This is sad, I really enjoy The Woman in the Library, so I was super excited with this one, but unfortunately this one is not for me.
I have problem with the pace and lots of things.
Sometimes it's dragging and other time it moves fast forward. It's confusing and sometimes doesn't make any sense.
The romance is unnecessary. The plot is unbelievable.
Overall I didn't enjoy it all, well it's just me, it has a good premise though, so if you interesting, try it, maybe you will like it.

I wanted to read The Mystery Writer because I enjoyed Gentill’s 2022 novel The Woman in the Library. I appreciate that Gentill’s mysteries include writers and topics of interest to book lovers.

The Mystery Writer, a literary mystery, had my attention from the very beginning. The novel eases the reader into the life of the main character, Theo, when she moves from Australia to Lawrence, Kansas, to live with her brother and start a new path as a writer. When Theo encounters another writer at a local restaurant, her relationship with him leads to unexpected conflict and changes the trajectory of her life in unthinkable ways. As the novel progresses, it becomes rather action-packed and takes some turns that take the reader for a ride.

One of the characters in the novel was raised in a family of doomsday preppers, and I found his family very interesting. The author also incorporates conspiracy theory chat rooms in the story.
Theo’s brother is a lawyer, and I appreciated his legal knowledge in the story, as well. Meanwhile, Theo shares her writing process as she works to start her novel writing career. The reader also learns about Theo’s unique upbringing and a traumatic incident that deeply affected her and her brother.

The author’s commentary regarding the publishing industry raises the important question of whether artists and creators must be perfectly presented to the public or risk cancellation. Should one’s art be evaluated separately from one’s past and one’s personal life?

From beginning to end, I found The Mystery Writer engaging. It was fun to make predictions as I read. I definitely had to keep an open mind at times as the plot developed, and I suggest readers do the same if you pick this one up.

I have read some criticism regarding the second half of the book, and I agree with some who say that the storyline took a turn and became more far-fetched and chaotic, but I still enjoyed the novel, overall.

I thought this was well crafted, with unique twists and although it took me a little bit to get into it, it was a great read! One to add to your list.

"The Mystery Writer" by Sulari Gentill promises a tantalizing premise: a journey into the hidden world of authors and their secrets. While it delivers on its promise of intrigue and suspense, the execution leaves something to be desired.

Theodosia Benton's decision to abandon her legal career and pursue writing throws her into a whirlwind of unexpected challenges. Gentill effectively captures the uncertainty and anxiety that come with chasing one's dreams, making Theo a relatable protagonist. However, the transition from lawyer to aspiring writer feels rushed, and the depth of Theo's internal struggle is not fully explored.

The murder of Theo's mentor adds a layer of mystery to the narrative, driving the plot forward with a sense of urgency. Gentill skillfully weaves together elements of conspiracy and deception, keeping readers guessing until the final pages. Yet, the resolution feels somewhat contrived, with certain revelations stretching the bounds of plausibility.

One of the strengths of "The Mystery Writer" lies in its exploration of the power dynamics within the literary world. Gentill delves into the notion of identity and authorship, raising thought-provoking questions about the nature of storytelling and the lengths to which some will go to control the narrative. However, these themes could have been further developed to add depth and complexity to the plot.

Overall, "The Mystery Writer" is a gripping read that will appeal to fans of literary thrillers. While it falls short in certain aspects, particularly in character development and thematic exploration, it still offers an entertaining ride through a world where truth and fiction blur into one another. Gentill's narrative prowess shines through, leaving readers eager to see what twists and turns await in her future works.

This book seemed like a debut. The writing was uncomplicated, and at times the plot was confusing. I enjoyed the main character, her brother, and his friend, though at times in the end when events were supposed to be occurring simultaneously their perspectives were a bit confused and took me some effort to sort.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book! I so enjoyed Gentill’s latest book and was immediately captured by the writing and literary setting as narrative. Incredible!

