*Thank you to Netgalley for an arc in exchange for a fair review*

Ok so i had many many expectations for this novel going in, but...i was left disappointed. firstly, it took wayyyyy too long setting up for the murder in the beginning, to the point where I was quite bored. When the novel did pick up, however, it became really interesting....right up until the end. There was something so...unsatisfying about who the killer was and it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

ARC for review thanks to NetGalley; thoughts are my own. 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3. I liked the premise of the story- a whodunnit that was limited to a short moment of time, the duration of a train ride. But boy did it drag. The book just really failed to stay moving (much like the train) and didn’t keep my interest. It does a good job of keeping you guessing but in a slow, dragged out, unbelievable at times, sort of way.

The book overall was pretty boring since most of the surprising turns were very predictable, although two of them truly surprised me. However, I would have wished for a better conclusion to the story, since I don't fully understand it after reading it.

The characters were pretty well thought out, but I was quite annoyed with the main character at points.

I liked the authors writing style since it felt very immersive, however I prefer reading from a third person's pov and not first.

I also really think there should have maybe been a trigger warning for all the talk about cancer.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for giving me this ARC.

6:40 to Montreal is a beautifully crafted mystery with atmospheric tension and characters you can’t help but root for. The journey from start to finish is full of suspense, and the final twist is satisfying and unexpected. A gripping read for those who love a good psychological thriller.

I really wanted to like this book, it sounded like it was going to be a good one but it fell a bit flat for me. The characters did not resonate with me, the plot was good but it just didn't have that page-turning feeling. The story needed a bit more development to make it interesting and the end fell short for me. Not a favourite of mine for sure.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

There is something exciting about reading a book that you can actually put yourself in. I've taken the via rail trail between Toronto and Montreal many many times. I love winter storm books and locked room type stories. This book scratched an itch I didn't even know I had. And honestly - I thought WTF so many times! Highly recommend - especially if you can read it while on the train....

ARC from NetGalley
Thank you to the author and publisher.
Publish Date: Sept 23, 2025

Rating: 2.5 rounded to 3

Plot:
Agatha (nod to Agatha Christie?) is an author whose husband gifted her a train trip to Montreal in first class. She looked forward to spending this time working on her next novel; however, she quickly finds herself in a dangerous situation. The train stops in a blizzard while in the wilderness. No WiFi or phone service means no link to the outside world. While waiting for the train to restart it becomes evident that a passenger has died, which starts off a calamity of events that will test just how far each passenger will go.

Pros:
- some elements of the story were unique to me
- the author leads the reader along by giving them lingering questions to ponder
- although there wasn't detailed character development there was enough to allow the reader to
form an opinion of each
- fast-paced
- there was a surprise for the reason this all occurred

Cons:
- by using synonyms for which many people would need to look up the meaning, the author breaks
the rhythm of the reader
- events were highly predictable, along with the main lingering question of “Who done it.”
- in some places there was poor sentence structure
- the author was inconsistent at times
- the author made it feel as if she was doing advertising for a certain chip brand

Fav Quote:
“This boy who saw himself as a man. He wanted to keep attention off his predicament. She wanted him to be safe.”

Would I recommend it to a friend?
It would be unlikely that I would recommend this to a friend. Due to the issues indicated above, I could not get fully engulfed in the book. I would get into a rhythm and it would by broken. This lead to my putting the book down frequently.

A perfect closed-room mystery with the characters stuck on a train in a snowstorm. All of the characters were multifaceted, complex and every scene held your breath as you watched the events unfold. The ending will blow you away. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

i found the plot interesting, and well worth investing in, but i won't lie... i did find it hard to connect with the main character the further i read. my attention was taken in too many directions and i couldn't seem to find the motivation to not make this a chore. i think it was interesting and enjoyed the setting, the "closed train car murder" and the passengers/employees.

Interesting since I am familiar with the locale, but generally melodramatic. The characters seemed to be caricatures. There was a nice twist at the end.

I wanted this to be good but it was pulled in so many directions and didn’t land for me. The twist was pulled too far after pushing me to suspend reality so much. There wasn’t really a mystery or suspense.

