Five

by Ilona Bannister

Five lives. Five stories. Four will live—one will die. Who it will be? In this slow-burn masterpiece of psychological fiction, the choice is all yours.

Have you ever tried to pass the time by imagining the lives of the strangers standing next to you? Ilona Bannister’s Five introduces readers to five seemingly random people waiting for a train. But these are not just any five people. From the beginning we know that one of them is going to die soon. Very soon. In five minutes the next train to London will arrive, killing one of them. But before this happens you will learn their stories.

None of these people are saints. Readers might fall in love with the beautiful young man who is on the verge of gambling his life away. They may pity the cantankerous old woman who has fallen to the ground yet is refusing help. Perhaps readers will look away from the child throwing a tantrum. Or judge his mother, who must surely be to blame. And some will be curiously compelled by the successful and damaged businessman orbiting them all.

These are the candidates for this morning’s misfortune. But they don’t know it. Only you know. And you, our complicit reader, will not be able to resist deciding who deserves to walk away, and who deserves only five more minutes to live.

An incredibly original novel that breaks the fourth wall and asks the reader to be judge, jury, and executioner, Five looks at some of the most complicated issues of contemporary life: motherhood, disability, addiction. Every stranger has a story. And in Ilona Bannister’s skillful hands, five people’s stories come together to create an unforgettable novel.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Adult, Contemporary

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2026

About the author

Ilona Bannister is the author of three books. Her debut novel, When I Ran Away, was long-listed for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize in 2021.

Ilona's third book, Five, will be published in May 2026.

Born and raised on Staten Island, Ilona will always be a New Yorker at heart, but she has lived and worked in the UK for almost 20 years with her husband and sons.

Reviews

[Yun · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's hard to deny that Five is conceptually interesting. But unfortunately, its execution ended up feeling more gimmicky than anything else.

We follow five characters as they converge upon the training station. In a few minutes, one of them will die. Who will it be? The omniscient narrator guides the reader along until we get to that pivotal moment and all is revealed.

Let's start with the characters. When you have a story like this with an ensemble cast, where five lives intersect and change over a brief period of time, it all comes down to the characters. And the ones in here are not really what I expected. They each come with a shtick—the narcissist, the addict, the psychopath, the child psychopath, and the one that only interacts with dead people. If that all sounds a bit over the top, well, it really was.

Instead of being well-rounded individuals with some flaws, the five people in here were all taken to the extreme. Whatever their problem is, it defines every bit of who they are. There is no subtlety, there is no humanity. And when everyone is so exaggerated, it can be hard to connect and empathize with them.

Did I care what happened to these characters? No. Was I curious who would die? Not really. Because to lose one unlikable character is pretty much the same as losing another, so it was all one big shrug for me.

The other major issue is the writing. I'm sorry to say, but I found it kind of obnoxious, especially the longer it went on. The author very much chose to lean into the omniscience of the narrator, to the point that they actually came across as an insufferable know-it-all.

Review everyone’s positions. Consider what they might do next. Consider what you know that they do not, and will not, until it happens, until the train that is headed toward them is unable to stop in time.

I understand this is trying to break the fourth wall, but result was just unappealing. Instead of showing the reader and letting us figure things out for themselves, we are told what to think and how to feel every step of the way.

Life and death happen regardless of what you think, or guess, or put in your online review, or dream of, or work for, or choose, or want. Or deserve.

Yikes! This sort of grating, repetitive, and overexplanatory prose was everywhere, breaking into pivotal scenes and dispensing platitudes like they might actually be rare nuggets of wisdom.

I get it. This was supposed to be some sort of revolutionary, never before seen style of prose and storytelling. But maybe, just maybe, there is a reason no one in the past has attempted this type of narrative. And it's because instead of coming across as compelling, it's just off-putting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
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[Emily May · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the human condition is fragile and while everyone does have a story and while we do not know what goes on behind closed doors while we are judging books by their covers, et cetera, et cetera, you have known since the beginning, since you got to this station this morning, that there are five main characters and one of them will die.

I really enjoyed this one. The blurb describes a "slow-burn masterpiece of psychological fiction", which is accurate. It definitely leans more towards psychological profile of the characters than high-octane thriller, but this suits me well.

Bannister's breaking of the fourth wall to engage with the reader was super compelling for me. I already enjoy prolepsis and the way some authors will use past tense to dangle tidbits of information. She promises us that one of the five people waiting for a train at a London platform will die— but if you could choose, who would you pick?

Then we delve deep into the lives of each person, going back to their childhoods and seeing the forces that have shaped them. I will caution that they are all unlikable in certain ways, all fuck-ups and failures, some of them worse than others. But that's an individual judgement, of course, and the author nudges us to make it: who's the worst of this bad bunch? Who deserves another chance?

At some point, while the author is developing a psychological profile of the characters, I couldn't help feeling that the psychological study was less about the characters and more about the reader. Who are we willing to forgive? What sins can a person come back from? And are we even willing to admit what we really think?

All of the character portraits held my interest— and fairly equally, which is a rarity. Even the ones I genuinely despised had fascinating stories.

