There’s something deliciously unsettling about a book that turns an ordinary morning commute into a moral reckoning. Five by Ilona Bannister starts on a suburban train platform, where five strangers wait—and one of them is about to die. What unfolds isn’t just a countdown to tragedy, but an intimate dissection of how we see others, how we judge them, and how we justify our choices. Bannister’s writing is taut, sharp, and beautifully human—each chapter peeling back another layer of empathy and discomfort. It’s a psychological thriller that hits harder because it never lets you hide behind the distance of fiction.

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The Cover

The cover of Five by Ilona Bannister at first appears simple – a blur of bold warm tones and some type. When you look more closely, you notice the blue is a moving train and the reflections of passengers waiting to board. This is the setting for Five. It also captured the feeling of the book – speeding by, but also standing still. The typography appears bold and clear, minimal. The cover speaks to the genre that Five fits into – psychological thriller.

Interior

I read Five as an uncorrected ARC in a digital format, so I am unable to clearly assess the final formatting of the book.

Did the design affect whether I bought the book?

Yes, I noticed the book’s cover in a browsing format of NetGalley and it made me click into the description to see what it was about. The cover was a factor in my request of Five.

Each of the five main characters in Five is given a full chapter about their backstory. The reader comes to know them and their deepest secrets, their traumas, the elements of their past that shaped them into who they are on the platform on the day in question. These vignettes aren’t overly long, but they are highly impactful.

The secondary and tertiary characters in Five are described in ways that helps the reader to immediately place them into the scenario and to understand what role they play. She names them things like Bad Back and To Do List, so the reader doesn’t get too attached. But Bannister does not stop there. She still paints them in a bit, giving the reader an understanding of the motivations behind their actions too.

Five is massively character-driven. Bannister places the reader in a moment and takes them second by second through a few minutes when a significant event happens. Then in alternating chapters dives deeply into a single character’s backstory.

The narration is third person, each character refered to by their name, but also occasionally breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to you, the reader. It is both jarring and comforting, as if a friend is telling you an intense story, but you are so into it you forget that they can suddenly stop and ask you what you are thinking.

Five is a full-length inspection of the adage, “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

At the same time, Five also insists that moments come and go, life moves on, and we carry our experiences forward individually.

Different ways of loving and being loved, how the feeling is expressed and understood weave through all the individual narratives.

Mental and physical disability are at the forefront of many of the personal vignettes. How the individual’s condition shaped either their own experience or that of someone in their life.

Five is deeply engaging. It holds an at times uncomfortable mirror up for the reader to assess their own judgment of these characters. Incredibly human in its exploration of the mess of emotion, decision, and action that people face. Five exceeds expectations as a simple psychological thriller and offers a more lasting, revisitable narrative that will stand the test of time.

Five is a fast read that packs a punch. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

If you’ve read the description and have even a tiny inclination that you might want to read Five, then please do pick it up. Even if thrillers aren’t normally your bag, but you like human stories that are complicated and make you think, this is also for you.

Do you like to read books that make you confront your own prejudice?

May your life be as full as your bookshelf and as long as your TBR list.

Happy Reading!