A sleeper train is derailed on Christmas Eve and amongst the passengers is a killer! Can Roz find the murderer before more people lose their lives. I love the setting of Christmas and it made the book feel even more urgent. The characters are eclectic mix of personalities all with there own personal problems which I enjoyed reading about. The mystery made the book just like a Agatha Christie and I highly recommend it for mystery lovers'. There was also drama which had me hooked with heart palpitations and I feel festive cheer after reading this book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my copy of Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict in exchange for an honest review. It published October 5, 2023.
How I wanted this to be a cozy mystery, set on a train in Scotland during Christmas. What I got was a lot of violent recalling of terrible sexual abuse, traumatic birth, and a lot of feeling very not cozy or Christmassy. This book did not seem like it was going to be like that based off of the description, and I think that failed those that read it that were looking for something a little lighter.

Retired DI Roz Parker is desperate to make the last train to Fort William before snow shuts down the rail lines entirely. Her only child Heather has gone into premature labor, and Roz is trying to make up for a lifetime of strained relations by making it to her daughter’s bedside in time. Luckily, Roz’s train to Scotland has not been canceled due to weather conditions. Even more agreeably, her former co-workers splurged to get her a sleeper berth, a luxury she’s looking forward to with the overnight trip.

She’s somewhat surprised to discover that she’s sharing first class with minor celebrities. Meg Forth broke into the limelight by winning a televised singing competition, and parlayed her fame into a thriving career as an influencer. With her on the trip is her handsome reality star boyfriend Grant McVey. It doesn’t take long for Roz to see the cracks in their relationship, despite Meg’s best efforts at pretending that everything is perfect:

QUOTE
He stopped and turned to [Meg]. His eyes had no softness in them. “You should get your face on. There may be press when we get near the platform.”

Which meant there definitely would be photographers, and that he’d called them. Their relationship with the press was circular–photos of them looking happy, photos of them in crisis, photos of Meg looking sad and fatter, photos of Meg happy and thin again in her “new body.”

“I’ve already got enough makeup on, I think.”

“I’d trowel on some more.” He kissed her face and held her chin. Looking deep into her eyes, he whispered, “I know how you don’t like to look old.”

Meg felt like a Coke can crushed under his feet.
END QUOTE

Always watchful for abusive situations, Roz can’t help being on alert, even though her retirement was both well-earned and timely given how frustrated she’s become with trying to solve other people’s problems for them. She has to keep reminding herself not to get involved as a parade of eccentric characters crosses her path in first class, even before the delays and drinking and partying begins. It’s thus a mixed blessing that the news from her daughter’s household is looking increasingly serious, as she learns from the brief updates Heather’s partner Ellie is able to send to her.

But when the train crashes and a dead body is found in one of the cars, Roz knows she has to put her detective shoes back on and take charge. It isn’t just to placate her innate sense of justice. The longer it takes for the murderer to be apprehended, the longer it will take for her to hurdle all the obstacles standing in the way of being reunited with her daughter. But what can even one detective do as the body count rises and the tangled relationships between the passengers finally come to shocking light?

Roz is fortunate in having at least a few allies among the crew. As she commiserates with a steward who’s taken a fatherly interest in Meg:

QUOTE
Silence held them together again. “I should’ve done more last night, when they were arguing,” he said. “Or gone after her when she ran out before the crash. I thought about it.”

“Then decided it wasn’t your business?”

He nodded.

“We all should have done more, but none of us could have. Not without her consent.” Roz hoped she was speaking the truth. Because she could have done more, but only if she had dragged Meg away from Grant, Meg’s will again being ignored. “Some people who have been abused feel they don’t deserve to get help.”
END QUOTE

There is a lot of talk about sexual abuse and domestic violence in this locked room murder mystery, more so than one would usually expect from the genre. It’s all thoughtfully handled but still very heavy going, especially as the sorrowful truth is revealed. Lightening the mood are the games Alexandra Benedict inserts into the proceedings, from quizzes sparked by a university team traveling alongside Roz to anagrams hidden in each chapter. There’s also a recipe for the yummy Christmas Tablet Roz uses to feed her fellow passengers as they’re all recovering from the crash.

