Although the premise sounded intriguing with a nod to Agatha Christie and the elegant Orient Express, the novel fell flat for me. I think I was expecting more murder mystery and less family drama. However I did appreciate the Italian setting but I would have loved to hear more detail about the train experience. Furthermore, I did enjoy several twists but it still wasn’t enough to give this review 4 stars.

What I liked:
-Italian and Orient Express setting
-multiple POV
-twists and turns
-the Jewish experience in 1980’s Soviet Union

What I didn’t :
-more character development needed
-a more satisfying ending, it felt like it was missing something
-storylines explained (ie. breakup, job loss)


My rating: 3 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria/ Emily Bestler Books for this eARC that will be published May 21 2024.

An entertaining and intriguing premise inserted in a novel that essentially fell apart by the end.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199797969

I really enjoyed this book! At first I felt like I was reading slow and then hyper speed and also I was completely engrossed with the insight of the events and how life was for some in Russia among other spots in and near Europe in the 1980s. The Author’s not in the end really punched that storyline in and I am so grateful that I have been able to read her book early again! This one was an awesome nod to a Christie-like story mysteries, trains, and murder! What’s not to love!? I had such an excellent time binging this one!!!

Thank you @netgalley and @atria - Emily Bestler Books for access to this one!

PUBLICATION DAY: May 21, 2024

Rory’s life is not going the way she expected - recently fired from her dream job as TV anchorperson, and dumped by her fiance, she is suddenly at a loss regarding her next step, so accepts a very unconventional position. She will be the “main character” for famous author Ginerva Ex, serving as inspiration for her next book. But a reward turns ominous when she boards the luxurious Orient Express and discovers her best friend, brother and ex-fiance also in attendance. What is Ginerva up to by bringing them all together like this? A better story? And what will Rory learn as she delves deeper into Ginerva’s motives?

PROS and CONS:
Initially I did have trouble differentiating between the various POV’s, but I hung in there and it all got quite good for a while! Unfortunately, the characters simply wouldn’t help themselves, and I ended up feeling a little frustrated with them all. I also felt that some things weren’t explained very well (job loss, break up, and a few others I won’t spoil), but the scenery descriptions were amazing and I’d love to go on this train for myself (without the murder of course.)

READ IT?
If you are a die hard fan of murders on trains, then this one's for you.

3 Stars

This just wasn’t what I expected. I was expecting an Agatha Christie style one by one mystery and it was more of a family drama. There is a mystery element to it but fell flat for me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
A good book but just too many POV's. It was a good idea and it had some mystery in it and a historical aspect. I usually enjoy a book based off of Agatha Christie too. This just wasn't a favorite though.

I really really enjoyed this read. Jaclyn Goldis created such an intriguing story, putting these characters who were real life inspiration for a book, on the Orient Express as they figured out the secrets and mysteries in their life, spurred on by an eccentric author who had a mysterious connection to them (beyond writing the story). Honestly, it took a bit for me to get sucked in, but once I did I had a hard time putting it down. I found the twists and turns super surprising, and genuinely didn’t see it going in the direction it did. This was a 5 star read for me.

So I hate giving bad reviews on any book but this just was not for me. 40% in I realized there’s no mystery at all nor was there ever. I did finish it so I could leave a review but did not enjoy it. Besides being set on the Orient Express this was nothing like an Agatha Christie novel. The characters were very bland and flat: besides Rory and Ginevra I had no clear mental picture of any of them in my mind. This was a family drama, not a mystery. So disappointing.

Thanks for the e-arc I received from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC.

This one just fell flat for me. I really enjoyed The Chateau and was looking forward to this one.

However, 25% in the characters are awful. The plot holds my attention little and this is just not for me.

I must be in the minority because I completely disagree with a lot of the reviews on this book. I actually almost didn’t read it based on the reviews but I’m so glad I gave it a chance. I think if you go into thinking it’s going to be like an Agatha Christie novel you maybe disappointed. This is more a story lies, deception, and less a who dunit.

Rory is a disgraced reporter who is asked by a famous author to be her “main character”. As a thank you Rory is invited to a trip of a life time on the Orient Express. When she gets on the train she finds her best friend, brother and ex boyfriend also on the train. Soon everyone seems to have secrets and Rory must try to learn the truth before it’s too late.

This story had the right mix of mystery, betrayal, and, surprisingly, historical significance. Having family that also left Russia as a Jew it was a nice surprise to see the history integrated into the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Thank you to Atria books, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was really looking forward to this read, but for me it was a case of a thriller with just too much going on. The multiple POV, mixed in with time lines going back and forth, and several different plot points (a murder, an affair, an adoption, a refusenik fleeing the Soviet Union) made it a bit of a confusing read. It just felt like the story was going too many different ways all at once.

At 200 pages in, it felt like the story really hadn’t picked up yet, it was just a lot of mundane basic story telling. I did enjoy the last 75ish pages of the book because the action picked up, answers were beginning to come, and things started making sense in the big picture.

The ending was satisfying but the entire novel just felt so far fetched. So many moving parts attributed to the final puzzle, that it was almost coming too rapidly to comprehend. It also felt like there should have been an epilogue to explain how things continued to go in the aftermath of all that happened, the ending just felt abrupt.

I will say the author did a great job educating the realities of life in the Soviet Union, and the antisemitism that Jewish people suffered there.

I do think many will enjoy this thriller, it just wasn’t one of my favorites.

When it comes to new authors i have not had the honor of reading I usually look at the synopsis and where it takes place. Growing up I had an infatuation with Agatha Christie and while it has been a few years since I read one of her novels I found this book to be very intriguing and reminiscent of Christie's novels. I enjoy reading about Italy and a good novel over many time periods. While I often figure out important factors of a mystery quickly into the books, Goldis was able to throw some curve balls at me that I did not see. I think this is an amazing Rainy weekend read and look forward to reading more novels by Goldis.

