First Time Mother- ARC Book Review

Title:- First Time Mother

Author :- AJ Campbell

Date published:- will be published on 14th April 2025

No. of pages:- 324 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5 Writing:- 5/5

Overall rating:- 5/5

My family say I’m unwell. They think I can’t care for my baby. But they’re lying. Who can I really trust?

My delicate newborn, Lola, is just perfect. Seeing her gorgeous little face look up at me, I know the difficult birth was worth it. And I swear I’ll never let anyone hurt her.

My stepchildren say they love their new little sister, and my wonderful husband Max is so happy. He reassures me that the blackouts I’m having are normal: I’m sleep-deprived, and I just need help.

Accidents keep happening around the house. Max and his children look at me pityingly. I know what they’re thinking. She can’t cope. But why can’t I shake the feeling something else is going on?

Then one day I go to check on Lola and what I see changes everything…

Because my baby isn’t there.

An edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller perfect for fans of Frieda McFadden, Jeneva Rose and The Girl in Seat 2A. Prepare to stay up all night reading!

AJ Campbell has become one of my favorite psychological thriller authors and First Time Mother is one of her latest books which will be released on the 14th.

The story follows a woman named Annie who has been struggling with post-partum after giving birth to her daughter Lola. Because of Annie’s foggy brain and with Annie accidentally almost making the house on fire, Max, her husband hires a sitter named Zoe. Meanwhile for the renovation of the house, Max hires a group of builders. One night, Annie falls asleep with her baby in her arms. The next thing when she wakes up, she realizes that her sister Samantha is dead in the room. Annie has no recollection of what really happened. Initially, Samantha’s death was considered suicide, but the autopsy reports proved that Samantha was in fact murdered. Annie maybe a prime suspect as she was the only one to see Samantha alive. Annie knew that someone in the house is responsible for Samantha’s murder and she must find out before it is too late.

This was a fast paced thriller. The whole story was unputdownable and there were twists and turns along the way. Not only that, the story is told in Annie’s POV and you can see her emotions as she battles to find out what is real and what is not. The writing overall was great and the author manage to put the reader on the edge when reading this one. The ending was completely an unexpected ending. Overall, this is a highly recommended thriller and would rate this book five stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

AJ CAMPBELL is an Amazon USA Top 40 author of ten psychological suspense thrillers and promises stories full of twists, turns and torment.
AJ draws inspiration for her stories from seemingly unbelievable situations in which ordinary people find themselves.
She lives in the UK on the Essex / Hertfordshire border with her husband, sons, and cocker spaniel, Max. She is a dog lover, Netflix junkie, and a wine and Asian food enthusiast. And, either reading, watching TV, or writing, AJ enjoys nothing more than getting stuck into a twisty story!

Connect with AJ here:

www.ajcampbellauthor.com
www.facebook.com/AJCampbellauthor
www.instagram.com/ajcampbellauthor/

I’m Here to Help – ARC Book Review

Title:- I’m Here To Help

Author:- Claire Lunn

Date published:- will be published on 11th April 2025

No. of pages;- 311 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5 Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4.5/5

‘Just rest, Frankie. I’ll take care of you.’ I feel my baby kick as my nanny fluffs my pillows and lays me down. She gives me a soothing smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She knows I’m afraid of her…

When I shake our nanny Jasmine’s hand for the first time and catch her perfect smile, I can’t ignore the feeling that we’ve met before.

But I tell myself it’s nothing. I desperately need help around the house. Since I got pregnant, I burst into tears over the smallest things and my mind is a haze. I can barely look after my toddler Olivia. Jasmine is a godsend – isn’t she?

But as I watch Jasmine spin my precious daughter around in the garden with my husband Russ lovingly looking on, a chill runs down my spine. Something is very wrong. Is she trying to take my place?

It takes just one slip at the top of the stairs for my life to change in an instant. When I wake up in the hospital, I cry with relief that my unborn baby is safe. But I remember one thing before I fell – Jasmine’s smile. I think she pushed me.

