With a Vengeance is one hell of a train ride, literally and figuratively. This book, set in the glitzy, cigarette-smoke-hazed 1950s, is a locked-room mystery aboard a luxury train, and it’s got more twists than my attempt to parallel park. 

A swanky overnight train, a cast of morally dubious passengers, and a murder that screams “someone’s got an axe to grind”? Yes, please. Sager’s got a knack for setting the scene, and this train—plush velvet seats, clinking champagne glasses, and that faint whiff of betrayal—feels like you’re trapped in an Agatha Christie fever dream, but with better cocktails. 

The characters are a mixed bag of deliciously flawed humans. Our protagonist, a woman with a past shadier than anyone's uncle’s “business deals,” is equal parts cunning and paranoid, which I respect. Anna's trying to piece together who’s bumping folks off while wondering if she’s next on the hit list. The supporting cast? Think Knives Out on rails.  Sager keeps you guessing, and I was flipping pages like I was auditioning for Speed Reader: The Movie.

The pacing starts like a leisurely scenic tour, then slams you into high gear around chapter five. I was so engrossed during my lunch break that I forgot my sandwich in the office fridge, and now it’s probably plotting its own vengeance. The mystery unravels with just enough clues to make you feel smart, but not so many that you’re solving it by page 50. My only gripe—and why this isn’t five stars—is that a couple of the twists felt like Sager was showing off. Like, “Look at me, I’m the king of plot acrobatics!” One reveal in particular had me rolling my eyes so hard I saw my own brain. Still, the final act ties things up with a bow that’s satisfying, if a tad too neat for my cynical heart.

Sager’s writing is where this book shines brighter than my phone screen at 2 a.m. His prose is crisp, dripping with 1950s flair, and packed with zingers.

Growing up, my grandma was obsessed with old-school mysteries, and we’d watch Murder on the Orient Express every Thanksgiving while she muttered about “red herrings” and smoked Virginia Slims. Reading With a Vengeance felt like sneaking into her bookshelf and cracking open a dog-eared paperback. It’s not just a thriller; it’s a vibe.

So, it's a damn good time, but it’s not reinventing the wheel—or the train, I guess. The claustrophobic setting and Sager’s sly humor keep you locked in, but a few plot stretches and overly polished moments held me back from declaring it a masterpiece. If you love a stylish whodunit with a side of moral ambiguity, grab this book. Just don’t read it on a train unless you want to side-eye every passenger.

Pick it up, and let me know if you fare better than I did at spotting the killer.