[Review] Alexandra Benedict: 'Murder on the Christmas Express'

DI Rosalind (Roz) Parker, who’s just retired from the police force in London, is on her way to Fort William, Scotland, trying to be in time for the birth of her granddaughter.

But in the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands derails on its icy tracks. It also results in the end of any festive plans of its travellers. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere, a killer stalks its carriages. The first victim is, rather unsurprisingly, Meg Forth, a media influencer, who was traveling on the train with her boyfriend, Grant McVey. As there are just a few passengers (eighteen to be exact) on the train, the number of suspects is rather low. Still, who of them has a reason to kill?

The reviews are, well, somewhat mixed. But what do I make of 'Murder on the Christmas Express'?

Alexandra Benedict is certainly trying to see if the mantle of the 'Queen of Crime' fits her too by (again) releasing a murder mystery in time for Christmas. 'Murder on the Christmas Express' does makes one try to compare it with its predecessor, 'Murder on the Orient Express', but don't bother. This one is quite different in structure.

Some reviewers lament the time it takes before the first murder occurs. They're right that it takes a while, but wrong that it is the problem. What is the problem is that almost every character is uninteresting and unpleasant. The reader is never emotionally attached to any of the suspects. I simply didn't care who would be the killer.

Perhaps the story tries to teach you that a very negative experience early in life will forever keeps festering. It makes a person unable to enjoy life. You may have regular flashbacks and are endlessly trying to avoid similar situations. In some, it may ultimately lead to suicide, and some eventually might murder to kill their inner demons or to spare others from the same fate.

While reading the book, I had the distinct impression that Alexandra Benedict started writing with the idea that Roz Parker herself would be the murderer (think: Agatha Christie's 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd'), but changed her mind halfway. I think that such an idea would work so much better than the one Alexandra Benedict ended up with.

Alexandra Benedict's writing was – as always – recognisable. You simply know it's her if you read sentences like 'The sun was beginning its evening descent, dipping into the space between mountains, a slice of orange in a martini glass.' The entire book is sprinkled with such poetic lines.

'Murder on the Christmas Express' is a bit of a disappointment, and I hope Alexandra Benedict's next murder mystery will be better. Spoiler: It's better but only marginally. See here.