03/04/2024
A bestselling author pays ordinary people for the right to model her protagonists on them in the disappointing latest from Goldis (The Chateau). In exchange for $100,000, individuals agree to answer personal questions, undergo psychological evaluations, and have their lives probed by Ginerva Ex’s private investigators. Her “latest, and finest, main character,” Rory, has recently been fired from her job as a news anchor for running an error-ridden story. In addition to providing Rory with the standard stipend, Ginerva has invited her on an extravagant train trip across Italy aboard the Orient Express. Rory’s elation turns to bafflement, however, when she discovers they’ll be joined by her ex-fiancé, her brother, and her best friend. As Goldis gradually reveals the secrets of each person in Rory’s orbit, Ginerva’s unorthodox writing methods start to look more and more sinister. Per the prologue, readers know someone will die, Agatha Christie–style, on this European vacation. Unfortunately, Goldis goes too heavy on the red herrings, and her clumsy prose doesn’t help (“I clasp my fingers around the smooth ticket, relieved that my mouth can still eject speech”). Despite the strong premise, this runs out of steam quickly. Agent: Rachel Ekstrom, Folio Literary. (May)
"Fans of Agatha Christie mysteries won’t be able to put down this new novel."
"Jaclyn Goldis is a master of atmosphere as she whisks readers away on a luxury train ride along the Italian coast. . . THE MAIN CHARACTER is full steam ahead when it comes to betrayals and secrets, all wrapped up in a deliciously claustrophobic ride that you’ll never forget."
"Twisting, turning and dramatic with a capital D, THE MAIN CHARACTER will hold you in suspense while you try to unravel the tangled, tension-filled web spun between key players in this story. Jaclyn Goldis has delivered an absorbing Agatha Christie-esque tale that propels readers forward with a desperate need for answers."
Suspenseful, stylish, and seductive—what you’d expect from Jaclyn Goldis—but with something deeper at its core: a love letter to family. THE MAIN CHARACTER is a runaway train that will leave you mesmerized. All aboard!
"This riveting meta-murder-mystery poses an ingenious question: if we are all the main characters in our own stories, what if someone wanted to buy ours and make it their own? The most glamorous, opulent train in the world carries a fascinating set of passengers... and this entertaining thriller is wrapped in a heartfelt and psychologically astute study of love, success, and, most touchingly, family. A terrific book!"
"[A]n entertaining modern-day mystery... with no shortage of shocking twists."
"All aboard this glamorous thriller! A novel with more twists than a train winding through the Italian countryside, THE MAIN CHARACTER will surprise even the most eagle-eyed reader. Goldis has mixed the family drama of Knives Out with the locked room atmosphere of Murder on the Orient Express and the resulting cocktail is like an Aperol on a hot summer’s day: perfect."
"Jaclyn Goldis slays it in her latest twisty propulsive thriller, THE MAIN CHARACTER. It has all the goods reminiscent of an Agatha Christie murder mystery – and yes, it even takes place on a luxury trip along the Italian coast on the Orient Express. There’s murder, secrets, lies, love, loss, and deception – all the delicious elements of a modern whodunnit . . . . Goldis has a sharp instinct for tragedy, rich complex characters, taut prose, and twists and turns that keep those pages turning as the plot thickens. Readers will enjoy the ride, down to the very last stop."
"Fans of Agatha Christie may want to check out this homage to MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS . . . . Deeply engaging and set in a glamorous, must-read-about setting. It’s the perfect balance between a picturesque summer novel and an engaging story."
"Amidst the picturesque backdrop of the Orient Express’s grandeur, THE MAIN CHARACTER teems with foreboding suspense, interpersonal conflict, and unreliable narrators — all the makings of an unputdownable thriller."
"THE CHATEAU asks us: How well do we really know our friends? A stay at the sumptuous Chateau du Platane in Provence sounds like the perfect girls’ trip–until it descends into deception and violence. . . . This book is a sensuous, suspenseful mystery threaded by topics that kept me musing well past the book’s close: the dark secrets we keep in relationships, the insidious influence of wealth, the lasting effects of generational trauma, and the healing nature of art. This story is an intense, intricate puzzlebox I couldn’t put down."
"Four best friends, a luxe chateau in the French countryside, and a shocking crime: Jaclyn Goldis brilliantly balances sensuality and suspense. When I wasn't trying to figure out the whodunit, I was reveling in the book's luscious descriptions and millennial wit. A twisty, well-paced murder mystery that never fully lets go—readers will gasp, even at the final page. Brilliantly done."
"A twisty delight of a mystery set in the perfect location. Written with lavish detail, lively prose, and one unfurled secret after another, THE CHATEAU is a thriller to savor.
*Praise for THE CHATEAU*
"With haunting clarity, Jaclyn Goldis spins a web of deceit, revenge and jealousy in the atmospheric novel THE CHATEAU . . . . Goldis creates a luxurious fantasy vacation for four old friends that quickly turns dark. Secrets are uncovered, resentments bubble to the surface, and a shocking truth is revealed...that no one is as they seem and the chateau itself might be at the center of the biggest betrayal of all. Tense and twisty, THE CHATEAU is certain to be the hot new thriller of 2023."
"This twisting, serpentine novel has all the ingredients for an addictive read: a girls’ trip, a picturesque setting, and a shocking murder mystery. Prepare to get totally lost in this rich, complex story, with its complicated female friendships, where nothing is quite as it seems. THE CHATEAU is sophisticated, surprising, and equal parts delicious and devious."
"Come for the gorgeous setting; stay for the escalating tension, high-stakes drama, and dark revelations. With its labyrinth of secrets and intersecting mysteries, THE CHATEAU is a mesmerizing story of betrayal and revenge."
"A gloriously twisty and compulsive whodunit that I ripped through at warp speed. Felt just like I was curling up with a classic Christie! Stylish, smart, sinister, and completely unputdownable. I will follow Goldis anywhere she takes me."
2024-03-23
Goldis’ metamystery takes inspiration from one of Agatha Christie’s most famous stories.
In The Chateau (2023), Goldis lured readers into a locked-room murder mystery, a favorite Christie plot device, setting the tale in Provence. Her latest twisty tale of deception takes place, in part, aboard the newly restored Orient Express, and it’s as much a colorful travelogue as a tale of suspense. Rory Aronov is ensconced in the luxury train’s most expensive compartment courtesy of the reclusive bestselling author Ginevra Ex. But three days before Rory boards the train, we witness Ginevra hovering over a dead body. It’s a cinematic and bloody scene that immediately pulls the reader in. The trip, along the west coast of Italy, is a thank-you gift from Ginevra because Rory was the inspiration for the author’s most recent novel. Ginevra has written many books; each time, she buys a real person’s backstory, fictionalizes it, and molds it into a bestseller. So why, then, is Rory’s brother, Max, on the train, as well as her former fiance, Nate, and her friend Caroline? And why have copies of Ginevra’s new book been stolen before Rory and her companions can read them? Is someone toying with them? Narrating the book in alternating chapters, Goldis’ travelers are provocatively unreliable, and the sense of uncertainty they bring to the story laces it with foreboding and danger. The purple-haired Ginevra is equally unreliable, and as her backstory unfolds, we realize she may be connected to Rory and company; the only question is how. Goldis unceasingly pits her characters against each other, just as Ginevra does in her novel, and the parallels between Ginevra’s novel and Goldis’ build delicious tension and drama.
Grab your suitcase and board the Orient Express for a trip you won’t soon forget.