Five strangers stand on a train platform waiting for the 7:06 to London Victoria - the child, the mother, the businessman, the old woman, and the gambler. In the next five minutes, one of them will die. You know what they do not, and you also know who you think deserves it. Five people, five life stories, five minutes until one of them dies.
“Ridiculously good. Razor-sharp, wickedly funny, and darkly thrilling...
Unforgettable.”
“Viscerally insightful, emotionally punchy, wryly observed, and with scalpel-precision writing, Five is tour-de-force of a novel. I read it in one sitting.”
“Original. Urgent. Disturbing. Brilliant. Quite unlike anything I’ve ever read. Don’t miss this one-Ilona Bannister is a major talent. ”
Media Recognition for Five:
+N York +New Y++ork
+New York Times, 26 Books Coming in May
+New York Times, Sizzling Summer Thrillers
+New York Times, 7 New Books We Love This Week
+The Times, Four Great Thrillers to Read This May
+Katie Couric Media, What to Read this Week
+ Woman & Home, Book of the Month
+Crimereads, The Best Psychological Thrillers of May 2026
+Stylist, 10 Fiction Books by Women to Look Out for in 2026
+Red Magazine, This Month’s Best Books
+Closer, “Brilliant, intense and gripping - we’ve never read anything like it.”
+My Weekly, “A gripping original read that will have you hooked from the first page.”
+Tatler Asia, 9 Psychological Thriller Novels to Read in 2026
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Watch the trailer here:
Hello and welcome! I’m the author of three novels, When I Ran Away, Little Prisons and coming soon, in May 2026, Five, published by Crown in the US and Juniper, a new imprint of Harper Collins and HQ, in the UK.
ilona Bannister
author
Recognition for When I Ran Away:
+ Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Long List, 2021.
+ Apple Books Writer to Watch, 2021.
+ Good Morning America Must-Read Book.
+ New York Post Best Book to Read.
Other Highlights:
+ The Posse Foundation Posse Star 2023 recipient, for achievement in the arts.
+ My work has appeared in The Guardian, Stylist, Lit Hub, and on NPR.
+ I’m on the board of The Feminist Book Club and a proud supporter of Rights of Women.