The Linda siblings are returning to the kingdom of Halter, aiming to be home before the death of their father, the king. However the journey is unexpectedly halted when the train engine explodes on top of a volcano.
The crash triggers Davina's later powers, a piece of information that her two older brothers failed to alert her or prep her for. To add to the confusion, train crew and passengers are being murdered.
I really enjoyed this fusion of fantasy and murder mystery. The world building was good and the characters interesting. The plot moved at a pace that was swift enough to keep the reader engaged and with enough twists to keep them guessing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Death on the Caldera by Emily Paxman is a third person multi-POV fantasy mystery reimagining of Murder on the Orient Express. As a train passes through a caldera with witches and gods who seek to destroy the royal family, someone crashes the train and they’re also killing passengers. The three Linde siblings, Kellen, Davina, and Morel are three of the passengers and they’ll need to help figure out what is going on and why.

I have not read anything by Agatha Christie so I cannot say how this works as an adaptation of the Murder on the Orient Express. I can say that it fulfills its promise of being a fantasy mystery with witches. Part of the mystery is figuring out who the witch is and there is some very cool worldbuilding around witches that I have never seen before. The magic system isn’t fully explained because it isn’t totally understood by any of the characters, but there are some fun details regarding different magics existing in different cultures.

A major theme is identity and names, which fits in well with this being a fantasy mystery. The caldera god who seeks the royal family struggles to find his prey because they hide their names and identities from the whole world. Their true names are very closely kept secrets and even when traveling, they use fake names. Other passengers on the train, such as Genna and her daughter Rae, contribute to this theme as they move through the world and hide parts of themselves and their pasts, whether knowingly or unknowingly.

The book moves at a fairly brisk pace once we really get going. Classic mysteries often took their time to set everything up and Death on the Caldera is no different. Once we get to the train crash, however, we start moving much faster and we keep pushing forward all the way to the end. I have found that I struggle with plot-driven mysteries because I really need a character to help me get through a book and there were several interesting characters here and they helped the book feel like there is forward momentum.

I would recommend this to fans of fantasy mysteries and classic mysteries and readers looking for something to read after The Tainted Cup and Raven Scholar

A multi-POV mystery with equally interesting worldbuilding and magic system, Death on the Caldera is a perfect blend of fantasy and mystery.

I really, really enjoyed this. I was pleasantly surprised by the well-crafted third-person, multi-POV structure! It was a great way to focus the story, as without it, there would have been too many red herrings or suspects in the story to keep track of.

The worldbuilding is really cool. A sort of post-industrial, almost golden age era fantasy (hence the train), but with a royal family in control of one of the more prosperous countries (I could have used a bit more on the politics, actually, but it would have felt out of place given the setting) and a really cool magic system. First, there is Volchemistry, a magic that anyone can use if they have the right materials, though it seems to be something you need training in, making it an esoteric skill generally held by the rich. What’s cool is that it’s powered by or created by the volcanoes. Then there are witches who are said to be accidentally powerful, in that their power is uncontrollable and temperamental, and they also morph their appearance when using it. The latter is used as a way to control and hamper women’s freedoms, which doesn’t get a huge amount of play in the novel but seems to be on track to expand upon, perhaps if there is a part 2.

Despite all this, plus everything else going on, I was never confused. Information is released when needed and by people affected by it, which was another strength of the multi POV.

The characters are a lot of fun. We have the three siblings first of all, all of whom are very different and coming together after being estranged. All three are paradoxes, which makes sense, given they have two personas; their royal self and the self they use when they are living among the masses. The siblings are all undercover, in a sense, as the royals pretend to be regular (albeit rich) people, I’m assuming until they decide to reveal themselves publicly. As such, Kellen is both very logical but also is motivated by his heart. Davina is naive and sheltered, but also very tough. And Moral is a soldier but sort of a, well, not a wimp, but definitely not hot-headed or overly brave. They are all likable as you get to see their struggles with their outward persona vs who they really are. The other characters are also great, especially the child, Rae. Her POVs are few, but they are really well done. There’s a tendency for authors to write child POVs that are very simple to the point of dumbing stuff down, but the real way to do it is to throw in words here and there to describe high-level concepts a child wouldn’t know (which is what this novel does).

