Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of The Main Character! This novel opens with main character Rory embarking on a tour of the Italian coastline on a majestic train — it’s the trip of a lifetime sponsored by bestselling but reclusive author Ginevra Ex. The setting is promising and the novel embraces its Murder on the Orient Express influences, but the middle-to-end of the plot tended to drag. Rory is an authentic, relatable main character as a woman grappling with loss: of love, career, and family and I found myself rooting for her the entire novel. However, the multiple POVs, timelines, and subplots compete for on almost every page, leaving me with whiplash and dissatisfied with the superficial resolutions. This is definitely a solid and suspenseful read!

I was really intrigued by the plot line on this, but it fell a little short for me. I did think it was a pretty good read overall though.

Ginevra Ex is famous for her untraditional way of writing novels. She finds a 'main character' to craft each of her novels about by taking their real life experiences and putting her own twist on them. Rory spent the last few weeks with the author giving extensive interviews and living in Rome. Ginevra has a parting gift for Rory, a weekend train ride across the country. Once she's on board, Rory finds that Ginevra has also invited her brother, best friend, and ex fiancé too. She has no idea why the author would do that, but she has a feeling all the answers can be found in the ARC of the novel based on her! Does the author have malicious intent with this train ride? What is Ginevra hiding? Rory is about to find out and her life will never be the same.

This book is a thrilling mystery set against the backdrop of Italy's Mediterranean coast and the luxurious Orient Express. Reclusive author Ginevra Ex, known for her unconventional method of fictionalizing real people's lives, invites Rory on a lavish trip. To Rory's shock, her brother, best friend, and ex-fiancé are also on board, each hiding secrets.

As they travel from Cinque Terre to Rome to Positano, Rory realizes Ginevra has orchestrated a real-life plot twist, filled with deception and intrigue. Goldis masterfully builds suspense, making readers question the motives of each character and fear a deadly conclusion akin to Ginevra's novels. This captivating read will keep you on edge, eager to unravel the mysteries aboard the iconic train.

Thank you Jaclyn Goldis, Atria Books, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Ginevra Ex is a world famous writer who chooses a real life main character to base her books around. This time around she has chosen Rory, a seemingly normal woman from Michigan. Rory is at a crossroads in her life after being dumped by her fiance, losing her job, and her father's failing health. While in Europe to meet with Ginevra about the upcoming book release, Rory finds the Ginevra has invited Rory's brother, ex-fiance, and best friend along on a train tour of Italy. Something sinister is at play and Rory needs to figure it out before someone gets hurt.

It took me a while to get into this one, but about two thirds of the way through I suddenly couldn't put it down. The unraveling of the mystery at the end was worth it to get through the slower parts in the beginning. I didn't see it coming. I loved the blend of historical fiction with present day mystery. It made the story feel new and fresh - unlike anything else I've read recently. It was very well written and I would absolutely recommend this to someone looking for a unique mystery.

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC of The Main Character.

The Main Character is the story of how a fictitious author crafts her Agatha Christie inspired mystery tales. Because Rory has been selected to be the next “main character” of these highly regarded books, she and three of her nearest and dearest are invited to spend an Italian vacation riding on the luxurious Orient Express. Everyone is keeping secrets and trying to keep certain aspects of their lives hidden, but the last few twists and turns were truly a surprise! Thanks NetGalley!

I thought this book was really fun - and it definitely borrowed from Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. I thought the characters were interesting and unique. I enjoyed The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis, so I was excited to read her newest release. Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for the eArc!

The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis is an electrifying and cleverly plotted thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. The story follows reclusive author Ginevra Ex, who arranges a luxury train trip on the Orient Express for her latest main character, Rory. The twist? Rory's brother, best friend, and ex-fiancé are also aboard, each hiding their own secrets.

Goldis masterfully creates a web of intrigue and suspense, with each stop on the journey revealing more about the characters' hidden pasts and motivations. The opulent setting and the well-timed twists make for a thrilling read reminiscent of Agatha Christie's best works. Fans of mystery and psychological thrillers will find this book unputdownable. Highly recommended!

I loved Jaclyn Goldis’s first novel, The Chateau. It was a compelling locked room mystery with deep backstories. It’s rare for the sophomore novel to be better than the debut, but in this case I thought Goldis knocked it out of the park with The Main Character! It’s creative yet has a vintage feel, while also being refreshing and compelling.

Goldis returns with another locked-room mystery, inspired by and an homage to Agatha Christie’s legacy. This book is quite different in tone and story than The Chateau. It opens with a reclusive and eccentric author, Ginevra Ex. One of the most successful authors in the world. Ginevra always found it came naturally to crank out a mystery per year to critical acclaim and the bestseller charts. Until her last book, which flopped. Ginevra has now made it her mission to make sure her next book is a success.

