Genre: Fiction/Mystery Thriller
Rating: DNF

Ginevra Ex is a bestselling thriller author who hires real people to interview and fictionalize for her books. Her most recent “main character,” Rory, is thrilled when she’s gifted a bonus trip along Italy’s coast via the infamous Orient Express. However, this trip comes with strings attached— it includes her brother, her best friend, and two of her exes. Each of her bonus passengers are hiding secrets from her, and they all begin to unravel. Rory begins to wonder if this trip was given with ulterior motives.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jaclyn Goldis for an ARC copy of this book!

I was super excited for this one after reading Goldis’ other book, The Chateau. I had very high hopes for the premise— a thriller author using real people?? How intriguing! The possibilities! However, this one fell flat for me. I found myself disconnected from/disliking all of the characters, waiting for *something* to happen and grab my attention, and consistently wondering if it was over yet. I powered through about 80% before I decided to DNF. Besides disliking all of the characters and feeling like the storyline wasn’t progressing, I think this was also giving more Historical Fiction vibes (which I’ve discovered isn’t really my cup of tea) rather than the labeled mystery/thriller vibes.

👍🏻:
-The setting
-The premise
-The Agatha Christie references

👎🏻:
-The characters
-Lack of suspense
-Slow plot/storyline
-More historical fiction vibes than thriller
-The flashbacks

Any book positioned as a “modern homage to Agatha Christie” is immediately added to my list! This is another book with a similar format to the Lucy Foley novels, as readers follow multiple perspectives leading up to a murder in a beautiful location.

The story is written from multiple perspectives and follows a group of friends and a famous author as they take a luxurious train along the Italian coastline. The author, Ginevra, bases each of her novels on a real person and the person at the center of the latest book is a former news anchor named Rory. After the novel is finalized, the author surprises Rory with a trip on a new luxury trainride along the Italian coast. Unbeknownst to Rory, Ginevra has invited Rory’s brother, best friend, and former fiance to meet her on the train. You find out very quickly that there is a murder and spend the rest of the story figuring out who is murdered and who is the likely murderer. Each character is obviously incredible suspicious and Ginevra’s intentions become increasingly unclear…

I would definitely recommend this book if you like mysteries, unreliable narrators, and descriptions of beautiful scenery! I’m adding this author to my list of favorite mystery writers.

My mom always told me that if I don't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say anything at all.

But I'm breaking the rules today because this book was so bad I need everyone to know.

Billed as an Agatha-Christie-style murder mystery, I expected this book to be a fun read, but it was horribly mismarketed. This was a slow burn family drama with "twists" that made no sense and characters you don't like or want to root for. I was incredibly bored throughout the entire story and ended up angry with myself for not DNFing.

The only redeeming quality of this book was its amazing Jewish representation, but it honestly felt shoehorned in. I'm so disappointed I spent so much time with this book.

Especially disappointed because I loved this author's debut! I would definitely be willing to give her another chance in the future, just because I saw promise there!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this advance copy in exchange for this review.

I wanted to give Jaclyn Goldis another chance after I absolutely hated The Chateau last year, and unfortunately I’m going to have to accept the fact that she just might not be the author for me. This was another one that uses two different timelines, but has a million different characters and side plots that add nothing to the story. I don’t believe I’ll be interested in any more from this author.

I love the concept of an author researching real life people and basing a novel/murder mystery of their lives. Knowing the Ginerva Ex's last book was a flop, she was going to up her game for the next book. She invites the main character, along with her 3 closest friends, on a dream trip to present an early copy to them. Was it for thanking them? Or to expose the deceit she uncovered while interviewing everyone and waiting for them to find out upon reading the book? Either way, someone ends up dead. The chapters swap between the 4 characters in the book and the author. I loved getting the inside scoop on the secrets everyone is hiding from each other. However, the author's parts are back story from her childhood and unfortunately I found myself skimming through that part a lot. And unfortunately the end was wrapped up quickly and I wasn't impressed. It left me a tiny bit underwhelmed after being intrigued through most of the start.

The main character was such a great thriller. Set on an amazing trip on the newly refurbished Orient Express, through Italy, it was very reminiscent of an Agatha Christie mystery.

