Midnight Train

by Edwina Longbottom, Peter Lamb

Step aboard the Caledonian Sleeper for a journey you’ll never forget. In Midnight Train, retired investigator Gideon Drake faces a chilling mystery as passengers begin to disappear one by one during a stormy night. With cryptic notes, eerie shadows, and a looming sense of dread, Gideon must uncover the truth before he becomes the next victim. This gripping psychological thriller blends suspense, intrigue, and high-stakes decisions in a tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train and Murder on the Orient Express.

Genres: Audiobook

62 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 29, 2024

Reviews

[Dannii Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gideon Drake boards a midnight train as a storm rages outside. Not long after they set off, individuals go missing and cryptic notes turn up in their place. As he sets out to investigate just what is occurring, reality is left far behind and new horrors appear around every corner.

This could have been a sinister little tale but I didn't really feel much of anything whilst reading it. The actual bones of the story were strong enough but there was little attention paid to explaining the mysterious occurrences. I initially thought I was being too harsh, as this only a short story after all, and then we reached the conclusion. I heavily dislike an ambiguous ending and this gave me NO answers!

[Kriss Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ Unfortunately the ending wasn’t great. Otherwise it would have been a 4⭐️

[Crystal K · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

I found the audiobook on YouTube, and I liked the suspense. The biggest issue, though, is the lack of a proper conclusion—it’s all just speculation. The main character seems to be fighting some invisible enemy, but for all we know, maybe old age just caught up with him. He definitely came off as a bit paranoid. Then again, I’m no expert in investigative work, so maybe that’s part of the point.

There’s no real answer to what’s actually causing everything, which left me a bit unsatisfied. The plot could have been stronger overall, but I’m fine with the open ending. It wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t great either—I’ve definitely read worse. Honestly, the narration was probably its only saving grace.

[Catalina · Rating 2 out of 5]

a uitat saracu autor sa termine cartea creca altfel nu mi explic

[Siddhi · Rating 2 out of 5]

What in the world was that ending?

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

It very much sounds like it was written by AI. Too much description with no emotional depth, the sentence structures are short and punch like AI. And every dialogue has a dialogue tag that reads like AI.

[Axton B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you been looking for a new book to read or listen to? Well look no further because I have found the perfect book. The book name is “MIDNIGHT TRAIN” by Edwina Longbottom. A good theme for this book would be you can't always trust strangers.

This book is about a guy named Gideon (Gi-di-on) that gets on this train at night time and a ton of strange things keep happening on this train that Gideon is trying to figure out who/what is doing these strange things. One of five important events in this book is when he gets on this train and sees this passenger that is sitting really still, so still she might not be alive, but after a while her and Gideon start to talk and became friends because she was noticing these weird things happening to. Another important thing that had happened was when Gideon saw another passenger on the train that was sitting still, Gideon asked him if he was ok and the mans face had fallen onto the table and then a pile of blood started coming out of his face. The third important thing was when Gideon and all the passengers were standing together when one of the passengers spoke up and said the same thing had happened on a different train that he was on, the passenger also said that it was a miracle he survived. The fourth important thing was when Gideon kept getting notes about himself that the strange thing on the train was giving him. The fish thing was when Gideon and the girl from earlier went to a different cart on the train and they saw the weird thing back there and were terrified.

This book is mainly for people who like suspense and horror/scary books. A strength of this book is how it makes you feel, its scary theme makes you feel interested and want to know more. It also makes you feel like you're there and it is really easy to imagine. One thing that the author could work on about this book is the length. As much as I like short stories, this one is just a little bit too short for me. The author could also work on giving more detail about the strange thing they only really say it is a shadow figure, not how the shadow looks or anything. I really liked how the author introduced the characters, they really introduced them at good timing and made them introduce themselves. Some of the decisions were realistic like when the people on the train made Gideon the leader because he is a detective. What doesn't really make sense is how towards the end on of the train passengers tells Gideon that he went through this before I feel like if I were to make a book and have one of the characters experienced something before that they would say that in the beginning. But then again all of this made me really want to keep listening/reading more and more.


In my opinion it is good for a short story and I would definitely recommend this book to people who like short and scary things. This author is really good and I would definitely listen/read another one of their books thats all bye.

[Lou Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. And there is absolutely nothing available about the author, so I'm guessing it might have been an ai generated story.

