I am a lifelong admirer of Dame Agatha Christie, and one of my favorite thriller authors is Riley Sager. So it is no surprise that I was especially drawn to his latest release, WITH A VENGEANCE, after seeing it compared to MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS and AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.

The year is 1954, and like the mystery involving the Orient Express, the impetus behind the current-day action is based on a tragedy suffered a dozen years earlier. In 1942, Anna Matheson witnessed six people destroy her family, and she vowed to get her revenge one day. Now she invites these same individuals aboard a state-of-the-art luxury train that was built by her railroad tycoon father and is traveling from Philadelphia to Chicago on an overnight journey that will take 13 hours.

"Riley Sager goes out of his way to top Agatha Christie and her reputation for wild red herrings and unexpected occurrences in the midst of a thrilling murder mystery.... WITH A VENGEANCE is not just pure brilliance but easily one of the finest novels he has ever written."

The Philadelphia Phoenix is the envy of all who travel by rail. It also was the reason for the deaths of Anna’s parents and brother. Her father was wrongfully accused of being a Nazi sympathizer and was stabbed to death in prison. Her mother went mad and drove her car off a cliff. And her brother was a war hero who was aboard one of their trains that suffered a tragic accident, killing everyone on board.

Anna holds the six people who are now on her train responsible for these actions.

Judd Dodge created the blueprint for the superior engine of the train and knowingly allowed a faulty engine to be placed in the ill-fated train that killed her brother. Herb Pulaski oversaw the manufacturing of the engine that he knew would not work effectively. Sally Lawrence was once the secretary to Anna’s father, but she later betrayed him during his unfair trial. Edith Gerhardt was the apparent loyal housekeeper to the Matheson family but later falsely accused Mr. Matheson of being a supporter of her home country, Germany, as well as the Nazi party. Lt. Col. Jack Lapsford collaborated with an enemy of the Mathesons to sabotage their train. Lastly, Kenneth Wentworth is the archrival whom Anna believes was the mastermind behind these tragedies.

The only kink in the plan is that Kenneth doesn’t show up. His son and Anna’s former boyfriend, Dante, is there in his stead. This shakes her a bit, as she has no desire to see Dante again and really wanted to enact punishment against his father. This still does not change anything, and Anna is more than happy to explain her entire plan to the six passengers in the presence of her armed colleague, Seamus Callahan. The engineer of the train is paid to stay put for the full duration of the trip and is not to open the doors to his compartment under any circumstances. Anna then calls out the crimes of each of her mortal enemies and suggests they lock themselves in their respective cabins until they reach Chicago, where she will turn them --- and all the information she has compiled against them --- over to the authorities, who will be waiting for them when they arrive.

Of course, things do not go entirely as Anna planned, beginning with the drink that the passengers share before retiring to their cabins. Judd begins to shake uncontrollably and falls to the ground writhing in pain and foaming at the mouth, the victim of an apparent poisoning. The shenanigans do not stop here, nor do the shocking deaths. Add to the mix a mystery passenger who somehow wandered onto the train in error, and we have the makings of a really suspenseful and deadly night aboard the Philadelphia Phoenix.

Riley Sager goes out of his way to top Agatha Christie and her reputation for wild red herrings and unexpected occurrences in the midst of a thrilling murder mystery. I am happy to report that he succeeds on every level. WITH A VENGEANCE is not just pure brilliance but easily one of the finest novels he has ever written.