I really enjoyed this plot because as I was reading, I thought about what I would do in this situation. I suppose if you’re accused of murder, fessing up to stealing someone’s work is better than jail. But that’s just me! The story was fast paced, and in true David Bell fashion, there were twists and turns that constantly kept me guessing and not guessing correctly. There were so many shady suspects in this small college town, anyone could’ve done it!

This is the third thriller I have read by David Bell and I really like the way he writes. The twisty story of Professor Connor Nye. He's still grieving the loss of his wife and child and having a hard time trying to come up with a novel of his own. After one of his students, Madeline, goes missing, he decides to publish of of her manuscripts as his own. Later down the road, Madeline comes to him and wants her fair share.

In the meantime, the police are now looking at him as a possible suspect in a past murder because of the manuscript he wrote. So what is the story behind this manuscript?

Told through the professors, and Madelines POV, and different timelines, this one was great! I thought it was suspenseful and I enjoyed right from the beginning. I loved that I didn't know what to expect, and was surprised with the ending. Would highly recommend to thriller fans!

This was an INTENSE thriller with all the major components, secrets, lies, sacrifice and regrets. My attention was instantly captivated early on. This book is filled with twists and turns that you do not see coming. The chapters are short which I enjoy, it helps the book flow easily. The characters are well developed and you find yourself wanting "just one more chapter" . David Bell is a true story teller with made for tv books. This is not my first David Bell novel, and it will not be my last. I would classify this as one of his top 3. I would recommend this novel to someone who enjoys thrillers and mysteries.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐

PUBLICATION DAY: July 6, 2021

SUMMARY:
This is the time hopping story of a depressed professor and the ill advised decision he makes to take a student’s work and publish it as his own. Having suffered through a series of misfortunes, Connor, thinking his talented student is not coming back, publishes her thriller novel as his own. The only problem is the eerie similarities it has to an unsolved murder...how can he admit his ignorance without owning up to his other crime? A true conundrum...

PROS and CONS:
The back and forth from past to present made the timeline a little difficult to follow at times, as did the similarities between Madeline and Rebecca. There were only a few suspects to consider so the big reveal wasn’t so big. It was still interesting though and I enjoyed reading it.

READ IT?
It’s up to you...I didn’t love it, but I didn’t dislike it either. It’s one to read if you enjoy a mystery with a university campus type setting.

3 Stars

This book started out really strong for me and then unfortunately sort of went downhill for me. Too many weird twists that weren’t necessary. Some deaths even that weren’t necessary. I don’t know. Less would have been more for me.

Dare I say this might be my favorite David Bell novel yet?!? ⁣
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I mean, could you get any more fun than a thriller book, about a thriller book? ⁣
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When his student disappears and is presumed dead, Conner publishes her manuscript as his own - and the novel is getting rave reviews.⁣
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But it’s soon discovered that the murder in the book, is eerily similar to an unsolved one - and Conner becomes a prime suspect. ⁣
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You’re going to want to grab this on one when it comes out - it’s the twisty, unique, edge-of-your-seat suspense that we’ve come to know and love in a David Bell Novel with a clever and dark #metoo twist of sexual harassment in academia. ⁣

David Bell is an auto request author for me!
So, I did not even read the book description when I pressed the “request” button-and I am glad that I didn’t!

It says MUCH TOO MUCH!
It summarizes the entire story!

So, if you also ❤️ David Bell’s novels, just CRACK open the book and begin reading!

Here is all that you need to know..

English Professor Connor Nye has finally published a novel, a thriller called “My Best Friend’s Murder” and it has assured him tenure at the University-a relief after struggling to write following the deaths of his wife and son.

Just one problem-he didn’t write the story, that he passed off as his own work.

It was a thesis paper turned in by one of his more talented students, Madeleine O’Brien-a student who went missing two years ago and is presumed dead.

The book GRABS you from the start, as Madeleine has decided to reappear and claim the money that should rightfully be hers-and she is waiting for Connor in his living room, scratching the head of his eleven year old Beagle mix, and only companion, Grendel....

If only things were that simple-pay Madeleine and she won’t expose his plagiarism!

