Whodunit On This Christmas Express

I'm not an auditory learner. Audiobooks are quite hard for me to plough through. It takes so much effort to imagine the scenes vocalized. There're only a few instances when audiobooks are more practical than reading off of a page or a screen. One of those instances would be while doing a manicure at the nail salon. Audiobooks are also very slow-going since there's only so much I can speed up. 

I sped up and finished Alexandra Benedict's 'Murder on the Christmas Express' recently released in November 2022. The moment I began the book, I regretted it. A murder mystery with so many red herrings, clues and characters require a lot of concentration to listen to. NLB has the digital copy which had 14 people waiting for it. Goodness. So I had to finish it via the audiobook, and I'm glad I did. This isn't your fun murder. It's dark and arresting, and the ending is completely unexpected.

Former Met detective Roz Parker is on board the sleeper train from Euston to Fort William on the night before Christmas Eve. She was on her way to see her heavily pregnant daughter Heather. That is a 617-km journey taking roughly 13 hours. 

There was a death on board the train. When the train is derailed from stormy weather somewhere near Edinburgh, the killer stalks the carriages for another victim. It's up to Roz Parker to find the killer. Towards the end of the book, there's even a reference to the author's rather brilliant other murder mystery of 'The Christmas Murder Game' (2021).  

Woah, this is not your Agatha Christie straight up murder mystery. 18 passengers, 7 stops, 1 killer. The train crew, a couple with their four children, a couple who are a reality tv star and a social media influencer, a stowaway, college students competing for a place on their quiz team, a lawyer, an elderly woman and her son. Secrets, hidden relationships, and such. The author hits us with her inclusion of social media, childbirth dangers, rape, abuse, reality shows, celebrities and influencers, and PTSD.

Beck. A second death. Grant was poisoned to death. Mary and Tony. Crew members Bella, Beefy, Olly. Sam, Meg, Ian, Sally, Phil and Diana. Craig. Was it really Amber? Or was it Liv who had been caught shoplifting and stealing many times, yet she held a terrible pain hidden away. Of course Roz cracked the case. It wasn't a straightforward murder. Roz had a pain of her own; she has seen too many victims of abuse and rape not getting the justice they deserve. The ending is quite unexpected and lovely. The outdo even held a recipe for a traditional Scottish tablet (a sweet).

Amber thought of Grant's body encased first in plastic, then a grave. And she was glad.

.....................

She may change her mind, but for now, Amber felt proud that she would always be known as the killer. She would have done something with her life after all. Amber wondered if she will get a view from her prison cell, a glimpse of the big sky.