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USA Today
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'With a Vengeance' by Riley Sager is a tense mystery on a train: Review
'With a Vengeance' by Riley Sager is a tense mystery on a train: Review Justice is best served cold — after a luxury overnight train ride, of course. That's the premise of "With A Vengeance" (Dutton, ★★★ out of four), the newest novel from bestselling author Riley Sager. It's is a locked-room mystery that takes us back to 1954 as a trap is being set. Anna Matheson's plan was simple, and she has put all her energy — and money — into every last detail. Get the people responsible for her family's downfall during the war onto a train where there's no escape, confront them and find out why they did what they did and then deliver them right to authorities waiting at the train's destination. But her meticulous plans are, well, derailed shortly after the train departs Philadelphia. Anna has managed, through anonymous invitations (and mild threats), to lure the six people who were behind destroying her family onto the luxe, and suspiciously empty, Phoenix train for a nonstop overnight ride bound for Chicago. More: USA TODAY's best-selling booklist She's prepared for this moment, prepared to face them all with what she's uncovered about their crimes, but she's unprepared for what comes after. Anna might want justice, but someone on the train apparently wants them dead and is killing Anna's captives, one by one. Now, she is in a literal race against the clock to not only figure out who's behind the murders, but also help protect the people she despises so they can be alive to face the justice they deserve. Sager's novel, which takes readers through each of the 13 hours from the train's departure to its arrival, brings easy comparisons to Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" and "And Then There Were None." But there's also familiarity from Sager's previous novels: the panicky main character making messy moves, hints of romance past and present, uncovered family secrets and many twists. The journey through "Vengeance" almost loses its way along the tracks setting up some of those twists. Like real train trips, initial excitement can wane as the adventure gets underway and you settle in for the ride. Will it remain fun, or will the repetition rock you to sleep? There's plenty, though, to capture a reader's interest along the way. The tension between the characters, the tightness of the quarters on the train are visceral and sharp. You might not understand why Anna makes some of her choices, but you can understand her grief for the loss of her family and her desperation for closure and justice. That along with the story's short timeframe factor add to the urge to find out what happens next as the mystery deepens and the action escalates. More: Celebrate Pride Month with one of these 10 new books, from romance to nonfiction And Anna is surrounded by characters with more interesting backstories than her own: Her Aunt Retta, glimpsed through flashbacks, who had little patience for weakness, or her late beloved brother, Tommy, the kind and charming youth who joined the military and the war effort both seem worthy of novels of their own. "Vengeance" is not merely the final destination — the answers to whodunit or how — but the whole journey: observing the passing scenery, the setting, the passengers and seeing where the ride takes you.
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sutton's predictions v DJ & producer Sherelle
Newcastle have won five Premier League games in a row to surge into third place, but can they continue that run when they visit in-form Aston Villa on Saturday?"The race for a Champions League spot is well and truly on," said BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton."Aston Villa are right in the mix for the top five too, but the thing that stands out for me about Newcastle is that they look like they have got loads of energy."Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of week 33, he takes on DJ & producer Sherelle, who is an Arsenal debut album, With A Vengeance, is out you agree with their scores? You can make your own predictions most popular scoreline selected for each game is used in the scoreboards and tables at the bottom of this page.A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points. It has been another memorable week for Arsenal fans, with Mikel Arteta's side clinching an impressive late win at the Bernabeu to complete their comfortable Champions League quarter-final victory over holders Real Madrid."I was always really confident we would not just pull through but do really well against them," Sherelle told BBC Sport. "We'd scored the goals in the first leg so all we really had to do was keep them out. It meant it was a slower game and not as exciting, but that didn't matter."It's exciting to be in the semi-finals but there is still work to do. "Growing up as an Arsenal fan, it was always when we fell at the last hurdle to claim these bigger cups that hit me hardest. "I had to have a bit of time out and stop watching Arsenal for a while after the 2006 final against Barcelona because of the shock of how that loss happened, with everything unravelling for us in the final few minutes."We had a few years after that when we struggled a bit and I couldn't deal with what I was seeing because I was born in the 1990s and my era was the time of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires. "I was in primary school for the 'Invincibles' season when you could not really argue with how amazing Arsenal were."I'd be playing football in the playground and say I wanted Henry's spot. If someone else said, 'no I am Henry', then I would just think fine, and go and pretend to be Freddie Ljungberg. We had such an amazing team, so there were lots of players to choose from." Whatever happens in the semi-final against Paris St-Germain, or the final in Munich should the Gunners get there, Sherelle feels Mikel Arteta's team have a bright future."I saw us do such incredible things when I was growing up so it was hard to see our level come down so much, although I am very happy to have seen it go back up again," she added."Look, it would be really nice to win the Premier League again at some point, but people have to remember that we are still finishing high up the table - we've been second for the past couple of years - which was not the case for a few seasons."I am very happy with where we are at the moment, and I can see big things on the horizon. If we do win the Champions League, it