A Night on the Orient Express

This is the first Veronica Henry book I've read and I was drawn to it, I imagine like many readers, by it's glorious setting - the romantic, classic and glamorous Orient Express. Set on board the train's famous journey from London to Paris it was beautifully atmospheric and a wonderful setting for a novel.

The setting for the book was not it's only charm however, this novel followed a number of different stories. Emmie & Archie who have won their trip courtesy of a matchmaking website competition, Sylvie & Riley who have been lovers for years but are reaching their twilight years and long for stability, the blended family with two troubled teens and Imogen who is travelling to Venice to collect a painting on behalf of her grandmother Adele from a mysterious friend Jack. The way in which their stories intertwine are beautiful. We bob backwards and forwards between present day and Adele's past looking into each story intertwined.

Occasionally in books like this where authors try to pack in lots of intertwined stories you can sometimes feel you are granted only snapshots or that some characters are given less time. Henry though does a remarkable job of ensuring each story is defined in it's own right and that each is concluded. It is an extremely well written story, it evokes real atmosphere of travelling on board the world famous train and of it's destination Venice. It made me yearn for the chance to one day experience this famous journey and the Hotel Ciprianni.

I would love to spend more time reading Veronica Henry if all her books are of this calibre.