[Brady Lockerby]

huh…. i need to sit and think about this one for a bit

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ★

This one was so unique, and I’m glad I read it!

In Five, five strangers wait for a train, and from the very first page, readers know that one of them will die within minutes. As their stories unfold, the novel challenges readers to examine their assumptions, sympathies, and judgments before a tragic fate is revealed.

I’m so happy this book was recommended to me by a few people on Instagram! I had heard about it before, but with the amount of thrillers already on my TBR, I didn’t fully plan on picking it up. I’m SO glad I did.

I went into it expecting something fast-paced and more traditionally thriller-like, so I was initially worried about the longer chapters and the way the book is structured. Readers are told immediately that one of the five characters they are about to meet is going to die soon. That introduction is followed by a 30-40 page chapter focused on the first of the five key characters, and this is the only chapter you get from them. That same structure continues throughout most of the book.

As someone who is used to thrillers with short chapters that alternate between characters, I was nervous because long chapters aren’t usually my favorite.

That is, until I started the first perspective and realized I was reading some of the best writing of the year.

Each character’s story gripped me in a different way, some more than others. Sonny’s chapter actually brought tears to my eyes. By the time you finish each perspective, you genuinely feel like you know the character, which is shocking considering how few pages are used to capture the key events of an entire life. I left each section either desperately hoping that character would not be the one to die, or quietly ranking them below the others.

While readers don’t get to choose the ending, learning each character’s story makes you feel like you are judging them, weighing their lives, and building your own emotional ranking as the tragedy gets closer.

One theme that stood out most to me was motherhood. Seeing the mothers connected to each character, or the characters as parents themselves, showed how deeply they cared for their children and how life’s circumstances shaped the different ways that love was expressed.

I also LOVED the narrative style. From the beginning, the narrator knows more than the reader and speaks directly to you as you read. You learn what is happening in the moment, but also get glimpses and summaries of what the future holds for certain people after specific actions. It was such a cool and effective choice.

What stopped this from being a full five-star read for me is that the structure also had a few drawbacks. Since each character only gets one dedicated chapter, it can be easy to forget certain details by the end if you don’t read quickly enough, which slightly lessens the emotional impact of what you know is coming.

While I enjoyed each character’s story, there were moments in most of them where I felt ready to move on to the next perspective, though never enough to lose interest.

I think it’s important to go into this one knowing it is more of a literary thriller than an action-packed one.

I would strongly recommend Five to anyone who loves character-driven thrillers that really make you think.

—

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[Saray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five gets a four from me. A short read of a unique concept, that starts off with an unseen narrator discussing to the reader that one of five strangers is about to die from the oncoming train. We dive into the characters' lives to understand who they are and what interactions and choices have led them to that station. The story is structured with an intense countdown, as the reader tries to guess which character will meet their demise on the platform. Every page has you second-guessing who it is, and who deserves to die and who deserves to live, leaving you questioning your own morals.

The story is filled with sarcastic, dark-humored comments from the narrators that give Five a lot of life. With every unraveling background story of each character, it's troubling how unlikeable they all are, that pretty much I was rooting against them all. Just five psychopaths, and somehow their lives intertwine at a random train station.

Really liked this one, kept me engaged, and fueled my hater status.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Jayme C (Brunetteslikebookstoo) · Rating 3 out of 5]

07:01

Someone will die in the next 5 minutes when the 7:06 London to Victoria train arrives.

Four others have died at the station previously. At least two deaths were accidental, one was intentional, and one seemed intentional but wasn’t. But our all knowing narrator reminds us that we don’t have time to delve any deeper into those deaths as there is much to discuss about the next death.

Will it be the child, Gideon? His mother Emma? The Businessman, Liam? The 78 year old woman, Mrs. worth? Or Sonny, the gambler?

Will you choose the four you hope will live after you hear about their dysfunctional, early lives or the terrible things that they have done?

Some of the things they think are unthinkable.
Some of the things they say are unspeakable.
Some of the things they have done are quite shocking.

The story alternates between the live action at the station (sound effects included with the fabulous full cast narration if you listen) and each character’s back story.

I am a bit of an OUTLIER for this book. I LOVED how it started and knew from reviews that I SHOULD NOT expect a thriller, which was fine- I liked the style the book was written in. BUT-I don’t tend to enjoy dysfunctional back stories being the majority of ANY BOOK so these chapters seemed TOO LONG for me, while the chapters featuring the FIVE MINUTES at the station were all SO BRIEF.

I didn’t hate it-but I didn’t love it either. More balance between the two would have been my PERSONAL preference.

If you have read “The Passengers” by John Marrs, you might recognize a similar premise here. In that story, eight self driving cars are hi-jacked and a JURY must decide which ONE passenger should live. Refuse to choose one and all die. Which passenger you think the jury should choose in this story may also be enlightening…

Both books are thought-provoking. DO read THIS if intrigued -many have loved it!

TW: Two animal deaths

Thank You to the Chandler Public Library for the loan of both the written and Audible copies.