No one believes me when I say Jasmine wants me gone. Even my husband says it’s all in my mind. But I know the truth – Jasmine will kill to get my life.

But I’ll soon learn I’ve been completely wrong about what’s been going on in my house. And if I don’t leave now, who knows what will happen to me and my children…

I’m Here to Help is a psychological thriller, that will keep you up all night!

Frankie is pregnant again and she is suffering from the worst case of morning sickness. She feels dizzy, unable to cope with things and even unable to look after her feisty three-year-old daughter Olivia. They hire a nanny, Jasmine even though Frankie is little bit against hiring a nanny. Everything seems to turn fine for Frankie as Jasmine seem to be the life saver in the family. But soon, Frankie finds herself getting into small accidents, her husband even believes that Frankie is losing it. And Frankie believes that whatever small accidents are caused by Jasmine and she suspects that there is something going on between her husband and Jasmine. And Frankie must save herself and Olivia’s before it’s too late.

This was a page turner. I literally couldn’t put this book down. The story is mostly told in Frankie’s POV with Jasmine’s POV as well. As a reader, do you think Frankie is being paranoid or if she is actually right? There were not much twists or turns but the ending was actually completely unexpected. I can understand all these emotions and feelings that Frankie is going through, as she doesn’t really have a proper family and that she is completely controlled by her in-laws. This was actually unputdownable and I actually really enjoyed reading this one. Worth 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

The Cat Who Saved the Library – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Cat Who Saved the Library

Author:- Sosuke Natsukawa

Date published:- will be published on 10th April 2025

No. of pages:- 224 pages

Genre:- Japanese Fiction

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5 Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

The long-awaited sequel to the #1 international bestseller The Cat Who Saved Books—a delightful and heartwarming celebration of books, libraries, cats, and the people who love them.

A chronic asthma condition prevents thirteen-year-old Nanami from playing sports or spending time with her friends after school. But nothing can stop her from one of her favorite activities. Nanami loves to read and happily spends much of her free time in the school library, cocooned among the stacks.

Then one day, Nanami notices that, despite the library being as deserted as ever, some of her favorite books, including literary classics like Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar and Anne of Green Gables are disappearing from the shelves. When she alerts the library staff, they dismiss her concerns. But just as Nanami is about to return to her reading, she spots a suspicious man in a gray suit. Eager to discover what he’s up to, she follows him. The chase is cut short when Nanami suffers an asthma attack. By the time she catches her breath, the man has disappeared and all that is left behind is a mysterious light filtering through the library’s familiar passageways.

That’s when Tiger, the talking tabby cat who saves books, comes to the rescue.

Are Nanami and Tiger prepared to face the dangerous challenges that lie ahead? Why are faceless gray soldiers burning books in a stone castle? And what happened to Rintaro, the socially withdrawn hero who helped Tiger save books in a second-hand bookshop?

At a time of increased book bannings worldwide, Sosuke Natsukawa urges us not to underestimate the power of great literature—and to be prepared to defend our freedom to choose.

This is the second book of the Cat Who Saved series.

The story follows a young junior high schooler, Nanami. Nanami suffers from chronic asthma causing her to not take part in sports activities. As a result, she finds solace in books and becomes a regular attendee at the library, where she becomes absorbed in to the world of books. While in the library, she notices a stack that is empty of books. She finds a gray suited man and when she starts following him, she gets an asthma attack and couldn’t follow him further. Then she comes across a tabby talking cat–the same cat who was in the first book and together Nanami and the cat must prevent the Prime Minister and the gray soldiers from burning the books and thus try to save as much books as possible.

If you are a cat person, you may probably enjoy the book. I did enjoy the book and I liked the fantasy setting in the novel. It was actually an interesting read although it took a little time for me to get fully into the story. Nanami and Tiger, the cat will they succeed in saving the books? You got to read the book to find out what will happen next.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and give this book four stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my opinion.

