From the minute I saw this book I literally delved straight in. I knew it was right up my street and my god this book did not disappoint.
It is absolutely frightening and I found my heart was pounding so many times and I absolutely dreaded what was going to happen next. It definitely keeps you gripped and the suspense is insane. You just dont know if they are all going to escape the underground alive or not.
This book is outstanding and I have recommended it to so many people already.

A real who done it on a train.
A group of people find themselves stuck in the underground, the power goes off and then the murders start.
This is something totally different and i found myself racing through and literally on the edge of my seat!
Great storyline, cleverly written.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

I was immediately hooked from the moment I opened my kindle. It was suspenseful and thoroughly entertaining!

This book was wild read and I enjoyed every second I was reading it; it was full of twists and amazing turns that will have you guessing till the very end!

I’d highly recommend this book it’s definitely a must read for 2025! If you don’t read it you are missing out!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟stars

When Jess, on a train in the London underground, finds herself with the train stopping abruptly she discovers the driver has been killed.

As a former Detective she has to use her skills to disocver what has happened and find the killer.

This is a clustraphobic read and the reality of it is quite scary. I found myself holding my breath at times.

It is a pacy and gripping read, the drama unfolds quickly and I got hooked right away.

I will be looking for more from this author..she's brilliant at her storytelling..

This is a new author for me, and I must say, I do love books set around trains. This one takes place on the London Underground. While traveling home late one night, Jess, a former Police Detective Inspector, finds her tube train comes to an abrupt stop between stations when the power cuts out. With only a handful of passengers left on the train, they are plunged into darkness until the emergency lighting kicks in. When Jess goes to speak with the driver to find out what's happening, she discovers he's been brutally murdered.

This was an incredibly enjoyable, albeit nerve-wracking, read! With only a few characters, it's easy to keep track of everyone, but you need to stay sharp to figure out who might be lying and who the murderer could be. I really liked Jess's character. Although she's no longer on the police force, she still exudes an air of authority. In a similar situation, I would definitely want someone like her to take charge. The other characters all seem to have secrets, and as the story unfolds, you get to learn more about each of them.

I really enjoyed the premise of a tube train halting in a tunnel, even though it made me feel slightly claustrophobic! The tension and suspense throughout the book kept me on the edge of my seat. The idea of being stranded in the dark with no air or light seemed like the least of their worries when there's clearly a killer among them. The "whodunnit" plot was executed very well, and I had no clue who the murderer was until the reveal—I suspected every character at some point!

The storyline was well-thought-out with a good pace, and it will certainly keep you guessing until the end. Highly recommended!

Wow! My head was completely spinning with this
I absolutely loved it
So many secrets and lies ex Di Jess has a hell of a time stuck underground with a dead body and 7 suspects
Literally the twists just kept coming
I was on edge the whole book
Definitely worth a read an fantastic unique mystery thriller which keeps you on your toes
Amazing characters I’m hoping Jess will get her own crime series

Front the synopsis of this book I was eager to read it and on being granted an ARC, I quickly moved it up the TBR pile. I certainly was not disappointed with this novel. It all takes place on a stranded tube train in central London. From the beginning, you are thrown straight into the action and the tension builds as the clock ticks painfully slowly by and darkness descends into the train carriage. A well thought out plot that will keep you intrigued and entertained to the very end. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

Stephanie Steele's/Steel's [conflicting spellings on the cover on NetGalley and Goodreads] The Train From Platform 2 is a classic locked-room thriller with a twist; it's set on one carriage of a tube train. The passengers find themselves stranded in a dark tunnel on the Bakerloo line after the train breaks down, and even worse, they soon discover that the driver has been murdered. Jess, a former DI, is determined to use her skills to get to the bottom of the mystery, but she has to tread carefully, as she knows the killer must be among them. I've read many, many thrillers with this 'killer is one of a small group of people in a confined setting' premise, but I thought The Train From Platform 2 worked better than most. First, if you're going to go locked-room, I think it should be as small a room as possible, and I liked how the cramped confines of the carriage helped Jess to figure out the logistics of what was going on. Second, Steele does a good job of developing her cast as individuals, and manages to avoid broad stereotype; while dropping convincing red herrings, she also doesn't sacrifice realism for the sake of a twist ending, and I really appreciated that there were no false conclusions. Jess is a pretty sensible protagonist who I appreciated as our lead, and the book is nicely paced. My only hesitation is the decision to let all the characters narrate except one; keeping this vague to avoid spoilers, but given what happens in the end, this felt like an even more inexplicable choice. But I'd wholeheartedly recommend this to thriller fans, and would read more by Steele.