But, of course, it’s not that simple because if Connor had known HOW she had come up with the story-he may not have been so eager to call it his own.

It’s not just plagiarism he has to worry about now-the book has made him a suspect in an unsolved murder.
Because the book he has penned is just a little bit too similar...

The truth is exposed through chapters from the past from Madeleine’s POV, and the present through the POV’s of Connor, Madeleine and another writing student, Rebecca Knox.

As always, some questionable decisions will be made along the way!!
Which is what makes this author’s stories so much fun to read!

Although it did not feel long, there was some repetition in the changing POV’s which maybe could have been eliminated and shortened the book from its current 416 pages.

AND, don’t worry, animal lovers! 🐶 Grendel does not come to any harm in the making of this book!

I would like to thank Elisha from Berkley for inviting me to read an early copy of this book, provided through NetGalley! It was my pleasure to provide a candid review!

Available either June 29th or July 6th, 2021!

There’s just something about me and David Bell novels. The synopsis to ALL his novels excites me - EVERY. SINGLE. TIME - but I always leave disappointed and with a stale taste in my mouth - EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS was/is no exception. It started off REALLY strong and I was REALLY excited about it. I thought to myself, “this is it , this is the David Bell novel that I’m really really gonna like.” NOPE!!
At first, I couldn’t put it down. I found myself reading it into wee hours of the night. Wanting, even needing to find out what was really going on with these characters. BUT, then around Chapter FORTY (40) it just started to drag and drag and dragggggggg until I found myself skipping paragraphs and then skipping pages and then skipping entire chapters. There are approximately EIGHTY-FIVE (85) chapters by the way .......

I think this is it for me and David. I honestly feel that I gave it a great effort but I think it’s finally time to throw in the towel.

Thank you to GetRedPR and the publisher for a free copy of this book.
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This is my second David Bell novel and I have enjoyed them both. This one had a great plot and there were many players in the game. Each character was intertwined well and it did not seem like there were characters just to have them. The plot overall was well developed and I enjoyed the duel timelines as that helped the background.

My biggest "problem" with this book, which was my biggest problem in the other David Bell book was the length. For a thriller/suspense to be 400+ pages is an anomaly to me personally. I feel most need to move faster than that and anymore than 350 pages is pushing it.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend

Compulsively readable. Twisted. I loved every page. Bell is a wonderful story teller who makes you believe and cheer for his characters

An English professor is working with Madeline on her thesis when she suddenly disappears. The professor decides to “steal” her thesis and publish it as his own; BUT, her story is about a murder and it happens to be real. Another great read by Bell❤️

I could not get into this one and stay interested in this one. I ended up putting it down and never really feeling like picking it up. I'm sure it's good, just didn't grab my interest.

A thriller of a story. A theses turns into a bestseller whick turns into a blueprint of murder. Being a teacher at college for young adult minds isn't easy. Being an example, a good example is even harder. What's a teacher to do when students are more creative than you are.
Excellent read!

This was tight, if a little wordy. Just when you think you have it figured out...
This is a thriller about the writing of a thriller and the chaos that ensues. It jumps narrators and has flashbacks but I really liked the way it was laid out. It was not at all difficult to follow. The flow really worked this way.
I did tend to skim over repetitive parts, but they were few between. I was given a prepub copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Bell is a stunning writer with interesting stories and stunning twists. I really enjoyed this, as I have his others, and will anxiously await his next.

All of the praise for this book that I could NOT put down! The storytelling was so vivid, the characters so real, that I felt like these events were actually happening. The action begins in the first chapter and is relentless, infused with a palpable tension that permeates this book. KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS will surely be one of this summer's must-have reads!

English professor Connor Nye publishes his first novel, a thriller about the murder of a young woman. Having spent the last several years in an alcoholic haze, following the tragic deaths of his wife and son, the novel came at the most opportune time. The only thing is, he didn't write it - one of his students did. After she wrote the book as her thesis, she disappeared and hadn't been heard from since. Everyone thought she was dead. Only now she is back - and she wants to be paid for the novel that is rightfully hers. A novel that is now tied to an unsolved murder, since the murder in the book happened in the exact same way and it even included details only the police and the real killer would know about.
This book was SO good. It has so many twists and turns it will give you whiplash. It is non-stop suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat, turning the pages, and not wanting to put it down until you are done. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good thriller.