The plot is fun - lots of twists and red herrings, with a mystery I figured out just before the reveal. Some characters die, and one in particular, I was like “Aw, that’s too bad!” because I thought that person was really sweet.

The descriptions, especially of the landscape, were really immersive and fun. If you love really cool settings, this book provides that. The action sequences were also well-described and moved at a great clip.

Now, the only thing I will say in critique is that the ending is quite abrupt. While the main things are resolved - in that we have answers to the main mystery - smaller issues were left hanging, almost as if there is supposed to be a sequel. I really hope there is.

Overall, I thought this book was excellent. A 5-star read for sure.

I have mixed thoughts on Death on the Caldera. I loved the blend of mystery and fantasy and for me the multiple points of view weren't difficult to follow although they did add a sense that the novel was a bit rushed. The pacing was too fast given the reader is not only being introduced to new magical and political systems but also trying to solve a mystery. Every time something was being explained all of a sudden some new "big event" happened that needed explaining or investigating and characters were being eliminated from the story before I had a chance to properly understand them. I like taking my time figuring out "whodunnit" in a mystery novel but didn't get much opportunity to do so as a result of this.

The ending muddied the waters as to Paxman's intent for future novels. There was a clear cliffhanger but I don't see how it would work as another mystery as we now know the characters and would need some more time focusing on the plotline introduced at the start of the novel which was largely forgotten once the action began. I did enjoy the reveal at the end which confirmed my suspicions about a certain character's usefulness to the story.

As an introduction to a potential series, the mystery element was a fun twist to the fantasy genre but I would definitely prefer more worldbuilding and character development in future instalments as opposed to another mystery.

Well, that was a wild (train) ride. I have not read a fantasy novel with a worldbuilding this intricate and interesting in a while. Paxman is setting up for a whole plethora of stories, and I'm here for it. The story itself seems to pale in front of the whole background, and I really think this would have worked better as a spin-off novel set between the main saga. Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot and cannot wait for more stories about the witches of the caldera.

Sadly, this book wasn’t for me. I was expecting a mystery set in a fantasy world, but instead, I ended up feeling confused. There were multiple points of view and different character goals, which made it hard for me to follow the story. Although the writing was good, I often found myself lost due to the frequent shifts in perspective.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc.

For fans of: The Once and Future Witches, One Dark Window
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌖
Genre: Mystery + Fantasy
Violence:🪓🪓🪓🪓[most off page]
Spice: 🔥
TW: amputation, suffocation

Premise: 3 siblings rushing home to their dying father are delayed after accident strands their train atop a caldera bubbling with volcanic magic. The crash triggers sister Davina’s magic & makes her the prime suspect in not only the crash but the ensuing deaths. The problem: Davina has no memory of the event.

Thoughts: As an avid fan of both mystery & fantasy, I am always delighted to discover a genre mash up. And one described as classic murder mystery meets Murder on the Orient Express is designed to ignite my interest. The book’s magical system is well-conceived, different from any interpretation of witchcraft I’ve read before. And this world-building enables a novel approach to amnesia, adding tension to the mystery and enabling a unique take on the unreliable narrator. The narrative does switch POVs regularly, often mid-scene, which creates confusion at times. However, Paxman deftly leverages this approach to put us unwittingly into the mind of a villain, thus increasing suspense. The book does drag a bit for me in the middle and would benefit from one more incisive editing. But I find the characters pleasingly complex and the whodunit engaged me to the end. Be prepared: the book ends on a cliff hanger. Te he, I love a play on words (read the book to learn why that joke is so hilarious).

Thank you to Titan Books & NetGalley for a gifted book in exchange for an honest review.

Truly a blend of Agatha Christie-esque murder mystery and magic and witches. A little complex at times with worldbuilding and the many POVs, but overall a very successful debut!

