Connor is a professor with a new bestselling book. The only problem? The book was technically written by one of his students who disappeared two years ago. But then she appears on his doorstep one night and Connor is suddenly implicated in an old murder.

I keep saying I should read more thrillers and I am so glad I picked this one up. It was twisty and I kept thinking “Connor noooooo” and waiting to see what was coming next. Never saw the ending coming.

Highly recommend and this has jumpstarted me on the need to read thrillers again.

Are you looking for a semi-dark academia thriller? This is the one for you. While reading this, I wondered to myself what I would do if I was a student at this University?! The Professors, although seemingly dedicated to their students, seemed to be chock full of ulterior motives.

It was difficult to determine which Professors were trustworthy and which were not. This, to me, is the making of a great read. I really enjoyed this story and sympathized with Conner even though I wasn't sure if I could trust him completely.

"In writing, you must kill all your darlings." - William Faulkner

Quick Synopsis: English professor, Connor Nye finally caught his big break when his recently published thriller "My Best Friend's Murder" met with tremendous success. The only issue is that he didn't write it but his missing student, Madeline did and Nye stole her work. Madeline reappears one day threatening to expose him as a fraud. Things took a turn for the worse when Nye's book implicates him in an unsolved murder that occurred two years ago.

My thoughts: What a pageturner! I went into this book blind and was absolutely blown away by the pretzel-twisty plot, unlikable flawed characters and the suspense-filled storytelling! It was a well-done story and I loved it!

This was my first book by Bell and it will not be my last! Truth be told, I did feel that the story was a bit similar to The Plot but it was so unique it its own way. I enjoyed the convoluted plot and the different POVs with past and present timelines.

The chapters are short and things move quickly. It was really engaging, thrilling especially when each chapter ends with a cliff-hanger too. I just had to read the next chapter to know what happens next!

The characters are perfectly imperfect and I loved them! Although this was mostly a plot driven story, the characters are not lacking in depth. I enjoy their backstories and the dynamics between them.

In a nutshell, read this book. It will keep you at the edge of your seat!


Pub. Date: July 6th, 2021

**Thank you Berkley Publishing Group, author David Bell and NetGalley for this gifted copy to read and review.***

Connor Nye is an English professor just awarded tenure because of his novel. My Best Friend’s Murder gave him acclaim at work… and with the police. When a detective shows up at his door to compliment his writing, she tells him that his book includes unreleased details about a local murder. Now the prime suspect in the investigation, Connor is faced with a dilemma. Will the police just take his word that he doesn’t know anything, or will he have to admit to the fact that he actually plagiarized the book from one of his student’s papers? Filled with twists and turns, David Bell uncovers a dark side of academia, a side that includes desperation and sexual harassment. Bell has Dr. Nye describe various writing techniques throughout the book, and Bell uses those same techniques as well. One of them being that even when characters are unlikeable, they still have some redeeming qualities. All of Bell’s characters are flawed, but Bell makes readers empathize with them; he keeps readers guessing up until the very end.

Having spent four years learning and working in my college's English department, Kill All Your Darlings was a treat. David Bell's latest protagonist, English professor Connor Nye, lost his wife and teenage son in an accident years ago, but still struggles in his day to day life; he needs to guide his students in the classroom, assist with their thesis papers, and find time to write so his published work will ensure tenure. The novel opens on present day, as Connor is preparing for his first public appearance in honor of his thriller, when all of a sudden a ghost from his past suddenly reappears, quietly, but demanding money and recognition. In doing so, an entirely unexpected investigation opens and Connor finds himself stuck in between two difficult places that could alter his personal and professional lives forever. As a David Bell fan, Kill All Your Darlings is a new favorite.

This book was too much like The Plot, which I read earlier this year. I love this author and really wanted to like this but I didn’t.

This was an exciting mystery/thriller with a plausible storyline and plot twist and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! The suspense was top notch, the plot thickened, and the big reveal had the perfect level of surprise and action.

