The first thing I want to say is I am shocked at how much the synopsis gave away. I think there is a lot of criticism by readers generally in the mystery/thriller genre that synopses give away too much. But I was shocked when the things listed in the synopsis didn't happen until **70%** That really makes no sense to me.

As far as the story. I really enjoyed the set up and beginning. I always love stories centered around writers and the publishing industry. I don't love stories that go towards espionage and conspiracy type angles. So that component lost me a little bit. The main character's decisions and naiveté definitely bothered me at points, but I did like some reveals and the relationships that developed.

Sulari Gentill really writes unique stories and while this one wasn't my favorite, it was still fun and unique and I look forward to seeing what she does next!

Yet another book I never received. It's a shame your system has broken down to the extent that it has. I will not be asking Netgalley for may more titles.

This is the second book that I've read by Sulari Gentill. This mystery had me hooked from the start. I liked the writing and how the plot unfolded.

I enjoyed The Woman in the Library and was eager to read this book. However, it took a while to get going and while initially engrossing, it became quite frustrating.

The most significant issue I had was with Theo – the female lead, who made me so confused with her actions. I don’t know but some of her choices were truly head scratching and that mostly ruined my enjoyment of the book.

Thanks to Poison Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is just a tad different a book within a book but a mystery happens. It was not as wonderful as others but it was a little dull. Yes all the classic parts written were there but it was hard to get captured in Theo’s plot for a book or the mystery found in Murdoch murder. It’s disjointed and not to the normal read you expect. Too many bits need more polish.

WILD + TWISTY!!! ♥️ Theodosia (Theo) Benton abandons her remaining few years at an Australian law school to be a writer. She shows up at brother Gus’s Lawrence, Kansas home asking for a place to live while finishing her novel. She writes every morning at the local cafe/bar Benders.. oh yes, named after that infamous 1800’s family. Theo strikes up a friendship with famous author Dan Murdoch who becomes her mentor. When he is found murdered on the day Theo gives him her manuscript, she tries to solve the crime. This novel is like peeling an onion, multilayered.

The characters themselves are a mish-mash of people that had me scratching my head—no idea what roles they would play; good or bad; -Writer. Attorney. Publishing agent. Private eye. Doomsday preppers. Reporter. Serial killer(s)???

In one way or another.. ALL hold one commonality: -the literary world.📚👩🏼‍💻

THE MYSTERY WRITER is a cat and mouse game of intense pressure and a thick layer of secrets. I had no idea where this was going.. and sure enjoyed the ride!🎢😳🤯 Is my first book by Sulari Gentill. Now of course, must read The Woman in the Library. 4.5 stars — Pub. 3/19/24

I received an arc copy of this book thanks to Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Mystery Writer is the second book by Sulari Gentill that I have had the privilege of reading. The premise of this one is a budding novelist from Australia moving in with her brother to a small town in Kansas in order to pursue her dreams of becoming a published author. Soon, she is caught up in a murder mystery of her own when her new love interest, also an author, ends up dead and she becomes the prime suspect. Full of suspects with conspiracy theory addled minds, a shadowy writers' agency, and a family of survivalists all of which are the perfect ingredients for an intriguing mystery. The first 75% of the book is well written and builds anticipation as the plot unfolds and more untimely deaths occur around Theo, seemingly tightening the noose around her as a suspect as she rushes to find the real killer. However, the last 25% of the book simply jumped the shark for me. Although the ending technically fit the storyline, it was so outlandish and unbelievable that I felt like it could have gone in a less crazy direction and still had been true to the groundwork laid in the first three/fourths of the novel.

I did enjoy Gentill's writing and her character development was extremely well executed, but the ending seemed like it was almost written by someone else completely with POVs changing mid paragraph at one point and some reveals that came completely out of left field but could have easily been referred to early on without giving too much away.

Recommended for fans of mysteries that are not at all predictable, but still highly enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sulari Gentill, and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

A captivating world where identities can be reshaped for an audience, intertwining mystery and literary intrigue. When protagonist Theo's mentor is murdered, she becomes embroiled in a dangerous quest for justice, risking everything to protect her brother, who is unjustly targeted by the police. As secrets unravel and the labyrinth of lies deepens, Theo and her brother must navigate a treacherous path to uncover the truth. With skillful storytelling and a gripping narrative, this novel earns four stars for its compelling blend of suspense, literary themes, and intricate character dynamics that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final page.