6:40 to Montreal
by Eva Jurczyck
Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book was not a good fit for me.
Unfortunately, my interest and connection to this book stalled, paralleling the 6:40 train to Montreal. While the premise was intriguing, I lost what little connection I had to the main character the further the train was from the station. I believe that the ‘fluff’ pulled my attention in too many directions and I lost momentum. I also believe that my lack of connection to the characters contributed to my lack of engagement in the story. It was the clumsy twist that got me; it asked me to stretch even further and I couldn’t do it.

I liked the idea of a ‘closed train car’ murder, I appreciated that I had to keep reading to pick up clues, the Canadian setting, and the quirky passengers/employees.

The story is primarily set in Canada on a train going from Toronto to Montreal. The train breaks down in the dead of winter for hours and hours and exciting things happen aboard during the breakdown... but they didn't elicit the excitement in me the could have for some reason. I just couldn't get invested in any of the characters enough and found myself skimming at times. The ending, although it couldn't come quickly enough was abrupt and not developed. I thought the title was good and the cover really lovely.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the book.

I could not put this book down! A modern whodunnit which would delight Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and all the other authors of the golden age of detective fiction.

Mystery on a train. All the passengers seem to be hiding something. Murder is afoot. When the train becomes stranded/broken down in the middle of a visit, everything starts to go wrong. An interesting read.
Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to have read this had a publication in exchange for an honest review.

~thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book~

I wanted to like this more than I did. People stuck somewhere with no help? My kind of book. I didn’t enjoy it that much and I think it’s because the characters were all unlike able. I also felt like nothing was happening for awhile. Maybe it’s one of those slow burn type of books but it didn’t hold my attention. 2/5 sorry :(

Well that certainly was one wild ride. This book kept me guessing from beginning to end. Every time I thought I had a piece of the mystery figured out, the plot took a sharp turn in a different direction.

This was a fun, fast-paced mystery that kept me turning the pages as fast as possible. My main criticism of the book was that there were multiple moments that just seemed a little too far fetched, taking me out of the story.

Overall though, if you’re looking for a quick, fun thriller to read, I’d definitely say give this book a try!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! Was very close to a 5 star for me but settled on a 4.5. I think the pacing was good and I actually really enjoyed the change in pace with the flashbacks and jumping into her published and prospective stories.

I think this book was the epitome for me of a main character not having to particularly likeable to enjoy the story. I have ready SO many books where not only have the MCs been unlikeable, but also unbelievable and infuriating. I didn’t respect all of Agatha’s choices (in fact so many of them were downright immoral), but she was real and interesting. I wanted the tiniest bit more from the supporting cast, but it didn’t detract from the plot for me.

I am not a typical highlighter, but some of the sentences and paragraphs in this book were spectacular to me.

I would happily recommend this book to anyone interested in a good closed door mystery and am looking forward to its release in September.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A business class train trip to Montreal goes horribly wrong in Eva Jurczyk’s “6:40 to Montreal” - a claustrophobic page turner that was equal parts unpredictable and unsettling.

The story follows Agatha, a surprise-hit author who is keeping secrets of her own, on an early morning train journey to Montreal that’s a gift from her husband. The train comes to a stop but the unexpected twists do not.

This would be a good read for someone looking for a page turner that doesn’t waste a ton of time on character development up front, as the story moves quickly with an interesting but not overly sympathetic protagonist. As someone who has commuted between Toronto and Montreal for work before, I also appreciated the local setting and familiarity.

There’s a healthy amount of tension, some blood, and an interesting cast of side characters, as well as a story within the story about Agatha’s own (possibly plagiarized-from-real-life?) novel.

While I would have preferred a slower burn, there was enough of a novel concept and meat on the bone to keep me reading through to an interesting ending!

Read if you like:
- A Canadian setting
- Snowed in, confined space style thriller
- A small cast whodunnit

Writer Agatha is taking a round trip journey in the business class section of a ViaRail train from Toronto to Montreal in order to focus on writing her next book. When a snow storm hits that halts the train, Agatha and the other business class passengers find themselves trapped with something sinister.

I absolutely love books set in Canada, so this one was fun for me in that regard. I liked the fast pace and the setting; however, it missed the mark for me with the overall plot and the ending. I found it a bit too far-fetched and unbelievable for my taste. But I still did really like the overall set up for the story. So this one definitely has its pros and cons, and I would recommend it to those who like this specific niche type of thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC ebook. Releases September 23!