Overall, however, Murder On The Christmas Express is a book willing to tackle some very heavy subjects as a guilt-stricken mother tries to solve a series of murders so she can be home in time for Christmas. It’s not the most lighthearted read, but is certainly worthwhile.

This review will appear in multiple newspapers and magazines Oct. 31, 2023

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A season of reading: A dozen titles for your holiday basket

by Tom Mayer

The year-ending, pre-holiday book season is one bibliophiles wait for all year. October and November are traditionally the months we watch as names blockbuster (Grisham, King), rising (Gerritsen, Ward) or just heartwarmingly familiar (McCammon, Dugoni) descend from the upper echelons of ivy towers to the stacks of our local bookstores and online shopping carts.


This year is no different, though it is marked by a couple of significant deviations to the norm from two stalwart fall-release authors: Stephen King, who makes his own rules, gifted us with “Holly” in early September and Nicholas Sparks — almost unbelievably given his decades-long track record of releases — won’t have a new book for us this year (a fact I had to double check with his publicist, though when I spoke with Nicholas in 2022 about his wonderful book, “Dreamland,” he did promise something completely surprising and different for his next release. Give some grace, get some grace — surprising and different can take time.)


Still, October and November 2023 are filled with exciting and fresh titles, including a dozen that we’ll touch on here. Far from exhaustive and brief in scope, consider this a primer for the season we’re just dipping into.

I’ll be laser-focusing on some of these in pullout columns during the next few weeks — and adding more titles for November and December — but send me a quick note at tmayer132435@gmail.com if you want a link to those when they appear.


For now, happy holidays, book lovers.



‘One Last Kill’ (Thomas & Mercer, 379 pages, $16.99) by Robert Dugoni


The prolific Robert Dugoni gifts us with his 10th detective Tracy Crosswhite novel, and in this one the stakes are raised. Set in familiar environs, after 13 victims Tracy reopens the cold trail of Seattle’s Route 99 serial killer. Closure for the families and redemption for the Seattle Police Department are on the line, but if Tracy’s going to achieve either she’ll have to do it by partnering with an old nemesis: Captain Johnny Nolasco. Those who traveled with Tracy through her earlier thrillers know exactly what that means. New readers will soon find out.



‘Murder on the Christmas Express’ (Poisoned Pen Press, 272 pages, $24) by Alexandra Benedict


What’s the holiday season without a murder mystery to help pass the time? A sleeper train en route from London on Christmas Eve is buried in snow in a remote and isolated location. As a killer tries to pick off passengers one by one, a former detective, Roz Parker, decides to give the investigation a go. You’ve been here before, but this locked room puzzle both is and isn’t what you’ll expect. Bon voyage.



‘Long Past Dues’’ (Ace, 411 pages, $27) by James J. Butcher


Bringing us into volume 2 of The Unorthodox Chronicles, James J. Butcher now presents Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby as an auditor for Boston’s Department of Unorthodox Affairs. Tasked with enforcing laws about magic, the job sounds more glamorous than it is — which explains why Grimshaw steps outside of his role to take a special case for a friend. Werewolves and a journey to the bowels of Boston’s subterranean city ensue.



‘Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird’ (Blackstone Publishing, 659 pages, $28) edited by Jonathan Maberry


Who doesn’t love a compilation of a century’s worth of stories from one of the world’s most storied publications? Coming from the hallowed halls of “Weird Tales Magazine,” this book is simply beautiful in style, substance and craft (pro tip: buy the hardcover; it’s a gem). Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the magazine, this volume contains 100 years of the most peculiar tales you’ll ever encounter or, as the periodical likes to boast, those “too strange to publish elsewhere.” A true reader’s delight.



