We met Ernest Cunningham in the first book in the series that has his name in Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone, which I read last year and loved. While I don't read a lot of mysteries any more, that one was fresh and funny and I knew I would be reading more. Lucky for me I am coming to the series late so I still have two more books in the series that are already published!
After the events of the last book, Ernest changed from being someone who wrote books about how to write books, to actually writing a book of his own, all about the events at his family reunion which turned out to be very deadly. But now he needs to write a follow up. The pressure is on!
He and his partner are invited to be guests at the 50th anniversary of the Australian Mystery Writer's Society festival, of course they say yes which is being held on The Ghan. Ernest does know that he is pretty lucky to be there although he is not entirely confident that he belongs there. There are going to be 7 guest authors in total ranging from one of the biggest names in crime fiction in the world, to an author who had a big hit twenty years ago and is about to release their next novel, the literary (with a capital L) writer and then Ernest who has just published his debut novel. Ernest is hoping that he will get the inspiration he needs to pen his next book using his imagination, but before he gets to that point he has to work out hidden connections, old crimes, bad reviews and so much more. Add to that mix some publishers and the fans and the scene is set.
Once the train leaves Darwin, it doesn't take long for things to start getting off track (see what I did there?). There are some interesting interactions between the guest authors and Ernest starts to wonder if he is just seeing signs of things that aren't really there. However, when one of the authors dies, it would seem that there is definitely something deeper going on. Who better to solve a crime than six crime writers, although to be fair, they probably also know the best ways to get away with a crime.
Just like in the first book, there are plenty of times that Ernest breaks the fourth wall with the reader. He is writing the book after the events, so you know that he has to survive, but we get the benefit of hindsight where he can see the errors he has made along the way. We also get handy recaps of where we are at, including a name check count as he believes that according to the Golden Rules of mystery writing the killer's name will be mentioned a precise 106 times by the end of the book. Despite this, I was still surprised at several of the reveals!
Ernest tells us very early in the book “Seven writers board a train. At the end of the line, five will leave it alive. One will be in cuffs. Body count: nine. Bit lower than last time. And me? I don’t kill anybody this time around." As readers we get to ride the story as it unfurls one surprise, one body, one big reveal at a time. Murder isn't funny, but we certainly get a few laughs along the way!
As much as my husband and I do love to explore the world, we also still love to explore Australia. One experience that is definitely on our to-do list is to take the train known as The Ghan which goes from Darwin to Adelaide (and vice versa) through the middle of Australia. When we do get to do the trip, I am glad that it won't be with these people!
Another fantastic entry in the Ernest Cunningham series. Can't wait to read the next one!
I am sharing this review with the Bookish Books challenge hosted at Bloggin' Bout Books.
Rating 4.5/5
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