Well, I tried. I really, really tried to love this book. I started and stopped a few times, but then I committed and powered through. In the end, it was confusing, jumbled, and packed with too many meaningless characters. I don’t like giving bad reviews, but in all honesty this felt like a chore to read. The beginning was good. I enjoyed Theo and her romance with Dan. The murder was also interesting, but the crazy conspiracy stuff just didn’t work for me. Perhaps others will love it, but it just wasn’t for me.

Amazing!!! Left me absorbing all the facts while turning the pages. This is a literary gem that delves deeper than murder, but also what Theo wants to get out of herself and the world.

I’m not very sure what just happened to me. And by what happened to me, I mean the experience of reading this book. It started out strong but had TOO MUCH going on. I lost track of who people were pretty frequently, honestly. There were some interesting elements that definitely made it stand out- some interesting red herrings, etc. But overall it was too intricate for me, and the time lapse at the end made me crazy. Also, Theo is one of those heroines you want to shake a little bit. I do think it’s unique, and there are many thrillers that end up feeling like the same old story- this is not one of them. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

I really enjoyed The Woman in the Library, so I was looking forward to diving in! Unfortunately, The Mystery Writer felt much more slap-dash. The pacing was very uneven: incredibly slow in the first 2/3 and a frantic rush to the end. I'm also unsure why the description reveals the entire plot. There is no twist or revelation that isn't printed on the back cover.

Content-wise, something rubbed me wrong. There is a commentary of "cancel culture" and the supposed necessity of writers being above reproach, particularly on social media, which felt a bit self-pitying from an award winning author. It was also strange to go from getting a lecture about American's love for guns to ultimately having the MAGA doomsday prepper family saving the day.

Gentill's talent for forming intricate and well crafted plots is readily apparent, but it does get a little lost in the sauce.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed Gentill's Woman in the Library and I was looking forward to this one. It started out strong, and I was especially tickled by its setting in Lawrence, KS, where I lived for several years. I thought relationships in the book were well-done and I was excited to see what happened. However, as the book continued on, many of the plot points became more and more ludicrous, even for a thriller, and I felt that the author was trying to pull too many threads together (conspiracy! writing community! publishing industry! early-life commune! sibling love! new love!). It was a lot. And then the book totally jumped the shark and it became difficult to continue reading. I tried my best, but I was also hampered by an ARC that seemed to have many missing (or misplaced) sections, and I eventually gave up at about the 85% point.

Well, that story started out as intriguing with law school weary dropout Theo going to live with her brother in Lawrence to escape it all and write the novel that had been in her head. Seems pretty reasonable. Theo starts writing at Benders and meets famous author Dan, Things progress normally as they get to know each other, spending more and more time together and both writing novels. A curveball comes right out of the blue after Dan warns her against signing up with the same publisher as him. You have intriguing messages at the beginning of each chapter from conspiracy theorists which is a nice touch in getting into the mood for what happens next. Dan ends up dead and further bodies show up, all connected to Dan and by consequence, Theo. Manuscripts go missing, and the police are clueless about who is killing and so settle on the closest connection, Theo. It gets really wild after that and the last quarter of the book is totally wild and fulfills every conspiracy plot that someone could think of. Personally, I think Theo could just write up what happens with her and her brother and become a bestseller just on that. Nicely twisty and crazy and fun to read. It is best to just suspend all disbelief for this book, unless you are really into conspiracy theories, then it will be right up your alley.

So, all in all, it is fun book, pretty quick read, and lots of actions, bodies, destruction, and even ferals in Australia and doomsday preppers. This book has it all.

A literary thriller about an aspiring writer who meets and falls in love with her literary idol—only to find him murdered the day after she gave him her manuscript to read.

There's nothing easier to dismiss than a conspiracy theory—until it turns out to be true

When Theodosia Benton abandons her career path as an attorney and shows up on her brother's doorstep with two suitcases and an unfinished novel, she expects to face a few challenges. Will her brother support her ambition or send her back to finish her degree? What will her parents say when they learn of her decision? Does she even have what it takes to be a successful writer?