Before She Knew Him- Book Review

Title:- Before She Knew Him

Author:- Peter Swanson

Date published:- March 5th 2019

No. of pages:- 391 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5 Writing:- 3/5

Overall rating:- 3.5/5

Catching a killer is dangerous—especially if he lives next door

From the hugely talented author of The Kind Worth Killing comes an exquisitely chilling tale of a young suburban wife with a history of psychological instability whose fears about her new neighbor could lead them both to murder . . .

Hen and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and works out of a studio nearby, and has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability and peace.

But when they meet the neighbors next door, that calm begins to erode as she spots a familiar object displayed on the husband’s office shelf. The sports trophy looks exactly like one that went missing from the home of a young man who was killed two years ago. Hen knows because she’s long had a fascination with this unsolved murder—an obsession she doesn’t talk about anymore, but can’t fully shake either.

Could her neighbor, Matthew, be a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered back in college, when she became so consumed with proving a fellow student guilty that she ended up hurting a classmate?

The more Hen observes Matthew, the more she suspects he’s planning something truly terrifying. Yet no one will believe her. Then one night, when she comes face to face with Matthew in a dark parking lot, she realizes that he knows she’s been watching him, that she’s really on to him. And that this is the beginning of a horrifying nightmare she may not live to escape. . .

Before She Knew Him is a psychological thriller. Hen and Lloyd moved into a new neighborhood and decides to go on a get together party so they could get to know their neighbors. While at the party, Hen and Lloyd meets another couple, Mira and Matthew. The two couples instantly invite each other for dinner. While at Mira and Matthew’s house, Hen comes across an old trophy in Matthew’s study. She realizes that the trophy belonged to Dustin, who was murdered a few miles from where they live. Hen suspect that Matthew might be behind Dustin’s murder and she soon starts stalking him. Matthew meanwhile pretends to be a sociable history teacher when in fact, he has a past…

I like reading Peter Swanson’s thrillers, as they are most of the time interesting and unputdownable. This was also the same–page turning, unputdownable and you have the POVs of Hen and Matthew. However, the one major turning off point is, I kind of predicted what is going to happen in the end and it actually happened–I don’t like when the thrillers are predictable and so this was not one of my favorite thrillers of his. Nonetheless, as I mentioned, this was interesting and fast paced though the twist at the end was predictable.

Overall, this book is worth is worth 3.5 stars.

Peter Swanson is the author of six novels including The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year, and his most recent thriller, Eight Perfect Murders. His books have been translated into 30 languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Atlantic Monthly, Measure, The Guardian, The Strand Magazine, and Yankee Magazine.

A graduate of Trinity College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Emerson College, he lives in Somerville, Massachusetts with his wife and cat.

The Crash – Book Review

Title:- The Crash

Author:- Freida McFadden

Date published:- January 28th 2025

No. of pages:- 384 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5 Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

The nightmare she’s running from is nothing compared to where she’s headed.

Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.

She never arrives at her destination.

Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.

But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.

And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.

A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.

I always make sure to read ALL Freida McFadden books. I still have some of her previously published books to read but The Crash is one of the latest books which is released this year.

Tegan Werner is eight months pregnant. When she realizes that the man with whom she had one night stand with possibly must have drugged her and raped her, Tegan refuses his money. Tegan then packs her suitcase up and decides to head over to the ski resort where her brother Denise is working. But Tegan left the house late and she soon get caught up in the snowstorm. But her car suddenly skids because of the storm and then crashes into the tree. Tegan is stuck in the car until a man rescues her and takes her to the home. The couple, Hank and Polly seemed to be nice couple but as Tegan is stranded in the basement of their house, she realizes that they might be having other intentions and Tegan must do anything to save her and her baby before it’s too late.

Usually, Freida McFadden’s characters are naive, but Tegan wasn’t naive. She was in fact a likable character, calling her unborn baby “Little Tuna” and feeling connection with her unborn baby. Polly on the other hand seemed delusional. I can understand the trauma she is suffering as she cannot have babies while all her friends are pregnant. Like most of Freida McFadden’s books, the story is fast paced, intriguing and definitely will not make you bored. And unputdownable as well. Although this book wasn’t as great as the Housemaid, this was a great thriller in my opinion, one which you will enjoy reading. Worth four stars.