This story follows Theo Benton after dropping out of law school in Australia to move in with her brother and become a writer in a small town in Kansas. After a famous writer she befriends while spending her days working on her first novel at a local cafe/bar, chaos ensues, and things spiral out of control.

I had forgotten what this book was supposed to be about when I finally sat down to read it, so I went in blind and was wonderfully surprised. The lead characters with complicated histories and nonstop twists and turns of the plot left me reading for hours after I should have put it down to do some actual work. The story also follows a chat room of conspiracy theorists--don't worry, I'll let you figure out how it plays a role in the narrative. I felt like it gave a bit of humanity to the people we often demonize or write off as crazy. In general, when I came to the end and replayed the story, I was left really contemplating the role of stories in manipulating people's behaviors. It's an unfortunate time in American history, and this is really relevant to what we're seeing play out.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery or general action-packed story.

THE MYSTERY WRITER
Sulari Gentill

No, I didn’t enjoy my time reading THE MYSTERY WRITER.

THE MYSTERY WRITER follows Theodosia. A lawyer turned writer who gets the opportunity to write the biography of a mentor in her field. As she starts to hear his story, she begins to form emotions for him that go beyond telling his story.

Before he can tell all that he wants to tell, and before those emotions can be explored, he ends up dead, and Theo’s brother Gus is the one investigators are looking at. As Theo uncovers the mystery of the mystery writer’s death, she writes herself out of her own story. But all of that is for you to read in Sulari Gentill’s title, THE MYSTERY WRITER.

I was rather disappointed with THE MYSTERY WRITER and Sulari Gentill. I have heard amazing things about THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY. I did not find anything in THE MYSTERY WRITER to go back and revisit Sulari’s backlist. Unfortunately, I don’t think Gentill’s writing is for me. And for that, there is no remedy.

The story presented in THE MYSTERY WRITER is all over the place. It all sounds straightforward until you get to the last line in the publisher’s synopsis. It all breaks apart there. This is just a good reminder that even if your friends like something it doesn’t mean you will.

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy!

THE MYSTERY WRITER…⭐⭐

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is a tongue in cheek, fast paced mystery where everyone is a suspect. There is also some clever introspection of American gun violence and the erosion of democracy by leveraging conspiracy theories. This also includes doomsday conspiracists, communes, and sexual assault.

We first meet one of the central characters, Theodosia Benton, who leaves her legal education behind in Tanzania, to live with her brother, Gus, in Lawrence, Kansas to pursue her dreams of becoming a writer. What ensues, are days spent writing in a local restaurant and forming a relationship with a fellow author, Dan. Dan is a well-established author through a prestigious publishing house and refuses Theodosia's requests for him to forward on her manuscript to his publisher. Dan soon turns up dead with Theodosia as the prime suspect. Dan's manuscript goes missing, more dead bodies follow, and Theodosia is courted by Dan's prestigious publisher to sign a book deal under dark and mysterious pretenses.

This is a very fast paced romp with a sinister twist exploring media consumption and writing as a means to influence politics and undermine democracy. The banter is witty and quite funny, especially between Gus and Theo which helps to develop their characters. I also really enjoyed the loving relationship between brother and sister, which I have rarely come across in books that I've read.

It is so fast paced, that some readers who are more seriously into this genre might find the movement of plot too jarring, wondering how one thing led to another. There is a plot hole here and there so even though this a thriller I would place it in between cozy mystery/mystery section as it's a mixed bag of a classic whodunnit with witty banter and murder.

I rate this one 3.5 stars.

This was a book about mystery books and those that write them but with some fun and a little twist. I enjoyed the book and thought it was a fun and enjoyable read.

This book is a perfect example of a fascinating story idea that was so poorly executed that the content of the pages bears only a vague resemblance to what the synopsis promised. I should have known when the term “conspiracy theory” appeared, but alas, I forged ahead anyway.