What Theo never expects is to be drawn into a hidden literary world in which identity is something that can be lost and remade for the sake of an audience. When her mentor, a highly successful author, is brutally murdered, Theo wants the killer to be found and justice to be served. Then the police begin looking at her brother, Gus, as their prime suspect, and Theo does the unthinkable in order to protect him. But the writer has left a trail, a thread out of the labyrinth in the form of a story. Gus finds that thread and follows it, and in his attempt to save his sister he inadvertently threatens the foundations of the labyrinth itself. To protect the carefully constructed narrative, Theo Benton, and everyone looking for her, will have to die. (GoodReads synopsis)

This novel started strong. I was drawn in and I wanted to know how the mystery would unfold. However, when I got to a major plot point, I became seriously lost. I’m glad I had the audio part of the book because I literally couldn’t sit still with it.

I thought Theo was young. What I mean is that she just did things that made reminded me of my teenage nieces who are extremely sheltered. She also seemed a bit helpless. I understand that she was from Australia, but I would think that even they teach their people when to dial the police. She had a fantastic relationship with her brother and with Mac, and then it was like, “oh forget you.” I really didn’t like that.

I also didn’t like the time jumps. It made the sequences feel discombobulated. One minute I thought Gus was feeling one thing, and the next he was doing or feeling something else. The author was good about telling readers there was a time jump but it just felt disconnected.

There was also a disconnect with the villains. I’m still not 100 percent sure what happened and why they did anything.

Overall, I rate this novel 3 out of 5 stars.

Theo has given up on studying law in Australia and ends up at her brother's doorstep in Lawrence, Kansas. She's decided she wants to write. She holes up at a local coffee shop / bar where she writes away, drinks coffee, rubs elbows with the locals, becomes a regular amongst the other writers in town.

Then people around her start getting murdered.

Sulari Gentill has a good premise. There are some big swings and unexpected twists. Novels about writing, about writers get my attention. I wanted more from this one though. More of the books within the book, more of the process, the writing. More about what made Theo's (and the other books in the book) so compelling. Filling in those blanks would have moved The Mystery Writer into four-star territory.

My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

“Perhaps the dead are afraid to live as much as we are afraid to die.”


I think I would have liked this book better if I hadn’t read the summary first. I did enjoy the book, but the summary was misleading to me:

“…the police begin looking at her brother, Gus, as their prime suspect, and Theo does the unthinkable in order to protect him. But the writer has left a trail, a thread out of the labyrinth in the form of a story. Gus finds that thread and follows it, and in his attempt to save his sister he inadvertently threatens the foundations of the labyrinth itself. To protect the carefully constructed narrative, Theo Benton, and everyone looking for her, will have to die.”

This is what I thought the bulk of the book would be describing. For one, this is probably only the last 20% of the book. Theo doesn’t disappear until 75% in. Two, the ‘threatening of the foundations of the labyrinth’ seems like a bad thing in this summary, but if Theo is stuck in there, isn’t that actually a good thing? Three, thread makes it seem like a continuous series of clues you keep pulling on until you unravel it, but in actuality, the thread was one not-so-hidden clue found by Mac, not Gus.

I thought the majority of the book was going to be figuring out what Theo’s ‘unthinkable’ thing was and that she had left a manuscript behind with clues in it as to where she is or what’s going on. That was an intriguing concept to me.

But it’s not quite so complex.


Theo, an aspiring writer, gets dragged into a mess of murders after she gets involved with another writer who she finds murdered in his home just 24 hours after she had given her manuscript to him.

As others around her also get murdered, she is a suspect… and by association her lawyer brother as well.

She has to figure out who murdered her friend and why. Who can she can trust now that she and her brother are in danger.

Another aspect of this book is the interspersed snippets of chat room discussion on a conspiracy theory known as the Frankenstein Project which they believe is an experiment being conducted on people, dead and alive, by an organization called the Labyrinth .

Having read it now, I think that I’m grasping what the author was attempting to do here, but at the same time, I’m still a little confused about what I’m supposed to see as a conspiracy theory’s tendency to exaggerate and dramatize the truth versus what I’m supposed to see as a shocking revelation of what’s really going on.

The author leaves you on a bit of a cliffhanger, but as far as I know this was meant to be a stand alone novel. So the last couple paragraphs made me just sit there for a minute trying to figure out what I missed. (One thing I completely forgot about was the prologue.)



The idea of incorporating a conspiracy theory into a thriller is super interesting to me, especially considering the power they have to change people’s behavior or cause mistrust.

In the book it says, “If you need people to distrust the education system, or the media, or fast food, [such and such] would develop a conspiracy theory that would do it.”