AVAILABLE NOW

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely incredible. The story is insanely unique, heartbreakingly real, and gripping until the final moments. I spent easily the last thirty minutes of it near tears. These characters were fully fleshed out until even the most unlikeable among them end up breaking your heart.

But perhaps my most favorite part of this story, in addition to the really fun format of the book as a whole, was the inclusion of a narrator who functions as a chorus to break the fourth wall and personalize the reading experience that much more.

The audio is brilliant and such an easy listen. And while there is a larger cast of characters, a few notes at the beginning helped to keep them straight, as did the book’s deeper dive into each of the five individuals at the center of the story.

I do want to make sure it reaches its proper readers though. This is NOT a popcorn, fast-paced thriller. It is character-centric and discusses some of the heavier themes of life, including grief, addiction, abuse, and struggles of motherhood. Go in expecting literary suspense, and you will be so pleasantly surprised. I know i was.

✨ This will be in my 2026 favorites ✨

Thank you, PRH Audio, for the advanced copy and to my friend Ali Slavin for the buddy read. Make sure to check out her review as well.

[Lindsay L · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Five strangers. A delayed subway train. An impending death.

The reader is told about the impending death right from the start. An ominous narrator prepares the reader for what is to come and the reader is left to guess which character it will be.

The narrative shifts between this main event and each of the characters lives leading up to this time. The majority of this story takes place in the characters in-depth backstories.

The main story at the underground subway station counts down time to the upcoming death and aims to make the reader feel the suspense and nervousness of the scene. Unfortunately for me, the switches to the lengthy backstories took away any sort of connection or tension felt in the main scene and made the flow choppy. The storyline was lacking the suspense needed to propel the plot forward.

The characters weren’t likeable or interesting so I had no investment in any of their lives. There was an attempt at smug humour that didn’t hit the mark for me either. The switching back to the main scene became repetitive instead of tension-filled as time was counting down.

Overall, I liked the idea of this book but the execution fell flat and I had no connection.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy!

Expected date of publication : May 5, 2026

[Kaceey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I just find my favorite read of 2026?!🙌 Absolutely unputdownable!

Between the description and the cover art I was expecting a pulse pounding thriller. Instead I was given a brilliantly crafted character study of five individuals whose fate brings them to a small train station where their lives will intermingle. One won’t leave the station alive. And the others will be forever changed.

I’m always on the search for a book with a unique quality. Whether it’s the storyline or the writing style. Something that stands out from the crowd. And I found exactly what I was looking for in this gem.

The books starts off with introductions to the five people on the train platform. Knowing in just minutes one will die.

Then we take a step back to learn about each of these characters. Their thoughts feelings and emotions. Where their lives started and what shaped them into the person now standing on the platform.
What incredible depth was given to each character. They all became real to me.

The writing style is a bit different. It took me a minute to catch on then I was all in! It’s as though the author was sitting across from me telling me the story of the characters she created.

When I finished…I just walked around my house whispering “WOW”!
I felt spent, a true book hangover (in the best possible way).

Have you read this book yet? Is it on your shelf?!

✍️ Ilona Bannister
📄 288 pages
🗓️ Available Now
📈 5/5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 I’d give more stars if I could!
👉 suspense, contemporary, character driven

[꧁ ༺Minne༻ ꧂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The child, the mother, the businessman, the old woman, and the gambler. One of them will die despite your attachment to them, regardless of your judgment of their behaviors or your empathy with their situation. There is probably one that you’re okay with getting rid of. Of course there is. You’ve chosen your favorite. You don’t have to admit to anyone who it is. But perhaps you should ask yourself why, what makes them worthy of surviving in the internal universe of your brain where you are God”

Call me crazy, but from time to time the writing in this reminded me briefly of Fredrik Backman’s work, especially Anxious People. A little chaotic, a little whimsical, a little “turn your brain inside out,” with a very character driven story.

I was captivated from the very first page. Five strangers. Five lives. One of them will be dead in five minutes when the train arrives. This isn’t a whodunit. It’s a who do you think deserves to be done with it? It being life. And that’s a much more uncomfortable question.

You know those philosophical questions about whether you would kill one person or let a hundred people die? This reminded me of them. The story invites you to pass judgement on who deserves to be killed, and in doing so, it turns into a moral experiment as much as a thriller. Would it make it easier to choose if you knew what kind of lives these people led? The interesting thing is the book has already made the choice and we are being led toward the reveal. The novel jumps into each person’s life, gradually revealing how they all ended up on that platform while the countdown continues. I was so curious about who it would be. Frankly, it was easier to decide on who I didn’t want to see killed. Every character is unlikable or difficult to like, even the 7 year old child.