‘The Exchange’ (Doubleday, 352 pages, $30) by John Grisham


You know you’ve been waiting for this one. Published 32 years after John Grisham’s “The Firm,” the king of legal thrillers picks up the thread of the lives of Mitch and Abby McDeere and family as they’re caught in an international kidnapping plot — and struggling to retain the normalcy they’ve worked 15 years to achieve since they exposed the crimes of the mob-related Memphis law firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke. With just enough backstory to fill in the history of those unfamiliar with “The Firm,” Grisham crafts a credible and timely (though it’s set in the mid-2000s) story filled with his hallmarks: greed, crime, deception and more than a bit of heroics. A worthy successor and one, I should mention, completely unlike the 2012 TV series sequel to both the original novel and film adaptation.



‘The Spy Coast’ (Thomas & Mercer, 341 pages, $29) by Tess Gerritsen


The Martini Club continues in Tess Gerritsen’s “The Spy Coast” as former spy Maggie Bird is drawn from her bucolic Maine chicken farm life into a new thriller — something that tends to happen when the body that appears in your driveway is sent as a message from your former adversaries. The former spies, like Bird, may all be retired, but they’re definitely up for a fresh case, and especially a case that involves those who are bent on killing one of their own.



‘The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The true story of the Bondwoman’s Narrative’ (Ecco, 432 pages, $40) by Gregg Hecimovich with a foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr.


In 1857, a woman escaped enslavement from a North Carolina plantation. Fleeing to a farm in New York, she found time to craft a manuscript about her trials. This important and groundbreaking book about the nation’s first Black female novelist comes from the biographer who first solved the mystery of her identity.



‘American Girl’ (Blackstone Publishing, 246 pages, $27) by Wendy Walker


This important thriller from best-selling author Wendy Walker introduces Charlie Hudson, an autistic teen with a desire to leave her small, Pennsylvania town as soon as she graduates. But first, when the owner of the sandwich shop at which Wendy works is found dead, the 17-year-old and her friends are drawn into a dangerous case with an unusual point of view: The story is told through the eyes of the protagonist.



'Let Us Descend' (Scribner, 320 pages, $28) by Jesmyn Ward


Jesmyn Ward is a two-time National Book winner, and “Let Us Descend” shows us why. This tale, a reimagining of American slavery, is a beautifully harsh read. The story comes to us from Annis, a slave sold south by her white enslaver father and her heart-wrenching journey is punctuated only by the fleeting comfort of memories of her mother and African warrior grandmother. An emotional narrative rich in description.



‘The Last Applicant’ (Lake Union Publishing, 317 pages, $29) by Rebecca Hanover


A deep dive into this ripped-from-the-headlines story by Rebecca Hanover takes us into the life of Audrey Singer, an admissions director of an elite private school in Manhattan. One overachieving mother will do anything — anything — to get her son enrolled, but as the ploys escalate it rapidly becomes clear that this might not be all she is after. Secrets are threatened to be revealed as this tale takes a deep, dark turn.



‘Seven Shades of Evil’ (Lividian Publications, 424 pages, $39.50) by Robert McCammon


You had me at, Robert McCammon. Literally, I would buy anything with this Alabama author’s name on it, but you’ll never go afield picking up a book involving Matthew Corbett. This volume of short stories, the ninth installment in that world, is the penultimate volume of the Corbett series — a tremendous set of historical thrillers that have been drawing legions of readers into Early America for more than two decades.



‘Robots through the Ages: A Science Fiction Anthology’ (Blackstone, 495 pages, $26) by Robert Silverberg (introduction) and Bryan Thomas Schmidt (editor)


OK, I’m cheating a bit by including ‘Robots’ in this list — it first published during the summer — but with the conflation of technology and well, our entire world, igniting in the form of AI at an exponential pace, this is one that more than a few readers would welcome under the tree. A vast and inclusive sweep of robot stories told through the ages (really, we begin the journey with “The Iliad”), this volume includes tales from the heroes of science fiction, including names such as Philip K. Dick, Seanan McGuire, Connie Willis and Roger Zelazny. A fascinating journey, “Robots through the Ages” is replete with prescient tales of today.

Well, that wasn’t exactly what I envisioned this book to be. I was preparing myself for a cute, cosy wintry mystery, but was presented with some dark topics read in a somewhat bubbly fashion. Trigger warning: SA topics.

