While Sulari Gentill’s latest novel is set in the modern era, it is clearly inspired and fueled by the Orient Express where Hercule Poirot once solved one of the most devious homicides of his career. Like Agatha Christie’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, FIVE FOUND DEAD features a locked-room mystery, a slew of suspects, and the addition of several sleuths to potentially solve the murders that haunt this trip from Paris to Istanbul.

Crime fiction author Joe Penvale and his twin sister, Meredith, are Australian citizens who are treating themselves to a bucket-list dream of riding on the infamous Orient Express. It is also a celebration, as Meredith stayed by Joe’s side for the past few years during his brutal yet triumphant battle with cancer. Being huge mystery fans and Christie aficionados, they are more than ready for this trip. Joe also has brought along his laptop so he can begin writing his next novel.

"FIVE FOUND DEAD is the finest work that Sulari Gentill has produced in her stellar career.... [It] is worthy of endless praise and gives readers so much to celebrate."

The first person Joe and Meredith meet is former French detective Napoleon Duplantier, who is staying in the neighboring train compartment. They settle into the bar and dining cars, where they encounter a number of other passengers: Abigay Williams, a Jamaican-born detective inspector; Felix and Ben, experts on all things crime and hosts of the “Flex and Herds” podcast (which is based on the real-life podcast of the same name); Noel and Siobhan Ferguson, an Irish couple; Elle Barid, the Scottish Duchess of Kinross; and Clarice and Penelope Mayfield, elderly sisters from Gloucestershire who are in search of a man who stole money from their foundation and believe they have tracked him to the Orient Express.

Once the ride turns deadly, Joe and Meredith will find that there are other members of the international law enforcement community on board. Murder does indeed come in the form of the other passenger residing next to them, an unpleasant bearded man with whom they barely had any conversation. Duplantier is the first to feel that something is amiss in this passenger’s compartment. After having it unlocked, he finds a lot of blood strewn about the area but no body in sight. Joe and Duplantier notice that there is a small space in the wall caused by the retractable bunks where a corpse or a suspect could have been hiding when the room was first searched.

The head of the Orient Express gathers all of those with detection skills into one car so they can think through this murder. But then the body count starts to rise. There are clues and red herrings in abundance here, and readers will have a lot of fun trying to figure out what is really going on.

FIVE FOUND DEAD is the finest work that Sulari Gentill has produced in her stellar career. Gentill recently won a battle against Stage Four cancer, which inspired her to make Joe Penvale a cancer survivor. This only adds to the beauty of the book, which is worthy of endless praise and gives readers so much to celebrate.