This is a good story with intriguing characters and lots of twists and turns. It has a little history lesson regarding Russian Jews which was interesting. The premise was a little far fetched with characters agreeing to this trip even though they each had something they were hiding. There were definitely red herrings, and a large cast of characters, with complex back stories, locked together - so the comparison to Agatha Christie rang true for me. This was quick read and interesting enough to keep me turning pages to finish. I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley and appreciate the opportunity to read this book - this did not impact my opinion.

The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis is a book about an author who chooses a person to become the “main character” of her books. She ran out of interesting things to write about in her own life and came up with a plan to use interesting things from other people’s lives as plots for her books.

The author chooses a news anchor, Rory, who had been fired from her job to be the topic of her latest book. She sends Rory on a luxury trip on the Orient Express. Unknown to Rory, the author also sends her brother, her best friend as well as her former fiancé on the train. This leads to some situations which make Rory the Main Character uncomfortable, to say the least.

The premise makes for an interesting and at times suspenseful read. Thanks to Netgalley for the prepublication copy to read and review.

Agatha Christie lovers can rejoice with this homage to Murder on the Orient Express that will make a splash just in time for summer.

I loved the mystery and characters, and I'm a sucker for any book or author that wants to write like Christie. This did not disappoint, and will be a great beach or poolside read.

This was such an interesting read and an homage to Murder on the Orient Express. Rory is the next main character Ginerva Ex picked for her latest murder mystery book and as a bonus Rory is treated to a 3-day train ride on the newly renovated Orient Express. When she gets on the train she is met with her ex-boyfriend Nate, her best friend Caroline and her brother Max also Ginervas lawyer is present who gives everyone an ARC of the new book for everyone to read. Unbeknownst to Rory everyone has secrets they are trying to keep under wraps which unravel as the train chugs along until disaster strikes and someone is dead. This was a very twisty mystery and while the ending was very abrupt it was still interesting even if it was not what I was expecting. This was a great fast read.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

A nice light escape and a good beach. read. Nicely written. Good luck with the book and thanks for the opportunity to read.

Love love loved this one!!!!!!!! I’ve been looking forward to this book since I heard about its release date and this book did not disappoint!!!!! I absolutely highly recommend this one to every one!!!!

I had really high hopes for this book after reading the premise. Comparing the story to Agatha Christie really drew me in but unfortunately I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped for. Many of the characters were hard to like and the book seemed to drag on. I found myself bored with the story and just hoping it would hurry up in end. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review the ARC.

I enjoyed this book! I found the beginning slow while they introduced characters, but I was sucked in about halfway through and devoured it! I didn’t care too much for the flashbacks from Ginevra, but I understand how it was important to the story!

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I really enjoyed this book and enjoyed the ending even more.

I understand the description calls this an homage to Agatha Christie. I’ve not read any from Agatha Christie and I also didn’t read the description to mean that it was to be similar to a Christie novel.

The book starts with a lavish trip with four people that know each other. We begin to get to know them as the trip progressed. We learn of their transgressions + begin to assume certain things are true.

All until the end when we learn the truth. It was so good, so interesting and wrapped up the story well.

Book provided by NetGalley + Atria Books. All opinions are my own.

After enjoying The Chateau written by Jaclyn Goldis, I was intrigued to read her upcoming 2024 release, The Main Character. Set on a revived Orient Express traveling north to south in Italy, it had all the right things going for it... an author creates fictional characters from those she's met in real life. So, when she assembles the main character and several people close to her, why does someone die in reality? And what hidden connections lurk beneath the surface of this peculiar story? There's more to the author than we all realize, and many of the characters seem to harbor secrets. For the most part, I enjoyed the book. It wasn't quite Agatha Christie-esque, but there were some similarities. Mostly, it jumped around a lot and left me struggling to accept each new POV. I liked the big reveal at the end, and along the path were some interesting Ukrainian and Jewish histories that educated me on details with which I'd been unfamiliar. But there was a little disconnect between the characters admiration / care for each other and the reality of their situations. Too many unanswered questions, and how or why did the people agree to such a thing with so much to hide! That said, it was an easy read and I'll give the author's next book a chance too.

I thought I would love this book! But it fell a bit flat for me. I struggled to stay interested.

The writing was quite good but the characters did not jump off the page for me. I loved the premise of this book and love that it was set on the orient express but ultimately it fell flat. The last several chapters were quite good.

I still recommend giving this one a try if you like Agatha Christie.