There were a lot of characters and I did wish to know more about them/have them flushed out more. The main character that we follow, Roz, had quite the background story!

The idea of incorporating quizzes and anagrams is quite fun though!

Thank you to the author, Alexandra Benedict, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the eARC of Murder on the Christmas Express in exchange for my review!

What a book. I loved every aspect of it and it really kept you guessing right up until the end. The last 30% was a constant jaw drop. This book also covers a really hard hitting topic, so look up the trigger warnings first. Recommending this to everyone I know!

Roz has always dreamed of a first class ticket on the sleeper train to Scotland. As a retirement gift, her co-workers on the police force provided that ticket. It is Christmas Eve and her daughter has gone into premature labor. This is the last train to Scotland before the holiday, but heavy snow leaves the train and its’ passengers stranded between stations. When one of the passengers is found dead, it is up to Roz to investigate until help can arrive. The victim is Meg, a popular influencer, who was traveling with her abusive boyfriend Grant. The diverse group of passengers include a college professor and his family, a group of college students traveling to a competition, a troubled young woman, a lawyer who looks vaguely familiar to Roz and a stowaway who had been accused of stalking Meg. Her body was discovered in her compartment, which was locked from he inside.

Watching Grant’s abusive behavior triggers memories of Roz’s own assault years earlier. Her story is told in flashbacks as she investigates with the lawyer’s help. Tired of being confined to the club car, her suspects question her authority until a second passenger is murdered, once again in a locked stateroom. Roz is not only under pressure to find a killer, but updates from her daughter’s partner are troubling. She suffered seizures and is now in the ICU. The killer must be found before they arrive in Scotland so that she can rush to her side.

Alexandra Benedict’s story is reminiscent of Agatha Christie, with one of the passengers even carrying a copy of Murder on the Orient Express. She offers the reader a challenge with a list of hidden anagrams in her story as well as a Christmas pub quiz with answers provided at the end. It is a mystery filled with twists and a true Christmas treat. I would like to thank NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for providing this book for my review.

Roz Parker is on her way to see her daughter who is ready to give birth.
Things don’t go to plan and the train is derailed it also becomes apparent that there is a killer among the passengers.
Roz is an ex Met detective and begins investigating the murders.
There is darkness in this book and the topics that are included rape, sexual assault and domestic violence don’t make for a light read .
I was hoping for a cosy mystery but the seriousness of the topics adds an edge making for a more serious read.
Nonetheless it was an enjoyable mystery .
A perfect Christmas mystery .
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.

Murder on the Christmas Express has all the tropes that I enjoy in a locked room (train in this case) mystery. A holiday, a birth, an abusive marriage, snow, etc. are all here. So why was it such a struggle to read? Too many characters and almost all were more stereotypes than genuine people. So many red herrings that I felt like a salmon struggling upstream. Does everyone have to have a motive for murder? It appears that short the babies and toddlers, they do. Ugh! Do yourself a favor and read, or even watch, the Agatha Christie version instead. 2 disappointed stars.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free ARC of this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. Like others, I was surprised at the darkness in this, as I was also expecting something more on the cozier side, but it did not take long for the tone to be set. The story features a wide cast of characters and a terrible snow storm on Christmas eve. A seemingly genuine young internet influencer is found apparently murdered in her locked cabin, resulting in both a whodunit and HOW did they do it? Thank goodness there's a retired police investigator on board, although she really wants nothing less than being placed in such a position. Plus, she needs the train to get her to her daughter, who is having her first baby! There is also an unexpected (but not shoved in) romance, and some fun trivia. This was a great read!

Such a fun festive mystery that kept me guessing all the way to the conclusion. Will definitely recommend for holiday reading.