It was giving off an extended version of resident evil 0- and the plot was basically the same thing repeating- with no answers by the ending. If this is just the beginning then I would love to know how this would even be a fully fledged story. It's short and sweet, but not the good kind. It very much feels too generic, without soul- it wasn't scary, you couldn't follow along with the mystery, I understand why it is classed as Sci Fi- but- just saying that the creature is some sort of ancient being that's reappeared again- no definition, no emotional attachment to .

If it isn't ai generated, then there were a lot of gaps in the story that either need an answer in another book- or this needs revisiting, editing and republishing so that the story makes more sense.

The narrator kept changing the names? I'm not sure if that is in the original script- or if that was just him struggling to pronounce, or figure out how to pronounce it but I checked out My Listening Library on Youtube with this whilst playing minecraft with my boyfriend.

It felt like it was trying to be a mystery book rather than sci fi as well. No idea why it is listed or described as scifi when we literally have Murder on the Orient Express- it felt like this tried to rework that work. So weird.

[Zukey Zuke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost certainly "written" by AI, but pretty enjoyable to nod off to. It creates a satisfying mood of mystery and suspense, which draws you into the nascent drama. Unfortunately the plot doesn't go anywhere in spite of some interesting twists and turns. This is because the characters are cardboard cutouts. Don't pay money for it, just listen to it on YT. Save your money to spend on flesh and blood writers who really need your support. 😉

[pallav mishra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never thought I’d give a one star but here we are. The story ends before it even builds up some momentum. A retired investigator boards a sleeper trainer and then experiences something unearthly in there. Could have become a great plot. But it ended abruptly. How did they even let her publish it with such an ending?

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick and easy read, but the short story feels unfinished or like a prequel. There are references to other books, but I don't mind that as it was fun to read.
It took me a few pages to get the "main cast" sorted out, but at the end it's just 3 main characters. Just give both male characters a name starting with 'G' wasn't the best idea.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 3/5 stars

Midnight Train by Edwina Longbottom is a short, eerie thriller that starts with a retired investigator boarding a vintage sleeper train, and the trip quickly turns strange as passengers disappear, notes show up, and the atmosphere gets more and more unsettling. It’s great at building a creepy vibe and keeping you curious, and it works well if you want a fast and spooky read. The downside is that the ending feels rushed and leaves a lot of questions hanging, which can be frustrating. Overall, it’s fun for the atmosphere and the chills, but don’t expect a fully wrapped-up mystery.

[Reem Eisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the suspense and mystery of the book and how at the end they got to save everyone. What I understood is that something mysterious was trying to take over, yet they stopped it and managed to save everyone that was on the train. I would have loved to know what was causing the problems but still nice mystery.

[° Lennys • · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found the audiobook on YouTube. It was very engaging, I really like the mystery and suspense of it all. Didn’t mind the sci-fi and supernatural elements as it reminded me of some of Stephen King’s works. It has potential but lacks resolution. It was a weak ending but the journey was there. The Dialogue can be improved too.

[Rah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wait, how does this not have a movie already, it's chilling yet simple, too fast tho and too short! but loved it, it slightly has this AI vibes to it, but I hope I am wrong and it's just short and fast on purpose.

[Michel Skibinski · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only merit of this short story is that it moves fast.
it is written in a non professional fashion. it starts well but it loses all its marbles soon enough.
the happenings are all but believable.
and the ending is rushed and utterly stupid.
AVOID at all costs.

[Lizelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaaaghhh, The suspense is excellent, exactly what I like there is continouse investigations and things happening. The emerging concpiracy/concept is so intriguing feels unique but ther is NO ENDING.
So sad I want/need more. But worth a read just in case we get a sequal.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audio while on a drive with family enjoyed it as did my teens

[Ambili · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. No buildup and no ending.

[Eidi Kakuno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mix de Assassinato no Expresso Oriente com Matrix....

[Vir · Rating 2 out of 5]

venía re bien, que onda el final???

[Jennifer Rae · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was dry, boring. and sounds like a knock-off of a couple of other train murder mysteries. I had to double-check that i was reading the title and the author correctly.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was ok, I am not really into reading this type of story, they described it as a psychological thriller which I enjoy but I would describe it as a Paranormal novel.

[Simone Keijzer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reads like it is written by a twelve years old.

[Gena Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

honestly it was a little boring.

[Mary Brewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting but the ending was a bit abrupt

[Ranne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh? HUUUUUUUH?!

[Alessandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook on YouTube. Very short & it’s about ghosts. Not too interesting , but it was okay.

[ReadMe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first audiobook.
It's an okay story with a creepy sci-fi/horror aspect to it

[Z3Tr · Rating 2 out of 5]

this might be the worst book i have ever read this year