In the follow-up to Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, our protagonist and narrator, Ernest, is on a train with his girlfriend, Juliette, as part of a mystery author's convention. His (and our) first book, wasn't exactly successful, and he's having trouble drafting a novel and earning his advance. But when one of the guests on the train dies and Ernest suspects murder, he not only wants to find the killer to protect himself and the other passengers, but maybe he'll get a book plot out of it, too.

The best part about this series is the totally unique storytelling style. Ernest is a cheeky, fourth-wall-breaking hero who teases us with clues that are just too clever for their own good. In the first book, it came off a bit more unexpected, and was more prevalent, but I loved those aspects of this book just as much. He promises never to lie to you, and he doesn't, and I love a good reliable narrator. The mystery in this one was also quite a puzzle--in the best way possible--that had me guessing until the very end. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Thanks to the publisher, Mariner Books / HarperCollins) for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

What a fun and innovative mystery! The main character is a nonfiction writer and traveling on a train as part of a mystery writing festival. But then one of the writers is killed. Who can solve the mystery? This is the second book after Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone. This can stand alone but start with the first one since you’ll want to read both, anyway.

For fans of Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, a new story from the same narrator, in yet another murderish scenario. Ernest Cunningham is on a train when people start dying. Essentially a moving locked-room mystery. There are so many twists and turns, lots of juicy reveals and suspense. This one is just as tongue-in-cheek and breaking the fourth wall as the first and I liked it even more with the particular tropes and themes. Definitely recommend.

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect is the second outing for Ernest Cunningham by Benjamin Stevenson. Released 30th Jan 2024 by HarperCollins on their Mariner imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out 1st quarter 2025 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is such a clever and well rendered series absolutely full of quirky humor and giggle-out-loud prose. A closed circle of suspects, this time book people on a train: publishers, writers, and readers. There have been comparisons to Clue and Knives Out, and those are both apt and inevitable. It's not at all derivative, but it does have the same vibes of whimsy and camp that are also present in the aforementioned.

It's somewhat the same format (and style) as the first book, so readers who enjoyed that one will likely find this installment to their taste as well.

It's a much more limited range of characters than last time, and although the book's first person narrative takes some effort, readers are well repaid in the form of fast, sharply funny, and perceptive commentary from the narrator. Ernie continually breaks the fourth wall, which some readers will find annoying and repetitive, and which seemed personally to be just on the right side of comedic. Read back to back, it would almost certainly be a bit too much of snarky overload.

Three and a half stars. Well written, clever, at certain points surprisingly funny, and entertaining. For fans who don't mind -heaping- helpings of whimsy and sharp humor in their murder mysteries. The author's a stand up comedian in real life, and it shows.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The Everyone series has gained popularity, and I think there will be a Christmas-themed book as well. I did read the first book, and it was good. The same style and snark was carried over to the second.

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

This book reads like no other. It‘s so clever, funny and especially unique.
In this book the author is talking to you, the reader, which makes it so entertaining because it made me feel like I was trying to solve the puzzle together with the author himself! I feel like every book should be written that way.
The setting is amazing as well, everything happens at one place, the train. We get to know different rooms and of course many different people. I love how everyone had their own characteristics. There isn‘t just one murder…
It‘s such a page-turner and I can highly recommend it to everyone craving a funny and cozy mystery novel <3
I can’t wait to read his other books ( you don‘t need to read his books in a particular order )

While I loved the first book in this series, I found Everyone on This Train is a Suspect to be lackluster and a little slow going.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. An excellent sequel! I hope to see more of Ernest and Juliette in the future.

This is book 2 in the Ernest Cunningham series and I did not read book 1. Ernest narrates this book and he starts out with an overall view of the story. When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out. This was an okay read for me, I think if I had read book 1, Everyone in my family has murdered someone, I might have enjoyed more.

I did not read Stevenson’s first novel though I think that I may now do so. That was, however, in no way a handicap to enjoying this title with recurring narrator Ernie.

This book strikes me as an, at times, humorous homage to the classic mysteries of authors like Agatha Christie. As in Murder On the Orient Express (though Ernie says it should be Murder IN the Orient Express), a group is assembled and isolated, there is mayhem and much to solve. As an added twist/bonus, many of the story’s characters are mystery authors and that adds to the fun.

There is much to enjoy in this entertaining story. Many thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

This book was published in January 2024

Not my favorite, but it was better than the first book. More fast paced, which I think is key in these locked room style mysteries.

