"Kill All Your Darlings" by David Bell centers on English professor Connor Nye, who is struggling after the deaths of his wife and son. In a desperate attempt to secure tenure, Connor publishes a novel he has plagiarized from a missing student, Madeline O'Brien. The plot thickens when Madeline reappears, and the details in the novel implicate Connor in an unsolved murder from two years ago. As another murder occurs, Connor must clear his name by unraveling the secrets buried in Madeline’s manuscript while facing the consequences of his deceit.

David Bell crafts a compelling narrative through well-rounded and flawed characters. Connor Nye is portrayed as a complex figure, grappling with immense personal loss and professional desperation. Madeline O'Brien, the student whose manuscript Connor plagiarizes, is central to the story, symbolizing the consequences of academic and personal misconduct.

The novel explores themes such as the abuse of power in academia, the #MeToo movement, and the moral complexities of plagiarism and deceit. Bell uses his characters to delve into the imbalance of power and the lengths to which individuals will go to protect their reputations and careers

"Kill All Your Darlings" by David Bell is a thought-provoking and suspenseful novel that tackles significant themes through a gripping narrative. Bell's exploration of power dynamics, ethical dilemmas, and the consequences of deception makes this book a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. While it may have some predictable moments, the overall execution and depth of the story make it a standout in its genre..

I've read and enjoyed David Bell's last several novels. True to form, Kill All Your Darlings is another fast paced thrill ride. Set in the world of academia - a personal favorite - Professor Nye finds himself in an impossible predicament: ruin his career by admitting to an ethical violation he did commit, or ruin his life and be convicted for murders he did not? While the timelines were not as clear as I'd have liked, this was a smart, tense story that kept me engaged to the end.

A thrilling novel about the atrocities currently happening in academia. Truly engaging and well written.

I've tried to read this book a few times and it doesn't seem to stick with me. I definitely believe this is a case of the reader and not the book.

Kill All your Darlings is a thriller about a University English professor named Connor Nye. After losing his wife and son in an accident, he is struggling and is feeling adrift. When one of his star students goes missing, he publishes her book manuscript and passes it off as his own. Only afterward does he find out that the novel is based on a real life murder, and a lot of people have some tough questions that they expect him to answer. The book takes off from there.

This was a gripping, tension filled story about grief, loss, trauma, academia and what happens when men in power wield it for nefarious reasons. Almost all of the characters in this story are morally grey, and it really adds a layer of interest and depth to the novel. The author does a good job of getting inside the heads of his characters, and allowing the readers enough of a glimpse inside to understand, while not always agreeing, with the motivations of the players in this story. I feel like the author also did a really good job of examining the topic of sexual harassment, men in positions of authority abusing power and wielding it over those that are vulnerable and bringing the discussion of where we need to improve when it comes to listening to victims when they come forward. The dual POV was done in a way that added tension and mystery, and really worked in this novel, driving it forward and making it so hard to put down. I had a great time with this book, and would definitely recommend!

Read if you like:
✨ Thrillers
✨ Academia
✨ Books about authors/books
✨ Interesting, flawed and morally grey characters
✨ Atmospheric reads

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

It was okay. Different from what I normally read. I would probably pick up another book by this author just to see if I really do like the author’s books or not.

This was a bit of a let down. The twist was predictable, I figured most of it out early on. I didn’t really like any of the characters. This will end up leaving my brain pretty quickly, it was an easy read but nothing amazing. I found myself just waiting for it to end.

I did a mix of digital and audio for this book. I enjoyed this one but it felt more suspensful than a thriller and I think I just expected more. I liked the idea of Madeline being alive and coming back for this teacher who stole her idea and was getting attention over it. However, some of the plot points just felt very strange and unnatural for me, that I couldn't believe the way some of these characters were acting. It just kept going in circles, and I guessed the ending which is always a bit of a let down.

The book offers very human and therefore flawed, characters who sometimes do stupid things. I liked that the setting was academia and that tenure, a potentially boring topic, was the impetus for so many corrupt decisions.

TW: sexual assault, implied domestic abuse

This book was everything I wanted to be and more! The character-building is dynamic, the plot deep and intricate, and I was kept on my toes the whole time. I empathized with Dr. Nye, I rooted for Madeline, and I detested Dr. Hoffman. It is a deep dive into how young college women are still being taken advantage by men of power (cough cough professors).

When these women's futures hang in the balance and they feel that no one is listening to their complaints, especially the police. Bell gives the reader something to chew on while creating a masterfully laid out murder mystery, where secrets & lies run deeper than anyone ever knew. I thought I had it all figure out but it was just the beginning.

i enjoyed the multiple POVs, however I felt it was longer than it needed to be an a bit drawn out in the middle. i enjoy his books and writing style and will still continue to read them! very quick and bingeworthy, despite the length.

I started this one and I had a hard time getting into the book. It just wasn't grabbing me at the time, so I did not finish... I appreciate the consideration!

3.5 stars!

Loved the original concept behind KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS!

Connor Nye, a popular professor, makes a connection with one of his students named Madeline who is an aspiring writer that turns up missing, leaving Connor as the main suspect.

It was a twisty story that I enjoyed and I’m excited to pick up more books by this author!

I received Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell through @netgalley last year and for some reason I didn’t get to it. He’s an author I’ve always wanted to try and I’m excited that I finally was able to read one of his books.

Professor Connor is publishing a novel that seems like it’s going to be an immediate hit. He gets home after one of his reading appearances and one of his students who has been missing for two years is there. This is a problem for him because the book he just published was her thesis project. Even bigger problem is the details in his book mirror another tragedy that occurred in town. The police begin to look at him as a possible suspect now.