Although the idea behind The Main Character was interesting, the actual story never really delivered any meaningful twists and turns until the last few chapters. Until then, the book was repetitive, had brief glimpses into characters and actions that swirled around the edges of the story but never quite became part of it and had way too many different points of view. I normally enjoy multiple POVs in a book, but this time I had trouble telling the characters’ chapters apart and had to frequently check who was narrating. While the ending had more action than the rest of the book, it felt rushed and less than satisfying.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

I think the description of this book as an homage to Agatha Christie puts an expectation on this book that doesn’t necessarily pan out. I myself have only read a couple of AC books, but it made me think I was getting into a murder mystery, or something like Knives Out. I don’t think it does the book justice.

On its own merits, the book was good. I didn’t love it, I got very bored and found myself skimming pages during the historical fiction flashbacks with Genevra and Ansel. I WAS very interested in the modern day plot, although the characters themselves (except Gabriele and Chiara!) weren’t very likeable. It was a story of everyone having a secret, and stressing out during their chapters that someone else was going to find out the secret. And then poor Rory…just stumbling about trying to be strong but really just a bumbling insecure mess.
The ending was the best part, I really enjoyed the “twist” and resolution!

In another note, I really like the cover, and like her previous book The Chateau, I think the description of the setting to be wonderful.

Thanks to Jaclyn Goldis, Atria Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

While this one had a lot more drama than I was anticipating, I still ate it up! If you've read the authors previous novel then you won't want to miss this one either.

This is a good thriller to read will many twists and lies all aboard a train. I like unlikeable characters and this book had many. This is a great book for spring or summer and I really enjoyed this book.

4.5⭐️

For each of her novels, reclusive, best-selling mystery author Ginevra Ex hires a real person to interview extensively and put into her book. She meets with her main characters friends and family to learn as much about them as she can before fictionalizing them and putting them in her books. Each of the main characters have been highly compensated throughout the year, but her current main character, Rory has gotten the best bonus of them all: a trip on the newly renovated Orient Express.

But when Rory gets on the train she realizes this isn't just a casual ride that Ginevra has sent her on. For one, she finds that her brother, best friend and ex-fiancé are all on the train as well, all sent by the author. And with each stop on the trip, it becomes clear to Rory that Ginevra knows everyone's secrets and isn't willing to keep them.

I really enjoyed this! I loved the thought of taking a real person and fictionalizing their real life to fit into a story. Each of the characters featured in this were well thought out with their own flaws that really advanced the story. I liked the way that the relationships between each of these characters really raised the stakes for the conflict throughout the book and that there were connections that weren't really expected throughout. This was also a good study in just because you have a part of the story doesn't mean you can jump to conclusions about what really happened.

The pace was fun and really helped buildup the story. I liked the background story of Rory's father, his escape from the Soviets, and his later Alzheimer diagnosis that really pushes Rory and her brother to succeed. I feel like there was a bit at the end of the train ride where the story got a bit convoluted and wild and that's all that kept this from being a five star read for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria books for providing this ARC to me!

Rory is given an opportunity. Not only is the going to be the base of Ginevra Ex's next book, she also receives the chance to ride the Orient Express, a luxury train going through the Mediterranean. Once on board, Rory is shocked. She knew Ginevra is was going to dig into her life to create her main character but she had no idea how far she'd go. Now facing people from her life, she's told they are all harboring secrets. Ginevra's approach to writing is very different but what kind of plot is she really writing. Rory must get to the bottomo of the web of lies before a murder or a few arise on the opulent train.

I really loved the premise of this book, however I'm finding I don't mesh well with the writing style. I'm a huge mood reader and this didn't do it at this time. The pacing is a slow and then it goes on a train wreck down hill slide. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy. This one just wasn't for me.

A best-selling author writes in a very unique way. She hires real people, investigates and interviews them, and then writes a fictional account for her books. It is a very odd but very successful process. Her newest "main character" is Rory, who has completed all interviews and has been rewarded with an extravagant trip on the newly renovated Orient Express. She is surprised to find her brother, her BFF, and her ex are also on the train. Truths are revealed throughout the trip, with chapters from different characters POVs and different timeframes. The story drags a bit before getting to the end, where I almost didn't care about the big reveals. I can only give a mild recommendation to this book. Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for providing an ARC.

This is one of those books I wanted to love based off the synopsis, but it didn’t live up to the expectations I had for it. My main thing was that it took me so long to get in to the story, and by the time things picked up, the book was almost over.

I really enjoyed the first book by Jaclyn Goldis and had high hopes for this one. It took me awhile to get through this book mainly because it was hard for me to connect with the characters. The premise was promising, I mean who doesn't want to be taken along on a train ride through the beautiful setting of Italy's coast. Unfortunately, the book was more character driven and left me wanting for more description of the setting. The plot was unique and enjoyable but a little slower paced. I am not a fan of character driven stories and I think that's why I didn't rate this one higher. If you enjoy mysteries with character driven plots this is the one for you. I still look forward to reading future books by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.