When I read the description to Murder on the Christmas Express I was excited to read it, the idea of the story being set on the sleeper train from London to the Highlands interested me, but once I started the book it was nothing like I expected. I found it hard to read due to the subject matter. I was expecting a cosy Christmas mystery but I guess you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I'm sure some people would love it but it just didn't work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

I am a fan of cozy thrillers, detective fictions, and murder mysteries and this one fits the bill for most of those categories. I want to explore Ms. Benedict’s first book The Christmas Murder Game to continue the Christmas- crime novel themes. On this Christmas Express, we are introduced to Roz and several of her other train passengers as they are eac trying to get somewhere for Christmas. For Roz, she wants to be with her daughter and the birth of her first grandchild, for many of the others, they each have their own motivations. I think this was a fun read which certainly kept me guessing. There are even some puzzles for the reader to solve as they go along. I give it 4.25* but it’s so hard to give partial stars, and my overall reasoning is that the beginning felt pretty slow to draw me in. I think it took me about 25%-30% before I was truly committed. Now I am familiar with Ms. Benedict’s style, I need to pick up her other novel and perhaps explore its Christmas crimes as the weather turns from fall to winter.

Murder on the Christmas Express takes newly retired Met Detective Roz Parker on a first-class sleeper car trip – a parting gift from her colleagues – as she makes her way home to the Scottish Highlands for the holidays and the impending premature birth of her granddaughter.

Several references to the is Die Hard really a Christmas movie debate among a group of university students en route to try out for a reality quiz show was among the first clues that this wasn’t a cozy yuletide mystery.
Alexandra Benedict, author of The Christmas Murder Game, still embeds Christmas-related anagrams and quizzes into her well-plotted puzzle where the protagonist comes to terms with the death of her mother.

There is also a crippling snowstorm but this time, however, Benedict offers us an emotional locked room mystery that has our detective flashbacking to some of her own trauma, while trying to solve one last case, as the reader soon discovers that the dead aren’t the only victims.

Eighteen passengers and a cat board the train in London – some known to each other, some not. You’ll have to read for yourself to discover how many will live to disembark under their own power.

I recommend Murder on the Christmas Express for mystery lovers, puzzle lovers and readers of non-traditional holiday-themed novels.

I received this Advance Reader’s copy of Murder on the Christmas Express from Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks, courtesy of NetGalley.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

I am a fan of cozy thrillers, detective fictions, and murder mysteries and this one fits the bill for most of those categories. I want to explore Ms. Benedict’s first book The Christmas Murder Game to continue the Christmas- crime novel themes. On this Christmas Express, we are introduced to Roz and several of her other train passengers as they are each trying to get somewhere for Christmas. For Roz, she wants to be with her daughter and the birth of her first grandchild, for many of the others, they each have their own motivations. I think this was a fun read which certainly kept me guessing. There are even some puzzles for the reader to solve as they go along. I give it 4.25* but it’s so hard to give partial stars, and my overall reasoning is that the beginning felt pretty slow to draw me in. I think it took me about 25%-30% before I was truly committed. Now I am familiar with Ms. Benedict’s style, I need to pick up her other novel and perhaps explore its Christmas crimes as the weather turns from fall to winter.

Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict is a "closed-room" murder mystery with a nod to Agatha Christie which just doesn't work. I was taken in by the blurb but did not enjoy the book as expected. I hoped to read a cozy whodunit but was disappointed to read about rape which for me overwhelmed the mystery element. Most of the characters are not likeable (in a bad way) and the influencer/Tik Tok aspects didn't grab me. The story does have interesting twists but not enough to sustain a liking for the book in general. It didn't connect with me.

Roz Parker is en route from London to the Scottish Highlands by night train to be with her daughter who is in labour with her first child. But the train derails which changes plans for everyone. A killer took advantage of the situation to begin a killing spree. Roz is a former investigator who worked with assault victims so knew the signs in one of the passengers. Mysteries set on trains draw me in so those details intrigued me. Unfortunately, what stood out most to me is the subject matter of rape.

This book sadly is not Christmas-y in the least. It felt like the author fit in modern ideology simply for the sake of a checklist which was over the top and unimpressive.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley.

Sadly this one is a case of the packaging misrepresenting the contents. The decorative cover and the cutesy title suggest a nice cosy mystery, but that is not what you get.