❤️Review❤️

This book feels like everything I wanted The Plot to be. In the beginning I had a rough start with the writing style. It felt like it was drilled into our heads that the main character’s name was Connor and then they started referring to him as Nye and I was totally confused. Once I had the writing style sorted and the plot really began to get going I was good to go. Connor ends up in this tangled web that you aren’t sure how he will be able to get out of the situation. You begin to question Connor’s actual involvement in the situations. The ending involved kind of a double twist and I was able to guess part of it. This was a good mystery and I’d like to try his other books now. I love finding new authors that I can’t wait to read more from!

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#NetGalley #BookReview #BooksBooksBooks #SuspenseBooks #ThrillerBooks #Books #Reading #KindleBooks #EBooks #WinterReads

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

The plot for this sounded so good but I was really not impressed. The writing is definitely not for me. I'm glad others like it but I thought the dialogue throughout was just terrible. Things are repeated over and over and it just sounded stilted and unnatural. Plus the plot was very predictable.

David Bell pulls the reader in from the start and holds them until the end. Well paced and cleverly drawn out. Fans new and old will enjoy Kill All Your Darlings.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Kill All Your Little Darlings by David Bell.
Bell is contemporary and brings a bit of everything in his writings. This is another hit and kept me engaged till the last page. 4 stars

This is a solid mystery about a down on your luck professor who finally achieves acclaim by plagiarizing his best-selling novel. When the original writer begins blackmailing him for money, a series of events unfold exposing the twisted history of the Commonwealth University English Department.

The premise held my attention, but parts of the book were too drawn out, and, at times, I was a little bored. The ending was a bit predictable, but there was a solid twist.

This was a good solid thriller, though at times a bit slow. We are introduced to a down on his luck professor who has lost his wife and son. He makes a namd fof himself by plagurizing someones work which happdns to unravel all kinds of buried secrets. I liked it and enjoyed the twist, i just wish the pacing was a little faster.

Bestselling and award-winning author David Bell returns with KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS, one of his most ambitious and cutthroat thrillers yet.

Following the sudden and tragic death of his wife and 15-year-old son, Connor Nye is at a bit of an impasse. He hasn’t written anything in years, so his chance at tenure as an English professor is growing ever slimmer. And now that his head is fogged by grief, it seems like an impossible feat. Although Connor loves his work, he is drinking more and more, and it seems unlikely that he will ever write or feel human again. Fortunately, he enjoys his senior classes enough that he finds small ways to get through each day: riveting discussions, brilliant theses, and even occasional drinks with his students at the local pub.

But one night Connor has an unusual exchange with his student Madeline O’Brien. She already has turned in her thesis, but she worries now that it is too personal, too raw, too real, and wants him to give it back. Connor promises her that he won’t mind what she says. They talk a bit, Connor gets drunker and drunker, and eventually he winds up at home nursing an epic hangover. In an attempt to avoid his nausea, he dives in to Madeline’s thesis. And it’s brilliant.

A day later, Connor learns that not only has Madeline gone missing, he was the last person to see her alive. Although he is eventually cleared as a suspect, she is never seen again. With the extra rope his colleagues have given him running short, he turns to Madeline’s handwritten thesis for a second shot at life. The response is enormous: his agent loves it, an editor buys it, and before long he has tenure and a potential bestseller on his hands. On the day of his book launch 18 months later, Connor arrives home to a shocking discovery: Madeline is alive and well, and she’s sitting on his couch, petting his dog...and she’s very, very angry that he has plagiarized her work. Believe it or not, that’s the least of his problems.

With Madeline breathing down his neck demanding all the money he has made from his book --- money that he already has spent on home improvements, loans and surgery for his beloved dog --- Connor thinks his life can’t get any worse. If he reveals that Madeline is alive and threatening him, the police no doubt will be interested in the missing woman, the case will explode and his career will be over. He will lose everything he has worked to build after the deaths of his wife and son. But much to Connor’s horror, the police show up anyway, and they have some stunning news.

As it turns out, the events in Connor’s --- ahem, Madeline’s --- book closely mirror the very real murder of Sophia Greenfield, which took place in his small town two years earlier. The similarities in the setting and victim are interesting enough, but apparently Connor has included the exact details of Sophia’s death, right down to the way she was murdered, the position in which her body was discovered, and even the defensive wounds on her hands. All of this makes Connor --- and the reader --- wonder why Madeline really disappeared in the first place. Was she a college student off on a lark? Doubtful, as she had no money and left everything she owned. Or was she running from a brutal crime that she just so happened to know everything about? If not, then why was she able to write the most vivid and brutal details about the last moments of a woman’s life into her supposedly fictional thesis?

David Bell is one of those rare authors who can deliver a premise so crystal clear and interesting that you almost feel as if you already know the answer, and then within a few chapters introduce an entirely new conflict that upends all of your suspicions and careful fact-gathering. The idea of a college professor stealing his missing-presumed-dead student’s thesis and writing a bestseller only to find out that she is very much alive is wildly compelling in and of itself.

When I started the book, I was more than ready to watch as Connor gets blackmailed by a cunning Madeline, and a cat-and-mouse game ensues. But like Connor, no part of me ever questioned why Madeline disappeared --- and this is where Bell totally ensnares his readers. The introduction of a major plot twist is nothing new in thriller fiction, but the notion of a secondary conflict, one with its own twists and turns, victims and villains, is the kind of literary achievement that keeps you reading all night long.

I’ve never once been able to put down a David Bell novel, yet each time I am totally blown away by his command of his plot, his total certainty and belief in his characters, and his ability to utterly misdirect even the most seasoned of thriller readers. There is something wickedly fun about reading a book about books. KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS combines all the book lover’s delight of that experience with Bell’s signature ability to thrill, elude and shock.