worth more. Harriet wanted him to be his own person, and killed them off. Once found out, she escapes to the top of the train, Ernest and Jasper after her. Jasper says "use my name" and grabs his wife, and they jump off the train. That got me. I did not expect that to happen. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE. Harriet survives the jump and hunts down Ernest to take him out. But Juliette happened to be there to save the day. It was a wild twist right there at the end.