An eccentric author who uses real people as the main characters in her novels. Her newest main character, Rory, has just been dumped by her fiance and lost her job. After she is done being the main character, she's sent on this all expense vacation by the authour, only to find that her brother, best friend, and ex are all on the train. Everyone has secrets they want to keep from Rory, but the advanced copies of the authours book threatens to expose them.

What follows is a real mystery. Secrets are exposed, and suspicions grow, which culminates into something absolutely tragic.

There were parts of this book I absolutely couldn't put down. The book went back and forth between the different characters' points of view, and went back in time to get the authours story. The authours back story was necessary, but I truthfully found it less interesting and wanted to get back to the present day.

I did have an idea of all the little mysteries and the bigger plot twist at the end. I didn't necessarily love the ending, I thought it was a rather quick and convenient wrap-up. But, otherwise, this was a really enjoyable thriller.

Thank you to Atria Books for the advanced digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

Thank you to Atria Books for the finished copy and to Simon Audio for the ALC to review!

I was excited to read this after loving The Chateau by this author. I love a locked room thriller, and this was set on a luxury train trip which was even better. It was more character driven than plot which naturally tends to slow the pace, but I was vested throughout, and I like stories that include ‘books within books’ such as this one. I thought the audio was great and enhanced this atmospheric read, and overall I really enjoyed this one.

Got a little boring with all of the flashbacks and the plot twist was completely underwhelming. I did enjoy the atmospheric vibes.

A modern day homage to Murder on the Orient Express. Well, kinda.

A writer orchestrates a real life train trip where her main character along with her family in friends are throw into a twisty plot.

It's a slow burn, character driven mystery told from multiple points of view and multiple timelines. I am always up for a little Ms. Christie.

Extremely slow burns are not my favorite type of book so it took me a while to really get invested in this one. It is quite layered and complex but there is a payout at the end.

If slow burn mysteries with unlikable characters are up your alley, you need to check this one out.

The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis offers a gripping twist on the classic mystery. Ginevra Ex, a reclusive author known for turning real-life people into fictional characters, invites Rory on a luxurious Mediterranean train journey. The trip quickly takes a dark turn as Rory realizes her brother, best friend, and ex-fiancé are also on board, all invited by Ginevra and each hiding their own secrets.

I enjoyed the atmospheric setting and the intricate plotting reminiscent of classic whodunits. The evolving drama aboard the Orient Express, with its opulent surroundings and mounting tension, mirrors the intense and engaging storytelling of Goldis's previous works. The blend of family intrigue and the high-stakes mystery creates a compelling read. While the suspense and setting are captivating, the plot occasionally feels a bit overstuffed with twists. Despite this, The Main Character delivers a satisfying and atmospheric mystery that keeps readers guessing until the final reveal. It’s a solid choice for fans of intricate plots and richly detailed settings.

The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis is an homage to Christie-esque mysteries. There is a train, there is Italy, there is a murder or two. A very readable novel that is a well-crafted page turner.

I loved this one. It felt like an adventure and also like i was right there with it he characters. Excellent writing. Thank you for this one.

Though I was excited to get a copy of Main Character given the summary, I couldn't really get into it. The writing is good but the story never really took off for me. I'm not sure whether it's just a matter of right book/wrong time for me, but it just wasn't a favorite.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to The Main Character. I really really wanted to love this one, but sadly it just fell so short. I have a full review on my Youtube channel, but my biggest gripe was it felt like two seperate stories between two of our main characters. It felt like the author was trying to weave in too many side story lines and it just didn't mesh well together, on top of there not being a lot of shocking moments.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for my honest review.

