Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Published by: Pan Macmillan
Publication date: 26th March 2026

“A high-speed train. A deadly game. Three hours to save your family.”

Oh my GOD, this book does not let you pause for breath!! I know it’s going to be one of those that haunts me for a while (in the best way, I think? 😅) It is definitely the best locked-room type thriller I’ve read so buckle up. It’s claustrophobic, it’s unpredictable, it’s an anxiety-inducing nightmare. Still shocked I only discovered C.M. Ewan last year (thanks BethReadsCrime!) but I am genuinely a fan for life at this point. So thrilled to be sharing my review for Eye Spy by C.M. Ewan!

About the book

Waiting for the Eurostar in Paris, Mark’s four-year-old daughter alerts him to a ‘Bad Man’ during a game of ‘Eye Spy’.

Things only get worse when Mark notices that the man is on their train with a suspicious-looking suitcase, and he’s sitting ominously close.

With secrets unravelling from the past, can Mark piece together the jigsaw of his life in order to save his family?

Or will their journey come to a fatal end?

The beginning

I knew I’d love this book anyway, but there was so much at the start that I thought was flawlessly done. The introduction to Mark and his family was brilliant; not only do we learn of a horrific hotel bombing which killed his parents, but six years later, we see how this experience affects him and his life. We’re instantly placed in a busy Eurostar security hall, Mark’s anxiety ticking away as he, his young daughter, Molly, and teenage step-daughter, Freya, pass through the x-ray scanners before heading home from a trip to Paris. I loved getting to know these characters, how he met his wife, Claire, who unfortunately couldn’t make the trip. Yet there was one moment that really stuck in my head, something which made this opening really memorable. During a game of Eye Spy, Molly spies a ‘Bad Man’, and there was something so chilling about this moment that I couldn’t stop thinking of how significant it could be, just who this man was and why Molly had had the outburst, something so unlike her. I had a feeling we’d be meeting this mysterious guy again, very soon…

“Safe. That’s an interesting concept. Because, really, when are we ever? Even in the most ordinary of situations there are places where danger can lurk.”

It seemed there was much more to Mark’s wife than what appeared on the surface. As we’re given snippets of Claire’s perspective, it’s clear she was lying about work being the reason she couldn’t join them on their trip, and I was very curious about the man she was with… There was so much secrecy and I loved how this was explored. There are also sections showing Mark’s flashbacks from the time of his parents’ deaths, and this combined with his everyday thoughts, his worries, his anxieties, really made him come to life. I felt the heartbreak, the trauma, the grief; it was so powerful and felt like a punch in the gut at times. Already, this book was such a tense read in so many ways, especially as the Bad Man returns, this time sitting close to Mark on the train. He has a bad feeling, and so did I. What had Molly seen previously for her to publicly out him as a ‘Bad Man’? My god, I already knew by this point that this was one of the most intense, immersive books I’ve read. My stomach was in knots alongside Mark on this anxiety-inducing train ride as he tries to suss out the Bad Man…

The middle

Mark goes back and forth in his mind. Was he right to be suspicious of this guy, or was his anxiety taking things too far again? I really loved how the author portrays Mark’s thoughts and feelings. It was so realistic, and seeing this anxiety take hold of him and his every move was fascinating to experience. We start to learn some disturbing information; Molly has seen this man before… at their house. And not only that, but Freya disappears somewhere on the train. With instructions to do exactly as the Bad Man tells him or Freya will die, Mark’s world completely crumbles. His role as a father was to keep his children safe. Now one of them was missing, and his wife wasn’t where she was meant to be, also in so much danger. Feelings of helplessness, fear and dread swirl together making this plot almost unbearable, yet so addictive. I already had so many questions about what Mark’s wife was caught up in and if Freya’s biological father played a part in all this. I wanted to know the real reason why Claire refused to speak about him. Was he dangerous?

“The man was still staring out of the window as we emerged into the blazing sunshine again. That hadn’t changed. But in the pulse of darkness, I’d seen his reflection clearly, and an ice-cold hand had reached inside my chest, taken hold of my heart and squeezed. Because his eyes had been fixed on me.”