The beginning chapter is critically important, and not just because of the mysterious dead body Ginevra has discovered. Ginevra has written what she believes to be her triumphant return to the best seller charts. I found it fascinating that Ginevra bases her book on real people, and this is where the rest of the cast comes in. For her grand finale, Ginevra has gathered the cast of real-life people onto the Orient Express for one opulent and twisted ride. Unfortunately, things don’t go at all as planned.

“Ginevra had forgotten the cardinal rule: Often characters have a mind of their own. And characters are prone to hiding secrets—from the author and from each other. […] Sometimes it doesn’t matter that you’ve lined it up perfectly, […] the twisty, perfect lead-up to that critical character’s final zig. Because instead of zigging, they zag.”

Ginevra has cast Rory Aronov as her main character, and placed her in the most expensive compartment onboard the luxury train. Of course, she did this before she discovered a dead body three days before the trip. The real life Rory is the inspiration for Ginevra’s latest novel, has just left a ten-day meditation retreat, hoping that it will give her the soul searching she needs to work out how she’s gotten to where she is in life. Her relationship of ten years has just ended, her career is in ruins, and she’s learned a life-changing secret while working with Ginevra on her new book. But when Rory arrives in the bar car, she sees it filled with people she knows. Her best friend, Caro, her older brother, Max, and her ex-fiancé Nate.

No one is more surprised than Rory to find these three on the same luxury train as her. It seems Ginevra arranged it as a “surprise” for her main character. But soon Rory and the reader learn that there are more surprises in store. Secrets are now trapped on a luxury liner traveling across Italy and are just waiting to be spilled. The characters are wildly unreliable, and their various perspectives slowly fill in the details about what exactly Ginevra intended. But even Ginevra couldn’t have foreseen how this would all play out.

One of the most mysterious and compelling parts of the story for me was how much Ginevra already knew. She had sent a few copies of the book onboard, but they are stolen before any of the central characters can read what’s in them. Or did one of them steal the books to keep the others from finding out a terrible secret? Ginevra also has quite a few secrets she kept from Rory and the reader, and those are waiting to be revealed along with the other ones. This is a story more twisted than the very train they are riding on.

The central characters are pitted against one another, and it seems at some points as though they won’t escape this train without blowing up every long-standing relationship they have. Or can there be healing through forced proximity? The tension was high throughout, and Goldis kept the pace moving with well-timed reveals and expertly plotted twists. This was a fun ride for the reader (though perhaps less fun for the characters). I loved the premise of a writer arranging this for the real life inspiration of her characters, only to see what happens.

Brilliant, entertaining, and compelling!

The Main Character is a bit of a slow burn while Jaclyn Goldis builds the suspense, but, once the pieces start to fall together, this train trip speeds up, and I was frantically flipping pages. I just had to know, and the way it all comes together is perfect. Then, just when I thought the plot was winding down, there's another epic twist, which really made the whole book for me. So, if you're considering letting this one go because the action isn't moving quite fast enough, do yourself a favor and stick with it. I promise you it's worth it.

This had a strong start but ultimately only ended up being okay. I loved the set up and premise of the story, and the Agatha Christie-esque focal point of the story. I enjoyed the illustrious and mysterious author character. This was definitely a slower-paced story that was character driven. I am all about slower paced stories but I didn't get connected to the characters as much as I would have liked. I was very frustrated with the characters' decisions (especially Caro) and how people reacted and were expected to react. I wish the novel was a bigger part of the story - I think I would have enjoyed this if it was structured as a story within a story style with the novel. Overall this was entertaining but fell al ittle flat by the end.

This was a good thriller that I enjoyed reading. At sometimes there was a bit too much detail that made me read it a bit slower. I did enjoy that it kept me guessing until the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the e-arc
3.75/5

The first twist didn’t shock me or interest me. The twist at the end though was really good and I didn’t see it coming. It was definitely a satisfying and shocking twist. Aside from the setting of The Orient Express, it's confusing that this book is being compared to Agatha Christie in a positive way. Unfortunately, The Main Character was a miss. Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for providing an ARC.

In an homage to Agatha Christie, an author sends her muse and muse's family quite literally on the Orient Express. As the passengers begin to read first copies of the book inspired by themselves, mysterious things begin happening and it quickly becomes obvious that someone has something to hide.

This book was fun and captivating, with present and past timelines. In the present we have "The Main Character" and her family and the book inspired by them, and in the past we have the story of a tumultuous relationship between the author and her sister. The way they tie together in the end is amazing and not necessarily expected. This book kept me guessing until the end.

