I understand that this book has a specific audience - probably the same audience that read or will read the first book in the sequel - but that audience is not me. I rarely, if ever, do not finish a book but I am unable and unwilling to spend more time reading a book that is confusing, muddled, and not very good. I’m over a third of the way through the story and aside from being on a train and being told (no less than 200 times thus far) that there is a murder at some point in the book, what in the world is happening? There are characters flowing out of every orifice and whether they are meaningful or just drivel remains to be seen. Godspeed to those who decide to read this book.

Benjamin Stevenson is such a unique author. When I read "everyone in my family has killed someone" it was unlike anything I had read before. With that said, I was excited to get my hands on this. Ernest is back, this time with a love interest. Oh and they are trapped on a train with other authors. Stevensons books require the reader to really pay attention. He even tells you "this is going to be important later" but as the events unfold the reader is still surprised/enthralled. His writing style is definitely not for everyone but I am liking what he is bringing to the thriller genre

While I think this book has a clear audience, I don’t think that audience is me. I found myself frustrated with the exposition and time spent focusing on the events of the first book in the series, and have therefore chosen not to continue after about 30/40% of the book, due to a frustration with the characters led by my own preferences.

For fans of Richard Osman and Anthony Horowitz, a fiendishly fun locked room murder mystery from the author of the indie darling Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone —this time set on a train full of mystery writers, agents, editors, and fans.

Well-written and well-plotted. I liked it!

This is the second book I have read this week telling me first person narrative means the narrator survives but leaving me with so many questions and without a narrator at the end. Yes, everyone on this train was a suspect. Even the beloved girlfriend of the narrator although he was trying to convince himself that she was exempt. People were dropping dead left and right leaving many relieved and shocked at the same time.

It became our narrator's job to find the culprit and write a second book based on this story. He had this reputation where people around him die and he ended up writing about it. He was not only narrating all the events happening in this train that was no different than a prison once on the move, but he was also walk us through his thought process. It sounded more like a memoir than a novel he was writing.

I liked the variety of the characters included in the story. Also, all the dirty laundry of the literary world was put on a display. Most of the successful writers on this train were doing one weird thing or the other, while not so successful ones were trying to play the game by the rules and getting punished for it. This was a great whodunnit!

Fantastic follow up. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the perspective and style are so unique, all around just a fun, smart mystery. I listened to the first Ernest book, and read this one on kindle, I think both formats work so well for the stories, I hope there will be more adventures of Ernest and Juliette in the future!

Whodunnits: we’ve all read them, or watched them, and we generally know what to expect. And Ernest Cunningham knows that we know what to expect, which makes the amateur detective breaking the fourth wall so much fun. I loved the first book in this series bc it was so unlike anything I’ve ever read, but I do remember not loving the actual murder mystery of it all. I LOVED all of it in this book though!

You can tell that the author is a naturally funny person (it checks out: he’s a standup). I don’t know how to explain it but humor in books just hits different when you’re giggling without realizing it vs when you can tell an author is trying to make you laugh but it’s not landing.

We have crime writers and crime readers on a train with a murder mystery plot and publishing beefs going back decades, told from the POV of the most endearing and self-aware amateur detective. Oh and the best epilogue I’ve read in years. This was a fun, entertaining, and refreshing read. Can't wait for more in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Mariner Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I was obsessed with the first book and just as obsessed with the second. This was so clever, funny, and written extremely well. There is a smartness to Benjamin Stevenson's writing that just clicks. He gives you all the information but has a way of putting it, that the killer is always a hard guess and a surprise. I hope he keeps writing Ernest novels forever. Absolutely pick this one up when it releases in January. One of my favorites of this year!

It’s always hard to write a review about a book where books reviews and the way they make authors feel are one of the main themes LOL. A good second entry but I would like to see something different from this author next as they obviously know the drill.

Thank to the publisher, and Netgalley for a copy to review.

