08/10/2026
Book Review
'Five found dead' by Sulari Gentill
ON A TRAIN THERE ARE ONLY SO MAY PLACES TO HIDE
Crime fiction author Joe Penvale has won the most brutal battle of his life. Now that he has finished his intense medical treatment, he and his twin sister, Meredith, are boarding the glorious Orient Express in Paris, hoping for some much-needed rest and rejuvenation. Meredith also hopes that the literary ghosts on the train will nudge Joe's muse awake, and he'll be inspired to write again. And he is; after their first evening spent getting to know some of their fellow travelers, Joe pulls out his laptop and opens a new document. Seems like this trip is just what the doctor ordered…
And then some. The next morning, Joe and Meredith are shocked to witness that the cabin next door has become a crime scene, bathed in blood but with no body in sight. The pair soon find themselves caught up in an Agatha Christie-esque murder investigation. Without any help from the authorities, and with the victim still not found, Joe and Meredith are asked to join a group of fellow passengers with law enforcement backgrounds to look into the mysterious disappearance of the man in Cabin16G. But when the steward guarding the crime scene is murdered, it marks the beginning of a killing spree which leaves five found dead—and one still missing. Now Joe and Meredith must fight once again to preserve their newfound future and to catch a cunning killer before they reach the end of the line.
Prolific Australian author Sulari Gentill has drawn on her own life experiences in her most recent novel, and integrated her insight well into this locked-room murder mystery. Fans of Benjamin Stevenson's Ernest Cunningham series should appreciate the nod to the golden age of mystery writers, and the meta elements to Gentill's book - especially the frequent references to the key titles of the genre, and the way she incorporates the obvious tropes into the story.
This fun, and at times deliciously ridiculous, whodunit is available from the Library in print and eBook format. We rate this book 4 stars. Access it at: https://bit.ly/4rXuKU6
