What I'm Reading
An homage to Agatha Christie and train travel in literary fiction
Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill
What do you get when you combine Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None? Gentill’s latest stand-alone mystery follows twins Joe and Meredith Penvale as they embark on a celebratory trip on the famed Orient Express. Joe, a thriller writer and recent cancer survivor, and his sister Meredith, a lawyer who quit her practice to care for her brother, are excited to experience the literarily famous train. With Covid variants still making headlines, the pair think their main danger will be staying healthy, until the passenger in the berth next to theirs goes missing, leaving large amounts of blood behind.
This locked room mystery is a slow burn, full of red herrings and a cast of characters worthy of a Christie novel. I already miss my sojourn with them.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.
Five Found Dead is out August 19, 2025.