The ‘time to destination‘ countdown at regular intervals felt like everything was unravelling in real time, giving the book a real sense of urgency, an intense need to continue reading at all times! And with each minute Mark spent on this train, his suspicion of everyone just got stronger; how could he trust any of these people with what he’d experienced so far? I just knew I’d feel exactly the same, not knowing who you can trust. There were multiple references to the Helsinki bombing that killed his parents, as well as other POVs from characters who weren’t on this train. I loved learning the bigger picture and I was desperate to know how everything and everyone linked together. There’s a really interesting reveal here showing us just how much his parents’ deaths still torment him. How he’d gone down a rabbit hole for the truth. This all unravelled so cleverly and I was finally able to make connections, understand why Mark and his family could have been targeted in this way. There’s obsession, control, an all-consuming feeling of needing the truth, getting justice. It was brilliant.

The end

Questioning every decision he makes, Mark has to obey the wishes of whoever these people were on the train. Otherwise, the consequences would be too traumatic to bear. Protecting his family seemed, at one time, to be the most natural thing in the world. Now, he was uncertain he could. As there were mere minutes left before their arrival into London, I shared Mark’s nerves. What would happen then? Multiple realisations hit me here and oh my god I was gobsmacked. Such brilliant, shocking twists that would change everything! The things we learn were not only horrific but also painful in a way, especially for Mark. The pacing was fast here and I loved it – I had to keep telling myself to take a breath! I loved the back and forth chapters, learning more about the Helsinki hotel bombing and how things had led to this very moment six years later. The tension as we were on the train was a lot, but off the train… it was a whole other level entirely. It felt as though the stuff of nightmares was playing out. I am a very anxious person in busy places like St Pancras, so this was terrifying for me 😅

“Maybe what I’d really done was ask too many questions. Maybe I’d upset the wrong people. Maybe I’d brought danger to my door.”

The twists didn’t stop coming, even after the blow we’d just had. The ending chapters were so emotionally charged and anxiety inducing that I completely flew through them! There were moments where I accepted that the worst was going to happen, then I was flooded with relief when it didn’t. There was a wild back and forth with this that was so masterfully written, the kind of scenes everyone needs to experience, something that will probably stay with me for a very long time! There was so much packed into that ending, so many of my questions answered. It was thorough and nicely wrapped up, and even after I finished the last page of the epilogue, I found myself thinking about where all these characters go from here, how their lives would look after the trauma they’d experienced. It’s been such a long time since I’ve been able to really get lost in a book while placing myself bang in the middle of it all, and it was so bloody well written. If you want to feel completely immersed, if you want to feel sick with the intensity and risk of such a fantastic plot, this is for you, 100% 😂

Overall thoughts

Eye Spy is one of those books that, once you start, you won’t be able to think about anything else. You’ll start dreaming about it (yes, I had a dream I was stuck on a train and couldn’t get off!) and you will be utterly traumatised by everything Mark has to go through. If you can hack that, then this is absolutely one for you. Mark, his daughter and his step-daughter are on their way home from a short trip to Paris. In the Eurostar security hall, his youngest, Molly spies a ‘Bad Man’ in a game of Eye Spy. If this wasn’t chilling enough, we meet the man again once on the train. And what plays out is a two-and-a-half-hour train journey of panic, of fear, of dread. A complete bloody nightmare. We know a devastating hotel bombing took the lives of his parents six years ago, and what unfolds is a complex whirlwind of uncovering the truth and how it all links to the present day. It is exceptionally well done.

This book is almost unbearable in its tension, it’s brilliantly immersive and will have you reading and reading and reading. I loved the characters, and their actions on and off the train at different points in time worked brilliantly in giving us the whole picture. This one is a must read for crime/thriller fans. It’s going to be big, I can feel it! I look forward to being riddled with panic in whatever comes next from Chris! 😂

Huge thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the ARC! You can order your own copy of Eye Spy right now on Amazon or wherever you buy your books. Make sure you’re following C.M. Ewan on Instagram for more updates!

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