I am really impressed with this book! I have loved all of David Bell’s novels and this one was even better! Really great read and had an amazing ending with a thrill!

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Connor Nye, whose wife and son died a few years ago, is a professor of creative writing who has just published the novel that will give him tenure. The problem is that he didn't write it. It was the thesis of a student who disappeared 2 years ago that he published so he could get tenure. It turns out this just published fiction novel closely follows a murder that occurred in the town and even has details that were never revealed. Now Connor is having to answer for why his novel is so close it the real life murder.

4.5 stars

I thought this was a really interesting concept that was well executed. I liked Connor and was rooting for him despite the stupid decision he had made. I read this one pretty quickly and wanted to pick it up again when I had to out it down because I wanted to know what had really happened. Who was the murderer and how did the student know these details? I have read several novels from this author and this was one of the better ones. Really enjoyed it.

I’ve been reading Bell for a while now. In fact, probably read every single book he’s written. They’ve been somewhat uneven, quality wise, but mostly good. So I requested his new one right as it showed up on Netgalley without hesitating and sure enough, it’s one from the mostly (more on this in detail later) good category.
This book from its clever literary title to the contents was very much a write what you know sort of thing. The main protagonist is an English professor in a small Kentucky college in a small Kentucky town, much like the author. White, middle class, middle aged…and let’s hope that’s where the similarities end, because he’s also a barely coping widower, semi functional depressed drunk (though working on that) and unable to write a single creative word. That’s Connor Nye’s life, sort of floundering.
Unable to secure tenure due to inability to publish and desperate, he does something immoral, but reasonable…plagiarism. Takes a manuscript of a missing young woman he used to teach and publishes it as his own. It’s good, certainly more so than any book Connor of his university buddies has written. Good enough to get attention and in this case all kinds of wrong attention. First, from the missing young woman, who is very much alive, back and wants her cut. Second, from the cops, because the murder described in a book all too closely resembles an unsolved local one from two years ago. Now Connor is in a sea of doodoo and it takes all his effort to just stay upright.
So there you have it…a pretty typical murder suspense thriller set in a world of small town academia to make things more interesting. All the genre standards are present…multiple perspectives, multiple timelines, twist ending, etc. This is Bell’s eight novel (let’s hope his tenure is secure), all in the same genre, so he’s basically a pro, this reads like it was done by a pro, all the boxes checked and so on. Good character development. Mostly. This’ll tie in with the earlier mostly. Because it seems the author got too clever with the final twist and abandoned basic plausibility in order to make it stick.
The final plot twist is such a crucial thing to the genre that one must take great care discussing it and I’ll try, but reader be warned and take caution proceeding…because the thoughts on the final twist are to follow in the next paragraph.
Ok, so I’ve had my suspicions about the killer for a while, but Bell cleverly deflected them until the end. The novel was flying along with great confidence but it didn’t quite stick the landing. The final twist is kind of like…really? that totally doesn’t jive with the character or at least the character as they were presented until now. Why would you go all confessional when you have so much to risk and there’s no evidence against you and all the witnesses are dead? Just so the author can hit the goal of twisting that plot and stunning his readers? Well, this reader didn’t buy it. It might work for others, though.
And we’re back, that was nice and generic, wasn’t it? Anyway, so that ending was the book’s main detractor for me to cherrytop minor detractor of the book’s size, (like most Americans) too unnecessarily fat as in not enough muscle beneath the bulk. Mostly heavy padding through exhaustive narrative hopping around. The book should have been way leaner. To Bell’s credit (pro, remember) it doesn’t read like a long book, it’s very dialogue driven and therefore reads quickly enough and easily. And it is fun, it is mostly fun. Enough to recommend it. With fairly interesting and realistic characters and perfectly oriented to the present day MeToo zeitgeist. Kudos to the author for being so woke and a strange knack for writing very believable young women among other things. So evil professors in small town academia preying on damsels in thesis mode…there you go. Overall entertaining read. Thanks Netgalley.