Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict

Title: Murder on the Christmas Express
Author: Alexandra Benedict
Publication: Poisoned Pen Press, paperback, 2023
Genre: Mystery
Setting: Present-day Britain

Description: London detective Roz Parker has taken early retirement from her stressful job so she can move to Scotland and improve her relationship with her adult daughter, who is expecting a child and has gone into labor six weeks early. Roz’s colleagues all chipped in to buy her a ticket for the December 23rd sleeper train from Euston Station. All Roz has to do is catch the train and relax – but bad weather and murder are interfering. The train to Fort William is delayed but it’s the only train route that is functioning, so Roz is able to board. There are eighteen passengers, including Meg and Grant, reality show celebrities, and Roz senses right away that theirs is an abusive relationship but reminds herself she is no longer police and should not get involved. Her daughter Heather is having a very difficult birth and all Roz wants is to reach the hospital. But when the train gets stuck in the snow, cut off from civilization, and someone is murdered, she is the only person on board with the experience to investigate - before it is too late . . . .

My Impression: This Christmas-themed mystery is beautifully packaged with evocative cover copy: Eighteen passengers, seven stops, one killer. While it is somewhat of an homage to Murder on the Orient Express, which I reviewed in October, and other well-known stories and poems involving trains (which the author intersperses anagrams throughout the book – none of which I caught), the detective has a troubled history that complicates her investigation and is revealed to the reader over time. But Roz is not the only person with a past on the train. As she observes the other passengers and speculates about their relationships, she becomes suspicious of several and wary of their use of social media:

Meg leaned against the bar and smiled into her phone. Her audience numbers were increasing on her live stream as much as the amount of alcohol in her bloodstream. Each new viewer was champagne fizzing inside her. She was aware that Grant was coming over and that he didn’t look happy, but she couldn’t think of that now. “I’m having the best time on the sleeper train to the Highlands. We’re in the middle of an old school quiz and, in our break, Oli here, master mixologist, is going to show us how to make festive cocktails."

“I’m only a steward,” Oli said. He didn’t know where to look into the camera, but he had an engaging shyness.

Roz’s complicated past prevented easy interaction with her recently deceased mother and with her daughter, Heather, and unfortunately Heather’s going into labor has triggered disturbing memories for Roz. Trying to cope with a puzzling murder on the train – which she has no official standing to investigate – while receiving periodic, fraught updates on Heather’s worrying condition from her partner adds to Roz’s stress and causes her to miss clues. Can she prevent a second murder or is she too distracted?

It was fun to read this on Christmas Eve, comfortably curled up at home while the heat on the train conked out and the passengers got colder and more frightened. Roz is an intriguing, prickly character at a crossroads in her life and it will be interesting to see if the author turns this into a series. Her three mysteries seem to be very focused on puzzles, which is not really my thing but can be fun. My one quibble is that although there are only 18 passengers, it was a little hard to keep them straight and many were possible suspects. Roz’s backstory was disturbing but there seems to be hope that she can reconnect with Heather, help with her new granddaughter, and perhaps learn to cope with the trauma she experienced in her youth.

A ticket on the Caledonian Sleeper from London to Fort William seems to run from £185 to £245 for the “Classic” twin bunk berth but what I never understand (despite having read several books set on sleeper trains) is how safe they are (when one is not traveling with murderers). Can one lock oneself into one’s own berth? The website promises keycard entry so presumably the 21st century answer is yes but was that always true? What about the person in the bunk above? Can that person murder or rob you in your sleep?

Source: Thank you to Poisoned Pen/Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of this book. This is my twenty-ninth book for Carol’s Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge.  I got behind in reviews the last two months.  Can I make it to thirty before January?