Eliza is now well established as secretary to the secretary of the Detection Club. She is enroute to Constantinople with Dorothy and Agatha pn the Orient Express. In Paris, unknown to Eliza, Theo and his flatmate Eric, board to work as crew.
She hasn't seen Theo since he fled to Paris two years before. She doesn't know that he holds a brightly burning torch for her.
During the journey there is a murder. The man is connected to Dorothy's past and Eliza must use all of her skills to prove that Dorothy had nothing to do with it. When a friend of Dorothy's is also killed, no one knows who is safe and who is the killer. When reach their destination the intrigue doesn't stop and Eliza and her friends are caught up in a deadly situation.
A good read that gallops along quite nicely.

This was a fun historical mystery with history's greatest mystery writers. I didn't want it to end. I look forward to more in this series.

Original and fun!!! You won't know who will drop dead next.

Eliza Baker is the secretary to the London Detection Club secretary Dorothy L. Sayers. Eliza, Dorothy, and Agatha Christie will all board the Orient Express to Istanbul to a writers conference. Eliza bids adieu to her sister Jane, who works for MI5, and her beagle Queenie. While aboard, Theo Sharp and his roommate Eric Arthur Blair ( George Orwell) will join Eliza, whom he has a crush on. There Theo will help Eliza and the rest of the group discover why Ivan Grigor, a man of questionable character, was poisoned. They will search for Ivan's wife Lena who has gone missing aboard the Orient Express and who shot Hugo " Peachy" Fitzroy, a man who was writing a book about Tje Obsidian Cartel and who knew Dorothy's greatest secret.

This book was such a fun read. Having Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers in one murder mystery was delightful.

Thank you, Netgalley and Boldwood Books, for this ARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

I enjoyed the second book of the series as much as I enjoyed the first, maybe even a little more.

Needless to say, if you didn’t like the first book, you will most likely not like the second…

Eliza, the physically strong but emotionally insecure protagonist, changes more throughout this book than during the first.
The mystery about the body and its solution are interesting.
The spy theme gets more prominent. The chess-playing seems to lose some importance.
What clearly makes the series special is having Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie "around“.
This is a lot of fun, to me. Additionally, I like the setting in the train.

Although this is the second book of the "Detection Club Mystery“ series, you can easily read this one before the first one.

3.75 stars
I hadn’t read the first in The Detection Club series but it didn’t impact on my enjoyment of The Case of the Body on the Orient Express.
This is a fun and entertaining read with all the twists and capers of a murder mystery involving Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie. Seeing these great writers of mystery involved in the suspicious death of a fellow traveller was a nice twist on the usual locked room stories.
Eliza and Theo were great investigators and the setting of the Orient Express added that little touch of luxury. I’d definitely look to read the first in the series and am intrigued about how this will continue into book 3

The Case of the Body on the Orient Express is a fantastic and gripping murder mystery. I loved reading Kelly Oliver's iteration of Agatha Christie. I was enthralled by the setting on the Orient Express.

The author delivered a twisted tale of murder and intrigue. The readers are introduced to many characters aboard the train. The main characters are Agatha, Dorothy, Eliza, and Theo. Dorothy is writer, Eliza is Dorothy's assistant, and Theo is a man from Eliza's past who is an aspiring writer. The murder suspects are plentiful and include Dorothy, who was last seen in a heated exchange with the first victim. Eliza and Theo come back together to investigate the deaths aboard the Orient Express.

I loved Eliza's character. I enjoyed meeting and getting to know her. She may have lacked a little common sense but she was determined and liked her strength. As the sleuthing duo inspect the scenes of the murders, they find their examinations are complicated by not only the number of suspects but the additional body found. Eliza thinks she may be in over her head, which is confirmed when Jane, Eliza's MI5 sister, comes aboard.

I loved the 1920s setting. The author did a fantastic job setting the stage for the mystery. Several characters were introduced along with potentials means, motives, and opportunities. The author tossed in red herrings and subtly slid in clues for the reader to follow.

I didn't read book 1 so this is my first experience with this author, series, and character set. I loved every single bit of this story.