With many thanks to Netgalley and Avon books for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.
This is an excellent debut that kept me totally captivated and became an addictive read. Stephanie Steel wonderfully portrays the claustrophobic atmosphere as an array of interesting characters are trapped on the underground with a dead tube driver. A perfectly executed ‘locked room mystery’ will keep you guessing until the very end. Once the suspect has been revealed it does very slightly taper off but this is still a very good read 4.5⭐️

I was hooked from the first page and was engaged with the thriller element going on through this. It had that feel that I was hoping for and enjoyed the use of the train. The character development has that element that I was looking for and enjoyed. I was glad I was able to read this. I enjoyed the suspenseful atmosphere and was hooked from the first page.

What a fab read this was!

After reading plenty of thrillers I can definitely say I've never read one based on the tube before and really enjoyed the concept.

Thai was twisty and turny and had some great moments of intrigue.

I also really liked the main character and would enjoy reading more involving her in the future!

This didn't quite hit 5 stars for me purely due to the fact I think it could have been 30-40 pages longer just to build the suspense a little more but overall this was a really great, quick paced read and I'd definitely read more by this author in the future!

Great story , really enjoyed the mystery of who was the killer. I found myself second guessing all the characters and what they could be up to!
My only slight annoyance (although enough that it has stuck with me beyond reading!!) is that it was never explained why the passengers didn’t go beyond the second carriage- where there were no doubt more people!
I actually couldn’t put this book down and kept carving out 10 minutes to read it!

The Train from Platform 2 by Stephanie Steel delivers a gripping psychological thriller. The story follows former Detective Inspector Jess as she navigates the eerie and claustrophobic setting of the London Underground, where an ordinary commute devolves into a nightmare.

The story dives into the tense atmosphere of the stalled train and sets the stage for a exciting and scary narrative. Jess is a well-developed protagonist. The discovery of the driver’s lifeless body adds a chilling twist, and Jess races against time to identify the killer lurking among the trapped commuters.

The pacing was a bit slow in parts but it was interesting as Jess encounters the other passengers, each with their own secrets and motives.

Overall, The Train from Platform 2 is a well-crafted thriller. It's a good read for fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries.

#NetGalley

This was as fast paced as the tube would have been had it not been broken! I loved it. A modern day whodunnit in a modern day setting, with a number of modern day topics of discussion that were handled well. Lots of red herrings as each of the characters had their own agendas. And a nicely rounded ending.

Thanks so much to the author, netgalley, and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

being stuck underground is my biggest fear of using the underground (followed in quick succession by the steep escalators that go on forever!) and this book takes that feeling and amplifies in a thousand-fold!
Claustrophobic, creepy and unnerving with a host of suspicious characters and the ever pervading darkness- read it in daylight (and not on the tube!)

This is a solid thriller. It was fast paced which it needed to be as 90% of the book takes place in a single train car.

Jess is coming home from a girls night out when the train stops and the lights go out. That is not the only problem. Someone on the train with them is a murderer.

This was fast paced and I did not guess the killer or the motive through out the entire book. The author made it seem like every person had a motive to keep you guessing. I really enjoyed this book and want to keep going.

Genre: Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 320
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

Thank you Avon Books for providing me a free copy of The Train from Platform 2 for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC of this novel.

I was very keen to read this, a variation on locked room vibe I hadn’t come across before. I enjoyed the beginning, and also the last 20%. The middle section did drag a bit, due to there not being much action while the characters in the tube train carriage talked to each other and argued. Once the doors were opened and people started to gat off the train, things livened up again.

Overall, I enjoyed the premise and the story, 4 stars from me.

The Train from Platform 2 is a good locked room type murder mystery book.
Jess, an ex detective inspector, is stuck on a broken down train with a killer on the loose. All the other passengers are suspects. She has to put her old skills to use to figure out who to trust and who not to.
It’s a good but not great book. Easy to read. Finished within a day. The characters don’t have loads of depth but were readable enough.

The Train from Platform 2 is a gripping, heart-pounding thriller that traps readers in the confined, claustrophobic darkness of the London Underground. Former Detective Inspector Jess boards a late-night train, expecting a routine ride home. But when the train screeches to a sudden halt before reaching Baker Street, plunging passengers into darkness, the journey takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

Jess stumbles upon the driver’s lifeless body in the cabin, his neck marked by fresh stab wounds. With no way in or out of the train and no explanation for the murder, it becomes chillingly clear—the killer is among the passengers.

