To celebrate the success of his cancer treatment, Meredith Penvale treats her mystery novelist brother a Joe on the fable Orient Express. As they begin their journey and start mingling with and getting to know some of the international cast of characters, an apparent crime is discovered in the form of a passenger cabin covered in blood, but with no body. Luckily, there are a number of passengers on board with experience as law enforcement, private detective services and government agencies. As the Penvales are recruited to join the rest in a form of task force, another murder occurs to one of the train's staff. And then another. On top of everything, a COVID outbreak on the train complicates everything, including the final destination of the Express. As the bodies mount and the tension rises, will the amateur detective to be able to help experts solve the crime before any more blood is shed.
This was a subject that easily could have gone one of two ways, the author having taken a crack at a literal new spin on one of the most classic mystery novels of all time. Much to my surprise, she nailed it. It didn't take long for the story to get really interesting, the characters were all well presented and, of course, all hiding something. The plot had real intensity that kept up throughout the book right to the end. The only real clunker in the book was the full transcript of two podcasters who appeared in the novel, as it was totally unnecessary, except for possibly a small bit, which easily could have been listed by itself as a snippet from the show. And I totally guessed the real killer, even if I didn't guess the motive.

This was an overall entertaining read and had some good twists. I was a little confused at times keeping up with certain characters and their names. It started off a little slow but definitely picked up later on as I kept reading.

Murder on the Orient Express reimagined. It’s a book about a writer who is writing a book based on another book. Did you get all that? All in all, this was a fun, enjoyable read. It was entertaining, somewhat humorous, and exciting all at once.

I really enjoy Sulari Gentill’s books. They’re fast paced, amusing, and easy to read, and this one was no exception. Take a murder mystery set on the famous Orient Express, throw in Covid, multiple investigators, multiple murders and a missing body/murderer, and you have Five Found Dead.

Totally fun!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an advanced copy of this book.

This is the first book that I’ve read by this author and it was a twisty, mystery thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It felt like a modern day Murder on the Orient Express and a great read for people that enjoy thrillers!

Five Found Dead is a gripping and atmospheric thriller that keeps readers engaged from start to finish. Sulari Gentill masterfully weaves together mystery, tension, and complex character dynamics, creating a story that is both compelling and unsettling.

The novel’s premise is intriguing, and the slow unraveling of secrets adds to the suspense. The characters feel realistic, each with their own flaws and motivations, making it easy to become invested in their fate. The writing style is immersive, drawing the reader into the eerie setting and the unfolding mystery.

One minor drawback is that some plot twists feel a bit predictable, and certain parts of the narrative could have been more tightly paced. However, this doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the book.

Five Found Dead is a solid, well-crafted thriller that will appeal to fans of psychological suspense and crime fiction.

Following Joe's brutal treatment for cancer, he and his sister Meredith Penvale take a journey on the famous Orient Express boarding in Paris. Meredith had hoped that this journey would inspire her brother and solve his writer's block. One book has been published and both Meredith and Joe have great hopes for their journey. There are only so many places to hide on a train, let alone hide a body, so when the siblings discover an apparent crime scene, Cabin 16G, the cabin next door to their cabin, bathed in blood, the question is: where is the body?

Together with Joe and Meredith on this journey there appears to be an overabundance of police and detectives apparently taking the Orient Express journey as a holiday. But when the steward guarding Cabin 16G is also murdered, Joe and Meredith, a lawyer, are asked to join the task-force to find the killer. The total number of this force is twelve.

And so begins an Agatha Christie-esque murder investigation. But that is only the beginning of the killing spree and before long the body count amounts to five with the first body still missing.

Very cleverly researched and written, this is book # 4 of a literary nature by one of my favourite authors, Sulari Gentill. Author of the much loved Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, Sulari always manages to trap and intrigue the reader and, in this story, we find ourselves on the Orient Express, in a closed-room mystery with no place to go or hide.

I loved this story and thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read it prior to release later in the year.