I loved this book! I just couldn’t put it down it reminds me of Agatha Christie and Helena Dixon books. I just love a good cozy mystery. I loved the first book in this series and this book was just as good. I look forward to the next book in this series.

I would highly recommend reading this book if you love a good cozy mystery.

I would like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the publisher's blurb or give away the plot!

This book is the second in the "Eliza Baker" new series, and is a "cosy murder" mystery set mainly on - as the title says - The Orient Express!

Once again, we meet several characters from the earlier novel - including the main character Eliza Baker, Dorothy L Sayers, Agatha Christie, and more!

I enjoyed this novel, and the various nods to real-life authors and characters from other novels by Kelly Oliver.

My only small complaint (repeated in several reviews of Kelly Oliver novels) is that the language used is not entirely correct - featuring some Americanisms. A good copy editor is needed to rewrite those for the UK market in future.

Recommended for fans of "cosy mystery" novels.

This would be an ideal novel to take on a journey or on holiday. I'm looking forward to reading about further adventures of Eliza, The Detective Club, and Theo.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

This is the second book in this lovely cozy crime series, set in the early part of the 20th century and featuring lots of real life characters such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers, among a cast of fictional ones.

In this book our protagonist Eliza is once again in the midst of a crime while travelling on the Orient Express she and the authors meet up with old friends and foes, and in no time one of them is dead.

The setting is very well described and the characters have lots of life and spark, it was good to have had the background knowledge of some of them from book 1 and the see the development of the relationship between Eliza and Theo. The plot is well developed and unfolds nicely, leaving a climax at the end and the lead into book 3.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, this was not at all what I was expecting. It has nothing to do with the writing, the setting, or really the characters, although I did have some problems with that aspect of the book. But the plot confused me. Let me explain.

In the previous book, the story ended on a cliffhanger about Theo, which I loved because I want to be drawn into a series. So when I went into this book, I was expecting the plot to be about the little mystery with Theo and that being built off the story of Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Sounds good, right? Well, that’s not what happened. In fact, no one even mentioned the bit of suspicious information that left Theo on that cliffhanger at all. I’m sorry, what? I think that would have been a tremendous addition to the story because the whole adventure and case felt a bit flat for me. Theo would have been fleshed out more as a character, and Eliza would have had to stop seeing the world in the black-and-white, distrusting way she always has.

But no. Eliza was the same as always: the stubborn, girl boss I can’t stand. 🤦‍♀ Theo couldn’t stop thinking about and pining after Eliza, which made him quite annoying this time around. But he’s not so bad when you compare him to Eliza, since he has limitations that normal human beings have. Agatha and Dorothy were great, and I have nothing bad to say about them.

I think I’m being generous with my 3-star rating, but even though certain things didn’t add up or make sense, the main character disappointed me yet again, and the murder case was meh, I did enjoy it. I haven’t read any of Agatha Christie’s novels yet, but I’ve seen the movies based on Hercule Poirot’s cases, and those were super fun. I bet the books are better. 😉 But I do recommend the book to you because I think you might enjoy it. What I don’t find great, you might love. That is the beauty of the book world we live in. ❤

The second in the Detection Club series and it’s 1928, two years since the last case. The club is a group of literary writers who all write detective fiction, two of whom Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers, together with Dorothy’s assistant Eliza, are in Paris boarding the Orient Express to Constantinople (now Istanbul) for the International Writers Convention. Also on board is Eliza’s former boyfriend Theo, and would be author, working his way as a Public Area Attendant!

Briefly, Dorothy is shocked to receive a note from a former friend but even more shocked when, after joining them for dinner he drops dead and Dorothy is the prime suspect. Cue amateur sleuths Eliza and Theo, with help from Agatha and Dorothy.

Told from the perspectives of Theo and Eliza this is a fun and interesting cosy crime novel. Eliza is quite a feisty determined woman albeit rather naive at times and kind and caring Theo is the perfect foil for her. The book mentions the opulent Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, which I was lucky enough to visit last year, which also has connections to the famous 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie, as mentioned in the first book in the series. Good plot, interesting characters, amazing settings; what’s not to like. Very entertaining.

