This story has just enough thrills and twists to keep you turning the page. We have some great, well developed characters and a little bit of romance to boot! If you’re looking for a unique story, look no further.

Thank to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed The Woman in the Library and assumed I would love this one, too. I ended up with a DNF at around 15% --just couldn't connect with any of the characters. I did think the conspiracy theory aspect is really interesting, but it wasn't really enough to keep me reading.

When Theo decides to switch careers and become an author she is excited when she meets and befriends a well known author. But things take a dark twist causing Theo and her brother to uncover more than they ever imagined.

I really enjoyed "The Mystery Writer"! It felt like a modern day Agatha Christie with interesting characters and a well plotted storyline that kept you reading to the very end.!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publiation.

DNF at 10%

I've loved Sulari Gentill's last two releases and was so ready for another meta-murder mystery from her. The Mystery Writer definitely has the propulsive writing that Gentill is known for, but I couldn't find myself connecting with this particular story in the chunk that I read. Knowing that this also contains content that is personally triggering, I figured that DNFing this book would be the better choice for me in the long run.

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

I enjoyed this but not as much as I was expecting. I do love a conspiracy theory though! I felt the pacing was a little slow to keep my attention going.

Theo shows up on her older brother Gus’ doorstep with her unfinished novel and her unfinished law degree (and she only wants to complete one). After having a brief affair with an older writer and mentor she meets at the bar she likes to write at, she finds him brutally murdered and becomes the police’s main suspect. Now Theo and Gus are sucked into a dark, murderous literary world where one’s identity can be as easily rewritten as their next novel.


I half listened and half read this one and was just as engaged with both (the narrator was really great). Some parts may have gone too far in the conspiracy angle but it was definitely a fun read. I found the plot predictable but I still enjoyed the ride and got through it pretty fast. Theo’s character was not a favorite, but the ancillary characters (like Gus) made it all worthwhile. This probably won’t be a book I remember in 2 years but it certainly entertained me for the 2 days I was reading it.

3.75 stars

The premise of the book intrigued me as I have always loved writing mysteries. The main character, Theo, was okay. When her boyfriend died right after she gave him her manuscript to read, she started coming up with a lot of conspiracy theories. It was a bit too much conspiracy theory for my taste but i can see why others would enjoy the book. Overall it was a decent read

DNF @ 50% - I really wanted to finish this one as the initial mystery pulled me in… but the writing style just wasn’t for me. the characters were written as adults but the way they acted was so childish and idiotic (and not in a scary horror movie idiotic way, either). I couldn’t get pass it as it was disrupting my reading and kept pulling me out of the story. I think this would be great with a few more cuts and edits. thank you to netgalley and poisoned pen press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I want to say that I think my rating would be higher if this was a genre I usually like. For that reason I will not be sharing my feedback elsewhere. When I initially read the description it sounded like something else. I was really confused the first couple chapters but after everything untangled I started to enjoy it. I needed more from Theo to care about why I should root for her to become a writer. I wanted more back story. I really liked how there were screen chats, that was fun. I felt that the end came too quickly with jumping all over the place to tie up loose ends.

Theodosia does not want the life laid out for her in Australia. When she shows up on her brother’s doorstep in the United States, he helps her pursue her dreams of being a writer. Theo becomes determined to finish her book, going to a local bar everyday to write. While there, she meets another writer and they develop a close relationship. When Theo walks into his home and finds him dead, she finds herself in the middle of his murder, all while still trying to publish a book.

I really enjoyed this read. While I was able to predict a lot of things that happened in the book, this didn’t take away from the overall reading experience, and I still found myself invested in what would happen next. There are quite a few characters and plot lines in the book, but Gentill does an amazing job of giving each character a distinct voice to keep this manageable. I also appreciated the social commentary included within the book alongside commentary on the world of publication. My only complaint about this book is the blurb. It gives away something that doesn’t happen until 60% of the way through the book (I was able to check because I was using an e-reader). Overall, this is a great read, but I highly recommend going in blind!

I started out being really into this—published authors writing books about publishing is something I am greatly amused by, and the conceit of this writing-and-publishing-centered mystery/thriller was wonderfully wacky while also being dramatic and suspenseful. I was already pretty sure of the destination, but I was thoroughly along for the ride anyway. But then about 2/3 of the way through the journey, the wheels fell off! A major change in place, time, and character perspective right in the middle of the action caused the story to lose all momentum, and changed the back third from the thrilling conclusion I was expecting into a confused mess, ending with a series of contradictory, backward-looking summations.

⚠️ Conspiracy theories

I remember watching Lost and one of the characters was a big conspiracy nut and thinking I'm glad they are rare. But now half of the United States are conspiracy nuts. I tried going into this book with an open mind. The mystery of this book is convoluted. I listened to the audiobook and sometimes I would have to pause it and pull out the book and read what I just listened too. The book itself is confusing and full of conspiracies. Theo the main character is a young woman who trusts way too easily. I shook my head at her, most of the book. The cover drew me in and the book
itself did not.