The Maid’s Secret – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Maid’s Secret

Author:- Nita Prose

Date published:- will be published on 10th April 2025

No. of pages:- 336 pages

Genre:- Mystery

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5 Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

When a daring art heist takes place at the Regency Grand, Molly’s life is threatened. The question is who’s out to get her, and why? Long-buried secrets will be revealed in this intriguing and heartwarming novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest

A wedding. A heist. A secret.

Molly Gray’s life is about to change in ways she could never have imagined. As the esteemed Head Maid and recently promoted Special Events Manager of the Regency Grand Hotel, good things are just around the corner, including her marriage to her beloved fiancé, Juan Manuel, only two months away. 

But Molly’s entire existence is upended when a film crew descends upon the hotel to shoot the hit reality TV show Hidden Treasures, starring popular art appraisers Brown and Beagle. On a whim, Molly brings in a shoebox containing a few of her gran’s old things for appraisal, and much to everyone’s surprise, one item turns out to be a rare and priceless treasure. Instantly, Molly is both a multi-millionaire and a media sensation—the world’s rags-to-riches darling—until the priceless piece vanishes from the hotel in the boldest, brashest antiquities heist in recent memory.

The key to the mystery lies in the past, in a long-forgotten diary written by Molly’s gran. For the first time ever, Molly learns about Gran’s true-to-life fairytale, a young girl to the manor born, the only child of a wealthy magnate. But when Gran falls head over heels in love with a young man her parents deem below her station, her life is thrown into turmoil. As fate would have it, the greatest love of Gran’s life is someone Molly knows quite well….

Together with her friends, Molly combs the past and the present to catch the thief before looming threats against her become real.

A spirited heist caper and an epic love story, The Maid’s Secret is a spellbinding whodunnit that will capture and warm your heart.

This is the third book of Molly the Maid series and Molly comes back with another…crime adventure.

Molly is getting married to Juan in a couple of months. When the TV crew for Hidden Treasures decided to film in the hotel Regency where Molly is working as the head maid, Molly decided on a whim to give away some of her grandmother’s cherished items. And while going through her grandmother’s stuff, the hosts, Brown and Beagle discovers an egg–not just an egg, the Faberge egg that costs millions of dollars. Molly might be on the verge of becoming a millionaire. But just as it was about to be auctioned, the egg disappears mysteriously–and someone has left a threatening note to Molly to stop looking for the egg thus threatening her life. With her infamous group–her grandfather, Detective Stark, Angela and of course her fiance, Molly must find who is responsible for the burglary for the egg.

You can never get tired of Molly’s character–she is one of those characters that you actually adore. And it is always interesting that Molly always gets into some sort of an issue and become the center of attention in a crime. I just like how supportive her staff and her fiance are to Molly. Not only that–we get a glimpse of Molly’s grandmother’s life in the story–Flora. Flora Gray was once from a wealthy family and Flora’s diary entries talks about a young girl who dreams of going to college, and the forbidden love between her and her butler’s son, John. You might not think there might be any connection between the two but towards the end, only we find that there is a connection between Flora Gray and the mysteriously stolen egg, which was revealed at the end.

This was actually interesting and I heard that this is the final premise of the Molly the Maid series. However, one downside of it was there were too much about Flora Gray than Molly–I felt like I was reading a Historical Romance with a cozy mystery setting, which kind of spoils a little bit of the overall plot. However, the author was clever enough to merge the two together which reveals the connection in the end. However, I did enjoy Flora’s POV. This was charming, entertaining and intriguing as well.

