6:40 to Montreal Book Review: Eerie Premise, Slow Ride

6:40 to Montreal by Eva Jurczyk is a murder mystery written quite like locked room mysteries of Agatha Christie. I received an ARC of the book via Netgalley, and let me be honest... I wasn't quite impressed with the story. Which is a shame, because the premise had was intriguing. It was an eerie premise, slow ride book.

A locked-room mystery on a stranded train in the middle of freezing Canadian wilderness. Small cast, confined space, and no way out. The bones of a great thriller are all there. I really, really wanted to love this one. But the execution somewhat failed.

My Rating:

❤️❤️❤️🤍🤍

"Eerie premise, slow ride."

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What the Book is About

6:40 to Montreal is written around Agatha, a bestselling author who was gifted a first-class ticket on the 6:40 train. The goal was to get her some distraction-free time to write on this six-hour ride from Toronto to Montreal. But the train gets stuck in a snowstorm, and all the passengers are stranded with no other souls around for help. A while later, a fellow passenger was found to be dead.

What Works?

The atmospheric setup is what works the best in the 6:40 to Montreal book. A confined train coach in a snow-wrapped Canada creates a tense mood that pulls you in the story. Multiple suspects in one place (and their slowly unfolding secrets) made it quite difficult to pin-point the killer's identity.

The book had pure Agatha Christie vibes... in a more modern setup. However, that was pretty much all that was good in it.

What Falls Short?

Although there weren’t a lot of things wrong with it, the pacing felt slow and painful. Long stretches of meandering inner thoughts of Agatha kept sidetracking from the story. I found myself skimming the pages to see if there were any interesting reveals somewhere. Not a lot.

For a thriller set in such a gripping scenario, it spends a lot of time inside Agatha's head. And it wasn’t adding much tension to the story.

And the ending felt a bit odd. Okayish, just forced in out of nowhere. I was hoping for some loose “deductions” at least. But it was just by one of her observations. Not so elegant.

Who Should Read It?

6:40 to Montreal may appeal to those who enjoy slow-burn mystery/thrillers. Cosy mystery readers may also find it appealing. It has enough elements to keep lovers of locked-room whodunnits interested. Just don't expect much of a thrill.

Final Thoughts

6:40 to Montreal is a book with an unputdownable plot, but poor storytelling. The setting is eerie, the premise is strong, and the mystery is intriguing (at least, in the beginning). But the slow pacing keep it from being the gripping thriller. Just needed a tighter narrative. Still, it’s worth reading if you're patient enough.

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