I really enjoyed this. I had just finished the first one, then got to enjoy the sequel. I enjoyed both, but this one a bit more than the first. Just like the first one, the title is very eye catching. I like it.
This was a fun thrill ride through the Australian desert. Both books are set in Australia, I've never been to Australia. I've heard it's beautiful...and hot. I think the setting of a train is perfect, and although it's been done before, it never gets old. This one was a fun, and fast paced. If you're into mysteries,murder, and humor then please check this out. I would say you don't have to read the first one if you don't want to. It could work to read them in any order, or if you choose as a stand alone,but I suggest to do the author a favor, and read both of them. I think he would really like that. Happy Reading everyone.

Ernest Cunningham is back in the follow-up to Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone. Ernest is still dealing with the events from the mountain. Suffering from survivors' guilt, Ernest is having difficulty going from "true crime" to fiction. With a due date for his next book coming up, Ernest decides to attend the Australian Mystery Writer's 50th Anniversary celebration as a panelist. However, when one the writers is murdered, he finally has the topic of his next book. Follow along as Ernest and the other writers fight to figure out who is the culprit.

Benjamin Stevenson has done it again! I loved Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone and I think I enjoyed the sequel even more. This is not a typical murder mystery. Ernest Cunningham has no problem breaking the fourth wall with spoilers (the killer's name is written 106 times in this book) and going back with a review of what we learned. There was so much to this book that every time you thought you had it figured out, another twist would happen, and I never expected the ending. This was one of my most anticipated book to come out in 2024 and it did not disappoint.

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect comes out January 30, 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the opportunity to review Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

I wouldn't have thought it was possible a few days ago, but with Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect author Benjamin Stevenson has unseated his last book as my favorite modern-day whodunnit mystery. Yes, this book is that good!


Ernest Cunningham has once again gotten caught up in murder and mayhem and must step into the role of amateur detective, all while still abiding by the rules of a fair play murder mystery, of course. This time around, he's attending a mystery writers' festival that's taking place on a train traveling across Australia. The panel of crime writers are quickly at odds and drama and deceit soon follows with Ernest determined to once again save the day. 


Ern is one of my all-time favorite sometimes bumbling, always entertaining book detectives. His awkward approach to crime solving is so endearing and relatable that I can't help but root for him to solve the mystery, catch the villain, and hopefully do it all without totally humiliating himself in the process. Getting to share his self-deprecating, humorous thoughts is a perfect compliment to the mystery side of the story. 


Benjamin Stevenson knocked it out of the park with another clever whodunnit featuring more quirky characters and the same witty, breaking-the-fourth-wall narrative style as the first book. Add in the trapped-on-a-train setting, and my mystery loving heart was over the moon happy with this sequel. I loved the mystery, the setting, the characters, and the humor. It was absolutely perfect from beginning to end.


Thank you to Netgalley and Mariner Books for providing me a copy to read and review.

As Everyone on this Train Is a Suspect points out, sequels are hard. But this is another book with a great title that is as fun and creative as it is meta.

This time around, Ern is on a train through Australia with several other mystery writers. Once again the story is told through his perspective and with hindsight which is a great combo. There are few murders this book and the reveal isn’t as overly complicated and consulted as in the first book, but it’s still an excellent read I’d highly recommend.

I think because this isn’t the first mystery involving writers I’ve read, some of the twists and turns were a bit more familiar and not as shocking as with the first book. Having said that, I’d still read anything Mr. Stevenson writes and hope to hear from Ern again.

This is a great follow up to Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone’. I love his conversational writing style.

Ernest gets to ride on a train up and down the length of Canada with several other mystery writers. When murders start happening, of course Ernest starts investigating.

I can’t wait to see what happens next for Ernest!

As a huge fan of Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, I was delighted to get the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book thanks to the publisher and Netgalley. I quickly re-read the first book to refresh my memory, and I loved it again. I'm happy to report that this one is also excellent. I loved the setting of the Ghan Train, and I've added it to my bucket list. Once again, the author's humor really added to my enjoyment. Since I read a lot of mysteries, it was fun to have a group of mystery writers, all suspects, trying to solve a murder. I also liked the insights into the publishing industry and the references to AI. Stevenson is fast becoming a new favorite author of mine, and I look forward to the next installment. I highly recommend this unique book.

