Five by Ilona Bannister review

About The Book

Book: Five
Author: Ilona Bannister
Standalone or Series: Standalone
Publisher: Juniper
Publication Date (UK): 05/05/2026

🔍Standout Read. Awarded to books I highly recommend.

My Review

As soon as I started reading Five, with its fourth-wall-breaking narrative, including lines like, “Isn’t that a convenient little delay, you’re thinking, an extra three minutes written in to assist with the plot”, I was hooked. I did wonder if it might become a little grating over the course of 304 pages, but it absolutely did not.

The book begins by duly informing us that someone will die today at the station when the train arrives. We are then introduced to five different characters/possibilities. The characters are sarcastic, flawed and human. We’re told “One of them will die despite your attachment to them… There is probably one that you’re OK with getting rid of. Of course there is. You’ve chosen your favourite.” My favourite, in case you are wondering, is Mrs Worth who is fantastic. I loved her monologues and finding out why she presents the way she does. The characterisation is simply fantastic.

Both the confined setting of the train station and the imminent arrival of the train really add to the suspense and pacing. If you’re a fan of Eye Spy, another train-set thriller, then you will love Five.

I really adored this one and devoured it in around the time it would take to travel from London to Edinburgh by rail.