I enjoyed this murder mystery where some members of The Detection Club (a group of mystery writers) head to a writers convention in Istanbul. Agatha Christie is on board as well as Dorothy Sayers and her secretary Eliza. When a murder is discovered, Eliza takes the lead in trying to solve the mystery. The author did a good job with lots of clues, red herrings and twists and turns in the plot. Most of the characters were quirky and likeable and she didn't lean to heavily on having Christie and Sayers on board. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

Its 1928 and Eliza Baker, ex-Scotland Yard, is traveling with her boss author Dorothy L Sayers and Agatha Christie who are traveling to a Writers Conference in Istanbul aboard the Orient Express. Eliza's ex-boyfriend Theo also aboard and still has feelings for her.

During the trip, Dorothy runs into a shady character from her past and he ends up poisoned in the dining car with Dorothy next to him. Dorothy becomes a suspect and Eliza, Agatha, Dorothy and Theo start their own investigation. Can they solve it before the train gets to Istanbul and the killer escapes off the train.

I was sucked in from the beginning and thoroughly enjoyed the story. I could not put it down. The mystery of this story is top notch and its full of intrigue, murder, missing documents and spies. I enjoyed the mixing of real people with our fictional sleuths. It was the most engaging and thrilling cozy mystery I have read so far this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the chance to read this ARC and give my opinion.

This is the second book in the Detection Club cosy mystery series. Set in 1928, we find our main character Eliza boarding the Orient Express with her employer Dorothy L Sayers and Agatha Christie. Although both of these famous authors are involved, as in the first book, they take more of a back seat here. Watch out for another famous author this time too! It was a fun book to read and kept me turning the pages and is a great series so far. It was good to see Eliza and Theo reunited and, of course, Queenie involved. I would highly recommend reading the first book beforehand to get the maximum enjoyment out of this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for letting me read and review this book.

Paris 1928: Agatha Christie and fellow writer Dorothy L Sayers board the Orient Express, bound for Constantinople, Christie in particular is looking forward to a break from disrupting events in both her work and private life - the finalisation of her of her divorce from philanderous husband Archie, and the miserly reception of her latest book. But before the duo can settle to enjoy the luxuries of their first-class journey, their journey is derailed when a fellow guest drops dead during dinner service. And the last person to speak to the victim, Dorothy the prime suspect in his murder.

Along with AAgatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers on the Orient Express is Dorothy's assistant Eliza and her friend Theo. they all try and solve who the murderer was. Then a second man dies. Will they be able to solve murders before the train meets it's destination?

This is a good cosy murder mystery. There were lots of interesting characters, not all of them likeable. We get twists and clues along the way.

Published 14th July 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #KellyOliver for my ARC of TheCaseOfTheBodyOnTheOrientExpress in exchange for an honest review.

I am enjoying this series which features our heroine, Eliza, who is the secretary to Dorothy Sayers. She’s accompanying Dorothy and Agatha Christie to Istanbul for a writer’s conference. But the book isn’t really about Sayers and Christie. They’re just side characters for Eliza and her friend/love interest who are the main characters. If you’ve read the Sayers book that she says in the book that she’s working on, you will figure out one of the murderers. Then it gets rushed at the end and finishes up without as much exposition as I might have liked. But, overall, it’s a fun series and I look forward to the next one.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kelly Oliver for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Case of the Body on the Orient Express coming out July 14, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really love this author’s writing! I love cozy mysteries. Murder on the Orient Express is one of my favorites. So this book definitely had those vibes. I really loved the first book. I really enjoyed the characters. I would definitely keep reading books from this series.

This is the second book in the "Detection Club" mystery series which recounts the adventures of Dorothy Sayers' assistant Eliza Baker,
a young would-be detective with a troubled past. This book takes us on the Orient Express along with Agatha Christie and Eliza's friend
Theo disguised as a worker on the train. Murders of course happen so Eliza and Theo strive to solve them, with some help from Dorothy
and Agatha as well as Eliza's sister Jane, who works for MI5.