I really enjoyed Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, so I was very excited when I was given an ARC for Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect.

The epigraph includes the quote "A sequel is an admission that you've been reduced to imitating yourself." - Don Marquis, however the epilogue states that a sequel is a "chance to fix up the mistakes you made the first time around." I think Benjamin Stevenson has done the latter. While I am not sure what mistakes Benjamin believes he made in his first book, this sequel is superb.

Ernest Cunningham continues to remind you that you are reading a book, following a special formula for mystery novels. That breaking of the fourth wall, so to speak, is what makes this book such a unique experience. He gives you all of the clues, and somehow he makes a narrative from those that is beyond your wildest dreams. I spent some time trying to figure out the anagram, but was unsuccessful.

Whodunits are not my first choice in books, but Benjamin Stevenson has solidified himself as a must-read author for me. If Life, Death and Whiskey is really "coming soon", it will immediately be added to the top of my TBR.

4.5/5 stars!

I definitely want to read more mystery books by Benjamin Stevenson.

This is the sequel to "Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone" which was an excellent start to this series. This book has our main character Ernest playing amateur sleuth and has so many witty hilarious lines. I loved this book more than the first one and I hope there will be more! I loved the take on the classic murder on the train and it definitely had me guessing till the end. I will definitely be listening to this book as an audiobook when it is released as I really enjoyed listening to "Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone."

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Going to start this review with a non sequitur. Hang in there. I know the book I just read. I even know the genre. Promise.

If you've read a single book in the Caroline Kepnes series You, then I'm sure you've seen the meme: people will read a Joe Goldberg book even if Kepnes made him a Walmart greeter. After reading the two Ernest Cline books written, I've decided this meme is better suited to Ern. I would read a book where he was relegated to a job as a circus clown. These books are that good.

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect is firmly rooted in reality. It's not a novel where a person with no career experience can just waltz in and take over a potential murder investigation—not without ridicule, skepticism, and proper obstacles. It wouldn't be easy for a normal person to do (it would be damn near impossible), and I appreciate that Stevenson doesn't suspend that logic just because it's a novel. It means that Ernest and his fellow authors have to be more creative than a traditional detective.

Ernest is quite clever, although he spends a lot of the novel not coming off as such. I appreciate that, too. No one likes an insufferably perfect hero, do they? We like to see characters that make the same mistakes we do. Ern puts his foot in his mouth, he's defensive, he overcomplicates things way too early to be acceptable. But Stevenson pulls it off well because it's not cringy to read. Obviously, like the first book, the whole book glitters with wit, humor, and vivid descriptions.

The only criticism I have, I suppose, is all the adverbs. (Kidding.)

I want to thank NetGalley and Mariner Books for letting me read an advanced copy of this book. As soon as I finished the first and saw there was a second, I was dying to read it—figuratively, of course. It shot to #1 on my must-read list, and I'm so happy for the opportunity.

A lot of times, a sequel can be a dud. And sometimes, the sequel can out do its predecessor. In the case of this book, I feel it outshines its predecessor.

I love how Ernest is just am accidental writer and amateur detective. He does it so hilariously in this, that even as someone who is neither, I find him so relatable.

Now he does give us clues as to the murderer pretty much from the start. And right before the reveal, he gives you the opportunity to solve it. Did I? Nope. And I love this for me.

I'm just going to say there's two best parts of the book: the epilogue and the Tom Cruise scene.

I really do hope we get more. More bumbling. More Andy. More Juilette. More who done it. More Ernest.

I had adored everyone in my family has killed someone and this one was even better! I loved the take on the classic murder on the train, laughed out loud a couple times reading it! I enjoyed seeing the character growth and thought it was a bit easier to follow than the previous one. Thank you so much to Mariner books for the ARC!