The Everyone books
Apr. 7th, 2024 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustBy Benjamin Stevenson.
I've been rereading a lot of Agatha Christie lately, and really craving more stories in the same vein. Classic murder mysteries with locked room puzzles and fair play solutions, and beautifully done sleight-of-hand.
So when I came across a new book called Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect, my attention was riveted. Not just a title that's a clear homage, but it's also set at a mystery writers' festival! That takes place on a train. And not just any train, but the Ghan! (Yay for mysteries set in modern day Australia!)
And of course, someone is killed, and the mystery writers decide to become amateur detectives, because they believe they're experts on how to solve a murder. But on the other hand, as the tagline says, "How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?"
This is actually the second book in the series, so I wanted to start with the first one, in case of spoilers. (Which was the right move. While the author doesn't spoil the actual solution, obviously there are other spoilers due to which characters have survived to show up in the second book.)
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone
Ernest Cunningham is summoned to a fraught family reunion at a isolated ski lodge in the Snowy Mountains. Obviously, this is the inevitable setting for a locked room murder mystery, where everyone has a motive, no one can leave, and the killer may strike again.
This is an incredibly loving tribute to the Golden Age detective novel, but with a contemporary spin on it. (The promos talk about "Agatha Christie meets Knives Out".) Benjamin Stevenson goes very meta with the references and the humour. It's not just a murder mystery, it's a commentary on murder mysteries too. (He also does a bit of that Guy Gavriel Kay thing of setups and fakeouts. But it just becomes part of that beautiful sleight-of-hand.)
The one drawback for me is that parts of it are quite dark. A major plotline involves a serial killer with a very disturbing modus operandi.
But most of all, the structure is so beautiful. We unfold layers as the story goes on, and delve into the secrets of the past, and events link to each other in a revelatory and satisfying way. It's emotionally intense. Sometimes it's a punch in the heart. But I really, really liked it.
Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect
The sequel is comparatively lighter in tone, even though it touches on some serious topics. Kind of like how in Veronica Mars, the first season is about the most important events of her whole life, and later seasons are about just investigating other mysteries.
Ernest Cunningham is at the mystery writers' festival because he's written a book about his experiences, which is basically that first book. (And now he has writer's block for his second book, because he's never had to plot a story before. To paraphrase, "I just write down what happens. But people have to die first." Yes, that's one motive he gets accused of when he's a suspect.)
There are a lot of in-jokes about mystery writing, and the publishing industry in general. It's also a travelogue about going on the Ghan, which crosses the continent from Darwin to Adelaide. And it's a take on the Golden Age detective novel with modern sensibilities and sensitivities, which I appreciated.
I listened to the audiobooks for both of these. (Yay also for hearing Australian accents in audiobooks!) Very well done, would recommend them.
I've been rereading a lot of Agatha Christie lately, and really craving more stories in the same vein. Classic murder mysteries with locked room puzzles and fair play solutions, and beautifully done sleight-of-hand.
So when I came across a new book called Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect, my attention was riveted. Not just a title that's a clear homage, but it's also set at a mystery writers' festival! That takes place on a train. And not just any train, but the Ghan! (Yay for mysteries set in modern day Australia!)
And of course, someone is killed, and the mystery writers decide to become amateur detectives, because they believe they're experts on how to solve a murder. But on the other hand, as the tagline says, "How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?"
This is actually the second book in the series, so I wanted to start with the first one, in case of spoilers. (Which was the right move. While the author doesn't spoil the actual solution, obviously there are other spoilers due to which characters have survived to show up in the second book.)
Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone
Ernest Cunningham is summoned to a fraught family reunion at a isolated ski lodge in the Snowy Mountains. Obviously, this is the inevitable setting for a locked room murder mystery, where everyone has a motive, no one can leave, and the killer may strike again.
This is an incredibly loving tribute to the Golden Age detective novel, but with a contemporary spin on it. (The promos talk about "Agatha Christie meets Knives Out".) Benjamin Stevenson goes very meta with the references and the humour. It's not just a murder mystery, it's a commentary on murder mysteries too. (He also does a bit of that Guy Gavriel Kay thing of setups and fakeouts. But it just becomes part of that beautiful sleight-of-hand.)
The one drawback for me is that parts of it are quite dark. A major plotline involves a serial killer with a very disturbing modus operandi.
But most of all, the structure is so beautiful. We unfold layers as the story goes on, and delve into the secrets of the past, and events link to each other in a revelatory and satisfying way. It's emotionally intense. Sometimes it's a punch in the heart. But I really, really liked it.
Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect
The sequel is comparatively lighter in tone, even though it touches on some serious topics. Kind of like how in Veronica Mars, the first season is about the most important events of her whole life, and later seasons are about just investigating other mysteries.
Ernest Cunningham is at the mystery writers' festival because he's written a book about his experiences, which is basically that first book. (And now he has writer's block for his second book, because he's never had to plot a story before. To paraphrase, "I just write down what happens. But people have to die first." Yes, that's one motive he gets accused of when he's a suspect.)
There are a lot of in-jokes about mystery writing, and the publishing industry in general. It's also a travelogue about going on the Ghan, which crosses the continent from Darwin to Adelaide. And it's a take on the Golden Age detective novel with modern sensibilities and sensitivities, which I appreciated.
I listened to the audiobooks for both of these. (Yay also for hearing Australian accents in audiobooks!) Very well done, would recommend them.