As fear grips the carriage, Jess must confront the horrifying reality of being trapped with a murderer. Each passenger is a suspect, and with time running out, the tension escalates into a deadly race against the unknown killer.

Stephanie Steel crafts an atmosphere of relentless suspense, where the claustrophobic setting intensifies the terror. The pacing is electric, keeping you on edge as the mystery unfolds. The dread is palpable, and the stakes are terrifyingly real—will anyone make it out alive?

The Train from Platform 2 is a nail-biting, addictive read that will keep you guessing until the final page. Perfect for fans of high-stakes thrillers with unrelenting tension, this is one ride you won’t forget.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

#TheTrainFromPlatform2 #NetGalley
Stephanie Steel’s The Train from Platform 2 is a tightly-wound, edge-of-your-seat thriller that turns a simple London Underground journey into a nightmarish fight for survival. With a chillingly claustrophobic setting and a protagonist driven by a relentless need for justice, this book grips you from the first page and doesn’t let go. The book explores themes of survival, trust, and the weight of past trauma. It also delves into the concept of justice and what it means to seek the truth in the most dire circumstances. The Train from Platform 2 is a gripping thriller that keeps you on edge from start to finish. Stephanie Steel’s ability to weave tension, mystery, and danger into the confined setting of a London Underground train is nothing short of remarkable. With a strong lead and a chilling premise, this is a must-read for fans of fast-paced, high-stakes suspense. A brilliantly crafted, heart-pounding thriller that will make you think twice about your next commute.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for giving me an advance copy.

A really strange one this. I started reading it and found it an ok read, but a few pages on, I thought about calling it a day. However, I wanted to know how it was going to work out, so stuck with it. I also wanted to see how a whole book could be given over to one tube carriage.
It kept me interested until the end though.
Having said that, I don’t think I have ever been on the tube when everyone has been in one carriage!

The Train from Platform 2 by Stephanie Steel is a highly recommended locked-room mystery set in London on an incapacitated underground tube train.

Former Detective Inspector Jessica (Jess) Hirsch is stuck on the London Underground train after the power goes out along with the lights leaving the train incapacitated and in darkness. Jess takes charge and goes to see what is happening with the driver. It is then she finds him dead, stabbed, and the wires cut in the cabin. The car behind them is empty of passengers, so Jess knows that one of the people she's with in their car is a killer and her investigative experience kicks in. Stuck with her are teenagers Chloe and Liam, tough Carling drinker Scott, exhausted business man Saul, anxious red-head Amelia , uni-student protestor Isa, and American influencer Jenna.

This is a classic, deliberate locked-room mystery with a small cast of characters and almost everyone of them is a suspect to some degree or another right up to the end. Don't expect a fast-paced thriller, but do expect the tension to rise gradually as they all know one of them is a killer. When the emergency lights go out and they are relying on cell phone lights, for those who still have power, the atmosphere closes in and becomes more claustrophobic.

Jess is a great character and her investigative instincts are strong. As Jess questions her fellow passengers, she can tell that several are lying or holding something back. The narrative unfolds through the point-of-view of all the characters, with the exception of Liam.

The Train from Platform 2 is a well-plotted, well executed locked room mystery. Thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

This is a gripping, heart-pounding thriller which I really enjoyed... I am not much of a thriller reader but I couldn't put this book now. The former Detective Jess gets a late-night train, expecting to get home, however it came to an halt where the passengers were in complete darkness!

I love this kind of misteries, even when most of it happens inside a train.It was full of suspense and tension, it kept me guessing all the time. I'm going to read more books from Stephanie Steel for sure.

The cover of The Train from Platform 2 is deliciously ominous, hinting at the dark atmosphere on the London Underground which has screeched to a halt late at night. Tired commuters are understandably confused and uneasy. I could practically hear their minds clanking. Each character is unique and a potential killer; some looked the part, others did not. Former DI Jess is amongst them. She quickly assesses the situation and takes charge. She discovers the driver has been stabbed...did the killer escape or was it one of them? Was the tube stoppage an accident? As she questions, other dangers loom. It's dark and there are live tracks. Not to mention motives.

The closed circle setting grabbed me around the throat and the suspicious characters with nowhere to go added to the tension. Sure, some bits were unbelievable but I continued to simply get lost in the claustrophobic story. I really enjoyed the writing, too.

My sincere thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this engrossing novel.

