Murder on the Christmas Express – Alexandra Benedict

CAN YOU SOLVE THE CASE? 

Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer.

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands is derailed, along with the festive plans of its travellers. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere, a killer stalks its carriages, picking off passengers one by one. Those who sleep on the sleeper train may never wake again.

Can former Met detective Roz Parker find the killer before they kill again?

All aboard for . . . Murder on the Christmas Express.

 

I recived a review copy from the publishers via Netgalley.  My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to board the Christmas Express blog tour train.

 

Oh my word…it has been over a month since I finished a book and shared a review. Reading slumps happen from time to time and often it can just be a case of finding the right book to kickstart the reading focus again. Step forward Murder on the Christmas Express – a fun murder mystery story which was apparently exactly what I needed to get my nose back into a book.

What I found so enjoyable about this story is that Alexandra Benedict gave me strong lead characters to love (and loathe) and a diverse gathering of entertaining supporting players – one of their number could quite possibly be a killer.

Our key focus is newly retired police detective Roz – she is leaving London and heading home to Scotland where her daughter is about to make Roz a grandmother. Roz’s colleagues bought her a ticket to the London to Fort William sleeper train as a retirement gift – she will travel in luxury into her new life and be at her daughter’s side as her first grandchild is born. However the country is in the grip of a terrible snow storm, there are very few trains running and everyone is desperate to get home for Christmas. Even boarding the train will be a fraught experience.

Also on the train are a celebrity couple, a quiz team, a harassed family, a handsome stranger, a stowaway and a young man travelling with his mother – who Roz takes a shine to. A fun mix and the quiz team introduced a great element to the story which complements another aspect I love about Alexandra Benedict’s books – the puzzles!

if you haven’t read one of Alexandra’s “Christmas” books you’ve missed a treat. She sets the reader a number of challenges and conundrums to look out for as you go through the story. Anagrams, Kate Bush song titles and the fact there’s a quiz as part of the story will keep puzzle fans on their toes – oh and you’ll also be trying to solve the murder mystery too. It was only at the end of the story I realised how cleverly the clues were laced through the whole book.

It’s the Christmas holidays and there’s a train slowly making its way from London to the highlands. We know there’s a murder and we know the killer may have another few targets in mind but who will live to see the end of the journey? I lost myself in the snowstorm and right corridors of the murder express. There was so much I loved about the story but at risk of spoiling too much of the plot I can’t cover too much detail.

As a small aside, there are some challenging themes addressed in the story too which are dealt with sympathetically and respectfully. This is a well spun story which will challenge your deductive powers and entertain as you go – more of this would be very welcome.

 

Murder on the Christmas Express is available now in paperback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/murder-on-the-christmas-express/alexandra-benedict/9781398519855