could be the start of something very special, but if we don't then this team is not going Sutton and Sherelle were speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan. Premier League predictions Saturday, 19 April Gtech Community Stadium, 15:00 BSTBrighton have had a bit of a dip in form and started conceding a few goals, so their hopes of breaking into the top five are probably gone so, the 10th-placed Seagulls are one of those teams where just when you think about writing them off, they will come up with a performance and wallop someone.I don't expect that to happen on Saturday, however. Brentford are only one place below them in the table and although they are not on a great run either, the Bees are always hard to more I think about it, the more it smells of a draw. I am pretty sure the BBC readers are going to go for a draw too, so we all agree on this prediction: 1-1Sherelle's prediction: It was annoying to draw with Brentford last week but they are always a tricky team to play against. In regards to this game I have a feeling it might turn out to be a bit of a snore-fest because they will cancel each other out. 1-1 Selhurst Park, 15:00 BSTI was at St James' Park on Wednesday and Newcastle were brilliant in their 5-0 win over Crystal Palace, especially on the Eagles should really have levelled after going 1-0 down, but Eberechi Eze made a mess of his penalty and the game was over by has been a bad week for Palace, who also conceded five goals against Manchester City on Saturday, and how can I back them after they have shipped 10 goals in two games?I am not exactly convinced by Bournemouth either, though. They ended a poor run by beating Fulham on Monday but they have looked a little tired of late, and don't have as much firepower as Newcastle or Manchester concern about Palace is how passive they looked against the Magpies. They need a response to that poor performance, and I think we might get one from them at Selhurst Park. Surely Eze can't play as badly prediction: 1-1Sherelle's prediction: I've got a friend who is a Palace fan so I was enjoying their good run, well until this week anyhow. Bournemouth won at Selhurst Park last season but I am going for Palace to bounce back here. 2-1 Goodison Park, 15:00 BSTI am at this game for Radio 5 Live and am looking forward to it. It is so hard to call, because of where both teams are will work hard, of course, but they are also very capable of winning this if they are as 'in your face' as they can be, and upset City's Pep Guardiola's side play like they did against Nottingham Forest a few weeks ago, and don't really get going, then they are going to get turned the other hand, City really caught fire after almost going 3-0 down against Palace last week. If they play like that, they will win - but you are never quite sure what you are going to get from them in each half at the moment, let alone game to it is hard to know how the game will pan out. Everton will not be overly expansive or bothered about possession and will pick their moments when they throw Abdoulaye Doucoure forward. They will be direct and Beto will run in behind, and I definitely see them scoring, but I am still going with City to edge this, somehow. They have to, really, because they are under pressure to make the top five.I held the record for the fastest goal scored at Goodison in its 132-year history until Doucoure scored after 10.18 seconds against Leicester in February, beating my effort for Blackburn after 12.94 seconds in still the fastest goal scored there by an away player, though, so hopefully no-one manages a quicker one before the end of the season - especially when I am there to talk about it as prediction: 1-2Sherelle's prediction: Everton are quite annoying in that they are difficult to break down. I actually think they will score first, but City are on a relatively good run and they have shown recently they can respond if they go behind. 1-3 London Stadium, 15:00 BSTSpeaking of records, already-relegated Southampton are still trying to avoid taking one away from Robbie Savage's Derby for the lowest Premier League points need a point from their final six games to make it to 11 points and equal the Rams' total from 2007-08, but they are not going to get it Ham are not in any danger of going down but they will still certainly not want to finish 17th, which is where they are right were decent against Liverpool last time out, and still lost, but they won't have to play as well as they did at Anfield to take three points this boss Graham Potter could really do with a win, because their fans will want to finish a forgettable season with a bit of optimism, and they should have something to smile about on for the loyal and long-suffering Southampton fans, well I've said before how miserable this season has been for them. I think I'd have switched to supporting Bournemouth, Brighton or even Portsmouth by serious, I've got a lot of admiration for the travelling fans that have stuck with them through this, and I guess the consolation here is that they won't have a long journey back from London to the south prediction: 2-0Sherelle's prediction: This might be another snooze-fest, because both teams have nothing to play for. 0-0 Villa Park, 17:30 BSTNewcastle are the Premier League's momentum monsters, especially since winning the Carabao Cup, but their excellent form goes back further than Aston Villa are also in great shape, on a run of four successive league wins, and although they lost the tie overall, they were sensational in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris comeback on the night, to win 3-2 after falling 2-0 down, took me by surprise but they really showed what they are made of. I think PSG will win this season's Champions League, but Villa pushed them all the is going to be a cracking game, and also a feisty one with what is at stake in the top-five race. Who or what decides it might come down to fine margins, and who makes the most of their chances, because both teams are going to get will score, whoever they play up top, although maybe they should take Marco Asensio off penalties. He missed two spot-kicks last weekend against Southampton after I told everyone to watch out for him on the Fantasy 606 pod, which sums up my FPL season and predicting ability in one fell could make an argument for both teams here, but I am going with Newcastle, because of how good they were when I watched them at St James' Park on Wednesday to beat Palace Barnes was electric, just unbelievably good down the left, and the same goes for Jacob Murphy on the other flank - his opening goal was absolutely