English professor Connor Nye was unable to write for years while grieving the tragic deaths of his wife and son. Now he returns home from his first local book event since publishing a well-received thriller to find a former student waiting for him. The problem here is that the student went missing under mysterious circumstances two years ago and has been presumed dead …and she also wrote the book that Connor just published under his own name.

Concern over whether she’ll expose the truth about the book becomes the least of his worries when a police officer shows up to discuss the details of the murder in Connor’s book. Those details happen to fit perfectly with a local unsolved murder from two years ago … details that were never released to the public.
Connor has to look for clues in his student’s manuscript to clear his name and find the real murderer.

This book hooked me from page one, I didn’t want to put it down! I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy suspenseful mystery/thrillers.

Thanks to Berkley Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Kill All Your Darlings is scheduled for release on July 6, 2021.

This was another book where I wondered if the author wrung his hands and chuckled while writing. (Imagine a bespectacled warlock over a steaming cauldron adding one more twist to his brew.) This book wasted no time at all hooking me in. Connor knows he shouldn't have stolen his assumed dead student's book, but who would know? And it isn't like he hadn't already been dealt some pretty crummy blows from life. He deserved a break. Too bad for Connor, this wasn't going to be the break he had expected. After quickly setting up the premise for the story, bit by bit the characters' true personalities and actions are revealed. I enjoyed the back and forth balance between revealing a bit of what happened and adding another nuance to the overall story. In this way, I continued to be engaged despite feeling early on that I knew who had done it. Kind of. Like life, there are no simple answers and this book didn't presume to think its readers would accept any. The look inside both the collegiate and publishing worlds was funny, considering the career of the author. This added an overall ironic touch to the book that only added to my appreciation. It was difficult to tear myself away for my own job.

Maybe I would have liked Kill All Your Darlings more if I hadn’t read The Plot first. The central conflict is the same, where a stolen manuscript accidentally reveals too much about an actual crime. I did love how the conflict kicked off, when a local cop who loves reading thrillers in her free time notices that certain details are just too accurate and too familiar. But overall, I found this novel slightly too flat to feel like a thriller and without enough nuance to feel like a lit novel with suspense elements.

In the pressure of publish-or-perish, Connor’s stolen a manuscript from a student, who handed him an amazing, handwritten thesis draft, with only one copy in existence, before disappearing. Connor seemed to care a great deal about his students, which made the theft an odd choice, but I think real humans can be pushed to out-of-character actions in desperation, so I bought that he was desperate enough to steal the draft.

But Madeline, the actual author of the novel, reappears. She agrees not to immediately expose him as a thief and a fraud, if he’ll pay her his royalties from the book she wrote. Of course Connor, in the defense that every rich person has told every poor person, insists that wasn’t even that much money, and anyway he spent it all the house (that he owns) and he still has to go to his (stable, professional) day job! He’s not rich or something! It’s one of the few nuanced moments in this novel — it’s an amount of money that didn’t seem like much to Connor would be life-changing to Madeline, money that should be hers, and she still can’t get it.

After a really promising beginning, I found the rest of Kill All Your Darlings underwhelming. The turns were less twists about the manuscript or the murders, and more about men behaving badly. The question was less about how the incriminating details made it into Connor’s book, but which scenes of men being creeps were tied to the manuscript mystery, and which were just another day of another man being kind of a dick to the women around him.

Connor is a professor who <i>accidentally</i> stole his students thesis and published it into a book under his own name. After she’d been missing for two years. But suddenly, the book she wrote catches the attention of local leaders enforcement - as the novel has <b>very</b> similar details to that of a murder that occurred two years ago as well. And now they have Conner in their sights as the main suspect.

I found this book quite easy to pinpoint the “who” in the first few chapters and didn’t find it that much of an exciting thriller. I wish they would have given both Rebecca and Madeline a lot more character development - especially Rebecca.

This was my first David Bell book. It will not be my last. It's a fast paced book that will keep you turning the pages late into the night. A book that keeps you guessing and wondering what is going on.
Who is guilty and why did they do this.