The Main Character is an interesting quasi-mystery/family drama, filled with stories within stories within stories like Russian nesting dolls.

The novel begins with Ginevra Ex, a famous author who writes books about a real person who she selects to be her “main character,” and then extensively interviews the main character, and his or her family and friends.

Her latest main character, Rory, has just finished her interviews and is gifted a luxury vacation on the Orient Express. What begins as an exciting adventure quickly turns dark as Rory’s brother, her best friend, and her ex-fiancée are on the train as well, each with their own secrets. What game is Ginevra playing at? Is this just another chapter in the book?

Overall, the book has glamorous scenery, but the plot tends to drag until the last third of the book when things begin to happen quickly. The characters are all interesting, but it was frequently difficult to understand their points of view, since they all had the same voice and there were important details missing. As a result, any changes in character felt abrupt and inexplicable.

Despite these issues, I found the book entertaining, and hard to put down. I liked The Chateau as well, and look forward to reading the author’s next book. 4.0 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced complimentary copy of this book.

3.5/5!

Jaclyn Goldis is back again with an intriguing and highly suspicious mystery set amongst a group of friends who all have a secret or two that they’re hiding.

The Main Character unravels through alternating narratives from our friend group and the author, Ginevra, who has brought them together. While we get perspectives from several characters, it’s really Rory who ends up being our main storyteller. I loved getting to know her backstory and details about her father’s life. (Side note: Make sure you read the author’s note at the end to see where all of the inspiration for the father came from.)

The setting for this book in Italy and aboard the Orient Express train add really great details to the story, which I thought made it more well-rounded. I had a particular fondness for the scenes on the Orient Express as a lover of Agatha Christie and locked-room situations.

I do think this story could have been paired down a bit. There are a lot of details needed to make everything work and I think at times there was more repetition than was needed, which caused my reading pace to slow down.

This book definitely solidified by fandom for Goldis and I can’t wait to see what she puts out next!

This mystery novel is part locked-room thriller and part historical fiction (1980's Soviet Union) mash-up. In the current timeline, Ginevra Ex is a world-renowned writer who annually selects a real-life 'main character' as her subject for her fictional work based on their lives. Her current main character is Rory, who receives a lavish all-expenses paid Italian coastline trip aboard the newly renovated Orient Express. But when she boards, Rory is confronted with her ex-fiance, brother, and best friend are also passengers, invited by Ginevra. With each stop along the trip, secrets are exposed and murder is afoot, and Rory must untangle bother he own life and Ginevra's past to understand how they are interconnected before more people are killed.

Dual timelines, escapist/luxurious setting, and a uniquely compulsive plot made this page-turner a delight. I particularly liked the flashbacks to 1980's Russia which covered Jewish persecution and attempts to immigrate to Europe and America which were inspired by the author's own family's experience.

The premise of this story was so interesting and intriguing! I absolutely loved how unique and intriguing it was. The multiple viewpoints kept me on my toes and the twists were unexpected!

I was not expecting to visit the Soviet Union but the historian in me was here for it. The author’s note made me love it even more so. The premise created of how Genieve writes her stories and the scenes of her process was such a creative element to the story! Every second I was away from this book it was occupying my thoughts and everytime I picked it up I was sucked into the story!

The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis is a mystery novel inspired by Agatha Christie. It's not exactly a whodunit sort of story, but the premise sounds like that.

Ginerva Ex is a famous author, and her latest main character is Rory. She arranges a luxury train ride for Rory on the Orient Express that travels to amazing locales in Italy. Why is Ginevra so invested in Rory, and what secrets are going to be revealed?

On the surface, this is an excellent premise, and I was really invested in the story. The locales are beautiful, and the setting creates an atmosphere. However, the constant changing of characters' narrative with the writing style was hard to follow for me. I would have enjoyed the story more if the first-person narrative was different. I expected an explosive ending, but alas, it really fell flat for me. I wanted more. A few tweaks would have made this an excellent one, in my opinion.

Thank you, Atria Books, for this book.

Happy Pub Day to @jaclyngoldis and The Main Character (my #1 mystery suspense /thriller of 2024)

This book was seriously so fun with so many moments where my jaw literally dropped and my mind kept guessing!

✨Bullet Pointed Mini Review:

🇮🇹Lux All-Expenses Paid Italian Trip
😩Strained relationships
🧐Twists and turns
👥Shady Caracters
⌨️Reclusive Disgraced Elderly Author
✨Multiple POVs
🎭Lots of D R A M A
🕰️Multiple Time Periods

Thank you to @atriabooks @atria thrillers for the review eARC and the gifted finished copy!!

#themaincharacter #jaclyngoldis #atriabooks #atriathrillers #AtriaPartner #thatbookbetchhh