After reading The Woman In the Library, I was super excited to get approved on NetGalley for The Mystery Writer.

While enjoyable and worth the read, it fell a little flat for me and I struggled to get through several sections.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced digital copy.

The Mystery Writer is another stand-alone mystery by Sulari Gentill whose freedom from the Rowland Sinclair series has led to wildly inventive, somewhat improbably story lie this one. It begins when Theidosia quits college and Australia, heading to the US and her lawyer brother. She wants to write a novel and her brother is supportive

She starts going to a coffeehouse/bar to write, sitting at a corner table typing away on her laptop. She meets Dan, another writer, one she admires, who goes to the same coffeehouse/bar. Soon they share a table daily and Theo feels like she if falling for him. But in an extraordinarily bad coincidence, once she sleeps with him, he is murdered. Of course she is the suspect.

Meanwhile, her book is coming along well. She may have a literary agent, the agent her murdered author lover said was unsuitable. Her brother’s private investigator friend is on the job, but because the police seem incapable of detecting the gaping opening of a paper bag, soon her brother, the detective, and she are variously and together suspected of the murder.



The Mystery Writer is one of Sulari Gentill’s best novels. She creates characters that are plausible and likeable. It was going great with moments of humor, but the last part leading to the resolution is improbable. The tone of the story is abruptly changed from a domestic cozy to a espionage thriller. It’s jarring and far too unlikely. I loved the three quarters of the book and my rating reflects that. The last quarter, well the least said, soonest forgotten.

I received an e-galley of The Mystery Writer from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Mystery Writer at Poisoned Pen Press | SourceBooks
Sulari Gentill author site

3.5-3.75 stars

The plot of this book was intriguing. The portrayal of American characters and their guns was satirically funny, and I enjoyed most of the story. The ending, though…talk about a conclusion that seems to come out of nowhere and that is way over the top. Entertaining, but also a bit ridiculous. Definitely an adventure.

I was a bit disappointed in this book. I've read Sulari Gentill's two previous books and I loved them, but with The Mystery Writer, I feel like the last 10-20% of the book was so out there that it affected my enjoyment of the novel. I will say that the author is very skilled, especially with writing realistic and dynamic characters. The plot twists just weren't for me.

"A Mystery Writer" delves into the intricate world of crime fiction with finesse. The author crafts a riveting narrative filled with unexpected twists and turns, keeping readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. Through skillful character development and atmospheric storytelling, the novel transports readers into a realm where nothing is as it seems. The protagonist, a seasoned detective grappling with personal demons, adds depth to the plot, while the intricate web of clues and red herrings keeps readers guessing until the final revelation. A must-read for fans of the genre, "A Mystery Writer" is a captivating tale that will leave readers craving more.

The Mystery Writer is a mystery story of sorts that includes an unusual mix of writers, the publishing world, and crime. Add to the mix conspiracy theories and you have an interesting combination that Ms Gentill handles superbly. I found myself fascinated by her story.

The Mystery Writer is a clever story that is well-written and twisty. The characters are interesting and some are ever-evolving, which gives the plot added depth. It’s a complex story that is well-conceived and well-presented. The setting is Lawrence, Kansas which is an unusual place for a mystery, but it works well. And, since I’m familiar with this location, it made the story even more enjoyable. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

This story was weird and forgettable; writing this review less than a week after finishing the book, I barely know what to say. I had suspicions immediately about certain characters, some which proved true and some which didn't. I could not identify with the female lead character really at all, and so I didn't find myself especially invested in the story. The prepper/conspiracy theorist plot was bizarre and frankly uncomfortable for me. All in all a middle of the road book; I don't regret the time spent reading it, but it won't leave a lasting impression.

This is my second Sulari Gentiil book after The Woman in the Library and I think I found her style of writing and the way the story moves forward quite similar in these 2 books. There is a group of friends, they go out for coffee/dinner/lunch dates and somewhere there is a murder that gets inserted into this and then the relationship dynamics in this group is left imbalanced. I'm not really complaining because her books are very easy to read but at the same time, if you ask me 3 months later to recount the story, I will not remember anything at all.

Theo has decided that she does not want to study law in Australia and she wants to write books, so she decides to pack it all up and move to America to be with her brother, Gus. Gus and Theo had a rather unconventional upbringing but Gus is a supportive and protective brother. Theo starts work on her first novel, often writing and editing in one of the cafes, where she meets another bestselling writer, Dan Murdoch, who mentors her in the novel writing process. They become close and develop feelings for each other but Theo's world is turned upside down when Dan is found murdered and Theo is the one to discover his body. There is plot angle of weird conspiracy theories and Theo finds herself getting targeted by Dan's fans. Gus and his friend Mac(I liked his character and his absurd but interesting family) help Theo to untangle the mess but they themselves get embroiled in the whole matter and then things start going south very quickly.