The story begins well when the night train to the Scottish Highlands is derailed by a fallen tree and any chance of rescue is many hours away. Unfortunately there is a killer on board and several murders occur one after another. Also on board is ex cop Roz Parker and she begins the search for the murderer. Yes this does sound like the perfect description of a cosy mystery.

The problem arises with the number of social issues the writer tries to pack into a mere 250 pages. The most significant, by page count at least, is rape and if this is a trigger for any one then this is NOT the book for you.

I am still giving the book 3 stars for the good parts - a clever mystery, intriguing setting, lots of action and a surprise at the end. I liked Roz and enjoyed the role she played in solving the crime as well as preventing total anarchy on board the train!

One might expect a cozy mystery by looking at the cover, or at least I did. All the Poirot-esque elements are certainly here but in a much more modern, darker form. Just retired London Metropolitan detective Roz Parker took a first-class ticket to Scotland on the last overnight Express before Christmas. She must arrive on time as her daughter is in labor, and Roz has somehow managed to miss most of the significant events of her life. Just retired London Metropolitan detective Roz Parker took a first-class ticket to Scotland on the last overnight Express. She must arrive on time as her daughter is in labor, and Roz has somehow managed to miss most of the significant events of her life.

The train has a very motley crew of travelers on board. We first meet Meg, a social media influencer taking the train to post updates and sell some products. Meg is obviously in trouble with her boyfriend, Grant. Grant is a reality TV star who is handsome and can be charming but is also belittling, and there are more than hints of physical violence. Meg is terrified of him but also alarmingly co-dependent. We also have a put-upon husband with a herd of children and a drunken wife. A group of university students are on their way to Scotland to participate in a trivia contest on TV. An elderly woman and her son, and a mousy young woman who doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Roz takes her under her wing but has her own problems because her daughter's labor has become life-threatening. When the train grinds to a halt in a blizzard, and bodies keep dropping, Roz must take things in hand to find the killer.

Murder on the Christmas Express tackles issues never seen in the cozy genre; sexual violence, rape, and the lasting effects of trauma. It also has the most unattractive cast of characters, except Roz and a few others I have ever encountered. What did I like about Murder on the Christmas Express? The plotting was excellent, with one twist, turn, and misdirection after the other. It definitely kept me reading until the end to see who the killer might be. I'm giving it 3 Stars based on that page-turning quality and the somewhat hopeful turn of events at the novel's close.

Murder On Christmas Express (ARC)
Alexandra Benedict
2.5⭐️

Pub Date: 10/3/2023
It's Christmas eve and there's one last sleeper train traveling to the Highlands. Everybody is rushing to go home. But with the terrible weather, the train gets derailed and they're stuck in snow. Eighteen passengers' holiday plans are on hold. Everybody is anxious. More so because now, there's a killer amidst them, and if they sleep, they may never wake up again.

I love a good thriller. So when I saw this Christmas themed one, I got very excited and automatically requested it. Unfortunately, this did not do it for me. Nothing was really happening. It's basically domestic drama but in a train. The characters are all annoying. And I'm all for flawed characters but these ones were just insufferable. It's hard to like anybody. The plot and story telling were all over the place. One minute, there's heavy things and issues happening, and another minute, it's trying to be festive and lighthearted. And I get it that it's still Christmas themed but there's no clear cut boundaries when it switches around.

Now this might just be me, but it bothered me SO MUCH when it tried to keep the anonymity of killer (gender or any other details) by writing "the killer" over and over and over again. Excessively so. Repetition usually doesn't bother me but this one was very distracting. It was trying too hard and it takes away from the whole vibe. There's one important issue that's prominent here- abuse- but even then, it's not compelling to read. The ending was also lacking. The people who deserved to be brought to justice didn't get it.

There's really not much else to say. I was hoping it to be either a darker psych thriller or a cozy whodunit holiday mystery. Basically, it seems like it's trying too hard to do too many things in this book, but it didn't deliver well.

Although the ending as a little hard to swallow, this book is very well written and will keep you guessing until the end