amazing, because who shoots from there? With those two playing the way they are, Newcastle are going to keep on prediction: 1-2Sherelle's prediction: Villa put in a really big stretch against PSG and Newcastle are in such amazing form. There will be goals in this one, and I fancy Newcastle to edge it. 2-3 Sunday, 20 April Craven Cottage, 14:00 BSTThere is something not right at Chelsea. They drew at home to Ipswich last week, for example. I laughed when I saw my guest, Yizzy, had put the Tractor Boys down to get a point but that ended up being the result that killed what boss Enzo Maresca has said since then, by asking the fans to trust him and saying the players are affected by the crowd, everyone seems to be feeling the was questioning the fans, but also his players' temperament. If you think about how many millions have been spent on that squad, then if they don't have the strength of character to play the way their manager wants, then heaven help them in the long is probably going to be another score draw but I seem to get Fulham wrong whatever I say. They deserved to get something from their defeat at Bournemouth on Monday, and I am going with them to get a repeat of their win at Stamford Bridge in prediction: 2-1Sherelle's prediction: Chelsea should win this one but they are so inconsistent. I find it fascinating, to be honest, because they have got so many good players. 1-0 Portman Road, 14:00 BSTArsenal will be on such a high after their Champions League win over Real Madrid.I am covering this game and while Arteta will probably rest a few players and freshen things up, the Gunners will still have too much nous for probably summed up Ipswich's season that they went 2-0 up against Chelsea last time out and could not see out the win, but they deserve credit for giving it a good were pretty stubborn when they lost 1-0 at Emirates Stadium in December and I am expecting them to show some resilience this time too, even if they end up with the same prediction: 0-2Sherelle's prediction: We are probably going to rest players and my gut feeling is we might actually draw this - I am not going to say that though! 0-1Sherelle on Arsenal's Premier League campaign: It's been quite humbling for us to mix beating Real with drawing with Everton and Brentford in the past couple of weeks, but I get why we have rested players in those games to prioritise that tie. This season has been really difficult in the Premier League full-stop though, partly because of the injuries we have had. It is frustrating because there is so much that is so good about us at the moment. Our defence, for example is the best in the Premier League. There is something missing, though, and maybe it is very specific like a specialist striker, or the mentality you need to get over the line. Old Trafford, 14:00 BSTWolves have already beaten Manchester United once this season and, on current form, they are favourites this time Pereira's side are flying with four straight wins, and we know how inconsistent United are.I am going to give Bruno Fernandes a goal, because he has been one of the few United players who can hold their head up high with their performances this season, but at the moment Wolves look well-balanced, and they are the better whole campaign is hanging on what happens in the Europa League tie against Lyon on Thursday but, win or lose there, I don't think what happens there changes anything about their awful Premier League form.I am sorry to say this but their fans are going to have another miserable afternoon at Old Trafford, where they have already lost more league games (seven) than they have won (six) this prediction: 1-3Sherelle's prediction: I still don't get why United are having such a bad time. They should be doing much better with the players they have got, but they are very up and down. Wolves will be confident of beating them again. 0-1 King Power Stadium, 16:30 BSTLeicester ended their long losing run with a draw at Brighton last weekend, but I'm afraid another defeat is on its way for the Foxes were as limp as anything against West Ham last time out, but they still got over the line. They could be even limper against Leicester, and they will still win to move even closer to the prediction: 0-3Sherelle's prediction: This should be easy for Liverpool and they are probably going to win but, from an Arsenal perspective, I'd love this to be a draw. 2-2 Monday, 21 April Tottenham Stadium, 20:00 BSTIf Spurs get past Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League on Thursday, then their stadium will be absolutely buzzing with relief and jubilation on the other hand, if Tottenham lose in Germany, then the atmosphere could get quite nasty and that could affect their Forest are the counter-attack kings and they have the tools to get another win like the one they got over Spurs at the City Ground in December, where they had 30% of possession but won have hit a bit of a blip of late, though, and they don't appear to be quite the same force they were a few weeks are desperate for a win to get their top-five bid back on track and Nuno Espirito Santo's would love to get it on his return to Tottenham, where he did not last long as manager, but a draw feels more likely to prediction: 1-1Sherelle's prediction: Tottenham can be a really good team but there are some sides that have a winning mentality, and Spurs just don't. 0-0 How did Sutton do last week? Chris got five correct results, with no exact scores, from the 10 games in week 32, giving him 50 the most popular scoreline from their predictions for each game, the BBC readers got four correct results with no exact scores, for a total of 40 the weekly win went to Chris's guest, rapper Yizzy. He was right when he backed Ipswich to get a surprise point at Chelsea and that proved crucial in his six correct results and no exact scores left him with 60 points and, with six rounds of fixtures left to play, the guests are now above Chris in the predictions league table with the most outright wins."This season is all about points, not wins," Sutton said. "I have won the last two seasons, and I wanted to do it differently this time, and show more consistency."There was also a rearranged game this week, Newcastle's 5-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday, which was meant to take place in week picked up 10 more points after going for a 2-1 Newcastle win, leaving him with a total of 80 points that means he ties with his guest, Divorce singer Felix, who went for a Palace win, but the weekly win stays with the BBC readers. They went for a 3-1 home victory, meaning they end up with 90 points.