Theo's character seems to be so naïve and always in need of protection from either Gus or Mac that at some point I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Overall although I enjoyed reading the book, I found the ending to be a little far-fetched.

This was a compelling mystery, with interesting characters and an interesting storyline. It was entertaining and for a large part of it, kept me on the edge of my seat. I did begin to be bored around 50% through, and that lasted for a while, but the reveal and overall story of this book made it worth pushing through the part that felt like a jarring change in direction.
One thing that I dislike about this author's writing is the villifying of people on the political far right. I'm not even in that party, but the author intentionally creating characters with that leaning in both the books I've read and making those characters into extremely negative caricatures is very off-putting to me. I probably will avoid her works in the future because of this tendency.
I am glad to have read both the books that I have, though.

Theo leaves law school and moves to America to live with her brother, with dreams of becoming a writer. She starts going to a local café to focus on her writing and befriends not only the employees, but some of the other regulars. When one of the café regulars is murdered, she gets wrapped up in the investigation. As much as she doesn’t want to be a suspect, she wants to help find out what happened. Will she figure out who the real murderer is? All while trying to write a novel? We shall see..

I really enjoyed the concept of the story. I thought the first half of the book was a bit slow moving, but then the story picked up a little pace. But then, mid-chapter, I got really confused and thought I accidentally turned pages on my kindle and didn’t notice. I went back and forth to make sure I didn’t miss anything, but nope, I read it all. The story just jumped to an entirely different scene. This happened a handful of times through the end and each time I had to keep reading before I figured out what was going on. At times, I’d have to go back and reread that section once I had a better idea.

All in all, I enjoyed reading it!

A quiet but powerful mystery set in the world of conspiracy theories and secrets. Theodosia Benton arrives at her brother's home in Kansas leaving her schooling and life behind to become a writer. While writing at a local café Theo meets literary powerhouse Dan Murdoch who quickly becomes her mentor and maybe something more. The day after Theo gives Dan her manuscript she finds his body, brutally murdered in his home. Theo immediately is suspected by Murdoch's fans and is dragged into conspiracy theories and the secrets of the literary world. The bodies continue to stack-up and further freighting things continue to happen to Theo and her brother Gus. Theo is not swayed to stop finding Dan's murderer, especially after the police find evidence that implicates Gus in the murders. Theo most protect her brother at all costs including falling head-first into the dark side of the literary world. Can Gus follow the trail of clues left by Theo to save his sister and shake the foundation of the dangerous underbelly of literary secrets that protect authors at all cost. Sulari Gentill is a talented writer who's novels are descriptive and captivating. Gentill's true talent is how she creates and structures her characters, their dialogue flows effortlessly and I always get lost in the world she creates. I gave this book a 3.5 stars, as I did not connect with the story and the conspiracy theory angle. Overall I did enjoy the novel, the writing and characters were intriguing and likeable. Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC, all opinions are my own.

This was ok. The plot was very convoluted. Theo was hard to like because she kept making very immature decisions. She's young so I tried to see past this, but the decisions were central to the plot and started to get frustrating after a while. The conspiracy theorist stuff was distracting and I honestly didn't think that it added much to the plot. Gus was a good older brother and I liked Mac's family.

The pacing is inconsistent here, so the story seems to move forward in fits and starts with lulls in between. The ending felt rushed like the author ran out of time and crammed it all in. There were too many unlikely plot developments to be believable, which took me out of the flow of the story.

Not my favorite thriller this month or even this year, unfortunately.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Sulari Gentill's The Woman in the Library blew me away when I read it in 2022 so I was thrilled to receive an advanced review copy of her latest and requested without even reading the summary.

I loved the set up of this. Theo is an interesting main character and while I never really bought into her relationship with her "mentor" it made sense given the circumstances that she would be involved in solving the mystery of his murder. I liked the tension and was happily along for the ride... until the ending. This book is on the longer end for a mystery novel yet the last 20% uses so many time jumps that the ending felt rushed and left me unsatisfied. While ultimately I think the logic was there, the change in pace made it feel unbelievable because it moved so quickly.

I liked what the author was trying to do by exploring conspiracy theorists and relating the believability of certain conspiracies to fandom around certain books and the parasocial relationship some readers get with their favorite authors in the age of social media. Ultimately though none of that was explored as in depth as I wanted it to and I'm not sure if it's because the ending felt rushed or because of other reasons.