Davina, Kellen, and Morel are siblings/secret royalty traveling to their home on a luxury train, when suddenly it explodes and derails. Kellen then reveals that Davina has latent witch powers, usually hidden but comes out when there’s danger. Davina’s not sure if her powers caused the crash, but when a murder takes place, the siblings spearhead the investigation to keep suspicion off of them. But as the bodies pile up, it’s clear the passengers are hiding dangerous secrets.

There’s political machinations, complicated family and sibling relationships, and a magic system based on rocks (along with that of the witches, which seems to be… transmogrifying?), plus a mystery tying them all together. There’s multiple POV, which does get a little confusing sometimes when it’s not the most clear whose POV we’re in. The mystery has the whodunnit vibes and the investigation like from Agatha Christie’s novels, though honestly with the deaths that occur and the character development (or lack of it for most side characters, probably due to the focus on relationships and many POVs), it wasn’t too hard to figure out the suspect (also because of how the narrative was built, but I might have just read too many Christie novels). I would have liked maybe another twist for the mystery aspect. There were also several plot threads left open by the end, but it seemed to be leaving things open for a sequel.

The characters and their complicated relationships were interesting to read and see develop. I grew frustrated with them at times, but also understood why they acted like they did, and liked seeing their warm family moments, too. Definitely recommend to mystery lovers who also enjoy fantasy, with a focus on characters!

Thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Murder on the Orient Express but with witches, you say? Sign me the heck up.

A tantalisingly twisty gaslamp style murder mystery that combined with a fantasy world of witchy chaos, delivers a real firecracker of a book with a surprisingly well nuanced and rich plot.

I rated this slightly lower than I wanted to because at times that complexity made the story difficult to follow.

With an alarming number of POVs and numerous magic systems, I had to double back a few times to get my head around everything that was going on.

Overall, a stunning story and an incredible debut. Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy!

Death on the Caldera by Emily Paxman is a gripping blend of fantasy and classic crime, ideal for readers who enjoy the works of Leigh Bardugo and Agatha Christie. Set in a vividly described volcanic landscape, the story delivers a compelling mystery filled with danger, magic and betrayal.

When the Linde siblings board a luxury train to return home before their father’s death, they expect a peaceful journey. Instead, an explosion leaves them stranded on a bubbling caldera. As passengers begin to die and tensions rise, Davina’s witch powers awaken, casting doubt on her own innocence.

The atmosphere is dark and intense, with few moments of lightness. Paxman does not shy away from loss, and the emotional stakes feel high throughout. The strained family relationships add depth, particularly between Davina and her brothers, who have kept painful secrets from her.

The mystery unfolds with clever twists, red herrings and a well-paced sense of urgency. The setting is immersive, the characters feel real and the story keeps you guessing to the very end.

Death on the Caldera is a compelling and imaginative book that launches a promising series. A must-read for those who enjoy magical stories with emotional weight and a strong sense of place.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Death on the Caldera is a really fun debut that combines the classic crime novel with a fresh steampunk twist. I really enjoyed the writing in this one and to say it is a debut Paxman really knows how to get you hooked into their world. There is a nice mix of classic crime, a la Agatha Christie and a touch of steampunk too. I highly recommend this to fans of murder mysteries and fantasy who are looking for something new and interesting.
As always thank you to Titan Books for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

Death on the Caldera is advertised as "Murder on the Orient Express with witches", however this isn't a retelling, it's more of a secondary world fantasy with Victorian-esque aesthetic where there is 1. a train 2. a series of murders 3. witches.

After a really unlucky streak this year of non-romantic adult fantasy most of which disappointed me, I was scared to pick this book up - will it live up to my expectations? Am I doomed to only enjoy YA and romantasy? But nope, I enjoyed this one a lot!

The strengths:

- The biggest one is the cast of characters! I often struggle with multi-pov ensemble casts, as I have trouble remembering who's who. But in this one, most of the pov characters stood out in a way I recognized them at a glance when they appeared on stage.