That statement seems to imply that all conspiracy theories are untrue, and we should inherently trust everyone. That’s what makes conspiracy theories interesting. What truths are they tapping into? Knowing people are sinful and have a capability for evil it takes a lot of discernment to know what to trust. While many conspiracy theories are beyond ridiculous (birds, for instance) I think we also have to understand the power move it is to label a belief as a conspiracy theory to convince people to ignore any of the truths that may be found in it.

However, in this book, the conspiracy theory just felt bizarre and confusing when it could have been fleshed out more. It was hard to tell how important the author wanted it to be in the story.

Also the Primus character didn’t seem to fit in the way it was supposed to considering who the person was and what their warnings were saying.



I think this book would benefit from a rewritten summary or even better— spend more time on the last 20% because that’s where the action happened. This book had a lot of potential, and I did enjoy reading it, but as I sit down to write the review I’m realizing more and more the parts that ended up being unsatisfying. It didn’t go the direction I was expecting/wanting and there was too much anticipation of the action on the front end.

Plus we jump months and even years into the future in the last few chapters which was disappointing and definitely played into the need to suspend belief. I feel like the author focused and expanded on the wrong parts.

Towards the end there was some confusion for me about what was happening, but I read a digital advanced reader’s copy and I’m assuming not all the formatting was in place. I plan to check the physical copy if my library has one to see how it ended up being written. It was jumping back and forth between two characters/locations but it wasn’t clear and I had to reread several parts because I was confused why those characters were all of a sudden in the same place (they weren’t).

But again— hopefully this was fixed in the official published version!


Considering the author is Australian and lives in Australia, I thought the Kansas setting was an interesting choice. Kansas doesn’t have a whole lot to offer (although she did send me down a crazy rabbit hole regarding The Bloody Benders who may have had a connection to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s family). But I guess it is a good location if you want to incorporate some bizarre characters like the doomsday preppers with all their guns and bunkers and such.

Some reviewers mentioned that reading the book made you think all Americans run around with guns, but I didn’t think that at all. Maybe it’s because I’m from Iowa and guns are common but not everywhere? There are characters with guns, especially the preppers, but I don’t really think there were that many, if any, other characters with guns.

At one point a character comments that Americans respond to surprises by shooting, but that’s a well-known stereotype that I read more as humor than any actual attempt to label America, although even though not all Americans have guns, I would say that shooting at least with their words would probably be an accurate description of most. I also think readers are adept enough to understand that preppers don’t represent an entire country.



Even though we were in Kansas, Theo and Gus were Australians and we got to see Gentill’s roots show through: from Vegemite (which is to be spread sparingly over a thick layer of butter), to calling Americans emotional, the Tasmanian term for hippies being ‘ferals’ and how they called their parents ‘the ancients,’ to their eating of chicken parma (which I knew was a popular Australian dish because of Australian Survivor), it was kinda fun to see an Australian planted in Kansas.

Gentill had some good, interesting characters. I would probably agree with other reviewers that Theo was a bit boring, though, and I feel like she should have been more wary of one of the characters than she was, but considering what she ended up doing, I don’t know if it would have mattered anyway.



Recommendation

This one is hard to know how to recommend. I really did enjoy the book as I was reading it— I didn’t find it boring by any means, but overall it did feel unsatisfying for what I was expecting and what I feel the author could have done with the concept.

I think a lot of people will still like this book even with some of my qualms. Others may not think the reading was worth the convolution, or may not enjoy conspiracy theories.

I think I would still consider reading other Gentill books as many reviewers have said this book was different than her others.


[Content Advisory: 31 f-words, 2 s-words; one implied sex scene]


**Received an ARC via NetGalley**

This book sounded like something I would really get into, but unfortunately that was not the case. I did enjoy the beginning and the mystery but I did not find the ending satisfying for my taste. I find books about the publishing industry interesting and I started out enjoying reading about it, but ended up questioning the direction it was taking with it. There were several conspiracy theories and secrets to keep up with. Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Poisoned Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was really interested in this book based on the description but I just could not get into this book. The beginning started well but then I became lost and eventually lost interest.

I will check out other books by this author as maybe this is just a one off and not for me. I think everyone should try this book because it may just not be for me while others may love it!

I loved her previous book 'The Woman in the Library' but, I really struggled to connect with Theo in 'The Mystery Writer' and I found her frustrating throughout the book.

I was very into the book in the beginning and then about halfway through it lost all focus, I lost all focus on reading it and I just wanted to shake Theo for being so naive and so in need of constant reassurance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for the e-Arc in exchange for my honest review.