While this ultimately didn't work as well for me as I wanted it to, I still really like Gentill's prose and am interested in seeing what she writes next.

I'm a little late with this due to unexpected life things but im here and that's all that matters😭 right? right?!?

I feel like I read The Mystery Writer at exactly the right time. It's funny that John Grisham is mentioned somewhere in here because that was literally a reoccurring thought as I read the book is that it reminded me of a classic mystery novel and John Grisham specifically came to mind! I love Surali's prose which is usually very important to me because otherwise I don't really connect to the story. Aside from references of recent world happenings you don't really know when this book is set which I love. It is definitely has promise to join the ranks of mystery classics. One thing that ruffled my little feathers though was Theo's naivete for most of the book. Granted she is just coming into adulthood though, ill give it a little bit of a pass. In conclusion, Mac Etheridge marry me pls.

'The Mystery Writer’ by Christina Estes
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication: March 26, 2024
Special thanks to Netgalley and Poison Pen Press for the Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

MC Theodosia Benton has just left law school and shows up on the doorstep of her brother, Gus, announcing she wants to become a writer. Gus welcomes Theo into his house and we can instantly see the loving relationship they have with each other. Gus encourages Theo to get out of the house and write so she stumbles into local coffeehouse/bar ‘Benders’ and realizes she isn’t the only writer here. After watching from afar she finally meets acclaimed author Dan Murdoch with whom she develops a friendship/mentorship/romance. When Theo goes to Dan’s house to invite him to dinner she finds him murdered and this sets off a large cascade of events.
Soon a second body is found outside Theo and Gus’ house and the police grow more and more suspicious of her as bodies continue to pile up.

Overall it was a very intriguing book that did a good job of pulling me into the story and had wonderful character development and relationships.
Taking stars off because I found the character of Theo extremely naiive and also because the time jumps throughout the story become a little hard to follow.

In the latest of the Sulari Gentill's appealing crime novels featuring mystery writers, Theo Benton ditches law school and decides to write a novel, so she leaves Australia and shows up at her brother Gus's house in the US. She spends her days writing in a bar/coffee place, where she meets and befriends a famous writer. Of course, real-life murder ensues, and Theo tries to figure out what is going on without getting herself—or her brother—killed. So far, so good: a smart heroine, writers, controlling publishers, murder, and a sense of continuing danger. Conveniently, Gus’s friend Mac has certain skills, not to mention family connections, that come in handy during the increasingly complicated investigation. The twists are fun, though things get a little nutty and farfetched in the second half of the book, with doomsday preppers (!) helping Theo out of a jam.

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital advance review copy.

If you're looking for a unique and twisty mystery, this is the one for you! Gentill is fantastic at building out her characters, and making you really care about them. I also really enjoyed the conspiracy aspect, it added unique spin on the typical mystery genre.

The synopsis of the book didn't really match the content or vibe of the book as per my expectation. Sorry I DNFed this book, I am not into conspiracy theories.it might be a better fit for someone who is into conspiracy theories.

Thank you to the piblishers and Netgalley for my eARC.

3.5 stars.

I had mixed feelings about this one. If you like a novel about crime, books, writers, and publishing, this one is for you. I loved the beginning, it pulled me right in. And even throughout, I wanted to finish it and know what happens. But somewhere toward the 3/4 of the book, the story shifted and I had trouble understanding why. The end also seemed rushed, despite having wonderful twists.

Theodosia seemed a bit naive to my taste, and with a background in law, I expected her to be a little more aware of some of the things going on. I only remembered she went to law school when she stated so, but none of her actions reminded me of it.

I loved the two other main characters, Gus and Mac. They were so alive! The author did an amazing job bringing them to life.

I've read other reviews where readers loved "The Woman in the Library" by the same author, I will definitely add it to my TBR list.

**Thank you, Sulari Gentill, NetGalley, and Poisoned Pen Press for the e-ARC.**

When Theodosia Benton decides to abandon law school to pursue her dream of being an author of thrillers. She turns to her older brother who lives in the US. Her brother tries to support her dreams and encourages her to find a place to write outside the house. She finds a cafe to go to daily to write where she also meets and falls in love with her literary idol. The day after she gives him her finished manuscript she find him murdered in his home. When she and her brother are soon suspects of the murder, Theodosia must do everything she can to clear her brother.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were likable and believable. I like the relationship between Theodosia and her brother. I like how neither one of the siblings stopped believing or trying to help the other. The mystery is well-plotted and moves at a quick pace. There are plenty of red herrings to keep the reader in suspense on who was truly behind everything.
All thoughts and opinions are my own, I have not been influenced by anyone.