This book is an auspicious tribute to Agatha, Christie and her classic "Murder on the Orient Express." What's impressive Is that relative newcomer, Jaclyn Goldis for only her second novel has succeeded where many would have failed. Yes, there is a murder on a train, but the characters are well developed, the plot is expertly devised, and personally I kept wondering who was killed on the train. I had my guesses throughout the book, and every time I turn to a new chapter, my guesses seem to evaporate. It is that well written and that much fun to read. Here we follow an author, Ginevra Ex, a highly successful writer, but whose last book was a dismal flop. In order to regain her status on the top of best seller lists she brought in former LA news anchor Rory Aranov who she interviews for three months in Rome. This is Genevra's modus operandi for all of her books. She finds a person, digs into their background, does extensive research on that individual and then that person becomes the "main character"for her new novel. Rory is someone different because Rory had interviewed Ginevra multiple times whenever she came to Los Angeles to promote her books, so there was a degree of familiarity when she was asked to be interviewed to be a main character in an upcoming book. Our book begins with.Ginevra finding a dead body, and then we go back in time to figure out what went on and what happened on this train? You see this was no ordinary train, this was the fabled Orient Express with a segment that ran from northern Italy down through Cinque Terra, to Rome and end up in Positano. It was designed as a three day vacation for Rory, but that first day when she went to the Club Car she was startled to find her brother Max, her best friend Caroline, and her former fiancé Nate all aboard the train. She had no idea they would be there and even they had no idea why they were there, even though they all told her that this was Ginevra's gift to all of them for being used as characters in her upcoming book. The book then goes back-and-forth with separate narrators for each chapter, and we eventually find out that there are secrets, mysteries, betrayals and much more among our assembled group. We also get to find out the background of Rory's father and his journey from Russia to America.. Along the way Rory receives a letter which exposes some of the issues and betrayals among her group of friends. This drives Rory to take certain actions because she thinks one and one equals two, when in fact, not everything is as evident as she believes. Each stop along the way is filled with danger, intrigue and revelation. By the end, all questions are answered, who was found dead, how they died and the mysteries all these individuals carried with them. It's a very well done book, with authentic characterization and plotting. And when you consider that this is the authors second book you're impressed by what she's been able to conjure up for all of us and can't wait for her next book!

2.5, rounded down - unfortunately, this book dragged for me, and that took away the allure of the plot and overall story. And I felt the ending kind of came out of left field - you think the story wraps up, and then you get a few more random chapters that were a little scandalous, but just not needed. I appreciated the author's note at the end, and how she developed Ansel's character using her own father's experiences - as someone who is very close with their own father, I thought that was a very touching and beautiful tribute as to the trials and tribulations he went through as he was growing up. But outside of that, I remember just feeling like this book was a chore to pick up. I've stated this some of my other 2 star reviews, but I just don't DNF - however, if I did, this would have been a contender for doing so. In addition to the unnecessarily long storyline, one of the characters were likable, so not being able to root for anyone also put a damper on the reading experience. Speaking of the characters, there were way too many for what this plot was trying to accomplish. One pro - the way the author describes the setting(s) was done well. It seemed well researched, or maybe she pulled from experience - either way, it worked.

I adored the setting and set up of this book, though I admit it took me a minute to get immersed in the story. Perhaps this was due to the multi-POV and hopping from person to person so quickly at times it was hard to keep straight. There was also quite a bit set in the past, which was okay, but I felt like the blurb didn't quite encapsulate how much of the book was historical. Overall, I enjoyed it though!

I really enjoyed how Jaclyn Goldis weaves together this story. The historical fiction elements of the Rufusniks is great! Plus, loved the Jewish rep.

A lavish, three-day trip aboard the Orient Express as it travels from Cinque Terre to Positano by way of Rome. Traveling on the famous train along the Italy’s Mediterranean coast is a trip of a lifetime for four of the passengers. They are guests of a world-famous author, who has used one of the passengers, Rory, as the main character in her next book.

The Main Character has that locked-room atmosphere, with characters that are hiding secrets from each other. Their relationships are tangled and their motives unclear. All of these elements should add up to a compelling mystery. No doubt, the premise is quite unusual and definitely imaginative. I really like the approach the author has taken.

The characters have depth and each one is interesting in his or her own way, even though I didn’t find any of them particularly sympathetic. Meanwhile, the setting is stellar and the descriptions make the book an enjoyable excursion through parts of Italy.

The story is told from different points of view and at times this becomes a little confusing, as the perspective seems to change abruptly. There’s also the addition of the nine-year-old daughter of one of the passengers, which seemed unnecessary and it affected the pace and focus of the story.

I enjoyed The Main Character but I waffled back and forth as to how much I enjoyed it. In the end, it was a 3-star read for me. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

This was a really good book, much to my surprise. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline. It was well written and kept my attention. I would definitely recommend this book.