THE LAST CROSSING

THE LAST CROSSING A Locked-Room Whodunit On a Train By A B Tewary A Locked Room Mystery on a Train Through the Rockies Where Every Passenger Has a Motive for Murder Detective Nora Walsh wanted a holiday. What she got was twelve suspects, two bodies, and sixteen hours trapped on a luxury train with nowhere to run. When Vancouver homicide detective Nora Walsh boards the Cascade Crown for a three-day journey through the Canadian Rockies, she's desperate for peace. No cases. No bodies. Just mountains, expensive wine, and blissful silence. Then Victor Sterling is found dead in his locked compartment—multiple stab wounds, door chained from inside, window sealed shut. An impossible crime that shouldn't exist. But Victor Sterling was a monster. A corporate fraud who destroyed lives. An abuser who silenced whistleblowers. A predator who knew exactly how far he could go without consequences. And every single passenger on this train had a reason to want him dead. The Passengers Margaret Chen — Her nephew died by suicide after Victor's fraud bankrupted him. She's seventy years old and has been waiting fifteen years for justice. Dr. Sophia Alvarez — Medical ethicist who testified against Victor's clinical trials. Twelve test subjects died unnecessarily. He paid a fine and walked free. Christopher Hayes — Former colleague whose research Victor stole, destroying his career and his life. He's been fantasizing about murder for five years. Miranda Sterling — Victor's wife, trapped in an abusive marriage with an ironclad prenup. The bruises she hides tell their own story. Rowan Mitchell — Investigative journalist Victor publicly outed as transgender, destroying their career before they could expose his crimes. Jackson Turner — Environmental activist who documented Victor's illegal clearcut logging on Indigenous land. The evidence was ignored. Aisha Kone — Pharmaceutical researcher Victor threatened into silence. He showed her photos of her family's homes. She moved countries to escape him. And five others, each carrying their own devastating reason. A Detective Who Can't Look Away Nora knows she should be horrified. A brutal murder. A conspiracy that grows darker by the hour. But as she interviews each passenger, as she hears their stories of survival and suffering, she begins to understand something terrible: The legal system failed these people. Repeatedly. Deliberately. Completely. And then the locked room mystery she's trying to solve becomes something far more complex. Because the physical evidence points to the impossible— What if they all did it? The Investigation Spirals Multiple passengers heard footsteps in the corridor during the murder window. Everyone has opportunity. No one has an alibi. And the locked door that should make the crime impossible? Nora discovers it was carefully staged by someone brilliant. Then a second body appears. Christopher Hayes, dead in his compartment with a suicide note. But Nora knows it's murder—because Christopher was about to confess everything. The conspiracy is eliminating its own members. With six hours until the train reaches the station, Nora must decide: report what she knows and see eleven people prosecuted for murder, or understand that sometimes justice and law are not the same thing. What Readers Are Saying "A psychological thriller that asks impossible questions about morality, justice, and revenge. I couldn't put it down." "Murder on the Orient Express meets a character-driven drama. Every passenger feels real, flawed, and devastatingly human." "The locked room mystery is brilliant, but it's the moral complexity that haunts you long after the final page." Perfect For Fans Of: Locked room mysteries with ingenious solutions Train thrillers set in isolated, claustrophobic settings Ensemble cast mysteries where everyone has secrets Morally complex crime fiction that challenges assumptions about guilt and innocence Psychological suspense exploring the aftermath of tra