Okay, it makes sense that a comedy writer wrote this! This was a fun rump, a meta commentary on writing too. I haven't read the previous book, but found this one fun.

I liked this book much more than the first in this series, but I didn’t love it. I enjoyed that it took place on a train, it was a unique setting. And I enjoyed the twists and the ending was unexpected, but there were a lot of characters and at times it seemed a little unorganized.

Loved book 2! Perfect train mystery. Looking forward to the next installment of "Everyone" adventure!

I was intrigued by the premise going into this book and it came highly rated by some Bookstagram accounts that I follow. Although I didn’t know that this was the second book in a series, it didn’t detract from the story in any way. I enjoyed the characters and found it to be a delightful, quick read. I will definitely have to go back and read the first.

Thank you to Benjamin Stevenson, Mariner Books and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book for an honest review.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

4.5 stars

Last year the first book in this series was one of my top ten reads of the year (Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone). I had sky high expectations for this book after loving that one so much so I'm happy to say I really loved this book too. It wasn't as perfect as the first one (which is mostly impossible since that one was set during a snowstorm which you know by now is one of my absolute favorite types of settings) but it was still really enjoyable. The things that I loved from the first book like Ernie talking directly to us as the reader and the love for the mystery genre in general were all present in this second book too. But what made this book really fun was the setting of the book on the train which felt very much like an homage to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. The mystery in this book was fun and kept me guessing - there were laugh out loud moments - and it was just a really fun read overall that has me itching to see what this author comes up with next! This series is fast becoming a personal favorite and I truly hope that we get more books featuring Ernie in the future. 4.5 stars but rounding up on Goodreads.

If you are a mystery lover, this series feels like a must read! Start with Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone - I definitely think that you should read these in order. Plus, you'll know pretty quickly if this is the author and the way he writes is for you. I'm just over here singing his praises at this point. Highly recommend!

I read the first book in this series and I enjoyed this one even more. This one picks up after the previous book. Ernest has written a best selling true crime book based on those events and has been invited on a mystery writer convention on a train. There is another murder of course and he sets out to solve it. I enjoyed the Australian setting and the characters. The mystery was good with plenty of suspects. I found this book even funnier than the first. This series should be read in order. Enjoy

This is a decent follow-up to Stevenson's first book. We are back with Ernest Cunningham. He is even more meta in this book as he has now achieved literary success with his first book, Everyone in My Famly Has Killed Someone. Now, Ernest is on a train with an author event. He has brought his girlfriend along. Of course, one of the authors winds up murdered and Ernest is bent on figuring out who did it....especially as it may help with the writer's block he has experienced. The difference here is that there are others wanting to do the same.

There is an entire cast of characters in this one that adds to the entertainment factor here. Everyone has bought into the meta-mystery concept. Ernest still brings the reader in and gives them clues to see if they are able to figure things out before he reveals them. Stevenson does a great job of giving you just enough to keep you guessing and wondering who the culprit is.

All in all, this is a good follow-on. It loses some of the newness that the first book had but is still entertaining enough for the reader. I enjoyed the train setting as it really turns into a locked room mystery. The book read slightly slow for me but I'm glad I stuck with it as there is a good payoff in the end. I will be keeping an eye out for the next Ernest Cunningham mystery.

tl;dr
Strong (possibly better?) follow-up to the first book (although first book knowledge not necessary), with more signature meta-commentary, twists, and a solid mystery.

Thoughts
Ernest Cunningham is back, once again tripping over unfortunate circumstances and the corpses that come with them. In a role reversal from the previous book, Ernest is now one of many murder mystery authors, and probably the least qualified of the bunch, but he brings back his signature self-aware writing style and collection of adverbs to sassily, wittily, and sometimes accidentally, uncover a murderer. I previously enjoyed the energy and style of the first book. The sequel doubles down on that mood - heaping on the meta commentary about the "fair play" mystery. If you liked it the first time around, you'll like it this time too, probably even more. One bit of meta foreshadowing in particular, is extremely effective in its blatant-ness, and I applaud the author for leaning into it. Combine that with a blunt but honest look at The Industry, and you've got another fun mystery on your hands. If I had any complaints, they would be the same as the first. Ernest remains entirely un-earnest, with high emotional walls that make it difficult for a reader to care about him or the stakes involved. Two books in, it's clear this is purposeful, but it can have an alienating effect, and I can totally see this not being everyone's cup of tea. If you liked the first book, jump on it! If you haven't read the first book, but this sounds interesting, there aren't any major spoilers, and you can start here if you like.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for a review copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!