A professor of English who teaches writing is at the center of a horrific thing. He is not completely innocent but he's not guilty of the horrors that happened either. He did steal but I mean what's the big deal right. Read and you will find out. There is a bit too much info in his book. There is a bit to much going on in his life all of a sudden. He goes from being a bit of a boring man who stays home most of the time to the center of it all. But things may not be as clear cut as they seem. Connor lost his family five years earlier and is alone. Just him and his dog, Grendel. He has a couple of friends who are also professors, but as a rule he seems to be a bit of a loner.

As you get to know Connor you will like him. He's a pretty easy going man. He seems to care about his students. But he has secrets too. He has things that he doesn't share. He has a few quirks that make him very odd at times. When his student, Madeline, goes missing he steals her book and publishes it. That is when his life takes a big turn. But is it for the better.

This book is told from three POVs. Connor, Madeline, and Rebecca. They each have something important to say. Each knows things that can either help or hurt the college professors. There are three professors to get to know also. Are they all caring when it comes to the students. Do they put the school first or their own lives. This book has a few twists and turns to keep you wanting more. There are some things going on that you just won't figure out until the end. You will have a few guesses along the way.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me wanting more. It kept me guessing. I did figure out part of it but only because I tend to do that. I read so many thrillers that I think maybe I have gotten good at figuring out a few things. But that never took away from this book. It's a real page turner from start to finish. Finding out what happened to the student and to her friend will keep you on edge. All the twists will have you catching your breath a few times. There is a lot going on but not so much that you can't keep track. It's a real who did what story. It also touches on sexual harassment in college so be warned. It's just a bit so not really a trigger.

I think this book was great. It held my interest and had me cringing quite a few times. I liked some of the characters and despised a few. I felt sorry for a couple of them. They seemed to be victims of circumstances. Even Connor was in a way a victim. Although that was his choice to.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #DavidBell, #Berkley for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

I give it 5/5 stars. It's a great read and I highly recommend it.

School, university or college settings have become new favourites in thrillers ever since reading the likes of THEY NEVER LEARN by Layne Fargo and MAGPIE LANE by Lucy Atkins. So I was instantly intrigued by the premise of Bell’s English literature professor who plagiarises the novel of one of his missing-believed-dead student. However, he may not have been so eager to embark on this fraudulent path to literary success if he had known the consequences! I will leave it at that, because the less you know, the more you will enjoy the many twists and turns in this clever novel.

I love books that steer you in multiple directions like an out-of-control three-wheeled racing car, screeching around blind corners as if the devil was in pursuit. Just as I thought we were on the highway to truth, we turned into yet another dark alley. I saw in hindsight how cleverly Bell has laid all his little traps, from Connor’s past history to the mystery appearance of yet another student character, who initially plays a peripheral role. Like a spider intricately weaving its web, Bell drew me in slowly and hooked me totally until I knew all the answers. And as the web tightened around Connor, the tension increased – what should he do? Admit to the plagiarism and lose his job, his reputation and the trust of his friends and colleagues, or become the suspect in a murder case? Maybe you think that this is an easy answer , because isn’t he a cheat and a liar? Well, yes, BUT ... there is so much more to the story here.

I’m already blabbing too much, so I will cut this short: KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS is a twisty, multi-layered mystery that will not only blindside you with each and every one of its twists and turns, but also present a true ethical dilemma or two. With an enigmatic and yet troubled lead character, Bell will take you on a journey you won’t want to exit until all is revealed. The college setting added an extra touch I very much enjoyed. Recommended to readers who love a twisty mystery with a bunch of characters who all have something to hide.

This was my second novel by David Bell. I enjoyed how the book opened up with the mystery of Madeline missing. I found it intriguing that her disappearance was tied to the murder of another female in the college town. While the synopsis reminded me of another new Release for 2021 (The Plot) the books themselves were very different. I enjoyed how the the main character had some overall redeeming qualities and in the end tried to piece everything together even though he risked his own life. I enjoyed the pace of the novel as well and found myself satisfied through the whole novel and didn't feel like it dragged in places like in some other novels. Overall a solid read and I look forward to reading more from this author.