Although I didn’t like this book when comparing with the two previous book, I did enjoy reading the final book (I think) of the Molly the Maid series. I might actually miss reading about Molly as the character grew into me. Overall this book is worth four stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the Pan Macmillan for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

NITA PROSE is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery Guest and The Maid, which has sold more than two million copies worldwide. A Good Morning America Book Club pick, The Maid won the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction, the Fingerprint Award for Debut Book of the Year, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First Mystery. The Maid was also an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel. Visit Nita at nitaprose.com or on Instagram and X @NitaProse.

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store – Dream Harbor Book 2- Book Review

Title:- The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore

Author:- Laurie Gilmore

Date published:- August 29th 2024

No. of pages:- 384 pages

Genre:- Romance

Rating:-

Plot:- 4/5 Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4/5

From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller and viral TikTok phenomenon, The Pumpkin Spice Café, comes a brand new spicy romance set in Dream Harbor!

When a secret message turns up hidden in a book in the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, Hazel can’t understand it. As more secret codes appear between the pages, she decides to follow the trail of clues… she just need someone to help her out.

Gorgeous and outgoing fisherman, Noah, is always up for an adventure. And a scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun. Even better that the cute bookseller he’s been crushing on for months is the one who wants his help!

Hazel didn’t go looking for romance, but as the treasure hunt leads her and Noah around Dream Harbor, their undeniable chemistry might be just as hot as the fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns the bookstore sells…

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store is a cozy romantic mystery with a HEA guaranteed!

This is the second book of the Dream Harbor series and the story is centered between Hazel, the manager of the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore and Noah, a charming fisherman.

Hazel is nearing to her thirties. She never had fun and was serious all the time. She one day, in the romance section finds clues among the romance books and decides to solve the clues. But she enrolls the help of charming fisherman Noah who promises to solve the clues. Noah doesn’t believe in serious relationships but with Hazel…it feels different. Hazel also learns lots of fun things to do with Noah and the two eventually starts to fall in love with one another.

This was a great book, and I have to say this book is so much better than the Pumpkin Spice Cafe. I could immediately feel the chemistry between Noah and Hazel. Although the whole story sounds like a Hallmark movie, it was interesting and enjoyable to read. Hazel sound a lot like me–a book nerd. Other than that, I guess this was a typical love story romance between a book nerd and a fisherman. Worth four stars.

Ranking Riley Sager Books Part 1

Riley Sager is one of my favorite psychological thriller authors and always buy his books whenever his latest books are for sale. His most recent book, With a Vengeance will be released later this year so I decided to rank all his books–my least favorite to the most favorite.

8. Middle of The Night – Released 2024

This was not one of his best works in my opinion. The pacing was slow and I feel the ending was bit rushed. The first few chapters were great however with the horror and thriller element but by the end, it kind of went downhill. This is my least favorite book of Riley Sager

7. Survive the Night – Released 2021

Survive the Night has one of my favorite trope in a thriller book–A Serial Killer Trope. The book was set in 1990’s where the main character hitches a ride and realized that the driver might be the killer and might be responsible for the murder of her best friend. The ending was OK though it wasn’t very realistic in my opinion.

6. The Final Girls – Released in 2017

I liked this book but I thought the book was OK. It gave kind of a Friday the 13th vibe where the main character was the sole survivor of a massacre. However, the twist at the end was mind blowing and unexpected.

5. Lock Every Door – Released 2019

This was the first Riley Sager book I have read and probably the reason why I decided to read all his books. Lock Every Door was fast paced with a very interesting plot and the ending in my opinion was great and unexpected.

4. The Last Time I Lied – Released in 2018

This was another thriller which I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up all night trying to finish this book. It was fast paced, entertaining and the ending was…wow!

3. The House Across the Lake – Released 2022

Initially I didn’t really like this book but boy, by the middle of the book, I was literally hooked into the story! So many twists and turns, serial killer trope and of course the great ending.

2. The Only One Left – Released 2023

The Only One Left was the 2nd best Riley Sager book in my opinion. I couldn’t put the book down, it was so unputdownable and unexpected with so many twists and turns with a horror element added into it. Plus the ending…that was completely unexpected!