- Tying to the above, the multi-pov narration. This is often hard to pull off, it can easily lead to a disconnect from the characters, but this one did it brilliantly. I sympathized with most of the main characters, flawed as they were. I got lulled into a false sense of security and didn't guess the killer. I was actively rooting for most of the characters to survive - of which many did, but a few did not. It's also one of the few cases where a child's pov is well done and isn't obnoxious or reading wrong for its age. I was immersed in feelings of different characters despite their conflicting goals.

- The "volchemy" i.e. volcanic alchemy is a very unique and interesting magic system, and having everything revolve around the God of a Volcano and minerals from said volcano having magical properties was hella cool.

- The plot offers plenty of red herrings so I was never bored, and the protagonists are investigating the issue actively rather than waiting until everything falls into their lap.

- The family plotline was very heartwarming and I loved the depiction how much they all cared about each other despite all the past grudges.

The weaknesses:

- The ending leaves open door for a sequel even though as far as I know, no sequel is announced so far. This could not be a downside, if a sequel materializes, or if you don't mind the style of ending where the main plot is wrapped up but there's clearly a hint there's more to this story.

- A part of the reveal is delivered through a "villain monologue" which is one of my least favourite tropes, for sure.

- The witches' magic seems a bit overpowered and not clearly limited, which undercuts a bit of tension and believability of the worldbuilding setup.

But overall it was an enjoyable read and one of the best non-romance focused adult fantasy I've picked this year. I'm very intrigued to see what Emily Paxman writes next. The plot held my attention and the characters were interesting and relatable.

I would recommend it to readers who like steampunk / gaslamp / Victorian style settings with a unique magic system, and fantasy where a central relationship is between family members rather than a romance or rag-tag team / "found family".

Thank you Netgalley and Titan Books for the ARC!

Death on the Caldera is Emily Paxman’s debut novel, combining elements of steampunk fantasy, mystery, romance, and more. The characters (written in third person, past tense) include a trio of incognito royals heading back to their father’s deathbed in another country, the crown prince’s former lover and their illegitimate daughter, an unrelated naive nobleman, a temple acolyte, and a couple of rail-riders. The first few chapters introduce them and set them going on a luxury train trip, and then there’s a wreck in the wilderness. It’s unclear at first whether that’s due to accident or sabotage, but something unnatural definitely happened. What the trio discovers, and is desperate to keep secret, is that latent power has been awakened in one of them; it’s dangerously uncontrolled, and if it’s discovered, that’ll mean instant execution. Then the conductor is found with his throat slit.

The secret crown prince manages to get himself appointed to investigate what’s happening, partly to shield his sister, Davina. She started off the story struggling to separate from her family and be allowed to study volchemistry (volcanic alchemical magic) at a foreign university, but her brothers, Kellen and Morel, reveal that their father the king had forbidden this to try to keep her witchy nature from becoming known. She’s furious that they’d kept her heritage a secret from her, but gradually comes to understand how hard they’d been trying to protect her.

Volchemistry is a science that anyone can study, but witches are scary because their power is inborn, potent, and unregulated; since men aren’t witches, the trio’s country Halgyr bars all women from owning land or having power; the larger Balterian empire grants women much more freedom, but kills any discovered witches; the former Rencha realm used to work with its witches, but after a massive volcanic eruption, Balter conquered most of the remaining wasteland.

The book focuses much more on discrimination against witches and women in general than any analysis of monarchy; lower-class ex-lover Genna Freath and her daughter Rae, along with the pair of rail-riding siblings, occasionally ponder the unfairness of life, but they’re mostly just trying to survive. However, the book does spend some time on issues of empire; the Halgyrians are hanging on to independence, and people of the volcanic caldera wastelands are very restless under Batlerian dominance. Although the book resolves most plot threads fairly happily, it’s wide open for potential sequels to follow up on the characters and these issues.

I liked how grounded this book felt. The details of train service, survivors trying to recover after the wreck, the squabbling among various factions of train passengers, the differences between types of magic — all of these felt thoughtfully explored. The characters are pleasingly complicated, too; Davina and Crown Prince Kellen turn out to be much more layered than their initial presentations, and the temple acolyte often wavers in his purpose in the grand scheme of things. I also really appreciated how identity issues, so confusing and enervating for one character for quite a while, turned out to provide a key flexibility in one confrontation, too.