At the end of the book, the author explained that she doesn’t plot out her storyline. That is patently obvious in this book, and the result is a wasted opportunity for a great story idea. Unless you are a fan of books with gullible main characters, characters that come across as caricatures of Americans, and plots that become purely absurd, I would suggest skipping this one.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I REALLY enjoyed THE MYSTERY WRITER, and I do think I enjoyed it even more than THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY (which I loved) because it was a little easier to follow start to finish with fewer ????s for the reader at the end.
The story is wildly timely in an age when the public is so easily manipulated by conspiracy theories and problematic suspicions and plots. This was a great backdrop for a murder mystery and I really enjoyed Theodosia and Gus' connection and family backstory. This was twisty and full of surprises and I loved how the tension developed. I did want to scream at Theo a bit for not taking the danger of the situation seriously enough, but then I would remind myself that she was young, not in the limelight, and would have been naturally unable to wrap her mind around the fact that she'd landed in the center of a wild plot. This was really good start to finish.

I love this work! Sulari Gentill has a real knack for painting a picture with words and tying up all the loose ends in a mystery. Thanks to NetGalley for the freebie.

Sulari Gentill writes a thought-provoking book about a woman who wants to become a writer. On the journey to success, she meets a man who unintentionally leads her down the wrong path. As a seasoned writer, he guides her through her process and helps her write better. After he's murdered and she's the Prime suspect, her life takes the most unexpected turns.

A writer encounters a murdered friend and must deal with the repercussions. Sadly, I never really got into this. It was a little more literary and less suspenseful for my taste and I wasn’t interested at all in the conspiracy theories storyline. There was too much posturing. I may put this author aside for now as I wasn’t that excited about her first book either.

Theo has fled her university in Australia to be with her brother in America and become the writer she so badly wants to be.  While writing her book, she is hanging out in a bar where other writers work and she starts talking to Dan. Dan gives her lots of guidance and encouragement in her writing. He does not however want to submit her manuscript to his agents. Then Dan is murdered and the story takes a turn. What a wild ride and such a great story! It flows quickly so hang on for the ride. You won't be disappointed except for when it is over too soon. A must read!

I primarly read the romance genre but occasionally I like to go outside my reading comfort zone with a good thriller or mystery. This book was perfect for doing just that! I was instantly drawn into Theo's life and the mystery that kept unfolding around Dan Murdock - constatnly wondering how all the pieces would come together. This book kept me engaged the entire time and left me as a satisfied reader at the end. The creativity to weave this story and characters together was superb! The storyline of Theo and Dan and then later the chemistry between Theo and Mac also delighted the romance reader in me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Not so much a mystery as a suspense thriller, The Mystery Writer is about a young aspiring author who gets caught up in the murder of her coffeeshop-fellow-writing friend.
First, the blurb (which I try to avoid reading), gives up way too much, including one of the big reveals at the end.
I was into this book for the first fourth(ish) - I too have made friends at my local coffee shop! But then Theo keeps being threatened (by the police and others), keeps going over and over what she knows while things get worse and worse.. and then there’s a big time jump.

The writing is great, but the pacing and the way it all unwound was unsatisfying.

This was more literary than most thrillers I read, but it still had me turning pages. Conspiracy theories are frustrating and it was frustrating to be dealing with them here, but Gentill lands the plan and makes it all oh so worth it.

This was an odd book. I went in expecting something entirely different from what I got - for better or worse. I was totally invested in Theo and Dan's relationship and kinship over writing and was definitely surprised with how that played out. I was also really intrigued by the conspiracy theories (which were definitely unexpected), but everything went just a little too far for me.

There were red flags and breadcrumbs that will likely be obvious to a seasoned reader, but even still, I enjoyed how everything played out. There was major suspension of belief but I think listening to the book on audio helped with that for me. I could totally seeing this play out as a Netflix series and I would be GLUED to it!

Much of the novel was focused on a short period of time, but suddenly, years passed. It felt slow and rushed all at the same time which was a little jarring.

This book is unique. Again, not what I was expecting or really wanting but overall I did enjoy it. If it sounds interesting, I definitely recommend the audio.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Press, and Dreamscape Media for the copy.