Who Killed Bianca? by Emma Darcy is a mystery that riffs on the locked room mystery concept. The book won the 2002 Ned Kelly Award for best new novel.

K.C. Gordon is a romance novelists who likes to travel to recharge her batteries, see new places and meet new people. Travel provides inspiration for her stories and she wants to set her next book in the Australian outback so decides to join a trip from Sydney to Alice Springs on The Ghan. K.C. is joined by a host of privileged passengers, and Bianca Bernini, a gossip columnist who’s motive is to out a few secrets of some of the other passengers.

Bianca Bernini had only 36 hours left to live. She didn’t know it. No one knew it at this point in time. Her death hadn’t been planned, yet.

The story’s characters include the quintessential wealthy sisters, a French ex-nun, a gay couple, and a handsome cad with a naive neurotic wife and her supposed best friend. Each of these main characters have some kind of hidden connection to one another and they want to keep secret.

The wealthy do not like their indiscretions being exposed and soon after Bianca starts to reveal them she is killed and thrown off the train. While no one particularly misses Bianca, K.C. soon finds herself trying to unravel the mystery and flush out the murderer.

Who Killed Bianca? is a rollicking multi-point-of-view tale of deceit, betrayal and death, and it’s a quick read.