This was disappointing. Promoted as an homage to Agatha Christie but was really a convoluted family drama. The only relationship I saw to Agatha Christie was that it was set on the Orient Express. Told from multiple perspectives, none of which had distinct enough voices to tell them apart, I was constantly looking back to the beginning of the chapter to see who the current narrater was. I never really engaged with any of the characters and by the end didn't really care what happened to them. Sorry, I can't really recommend this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for an advanced reader copy

The description gave the book cool Agatha Christie vibes but unfortunately it didn’t deliver. It was really more about the immature actions of the characters than any kind of mystery. The shifting back and forth viewpoints were confusing and made the story hard to follow. Many may like this but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

"A bestselling thriller author arranges a luxury train trip that is not what it appears to be in this electrifying modern homage to Agatha Christie from the author of the "tense and twisty" (Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author) The Chateau.

Reclusive, mysterious author Ginevra Ex is famous for her unusual approach to crafting her big bestselling thrillers: she hires real people and conducts intensive interviews, then fictionalizes them. Her latest main character, Rory, is thrilled when Ginevra presents her with an extravagant bonus - a lavish trip along Italy's Mediterranean coast on the famed, newly renovated Orient Express. But when Rory boards the train, she's stunned to discover that her brother, her best friend, and even her ex-fiancé are passengers, as well. All invited by Ginevra, all hiding secrets.

With each stop, from Cinque Terre to Rome to Positano, it becomes increasingly clear that Ginevra has masterminded the ultimate real life twisty plot with Rory as her main character. And as Ginevra's deceptions mount, and the lies and machinations of Rory's travel companions pile up, Rory begins to fear that her trip will culminate like one of Ginevra's books: with a murder or two. In the opulent compartments of the iconic train, Rory must untangle the shocking reasons why Ginevra wanted them all aboard - and to what deadly end.

Another stylish and compulsively readable mystery from Jaclyn Goldis, this is the perfect read for fans of Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, and Paula Hawkins."

I mean, someone who stages their books in real life? I want to meet this demented (sadly fictional) author!

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

This one took me a little longer to get into it once I was in, really in the story -holy cow! The twists I definitely didn’t see coming has me mouth open and shocked. Rory is in for the ride of a lifetime on the Orient Express but will the truth be too much for her to handle. A tale of betrayal, family drama and so much more. A great read for any fan of thrillers and mysteries.

Rory is shocked when author Ginevra Ex surprises her with a luxurious gift in exchange for helping her with her latest book- a lavish train ride through the coast of Italy. The dream trip seems to good to be true, and when dark secrets are revealed and someone is murdered on board, Rory must figure out the truths that lie below the fiction.

This book gave me such Murder On The Orient Express vibes! A luxury train ride, no where to hide- what a fantastic premise. I really enjoyed that this story was told in multiple POV which allowed for a fresh take on the chapters. I liked getting into each character's head as each of them had their own secrets, and it definitely gave me more to wonder about regarding who was telling the truth. This was more than just a mystery- it had elements of family drama, self-discovery, history, and even a love story.

I would also be remiss not to highlight the importance of the Jewish history lesson Goldis gives in this book (based on her own grandparent's story)! There are so many stories like this that need to be told, and each of them profound and different. If you know a Jewish grandparent (and it doesn't have to be yours), please ask them for their story- you won't regret it!

Even though I didn't find the first half of the book terribly suspenseful- I was mostly just reading for the ride (pun intended)- the last 50 pages or so had me glued to my seat it was such a page turner and I was shocked by the big twist at the end. It had an emotional element to it as well which made it even more impactful.

Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for my arc/earc. For readers who like Agatha Christie, locked room mysteries, or have ever wanted to take a luxury trip by train.

A trip of the lifetime.

That is what Ginevra Ex wanted for Rory, Caroline, Nate, and Max.

She wanted them to experience a train trip through Italy and to bond with each other.

Her motive, though, was for them to read her book and to bring to light what she found out about each of them.

We also meet Gabriele - he is the person who brought them the manuscripts and says something chilling.

What he says is: one of you has to die in the book. But does Ginevra Ex mean to bring the things in her book to life?

But then the books disappeared after they left them on their chairs at the beach.

Who didn’t want anyone to know what is in the book and stole them?

THE MAIN CHARACTER has an interesting premise and beautiful writing, but I was lost most of the time even though I laughed at some of the things the MANY characters did.

It wasn't a book I was anxious to get back to. It was confusing and had too many characters to keep track of. 3/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Rory has recently been interviewed by a famous author with the purpose of being the inspiration for her new novel. Ginevra Ex gleans all of her main characters this way. Rory's been gifted a special trip on the Orient Express to wrap up her time with Ginevra, but unbenknowst to her, Ginevra has invited Rory's closest friends on the trip to accompany her: Max, her brother, Carolina, her best friend, and Nate, her recent ex-fiance. They've all been interviewed as well and are characters in the book as well. They've each been gifted a copy of the new book, but Ginevra seems to have included some secrets that are better kept out of the public eye. When all of the books go missing, everyone becomes suspicious. What are they trying to hide, and how far will they go to keep their secrets?

I found this book to be relatively entertaining, however I think there were some major plot holes that were left unaddressed. I like to have resolution to topics that are brought up several times, and it seems strange to me that something that was such a key character plot wasn't addressed. Also, the end really seemed like it was thrown together at the last minute. The last 20% of the book seemed like it wasn't thought out very well. It's a great idea for a novel, but I didn't care for the unbelievable ending.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this ebook!