This was basically ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ but set in our modern day - and I LOVED it. As I kept reading I couldn’t help but feel like it was incredibly similar. But in a good way. It was similar enough but also different enough that I didn’t find myself getting annoyed. I often found myself appreciating the enjoyable atmosphere Gentill created through the environment and the characters.

I did find that there was a lot of characters and I found it hard to keep track of everyone. I often found myself forgetting who was who and why they were significant. But that would be my only critique.

I really liked meredith and joe’s relationship and their banter was great. They were just great protagonists and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who loves a good train murder mystery. It won’t disappoint.

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

This was a fun Murder on the Orient Express inspired mystery. While some of the twists were predictable the pacing excellent, I was thoroughly charmed by the main characters, twins Joe and Meredith, and love the (extensive) cast of secondary characters.

I've read several of Gentill's other books and found the tone of Five Found Dead to be much lighter and more tongue in cheek However, the mystery and suspense of whodunnit are still strong.

The story follows [Protagonist's Name], a compelling lead with a dark past and a relentless drive for the truth. As they navigate a web of deception, betrayals, and high-stakes danger, the book delivers nail-biting suspense at every turn. The pacing is expertly crafted, maintaining a balance between action-packed sequences and moments of psychological depth that reveal the characters’ motivations and fears.

Let us start by putting this where it belongs in the cosy mystery genre, not in the least thriller vibes.

Five Found Dead follows crime author Joe and his twin sister Meredith Penvale as they board the Orient Express, a trip meant to mark Joe’s recovery from cancer. However, their holiday takes a sinister turn when a murder occurs, pulling them into a joint investigation with a group of other passengers who are miraculously connected to law enforcement.
A vast array of characters and there are a lot of them, will keep you entertained.
Go into this with the mindset of a short holiday/airport read and you will have a good time. When I say short, short by my standards. A few hours of light reading goes in the short category.
This is my first experience with writing from this author, I enjoyed the book enough that I would check out other novels.

Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me the ebook ARC of this book

Such a great book. Thank you for letting me read it in advance. I can't wait to see what else this author has to offer.

The concept of this novel wag great! And I loved the execution. Phenomenal writing style. I couldn’t put it down.

I quite thoroughly enjoyed this book. Five Found Dead is an excellent homage to train mysteries, both written and filmed. Christie and Hitchcock are name dropped in the book and I think they would have been proud. It is a fine entry into that niche. The reader is first introduced to the main players, a likable pair of twins, Joe Penvale, a crime writer and cancer survivor (that’s important), and his sister Meredith, a lawyer and brother supporter. They are embarking on the famed Orient Express as a celebration of health and to restart Joe’s creative fire.

As the other players are introduced it becomes obvious that there are more than the usual number of passengers involved in law enforcement. When, in a locked cabin, evidence of a murder minus a body is discovered the various passengers with experience in crime, including Joe who is pulled in with his sister, are asked to form a task force to examine what has happened until they get to Venice. Over the course of two and a half days there are many alarums and excursions with the needed twists, red herrings, surprise reveals, and, of course five bodies. The characters are involving, the plot compelling, and the pacing brisk, yet there is still the lightness and sense of the past, Joe calls them ghosts, that is the heart of a golden age mystery set on the Orient Express.

I’ll admit it—I was completely sold by the cover. A murder mystery on a train? Say no more. And the fact that it takes place on the legendary Orient Express? Even better! (One day, I will take that train myself.)

Right from the start, it’s obvious that Five Found Dead is heavily inspired by Murder on the Orient Express. There’s a diverse cast of characters, all banding together to solve the mystery, and even a French former detective who feels very much like a nod to Poirot. Some of the events are a little over-the-top, but honestly? I didn’t care. I flew through the pages, eager to find out what happened next.

The characters were engaging, though there were a lot of them. A character list at the beginning would have been helpful! But each one brought something unique to the story, making for an entertaining ensemble.

As for the ending—without giving anything away—I didn’t find it particularly surprising or satisfying. It mostly rehashed things we already knew, rather than adding a fresh twist.

