Five

by Ilona Bannister · 2026

Five follows five strangers waiting for a train to London, knowing that one of them will die when the next train arrives in five minutes. The reader learns each character’s story—a young man on the brink of gambling ruin, a cantankerous elderly woman, a tantrum‑throwing child and his mother, and a successful yet damaged businessman—before deciding who should live. The novel breaks the fourth wall, making the audience judge, jury, and executioner while exploring contemporary issues such as motherhood, disability, addiction, and moral choice in a slow‑burn psychological thriller.