“In writing, you must kill all your darlings.” - William Faulkner

I’m not sure that I completely agree, but it definitely makes for an entertaining novel, and David Bell kept me absolutely riveted to Kill All Your Darlings. The characters are complex, gritty, and realistic, and the plot is fast-paced and fun. It’s twisty, it’s addictive, and the plot builds onto itself in such a way that I flew through it with an I-must-know-what-happens-next intensity. Plus, there’s a dog, and so enough said.

I absolutely loved this book! Kill All Your Darlings was a cautionary tale in many different ways, but in addition, it was so engaging that I found myself not wanting to put it down.

Connor was such a messed up character trying hard to figure out how to do the right thing yet keep his career intact. Unfortunately once you cross a huge line that's almost impossible. I felt sorry for him but also found myself shouting at him (in my head - not IRL) and telling him what to do.

Madeline was a character I really liked and I was rooting for her throughout the book. She had some serious depth and I'd have loved to have seen where she ended up several years down the road.

So much about campus life reminded me of when I attended school that I found myself nostalgic. It was a wonderful setting for the story.

I'd definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy a mystery / thriller with a great setting and very interesting characters. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for approving an ARC at my request. All thoughts are my own.

Connor finally had a book published. He needed this publication to save his tenure at the university.

The only problem is that the book is one written by a former student who has gone missing and was never found.

Well....she was never found until now.

Madeline shows up sitting in his living room demanding money for her book that was published in his name.

That isn't the only problem with the book, though.

The police question the content because it has information about a murder a few years ago that includes information that was never released to the public.

What could Connor have gotten himself into?

Should he tell the police that Madeline is alive?

Why would she put those details about killing Sophia in the book?

Questions, questions, questions and a book you won't want to put down.

Mr. Bell will again treat readers to a gripping, page-turning thriller.

You will feel the tension in all the characters as well as their confusion about the situation.

Mr. Bell simply has a way of creating books that have exceptionally real and unique, pulse-pounding story lines.

He has outdone himself with KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS...don’t miss this book coming our way in July. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe the problem is that I just tried, and failed to finish, The Plot. Which basically feels like this book again. Or maybe it's that David Bell and I have a uneven history. I loved the beginning of the layover, as I enjoyed to the beginning of this one, only to find that it rather quickly devolved into suspensions of disbelief that stretched even my extremely client credulity to the breaking point...

It's an intriguing enough plot, if not altogether new. Older author steals material from young upstart. Bad Things Happen as a result. Weird random twists and turns are thrown in. It's not bad, it just felt like I had just read it. That is an accident of timing as much as anything else (and I actually liked this one better than The Plot for what it's worth), but all in all it just never felt like it engaged to me the way I wanted it to (much like Layover, now that I think about it). I think David Bell may just not be a good fit for me.

This was only okay for me. I love this premises of struggling writers and plagiarism. I was surprised with how the story started so that was a nice unexpected start to the story. The reveals were too predictable for me and the decisions of the MC definitely bothered me. But it was an interesting story that I think many people will enjoy.

"When a student disappears and is presumed dead, her professor passes off her manuscript as his own - only to find out it implicates him in an unsolved murder in this new thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of The Request.

After years of struggling to write following the deaths of his wife and son, English professor Connor Nye publishes his first novel, a thriller about the murder of a young woman.

There’s just one problem: Connor didn’t write the book. His missing student did. And then she appears on his doorstep, alive and well, threatening to expose him.

Connor’s problems escalate when the police insist details in the novel implicate him in an unsolved murder from two years ago. Soon Connor discovers the crime is part of a disturbing scandal on campus and faces an impossible dilemma - admit he didn’t write the book and lose his job or keep up the lie and risk everything. When another murder occurs, Connor must clear his name by unraveling the horrifying secrets buried in his student’s manuscript.

This is a suspenseful, provocative novel about the sexual harassment that still runs rampant in academia - and the lengths those in power will go to cover it up."

Naughty Connor. This book has two things I love, people getting their just desserts and a Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch "Kill Your Darlings" reference.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.