As we delve into the characters' lives, several themes are explored like judgment, motherhood, parenthood, addiction, disability and privilege. Being a parent is an extreme sport 😭 I keep thinking about Luna and Sonny and how you can be too good a parent that you become a bad one. Luna is a wonderful mother, but love without boundaries can become its own harm. She loves Sonny fiercely, to the point where her “unconditional love” only enables his bad behaviour and shields him from the consequences of his actions. Mrs Worth’s story touched me the most. Her relationship with her son Nicholas broke my heart. One thing that connects all of these stories is generational trauma and how it shapes people in ways they don’t always recognise. I’m really impressed at how much depth there is to each story despite the book being only 240 pages. The characters are layered and multidimensional. There’s

✧ Emma the Rich Bitch, the lunatic, the mother

✧ Gideon the psycho, the genius, the 7 year old child

✧ Liam the savior, the narcissist, the businessman

✧ Mrs. Worth the daughter, the doctor, the old woman. My favourite. She’s cold, sharp, and odd. I thought I had her figured out because it’s so easy to dislike a character that’s unlikable and different. Like every other character she’s just a by-product of unresolved trauma.
✧ Sonny the fuck-up, the lover, the gambler


There are also secondary characters like Bad Back, To Do List, and Medical Student. They are not among the main five yet the story still reminds us that even these unnamed people have inner lives and can influence what happens. It really shows how quickly we reduce strangers to surface level labels.

Personally, I like chaotic, convoluted, fast paced character driven narration when it fits the story. I don’t often read books with direct address or a narrative that’s aware of itself as a story and comments on what the reader thinks or feels, yet it didn’t disturb me here. I think this could easily be one of the reasons why this is loved or hated. I won’t lie, I had to restart this several times partly because I have issues with concentration and partly due to the narration that’s quite dense and demands your attention. However once it clicked, it was unputdownable. I also have to say, I love the tone of this novel. It's sarcastic at times, and weirdly funny. One thing that stood out to me is that it doesn't necessarily try to defend or condemn its characters. Most of the time, it simply shows how everyone is acting from their own frame of reference - no matter how twisted or warped it can be. It shows how people make choices and the consequences that follow. Some break free from the cycle of trauma. Others don't. And one of them meets an unfortunate end.

I’m not happy to say that I solved the mystery of who died, because it wasn’t who I would’ve liked. I know, I’m terrible 🙈 On top of that, the truth behind what happened in those final minutes is horrifying. In fact, the whole book is disturbing 😭 It’s not the kind of story that leaves you feeling good even though there are some sweet moments in it.

❝ Many truths can be true.
Many loves can be loved.”

“I love you” and “Goodbye” can both mean the same thing.”

“And that is how Emma wins. Or thinks she wins. Because soon she will know what the Annes and Phoebes all around her know, about the primal love for one’s child, the wonder and the terror of motherhood that even Emma will have to feel. But in this moment, all the women in the room, in their lightning-bolt earrings and Disco Mama tees and faux-leather leggings that bunch at the knees, hate her for everything she can and will do without a man. And hate themselves more for everything they do, and will do, forever, because of one.”

“Every day something small will change, until all the small changes will become his new life.”

“But this is England, home of milky tea and suppressed emotions, superfluous royalty and dry humor, excellent hats and dysfunctional transportation.”

“But the mothers, even if they were good mothers, even if they had sacrificed for and loved their boys, even if they had given them good homes, were still and always would be the bad mothers of terrible sons. Even if the sons were led to their mistakes by their fathers, even if the fathers showed them how to make those mistakes. It was still the fault of the mothers, for choosing such poor fathers for their children.”

“Metaphors about life and death, or the death of the spirit versus the death of the body, or the death of the past to enable the birth of the future, these are always good topics to raise in book club when the conversation lags.”

“He frightens her, he hurts her, he is not well, he is not happy, but he is hers. She made him and she would do anything for him. It is hard to love him, but she is also hard to love.”

“No, Sonny, I don’t think so. Because if you’re a fuck-up, then that means I’m a fuck-up, that I didn’t do a good job, and I—Sonny—I am not a fuck-up. Because if the stupid shit you did over all these years is just you being a fuck-up, and not because you’re a genius with a messed-up brain, or a beautiful soul who is an addict, or a victim of your genetics or the loss of your father, if none of that is true, then I, as your mother, I am the fuck-up, not you. And I. Am not. A fuck-up.”

“For example, a mother does not really want to throw her baby out of the third-story window to perish on the pavement below, although she may think this every time the window catches her eye when she passes it, holding her crying infant to her chest and swaying in her reflection in the glass. A mother does not want to push her baby buggy in front of a bus, although the thought flickers across her mind every time she stands at the bus stop, her toddler whining and struggling against the straps of the seat. ❞

[emilybookedup · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was so creative and fun! you know (kind of?) how it will end—1 of the 5 characters will die. but who? then the author gives you the backstory of all 5 and as the reader, you get to judge who may or may not deserve to live…

this is for fans of John Marrs books like THE ONE or THE PASSANGERS. it doesn’t have any magical realism or sci-fi/futuristic element, but it felt like his work with the plot and various POVs as a thriller novel.

also highly recommend the audiobook—it was a full cast and full production and came to life SO well. i binged it in 2 sittings and 24 hours!

i believe this is a debut and applaud the author for it. can’t wait to see what the author puts out next!