Still, while it’s not the best murder mystery out there, it’s also far from bad. It’s simply a really fun read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This slow burn mystery follows twins Joe and Meredith Penvale as they take a ride on the Orient Express.

There are so many characters to follow I’m not even sure my count is accurate. While tidbits of conversations are mildly entertaining here and there, the story is incredibly slow moving.

So much of this story seems implausible, to the point I’m left wondering if it was intended as a satire. I’m really not sure.

I had the bad actor(s) figured out early on, hanging in for the sake of it being an advanced reader copy and to see if I guessed right.

With thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Pressed for the advance digital copy.

I love Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot, in particular so when I was given the opportunity to read a closed room mystery set on the Orient Express about a murder...or five I was down!

I was intrigued from Page One, Joe and Meri have intriguing and pithy dialogue and their interactions with the other guests are fun and engaging. The plotting was great and while you will have to suspend disbelief a wee bit you won't mind at all...this book is great fun!

This was a great locked room mystery story. It gave me such strong Agatha Christie vibes that I was immediately captivated by the book. It had me hooked from the moment I started it until I finished it. I received an advanced copy of this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery book.

*Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

As a huge Agatha Christie fan, this was a delightful premise. An excursion on The Orient Express quickly begins to parallel the Christie novel as passengers start dropping dead. I was hooked from the beginning, though things did drag a bit in the middle. I never tried to solve the crime and really just was along for the ride. This book had SO many subplots that an outside observer wouldn't guess from the get-go (though maybe it could've done with one less). Plus the last chapter took me out of the story a bit, but I'm still sold on Sulari Gentill's intricate plots and premises.

A fast paced who dunnit with shades Agatha all through out the book. The atmosphere was elegant and creepy at the same time.

Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill is the latest standalone from the Aussie author whose literary-themed novels I'm very much enjoying. This book is a bit of a cross between Benjamin Stevenson's Everyone on this Train is a Suspect - in that there are many potential (highly qualified) suspects on the train in question... most of them involved in law enforcement in some way; and Agatha Christie's good ol' Murder on the Orient Express... as this IS set on the Orient Express and therefore the quintessential locked room mystery as no one can get off or on. Without giving away too much Gentill also borrows from another of Christie's other novels*... to achieve the aforementioned locked room (or even more extreme) locked CARRIAGE mystery.

I've only got this electronically so my mum won't get to read it but I know she'd comment on the number of characters and her difficulty in remembering who's who. Gentill does introduce a lot of players but the ones who stick in our minds are those who need to.

Meredith is our narrator here, sister of successful debut author Joe who's recently cancer-free after treatment. The pair wonder at the sheer number of experienced investigators on the train. Perhaps because [the Orient Express itself is] popular with those with a penchant for crime solving and criminal minds, or perhaps it's something less coincidental and they've all been drawn to take this particular train on this particular day for a reason.

The investigators are brought together by the train's manager who believes they're well placed to locate the first victim (a swindler and thief who boarded using one his many pseudonyms), assumed dead given the amount of blood left in his train carriage.

Those on the killer's trail—a mix of former spies, police officers, private investigators, Meredith (a lawyer) and two fluffy old sisters who were swindled by the hustler—are given the freedom to examine evidence and bring their collective abilities and experience to the investigation... but not before more bodies start mounting up.

Gentill sets this against a backdrop of Covid fears, referencing new strains which prevent the train from stopping in order to allow an investigation and search for the victim. So there's certainly a time imperative and Gentill keeps the pace by continuing to lift the body count and throwing in many 'reveals' and motives amongst those present.

I very much liked Meredith and Joe (so was firmly in their corner) and, as usual, loved the literary themes - with Joe finding inspiration from the events on the train as well as a reminder that life is short and it's best lived in the moment. As an aside, I did wonder at one point if Meredith was going to discover she was taking part in a game and the trip was an elaborate travel adventure experience or a moving escape room featuring talented actors playing the victims and perpetrator. A great and highly recommended read!

* I'm a fan of her work but cannot recall in which book this sleight of hand appeared. (Cannot say more cos #spoilers)