As the setting for a mystery, there’s nothing as perfect as a train. A mixed cast of characters, scenic views, time pressure, and locked-room constraints make for the perfectly suspenseful read. If you throw in a “vintage” train setting, you also get the vicarious joy of true luxury travel. Stories like Murder on the Orient Express allow us to take a step into a fascinating liminal space. Authors may try to replicate it with a plane (too short) or a cruise (too large, too long). A train is the perfect travel mystery sweet spot. And it seems like modern train mysteries are making a comeback. Interestingly, many have gone the luxury route. Everyone on This Train is a Suspect finds murder aboard a luxury train crossing Australia; The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands takes a fantasy approach and expands the lens to include the crew.

I live in the States – on the West Coast – where train travel is not the most prevalent. I was thus very excited to live the train-loving lifestyle while in Europe this summer. And what better way to celebrate than with a modern train mystery? Thus, my rail journeys became the backdrop for my reading of The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis.

Twisting the train mystery formula

The Main Character follows Rory, the so-called “main character” of the next book by famous author Ginevra Ex. Ex writes fictional stories that follow real people, and interviewed Rory for the past few months in Italy. As a parting present, Ginevra gifts Rory a trip on the recently re-opened Orient Express – a luxury travel experience along the coast of Italy.

Rory’s thrilled… until she realizes who else is on the train with her. Her brother, her best friend, and her ex-fiancé are all aboard. Not only that – Ginevra shares a copy of her manuscript with each, as well as some secrets she’s unearthed with Rory directly. It’s not long before members of the group end up in danger, and Rory must uncover the truth. Luxury train, murder, mayhem… what more could a train reader want?

The Main Character deviates from the typical “train mystery” in a few important ways. Unlike the traditional “random smattering of humans”, these characters all know each other. Characters also interact with the world outside the train, rather than focusing only on the journey. This allows for prettier vistas, but removes the almost claustrophobic gilded cage of the best of the genre.

And like other modern train mysteries, Goldis has her characters narrate different chapters, giving us clarity into their inner worlds. This has pros and cons – the narration can give a sense of depth, but it also requires some twisting and turning to conceal critical information. As a vehicle for twists, it works well; as a structured mystery with clues, less so. Goldis has many stories to tell here, including one relating to Jews in the Cold War; limiting the narration to perspective characters forces stop-and-go pacing rather than continuous discovery. At the same time, this narrative structure almost forces for distraction and concealment. The net result is less a carefully structured mystery than a series of surprising revelations, stacked into the final chapters of the novel.

Luxury vs. empathy

Of course, the other element of the train mystery – or the travel mystery more broadly – is the sense of place. The best train mysteries use their setting to evoke different emotional reactions, from chilly claustrophobia to mystical fear. Everything about the train journey itself – the starting point, the destination, even the class of travel – tells us more about the characters.

You can tell when reading The Main Character that Goldis loves the atmosphere of the vintage train – the glamour, the glitz, the impeccable service. Paragraphs and pages are devoted to the luxury of the sleeping cars, the level of dedication from the staff… They’re all impeccably described, and you can absolutely imagine yourself on the train, luxuriating in the experience. The same is true for the intermediate destinations on the journey, all along the western Italian coast. As I turned the pages on the train up the coast of Spain, I found myself falling in love all over again with the train as a mode of travel.

Unfortunately, this adoration of the train setting somewhat detracts from the broader goal of leveraging it to create atmosphere. The first-person narration makes it even harder to have sympathy for these ugly thoughts, so surrounded by luxury. It would be fine if this were an “eat the rich” story, but Goldis seems to want our sympathy for the cast. It’s hard not to contrast this with Murder on the Orient Express, where Christie uses a similar setting to create empathy for wealthy characters. Christie’s success is due in part to her use of the luxury setting as a characterization device. Characters respond to the train and its staff in ways that highlight the service while teaching us more about each. Those learnings snowball into empathy, which is easier without distracting first-person drama. Goldis instead loves the train so much the writing is a little distracted by it.

The many faces of The Main Character

The Main Character excels at the “travel” part of the travel mystery. The puzzle itself is hindered by tricky pacing and narration choices that squeeze much of the discovery into pockets of action. The underlying historical narrative was intriguing, if a bit under-explored. As a train read, it provided an excellent luxury atmosphere and reminded me how grateful I am to access (safe, non-murderous) vacations. It’s interesting to consider the parallels between the train revival of the Orient Express (more atmospheric, less functional) and this written homage to its most famous mystery…

Luckily, I had saved myself one of my favorite train mysteries (along with a new Golden Age story) for our final days in Nice. I’ll be covering that next… Until next time – stay cozy, and stay curious!

*This will count for “timeframe spans a week or less” for my 52 Book Club Challenge!