[Laura Lovesreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

LIFE REALLY BE LIFING AT THE BEST OF TIMES

In Five, on a train platform, five strangers unknowingly face a chilling countdown: one of them will die in five minutes. The book focuses on five main characters – a child, a mother, a businessman, an old woman, and a gambler. This story will draw you in with their stories as the clock ticks down.

Ok first, is anyone noticing that certain books being categorized as a thriller when they are nowhere near? It’s like if a character dies or is going to die in a book its being labelled as ‘Thriller’??

This novel is not a thriller AT ALL. It is very much a literary fiction book and that’s ok. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it anymore or less if it was categorized accurately. But lowkey I went into the book with the expectation of being thrilled with psychologically suspense and mystery.

Five is very much a character driven book focusing on the past lives of 5 characters and how their lives shaped them all, and how it could end up with one of them being killed at the train station.

I enjoyed this book. I do enjoy character driven novels and reading about the raw and unprecedented circumstances that can happen to every human and how it shapes or destroys them.

There is no twist or real suspense, and I did guess who the ‘victim’ would be but I didn’t really care for that part. I was mostly enjoying just reading about ordinary people and their dramas.

The book has some humorous as well as sad and downright heartbreaking moments. I wouldn’t say I connected with all the characters, but I didn’t hate reading about them either.

The author has a great writing style, but I will say if you write a book and say you don’t want to harp on about the little stuff and end up harping on about the little stuff it does make me as a reader roll my eyes and think you quite contradictory.

But all in all I did enjoy the book, and I would read what the author comes out with next.







------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩Pre Read⋆｡°✩
I have been seeing this book all over GR!
It sounds super intriguing!
I hope its a winner!
❤️🧡❤️🧡

[CarolG · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a train platform, five strangers unknowingly face a chilling countdown. Minute by minute the train gets closer as we delve into each of their stories to learn what brought them here, to this moment, to this station, to the very edge of life and death. A child, a mother, a businessman, an old woman, and a gambler—who would you choose to save? Or die?

I love how this book is written. The sections that take place in the train station remind me of an episode of Night Gallery with Rod Serling ... "Consider if you will ...". In the beginning we're introduced briefly to each of the "five", one of whom is going to die, and we also meet some of the bystanders who become involved. The subsequent chapters describe each of the main five characters in depth followed by another update from the train station. We know from the start that one of these five is going to die but not which one. Lots of passages concerning life and death and family to consider throughout. Definitely a slow burn but once I got into the story I was hooked.

Thank you to Crown Publishing, via Netgalley, for approving my request to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: May 5, 2026

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ilona Bannister has written a riveting, ticking time bomb of a novel. Five is brilliant: a gripping tour de force about destiny and choice — and, yes, an oncoming train. I devoured it. You will, too.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, rounded up
Five is a wild crazy ride of suspense. The premise is simple; the execution is anything but. Five people are at a subway stop. When the train arrives in the next five minutes, one of them will die. Interspersed with the minutes leading up to the train’s arrival, we get the back stories of those five people. These aren’t nice people. They are damaged goods. And the reader gets to play “judge, jury and executioner” as per the blurb.
Emma is the kind of character you love to hate. And I’ll admit to feeling more than a little schadenfreude when her son turned out to be the Devil incarnate. Gabriel, her son , is only 6 but you can just tell he’s going to be trouble throughout his life.
Mrs. Worth had a unique upbringing, which actually led to her having the perfect job for her character. But she lacks tact or empathy and it has cost her in her personal life. Still, I probably felt the most empathy for her.
Sonny’s mom has always made excuses for him - ADHD, the loss of his dad at a young age. So, now she’s dead and he has £32,000 in gambling debts.
Liam is a businessman. He’s an egoist with a hero complex. He will never admit to being wrong.
The book breaks the fourth wall with the narrator speaking directly to the reader. This goes beyond dark humor. I’d actually call it morbid humor. It totally nails how most people react to events that affect them but don’t really touch them. This is definitely a character driven story, not a traditional thriller. Yet, I was totally engaged, and after each backstory, forced myself to stop and ponder if someone deserved to die. Or who I thought would be the one to die.
I listened to this and it was a great audio experience. There is a full cast and each one does a good job. I definitely recommend listening to this.

[Meagan (Meagansbookclub) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Don’t expect thriller going into it but more of a character driven suspense. Very well done with the full cast audio narration!! Highly recommend the audiobook.

[Andrea Cox · Rating 1 out of 5]

What is it with books promising one thing and giving something completely different?

This book promised that of five characters, one would die within five minutes. That suggested a fast-paced thriller.

Ha! Think again.

This book was so sluggish, the characters could have walked to their destination faster than it took to get to the point.

The one rule that was supposedly set in stone (a person would die in five minutes) was nearly immediately changed. We readers are expected to "forgive this" because of a plethora of excuses that were given, one being that it's set in England.

You can't blame a whole country on poor planning for your book, honey.

Then, every time there was a sense of urgency that dared to pick up the pace, we jumped into a lengthy chapter that was the entirety of a character's backstory, including the backstory of several, if not all, of their relatives.

