Take 1 part the locked room mysteries of John Dickson Carr and 2 parts Murder on the Orient Express and you have 6:40 to Montreal, a new whodunnit.
Long married Agatha is a writer who has both a writer’s block and cancer. She attempts to solve one and forget the other with a solitary train trip to Montreal and her prospective lover. Things don’t go as planned when the train is stopped in rural Canada during a snowstorm and chaos ensues.
First of all, every character is detestable, or at least annoying. By the end, you may wish none of them make it out of the train alive.
If you ignore the characters, the plot is well written and suspenseful. There are a multitude of twists and turns that I didn’t foresee. The ending, even though I guessed the perpetrator, still had some satisfying surprises.
Overall, I took off one star for the irritating characters. But armchair detectives will love to try and figure out this intriguing multi-level mystery. 4 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advanced review copy.