I found Death on the Caldera to be an intriguing and entertaining voyage. Despite the catastrophes and deaths, it’s actually one of the lighter books that I’ve read in a while, and there’s nothing wrong with that! If looking for a pleasant diversion, with problems and puzzles that are engaging enough to keep one’s interest, but not so challenging as to drag one down, this should be quite satisfying.

This one was a great reading experience. I really enjoyed the premise, writing style and magic system. I am looking forward to more from this author and will now go rewatch Murder on The Orient Express. I highly recommend this one.

Murder on the Orient Express meets Lost meets Agatha Harkness in this twisty murder mystery that deals with complicated sibling relationships in a volcano destroyed empire that has split into countries spanning a caldera.

This was a lot of fun and also one of those situations that definitely needed a map. I did think some of the revelations came a bit too pat and abrupt but the sibling dynamic and the unreliable memory element definitely were the highlights of this

This was an entertaining novel with a lot to like. It’s got traditional murder mystery vibes, evoking Agatha Christie. It’s bringing a sense of golden age of travel and exploration. However it’s all set in a fantasy world, with an intriguing magic system focused around volchemistry. It’s stunningly unique.

I read an eARC of this book on Net Galley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

The book starts off with introducing us to three siblings and we learn of the political tensions, the family drama they have and slew start to uncover secrets and hidden desires. Across the book we are introduced to more characters and get additional points of view. I did feel like there were a few to many to comfortably follow. I also had a bit of confusion where characters were known by multiple names.

Once an explosive event takes place we start to learn more about the interesting magic system in this book which gave this story its uniqueness. We also find out that a core part of this story is witches. I’m a big fan of witchy literature.

I thought this was a fresh merging of fantasy and mystery with a clever magic system. It was an enjoyable and intriguing read.

I received a copy of this eARC for a free and unbiased opinion.
I had to order this book after I saw its tagline ‘Murder on the Orient Express with witches’ and while there is a murder on a train, this book is a little more complicated than Agatha Christie’s classic and perhaps this description does it a disservice.
This is a book with a vivid and well described magical system called volchemistry as well as complicated geopolitical tensions between three distinct nations. The siblings Davina,Morell and heir apparent Kellen, are travelling back to Halgr when their train crashes dropping them into a murder, difficult romantic relationships, smuggling and off course witches. In this world, witches are feared and hunted- so Davina not only has to hide her royal status but her witchy self too.
I found the concept of the two people inhabiting one body, each one unaware of the other with a mythology around this. Kellen, find himself investigating the murder and while I always find trying to figure out who the murder was, it was also fun trying to figure who the witches were as well.

On balance, I liked this debut. It is well written, other than a few modernisms and real world swear words, with likable characters, good pacing, and unexpected reveals. While it claims to be a murder mystery it is really more of a fraught and not really well explained political drama with magic. I would have preferred to have a more grounded understanding of the political situation so that occurrences didn’t look like plot devices though the magic system was different and mostly understandable. There were murders, there were secrets and there were complications that all lead to a satisfactory ending. My biggest quarrel with this book is the character interactions. While it was a pleasure to have 3 siblings who actually cared for each other, too much of every situation occurred because of a lack of communication. Everyone had internal issues with low self-esteem leading to assumptions about how the others saw them. This just got in the way and presented as plot devices. I would dock it one star if this were an adult book but as it reads more YA it may well speak to the mindset of a younger reader.

The writing is solid but it's a little too overcomplicated for me.
There's nearly a dozen POVs and elaborate world building. It's hard to focus and care about particular characters because I'm getting confused trying to keep track of everything.

this book was awesome, but i felt at points it was a little overcomplicating itself: all the different POVs, for example? i think there was around 12 of them. were they all really needed?? i don't think so. 4 stars. tysm for the arc