What? Why!

Whole chapters of backstory that had absolutely zero to do with the current plot only served to slam the brakes on the forward progress of the story. Do please refrain from doing this in future, yeah?

The characters themselves... There were some issues there too. Taking stereotypes like psychopathy, narcissism, promiscuity, and merely exaggerating them to the point of nauseum does not make intriguing character development. It definitely doesn't showcase the author's skills and creativity.

"One of them will die despite your attachment to them." What attachment? They're all complete jerks in one way or the other. There was little to like about them to begin with, and everything went downhill from there with the chapters of exposition about their entire lives from birth, if not generations before. Nope. No attachment to the characters for me.

Also, if you're going to name a few characters Medical Student and To Do List and Bad Back, maybe don't make them as prominent as the actual named characters. These three had just as much to do with the story as Sonny and "Mrs." Worth and Gideon. There was absolutely no reason not to go ahead and give them real first names.

"Let us review their positions, just this one last time." Why? You've already told us their positions. We certainly don't need to hear it again. If you feel you have to retell us this information, maybe cut out the backstory dumps so you don't think we've forgotten why we're reading the book in the first place.

This is basically two books in a row that promised a high-octane action story that fell completely flat because of heavy-handed backstory dumps and buckets and buckets of telling (the other being Handle with Care by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen). Honestly, both of these stories felt like they were very rough first drafts.

Please, authors, study up on the craft of writing. Practice, practice, practice! And find a critique group, beta readers, a decent developmental editor--somebody!--who will help you identify when you're in backstory dump territory.

Also, please, please, please stop with the telling (instead of showing) presentation. Just because you stick the story in second-person POV does not mean telling to the max (with very little showing) is appropriate or helpful.

"Perhaps you could take a poll at book club..." What an arrogant assumption to make, that readers would be taking this book to book club. Hard pass on that one.

Turned out, the only things I liked about this book were the cover and the premise.

Content: profanity, expletives, gratuitous premarital sex, Catholicism, alcohol, prescription drug abuse/addiction, gambling, psychopathic child

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published May 5, 2026.

3.5 stars

A child, his mother, an old lady, a businessman and a gambler. In just a few short minutes one of them is going to die in this train station and why?

We learn about the back stories of all five and, and this is the charm….really, it is….you’ll be kind of happy that one of them is going to die and you’ll wonder if it can be arranged for more to go down too. Sadly, though, only one bites it.

This book was a bit of hurry up and wait and a couple of the back stories were a bit too long (Mrs. Worth’s especially.). However, I’m a big fan of flawed people and there were so many here, this was enjoyable. If you read this, please DM me with your choice about who SHOULD HAVE been the one to die. I’m interested to see how yours matches up with mine. Solid writing. Recommended.

[Shantha (ShanthasBookEra) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Five lives. Five stories. Four will live—one will die. Who it will be? In this slow-burn masterpiece of psychological fiction, the choice is all yours."

Five passengers are waiting for a London train. In five minutes, one of them will be dead. Who will it be? The young college student with gambling debt? The old woman who is estranged from her family? The addict or the businessman? You won't find out who it is until the ending at 7:05 am. The chapters alternate between a character sketches about each of them and a moment at the train station as they prepare to board the train.

I enjoyed this unique novel of literary suspense. Bannister writes characters who are complex and have a high amount of dysfunction in their lives. I heard her speak at an author event and she said that her experience raising neurodivergent children inspired her to approach it from the perspective of random people coming together in a public place. The unpredictable nature of it along with knowing someone is going to die creates tension. Do any of them really deserve to die?

The full cast audiobook performance is outstanding and gives the characters a unique voice. I couldn't stop listening until I knew how it ended. It is a slow-burn literary suspense.

Many thanks to PRH Audio and Ilona Bannister for the gifted advance listening copy. All opinions are my own.🎧

[Aisvarya [back ig] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsure how I feel about this book because I got parts of what I signed up for, but also felt let down by a few others.

Actual rating - 3.5 stars

What to expect -
🚂 Slow-burn psychological mystery
🚂 Multiple POVs
🚂 Flawed & unlikeable characters
🚂 Exploration of grief and loss
🚂 Dysfunctional families
🚂 Motherhood and the weight that comes with it
🚂 Full-cast audiobook with sound effects

Setting - A train station.
Characters - An old lady, an adamant child, the child's mother, a charming young man, and a businessman.
First impression - Unlikeable because most of them seem annoying... except the young man.
Premise - Five minutes until the train arrives, and one of them will die when it does.

The premise sounds super thrilling, right?!! It definitely delivered on that.

I knew before going into this one that it was a slow-burn, character-driven mystery where each chapter focuses on a different character, so I was expecting the longer chapters that delve into their life stories and they didn't hinder my experience. And I was genuinely intrigued to learn more about them because this book reiterates the age-old saying that "Appearances can be deceptive." You definitely find your opinions shifting as you learn more about certain characters. And I always love when authors make you hate a character at first, only to have you rooting for them by the end.