Overall, I liked this book. It’s the story of 2 siblings Theo and Gus who get tangled up in a series of murders. Theo drops out of law school to pursue writing and moves in with her older brother, Gus. When a fellow writer gets murdered, Theo and Gus are looked at as possible suspects. A friend of Gus’, Mac, is recruited to help solve the murder as more people are found dead. I enjoyed the characters and thought they were well developed. There was a little bit of a gap in the story for me when Theo disappeared and again toward the end of the story. When the rest of the book was filled with such great detail, it just threw me off a bit. This book wasn’t one of those twisty, gotcha stories, but it was suspenseful and kept me interested. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I've started reading more books in this genre and this one did not disappoint. It was the perfect blend of mystery and drama. Great characters and descriptions of everything throughout!

I'm tough to surprise when it comes to mysteries, but this book delighted me with its unexpected twists and turns. Highly recommend to anyone who feels like they can see endings coming a mile away when reading suspense fiction—I'm confident you won't see this story coming.

When an aspiring author's famous author boyfriend is murdered right as she gives him her manuscript the last thing she expects is to spiral down conspiracies, assassins, and finding out who exactly her boyfriend was and why someone murdered him. Theodosia Benton has just abandoned law school to pursue a career as an author. She's moved in with her brother and starts hanging out at a coffee shop... where she meets Dan, a famous author who she begins falling in love with. Yet when she gives him her manuscript and asks him to get in contact with his agents for her... and he rejects, the last thing she expects when she goes over to his place to apologize is to find him murdered. Theo wants to find out who did this and why, but Dan has left a trail of clues for her to follow and now with her brother Gus's help and a few new friends, Theo is definitely on a new path... but she'll have to find a way to find the killer without being killed herself. This one started off really interesting but ultimately lost me. I was interested in the mystery at first but found myself getting bored and struggling to want to finish the story. I adore fun mysteries but this one just didn't work for me unfortunately. I think if you enjoy mysteries with lots of twist maybe give this one a go. maybe you'll have a better time it than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book was a bit slow for me in the very beginning, but that changed about the 20% mark! I love how smart the mystery is and how some characters are not what they seem. Just when you think you have it worked out, you realize how much you underestimate Gentill’s ability to craft a plot twist!

Really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see what she turns out next!

This book had lovely characters and a dark mystery that sucked me in. In addition, there is a group of conspiracy theorists that keep stirring the pot of the plot, which made things even more interesting. I could not rest until I found out who the murderer was and once I did, I was shocked! The author slowly revealed hints that end up being very important in solving the crime, and it was done in such a unique way. This book rivals the author’s first as a quality mystery done in a unique way, by reaching out to booklovers. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was not your cozy mystery type, so much better! It was a full on mystery with a big dash of conspiracy theory which was a bit much for me to handle because I dislike all that it stands for but did find myself deeply intrigued in this book and to find out where I was going to end up on this journey with Gus and Mac to find Theo. It was a real page turner, especially to see if Theo was even still alive. It kept me wanting more and still more until the end. I would like to thank the following for allowing me to read/review early I have supplied my own honest opinions and yes I highly recommend this book
#NetGalley
#PoisonedPenPress
#SulariGentill
#TheMysteryWriter
Publication Date: March 19, 2024
Go out and buy your copy to read yourself

Much thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC of "The Mystery Writer" in exchange for an honest review.
I guess it's official now......QAnon Krazies have become fair game for mystery-thriller authors. This is the second or third book I've come across populated with those Tinfoil Hat, conspiracy theory imbeciles who feed off the toxic river of disinformation flowing out of social media....and current political discourse. Given that they're both dumb and proven dangerous, it's no wonder they're starting to also infest popular fiction......
These internet whack-a=doodles and their ludicrous tweets serve as the connecting glue holding together the two separate genres that this book unfolds. The first 60 percent sets up a multiple murder thriller set in an American town (Lawrence, Kansas).
But then, for the remaining 40 percent, the story takes a hairpin swerve into some kind of breathless, international action-adventure, with two of the three lead characters hunting down what happened to the other one who disappeared.
I found the Lawrence portion infinitely more gripping and entertaining then the abrupt excursion into a wild, incredibly far-fetched Robert Ludlum-esque whoop-de-doo. The final reveal of what the villainy's all about came close (at least for me) to very wry spoofery.. It really made me wonder if author Sulari Gentill was for real or maybe doing an elaborate send-up of......well, my lips must seal before any spoilers emerge from them.
Yet with all these flaws, I still had a pretty good time with "The Mystery Writer".....I could never resist stories centered around writers,...... those established and famous and those young novices struggling to find their creative voice along with a publisher. Throw in bodies piling up and a baffling disappearance, then you've got me hooked.
Overall, it's a bumpy, lumpy goulash of those two genres I mentioned but I couldn't help but stay for the whole thrill ride. But I'm not comfortable with using the QAnon asylum inmates as window dressing (at and times, comedy relief). I find the mere thought of them as depressing......and given current events, more than little frightening.