Don't be fooled by Murder on the Christmas Express's cozy cover: Alexandra Benedict (The Christmas Murder Game) presents a darkly disturbing Christmas mystery, perfect for fans of Ashley Winstead or Ruth Ware. The novel--which pays homage to classic Golden Age mysteries like those of Agatha Christie--depicts how quickly people's civilized veneers can devolve when trapped in precarious situations.
Roz Parker has just retired as a Met detective. Her former colleagues buy her a ticket on a fancy overnight sleeping car to Scotland so that she can spend Christmas with her pregnant daughter, Heather. The train passengers include a couple of reality-television stars, some college students, a few families, and an attractive lawyer. Heavy snow on the tracks threatens holiday plans, which causes tension for the travelers. And Roz becomes anxious about Heather, who goes into labor early. But when the train derails and someone is found dead in their sleeping car--with the door locked from the inside--it's going to take all of Roz's prowess to unravel the mystery, especially once the killer strikes again.
Benedict writes with an understanding of the evil that people are capable of, and Roz fears for Heather's life during a dangerously complicated delivery. Yet Murder on the Christmas Express still includes nods to the holiday and clever anagrams, which will keep readers guessing. Anyone who thinks of Die Hard as a Christmas movie is sure to enjoy this addition to the Christmas-mystery genre. --Jessica Howard, freelance book reviewer