You’re trapped underground. There’s no way out. And there’s a killer on the loose…
‘Full of twists and amazing turns that will have you guessing till the very end!! Great read!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one!! This book had great suspense, murder, great mystery, intriguing, a fantastic who done it that definitely has you guessing till the end! And! Some wild twists and turns! The story was very interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I am not overly keen on "one room" thrillers and if I had realised this was that type of book I probably wouldn't have read it. Saying that I didn't guess the killer and they're was alot to keep you guessing and second guessing in the plot. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

I found this book fantastic! It was a brilliant crime thriller set in the London Underground. It has the right amount of suspense, with little bits of back story that had me suspecting everybody on board the train, some more than others and but the end, when the killer was revealed, I was wrong & the motives were not as clear as I'd thought when pointing the finger at other members stuck underground. It was a little slow to start, but once it got into it, it was brilliant.
Fantastic read!

I am a thriller girl at heart. When I say this book hasn’t left my mind I mean it. Even when I woke up at 3am 🤪

This story follows Jess a ex police DI and a group of other people who are on a train home from London. Who don’t know each other. The power goes out and the train comes to a stop. Once the train lights come back on the driver is discovered dead but who did it? (I won’t share anymore as don’t want to be a spoiler!)

This was a fast paced book, with multiple characters pov which kept me so engaged. I couldn’t put it down. I just had to know what would happen next. I love how the group of characters were all relatable and it felt like such a real situation!

Definitely go add this to your TBR!!

I am grateful to Stephanie Steel, Avon Books UK, and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of this title. Read on readers for my review.

Stephanie Steel was not messing about when she launched into this novel. The book starts on the train platform awaiting the last train home. As the cover and the blurb will have you believe, after a few stops (a mere few pages in), we have a halted train, an eclectic group of strangers in a carriage, and we are plunged into pitched darkness. As time elapses but movement remains stifled, DI Jess goes in search for answers only to find a dead driver. With no one between the driver and her carriage, the killer must be amongst them. But who took advantage of the darkness and snuck two carriages down, and back, without being seen? In this who-dunnit mystery, it’s every man (and woman) for themselves as they try to deduce who amongst them is the danger before they fall prey to a grizzly end.

I am not usually one to pick a cozy mystery set in a confined space but knowing there was a main cast of six and that they are all together had me intrigued. How on earth is Steel going to neatly sew up this plot? And what breadcrumbs is she going to throw me to follow?

I got into this book from the start. Living in London and knowing exactly where they are and being able to envision the platform, the carriage, down to those seats that are placed way too close for a rush hour commute, as well as being able to see each and every one of the motley crew in my mind’s eye helped. I was immediately sucked into the book and living the nightmare with the characters and as such, I just wanted to keep the pages turning and get the hell off that train before I was sliced and diced, left to take my final breath of polluted air (that leaves you with a sooty nose) on a stinking tube train.

I loved the description of the various characters on the train. There is the lonely student that has been abandoned by friends, the loved-up couple, the drunkard illegally sipping at his can of lager, the sensible professional, all characters that are not out of place at this time of night. This gave the book a real sense of authenticity and created such a positive relationship between the reader and the narrator. As the story progresses, the book diverts a little from the story to focus on each of the characters in turn by giving them their own mini segment within a chapter. It was a wonderful way to weave in more backstory for each of the suspects and learn a little about who they are and what made them tick. It was also a terrific way to, again, strengthen the relationship between the reader and the narrator because it becomes apparent the narrator is reporting the mystery in real time and so we are all learning what happened at the same time.

For a book that spent most of its time held captive on a train, submerged in darkness, it was a really interesting read. Aside from the couple, everyone is a stranger to the next person but when the lights go out and the knives are out, I loved witnessing the forming of bonds as they all started to align themselves with certain characters based on where they are sitting and who they have felt most comfortable talking to during the experience. It’s giving Cluedo/murder mystery hotel vibes.

All in all, I recommend this book to adults who enjoy thrillers and mysteries. The book will have you second guessing who the killer is as and when new information is revealed shedding a new light on something you thought you already had sussed out. The pace ebbs and flows in terms of the action but there is not a dull moment in the book and Steel makes fabulous use of time and space to create a novel of perfect length. I cannot wait to read what she delivers up next, but for now, this is a book to add to the top of your TBR list. I am not sure about your powers of deduction, but I felt like a lost Hansel or Gretal reading this book, i.e., someone or something came along and gobbled up the breadcrumbs destroying my trail. I was satisfied that the book did not end with my predictions and gave me an ‘aha’ moment. I did kick myself for not getting it though because the evidence is all there for you to analyze.