All of these stories are also connected by a common thread - motherhood. The female characters are all complicated mothers who have endured incredibly difficult experiences that shaped them into the people they are today. As their stories unfold, you begin to understand them more, and it's hard not to feel for everything they've been through and continue to endure. The men in the story are equally shaped by their relationships with their mothers. Whether it's the loss of a mother or the way they were raised, those experiences have had a lasting impact on their lives and influenced the people they've become, for better or for worse.

I really enjoyed exploring all of these themes, and I liked how the author reminds us that every stranger we meet is carrying hardships we know nothing about. So be kind to others or at the very least, don't be so quick to judge them.

But what this book failed to deliver, at least for me, was a compelling mystery. The moment I had even the slightest suspicion that this person was going to die...well, that ended up being exactly what happened. It was just a little too predictable for my liking.

Other than that, I really appreciated the way this book explored life, grief, motherhood, and the different struggles people carry with them every day. I'd definitely recommend it if you naturally gravitate toward literary fiction and are looking for a slow-paced mystery that's more of a character study than a twist-heavy thriller.

✨Pre-read:
I'm utterly captivated by this premise.
We have five characters waiting for a train, and one of them is gonna die within the next five minutes🤯🤯

Who will it be?
✨ The old woman who's super judgmental (or)
✨ The adamant child, throwing a tantrum (or)
✨ The child's mother, who loves him but is also fed up with his tactics (or)
✨ The charming young man who looks perfectly fine outside but has a gambling addiction (or)
✨ The businessman who's so annoying and somehow knows the child's mother

I cannot wait to see how this is gonna go!!!

[Tracy Greer-Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whiplash from this one! ⬆️ 🚞 🇬🇧

You find out from the beginning that there are five people at the London Tube and one will die by the time the train arrives.

You then learn about each of the five awaiting passengers. None of them are likeable characters and you create judgements about them based on their backgrounds, personalities and stories. Then you play God and decide which one is most deserving to die. Don’t we all judge? Who will be the victim?

An unusual book. The chapters about the chaos on the tracks were quick and had you wondering where this would all end up.

Then the chapters about each of the characters were long. While you were revved up from the subway scenes, these chapters feel overwritten and a bit long winded. I felt the pacing was a bit off.

It would be a stellar bookclub pick because it would be so interesting to hear fellow reader’s thoughts. I have been on the Tube and could feel the roar of the trains and the vibration of the rails. This part was real in my mind’s eye. Ultimately I would give this 3.75. 🌟

Mind the gap when alighting from the train! 😅

[Marcie McPherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five begins with a single tragic moment witnessed by five strangers, but the real story lies in everything that comes afterwards.

I found some of the characters' stories more compelling than others, but the overall concept is fascinating. As each perspective unfolds, the book gradually reveals how little we really know about the lives of the people around us. It explores judgement, empathy, grief, loneliness, and the assumptions we make when faced with incomplete information.

This isn't a twist-heavy thriller. Instead, it's a character-driven psychological novel that encourages readers to question their own conclusions and consider how quickly we judge others without understanding what they've lived through.

Thought-provoking, engaging, and quietly affecting, this is the kind of book that leaves you reflecting on its themes long after you've finished reading.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different sort of thriller type book. Takes place in the underground tube of London and the reader is told one of these five main characters are going to die with the next train coming into the station in five minutes.

The five characters are a mother with her uncontrollable child, and a man approaching her, who appears to be shady. Later we find out they do know each other very well. The other two characters are an older lady who ends up having a heart attack and a young man who helps her. There are several other characters in the train station, several others that help out of the catastrophe not just of the woman on the ground, as several people end up on the tracks.

Most of the book is the backstory of each of the five main characters, while in-between is the current moment at the tube station where there is quite a lot of action going on. The book poses morality question for the reader, which of these characters do you want to die? All have flaws that may have the reader rooting for one character to not make it.

With the way it was presented and the author breaking the fourth wall too often, I wasn't much of a fan of the style. It was a quick read.


Thanks to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

[Donne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m having mixed feelings about this book. As I sit here, I’m not really sure what I’m going to say. First and foremost, I know I don’t want to say much because I don’t want to give too much away. Secondly, I don’t really want my opinions of the story to discourage anyone either. While I received this free ARC in exchange for my honest opinions, I also believe that my opinions don’t mean that much; I am just one reader who wasn’t much of a fan of this story.

I’m a character driven reader and I like stories with MC’s that are likeable, ones I can root for. I can’t say that about the MC’s in this story, the five. I didn’t like any of them and by the time I got to the second half, I didn’t care which one lived and which one died.

I will say that the character development for the MC’s was well done. Bannister accomplished in making all of them morally questionable and unlikeable characters. I’m sure that was Bannister’s intent. Only one of them seemed to have been able to redeem themself, at least as far as I was concerned. Fortunately, the pacing was pretty steady for most of the story. Initially, the storyline seemed interesting and the writing was ok, not terrible. I’m looking at an overall rating of 3.4 that I will be rounding down to a 3star review. I want to thank NetGalley and Crown Publishing for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #CrownPublishing #Five

[Tammie P ℓօรƭเɳαɓօօҡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Premise
Five by Ilona Bannister is a psychological thriller that counts down the final minutes before a fatal tragedy at a train station, and follows five individuals who will be at the centre of it all.