And the last but not least, my most favorite Riley Sager book is…

1. Home Before Dark – Released 2020

This is my most favorite Riley Sager book ever! This is a horror psychological thriller that will keep you up all night and put you on the edge while reading this book. I felt like I was watching a good horror movie simply by reading this book and so far, none of his other books seem to replace this book.

This is my personal ranking of Riley Sager’s books and please let me know which ones are your favorite!

The Last One to See Him – ARC Book Review

Title:- The Last One to See Him

Author:- Kathryn Croft

Date published:- will be published on 26th March 2025

No. of pages:- 349 pages

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 5/5 Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 4.5/5

A married man is dead. I was the last one to see him. Just as his wife planned…

After meeting Jamie’s smiling blue eyes across a crowded bar, I tell myself, that after my recent divorce, this is the bit of fun that I need. It is the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.

Because when I return to his flat the next day, excited to see him again, I am horrified to discover he has been murdered.

I know I should tell the police, but I can’t be the person to call them. With my past they will just assume the worst…

I need to act normal and just focus on my little boy. A playdate at his new friend’s house is the perfect distraction.

But as our sons run riot upstairs, and I admire his mother’s elegant living room, I see it. The wedding photo on the wall. The man in the photo is Jamie.

A shiver slides down my spine. I had no idea that Jamie was married. And now I’m drinking tea with his wife.

This can’t be a coincidence. And when I find an old newspaper cutting about me on her kitchen table, the shocking thought comes. Did she plan for me to meet her husband the night he was murdered?

How much does she know about me? Why would she want me to get close to her husband? And with her watching my every move, if I discover the truth, will she destroy me?

A completely gripping page-turner from the Amazon number 1 bestselling author of The Girl with No Past. Fans of Lisa Jewell and The Housemaid won’t be able to put The Last One to See Him down.

Kate gets mesmerized by Jamie’s blue eyes that she and Jamie have a one night stand together. Katie slowly leaves Jamie’s apartment. However, the next day, Kate hears that Jamie was murdered and Kate was actually the last person to see him. Meanwhile. Harper, Jamie’s wife knew that Kate was the last person to see Jamie alive and would do anything to prove that Kate murdered Jamie, which involved Kate’s closed past coming into light.

This was a twisty and fast paced thriller. The whole story was unputdownable and a page turner. We see the POVs of both Kate and Harper and we both know one of them could be a murderer and a liar. However, the ending was completely unexpected that it was basically…shocking. I have read Kathryn Croft’s thrillers before and this was an unputdownable thriller that will put you on the edge. There’s an old saying about eye for an eye and this story truly tells the story about that. Did Kate really kill Jamie? Or was it Harper and she try to pin the murder on Kate? These questions are running in your mind as you read this twisted thriller.

This was a great psychological thriller and would highly recommend. Overall, this book is worth 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalle and Bookouture for the ARC. Review is based on my honest opinion only.

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect – Book Review

Title:- Everyone On this Train is a Suspect

Author:- Benjamin Stevenson

Date published:- October 17th 2023

No. of pages:- 336 pages

Genre:- Thriller

Rating:-

Plot:- 3/5 Writing:- 4/5

Overall rating:- 3.5/5

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out.

The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty:

the debut writer (me!)

the forensic science writer

the blockbuster writer

the legal thriller writer

the literary writer

the psychological suspense writer

But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime.

Of course, we should also know how to commit one.

How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?

This is the sequel to Everyone in my family has killed someone. Here Ernest Cunningham is invited to attend the Australian Writer’s Festival aboard the train Ghan that will travel from Darwin to Adelaide. In the train are all bestselling mystery writers along with few other guests. However, on the way, one of the passengers dies which turn out to be a foul play or murder. Then a second passenger also gets murdered which means that there might be a murderer among the passengers.

This was kind of like Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express vibe in it. The first person getting killed wasn’t a fan of many passengers. In my opinion, I enjoyed this book than I enjoyed the first book. There was flow in the book and it was interesting to see who would be the actual murderer. Overall this was a good story–worth 3.5 stars.