The intricate plot kept me guessing while they kept up an action-packed investigation involving codes, poisons, and international syndicates. . The writer nicely balanced the mystery action with a blossoming romance. I appreciated the descriptive train ride as well as the hotel in Constantinople. and Eliza/Jane's beagle.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of "Golden Age Crime" novels involving female protagonists.

All aboard for murder, meta-literary winks, and pitch-perfect Golden Age vibes! I see “Agatha Christie” and “Orient Express” in a title and my expectations go through the roof. So imagine my delight when Kelly Oliver actually delivers with a clever, old-school mystery that’s equal parts tribute and original spin.

Here’s the setup: It’s 1928. Agatha Christie is recovering from a public divorce and a floundering book. Dorothy L. Sayers is her travel companion. They’re boarding the Orient Express to forget their problems—but of course, a fellow passenger promptly keels over during dinner. Classic.

Plot twist? Dorothy is immediately the top suspect. Drama!

What follows is pure Golden Age catnip: a confined setting, an eccentric passenger list brimming with secrets, and a ticking clock as the train barrels east toward Constantinople. Enter Eliza (Sayers’ unflappable assistant) and Theo (her partner in sleuthing). They’re the real MVPs here—navigating social snobbery, red herrings, and escalating stakes with delightful wit.

What I loved:
✅ The setting. The train atmosphere? Impeccably drawn. You can practically smell the polished wood and cigarette smoke.
✅ The real-life author cameos. Christie and Sayers bantering, reflecting on writing and reputation? Absolutely here for it.
✅ Eliza and Theo’s chemistry. They’re smart, observant, and have that playful, respectful vibe I live for in a detective duo.
✅ The layered mystery. Plenty of suspects. A second body. And genuinely clever clues without being annoyingly opaque.

Minor quibbles:

The pace can get a bit leisurely in the middle. Like, the Express is moving but the plot occasionally feels like it’s stuck at a station.

Christie and Sayers are fun cameos but aren’t the stars. It’s really Eliza and Theo’s book—which I liked, but some might want more of the famous authors.

The dialogue occasionally leans heavy on exposition, but that’s classic Christie-pastiche for you.


Overall? The Case of the Body on the Orient Express is the cozy, bookish, murder-on-a-train romp you want it to be. Oliver clearly gets the genre—she plays fair with the clues, loves the setting, and sprinkles in literary in-jokes for fellow mystery nerds.

Perfect for fans of:
🚂 Classic Agatha Christie (obvs)
🕵️‍♀️ Historical cozy mysteries
📚 Meta-literary cameos (Sayers! Christie! Train gossip!)
🎩 Rhys Bowen, Carola Dunn, or Nicola Upson vibes

Bottom line: If you want to sink into a velvet-upholstered armchair, sip something scandalously strong, and watch a clever murder unfold in perfect 1920s style—book this ticket immediately.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This sequel takes Eliza to Istanbul on the Orient Express, joined once again by Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie. Beginning two years after 'The Case of the Christie Conspiracy', this installment features an fresh setting and engaging mystery.

Having a foundation from book one—the Detection Club, Eliza’s backstory, and her personal connections—makes it easier to jump in this time around. Plus, some intriguing new supporting characters are introduced along the journey. I am a fan of Eliza's sister, Jane, and am glad to see more of her and her work in this story. Eliza’s bravery still stands out, though her impulsive decisions can feel a bit immature. Theo returns and brings some romance into the mix, but his dramatic pining—after two years of avoiding her—feels a little excessive. That said, I do enjoy seeing the pair investigate together.

I am unsure about the portrayal of George Orwell in this book. His behavior—detached and disrespectful toward women—is surprising. After doing some research, elements of this depiction appear to be grounded in historical context, yet he's portrayed in a distinctly negative light. Kelly Oliver takes creative liberties with various real-life figures, which is a key part of the series. Still, it’s a delicate balance, and I think this interpretation risks crossing into misrepresentation.

Overall, this is an entertaining story with strong amateur sleuth vibes. If you liked book one or enjoy historical mysteries with a nod to classic detective fiction, this one’s worth checking out.

Special thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.