A child, a mother, a businessman, an old woman, and a gambler: who would you choose to save? And who would you let die?

1. Child - Gideon
2. Mother - Emma
3. Businessman - Liam
4. Old woman - Mrs. Worth
5. Gambler - Sonny

What I Liked
I was deeply impressed by the writing style (the prose, the tone and the dialogue); the pacing and the general construction of the story.

​At the beginning of the book, we witness all the characters arriving at the station and receive very brief introductions to each of them. The book utilises a third-person omniscient point of view, where the narrator frequently steps outside the scene to speak directly to the reader.
​Following these introductions, the book transitions into the backstory of one of the main characters. This is told from a standard third-person perspective, and the narrative regularly alternates between the unfolding present-day plot and a deep dive into each character's past, one by one. All the backstories were intriguing and offered insight into each character's personality.

The absolute pandemonium just before the death was incredibly realistic and well-written. I could feel the chaos and escalating panic of that split-second moment right on the page.

The countdown from 10 to 1 leading up to the death had me holding my breath!

The Twitter-esque feed following the tragedy offered a jarringly accurate look at modern human nature in the immediate wake of a crisis: genuine grief and empathy, posturing, empty platitudes, and detached dark humour.

I also loved getting a glimpse into the main characters' lives after the incident, and it was brilliant how the author held back the identity of the deceased until almost the very end.

What I Didn't Like
​I didn't love any of the main characters, but I also didn't dislike them enough to care who lived or died. I was very nonchalant about their fates.
​So, when the narrator said that there was probably one character I'd be okay getting rid of, and that I had chosen a favourite, it just wasn't my reality. This is where the story falters for me; I should have felt either devastated or relieved when I found out who died, not completely indifferent.

The Verdict
I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. In spite of my indifference to which character lived or died, I absolutely had to find out which one actually dies, and that tension stayed with me from start to finish.

This story touches on sociopathy and psychopathy, PTSD, animal necropsy, cerebral palsy, gambling addiction and attempted suicide.

In a world where most books follow the same script with just a different cast, this story is a wonderfully refreshing take.

[Celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay now THAT’S a thriller

[Samidha; समिधा · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five was an easy five stars for me (and five stars don’t come easily from me). A surprising, genre bending, underrated banger that I wish everyone knew about. We follow 5 people waiting at the subway station, and from the first chapter we are made aware that in 5 minutes one of them is going to die.

What follows is a suspenseful, tense but heartbreaking story of these strangers and their lives. Each subsequent chapter is either a minute leading up to when the train arrives or a dive into the past lives of these five strangers. And I must say that the depth of personal stories covered by Bannister is really a testament to her writing. The book is filled with themes that linger but that one that stayed with me the most was about the kindness of strangers in an uncertain world.

When we are introduced to the 5 initially; we make judgements as readers. Some are exhausted and we’re sympathetic; some are rude and we dislike them; some are self righteous and we don’t care for them; but oh, how their individual chapters make us rethink our first impressions. This isn’t just a suspense novel, it’s also woven in with some literary fiction.

What made this a 5 star for me were the complex, morally grey characters that I can’t stop thinking about long after finishing the book.

[Sarah Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK! It's listed as a thriller sometimes and I have to say, it's not that. If you go in expecting that you perhaps will be disappointed. The writing is phenomenal, the narration is so unique and clever. It's the story of five lives, complicated, nuanced and all fairly extraordinary. You have to suspend belief that all of these people have ended up at this moment in time together, but who knows, maybe we are all standing on a platform with our own stories. The sense of time and place, the beauty and atmosphere in the very ordinary details are incredibly memorable.

[Nikki Lee (Nikkileethrillseeker) · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎧Audiobook Review🎧

I will preface this by saying how amazing the narration was for this all star multi cast. It just seems to hit harder when the characters are telling with their UK accents. I didn’t speed it up though since their are a bunch of characters and a lot of moving parts. All of it great!

Five random people are waiting for the train. We know from the beginning that one of them will die. Who do imagine that will be? Anyone more deserving?

This is definitely a literary fiction novel that focuses on a character study. We go back through each character’s story and all of their flaws. This is a dark read with plenty of trigger warnings, but everything is handled with care.

Five is very unique and I enjoyed it very much. Don’t go into this expecting a thriller, it’s so much more. I loved it and recommend both editions!

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to PRH, Crown and the author for the gifted copies.

Out 5/5/26

[Jeanie ~ Fables.and.fur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five is such a good story. It’s unique with excellent dark humor. I enjoyed how the reader gets a great background story on each of the “five” and also what has brought them to the train station on this fateful day. The audiobook production has a full cast that is outstanding. I chose a hardcover of Five for my @aardvarkbookclub pick. Highly recommend.