This book is well written, but compared to the author’s previous book “the woman in the library” it proofed to be a disappointment. A rather unlikely plot, with a mishmash of a more than naive main character leaving abandoning law school to become w writer, her brother being accused of the murder of her mentor, and conspiracy theories. And the final chapters feel convoluted and rushed.

Theo Benton leaves her University studies to become an attorney so she can become a novelist instead. She shows up on her brother's doorstep unannounced. She soon meets and befriends Dan, who is in the process of writing his next novel. When the unthinkable happens, Theo finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. The book's first half felt sluggish but perked up toward the end. Thanks to the author Sulari Gentill, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an ARC of The Mystery Writer.

"Theo wanted them to know she was still here. A ghost, unable to be a part of their world anymore, but she was here"

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of the book "The Mystery Writer" by Sulari Gentill.
It’s a well-written mystery with a very compelling enigma. Even when you think you have grasped the situation, there are unpredictable turns that will drag you in unexpected directions and keep you on your toes until the end. I had my suspicions about the whole book, but I wasn’t 100% sure until the end.
Theodosia, nicknamed Theo, is the main narrator of the narrative. She left law school to become a lawyer and went to live with her brother with a dream: to finish her novel. She knows that it is risky, and if at first she was a girl who doubted herself, always looking for someone to help her, at the end of the novel she becomes a strong and determined woman who would do anything to save her loved ones.
The other characters, Theo’s brother Gus, and his friend Mac, are also well-defined with interesting stories. Both with different but moving stories, going through many difficulties to help Theo.
The story is rather intricate, with conspiracy theories and the literary world coming together in an interesting way. I particularly appreciated Theo’s sense of estrangement in American perception (she is Australian).
The narration has a fast pace that never bores you, always with new twists.
It’s engaging, and it will inspire you to think about the world of literature and how books and stories can affect how we perceive reality.

The premise of the book piqued my interest immediately, but, I feel like it was not executed the best. I still thoroughly enjoyed the book, but some areas definitely got long and drawn out, and the the ending felt very rushed, like it all just came tumbling out.

A very enjoyable read, not quite as much as The Woman in the Library, but I found it fun to solve. Theo drops out of an Australian college and moves to Kansas to live with her brother, Gus. They both have distanced themselves from their parents because of the cult they belong to. Their grandfather left them a trust fund so long as they both became attorneys. Gus held true to this agreement, but Theo decides to be a writer.
One of her mentors and writer, Dan Murdoch, begin a relationship together. When she walks in and finds him dead, she becomes a suspect. I love these kinds of mysteries that build and you must finish quickly to find out who the killer is. You won't find out without crossing a few lines. Theo and Gus both become involved in a thread of lies and webs when they enter a thread/ story with a writer leaving a trail of murders with a line of suspicious killers. When PI Mac is thought to be a trusted person for Theo, they soon find he is part of a conspiracy group. This group has a hangup on the weird elements involving zombie hunts, and doomsday.....
Interesting concept and it worked well if you are leisurely reading. I enjoyed it just enough.
Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this entertaining ARC in exchange for my review.

This is the second mystery of Gentill that I have read. Both are mysteries featuring mystery writers and they play with your expectations in the best way. There were some twists that I saw coming and others which suprised me. Don't look for a neat and clean ending with no loose ends with this story, that would betray the vibe of the whole book. I

This was a hard book to categorise and was quite twisty in places. There are conspiracy theorists, preppers, and who is leading who down the dark tunnels of the internet to unravel, no=one is quite who you think they are. I enjoyed it but am not sure I would whole=heartedly recommend it.

Thank you Netgally, Sularo Gentill and poisoned press for the ARC.

I really loved the authors other work The woman in the library and was excited when I was given the opportunity to read and review The Mystery Writer.

The premise of the book is what drew me in and it did not disappoint. The action and fast pace of the book kept me reading. I did guess at some things happening but it tied up nicely in the end. If you enjoy conspiracy, high paced plots this one is for you!

DNF at 24%. I really loved the Woman in the Library, but I did not click with this story. I couldn't get connected with the characters and wasn't invested in the plot. There wasn't anything particular that I didn't like about this book, I just wasn't invested.

Once again, Ms. Gentill has written a very intriguing mystery. Even when you think you know what is happening, there are twists that will take you off on another tangent and will leave you guessing until the end.

Theo is the main narrator for most of the story. She is young woman who is a bit lost in the world, and at times it felt like she was a damsel always in distress and needing someone to save her. But by the end of her story she does begin to show some determination and grit in the way she chooses to save her brother. The author has given her quite a harrowing backstory, and some parents who are pretty out there, which makes her a well written and sympathetic character. There are many times in the story where she doubts herself and what she saw or experienced, so it makes her a little bit unreliable, but that just makes the story that much better.

Her brother Gus and his friend Mac are also well written characters with interesting back stories. I really liked Gus, he is an older overprotective brother, but he does at least try to give Theo her space. But he has a good sense of humor and I loved his dog, Horse. Mac comes from a family of preppers, who are a bit crazy but a tight knit group. Mac is probably the only sane one. I did love the banter between him and his family though. Both of these men go through a lot to help Theo.

The story is fairly complex, with conspiracy theories and the literary world coming together in very interesting ways. I really liked the aspect of a fish out of water in how Theo saw and related to Americans. I know some people will take issue with the depiction of everyone always having a gun or other weapons on them, and the generalization that all Americans are violent. But from the perspective of an Australian living in Kansas it can certainly seem that way. It sometimes seems that way to me too. Mac’s family was a bit over the top, but I found that somewhat funny, as I share that perspective of preppers. I don’t want to say much more about the plot, as too much is already given away in the summary, but it is fast paced, well written and hard to put down.

If you enjoyed previous works by this author, than I think you will enjoy this one too. This story is gripping and it will make you think about the literary world and how much books and stories can influence the way we think.

PUBLICATION DAY: March 19, 2024

Theo is finally following her dream of being a writer. Giving up her spot in law school and moving to another country to live with her brother Gus (and his dog Horse) is the start of her new beginning. And with a promising new friend and progress on her book, things seem to be looking up. Until her new friend ends up murdered and she and her brother are suspects. What will happen when Theo tries to find the truth? Is she in danger? And if so, why?

PROS and CONS:
I like the relationship between Theo and her brother Gus - very supportive and caring. Lots of characters to consider here. I found the pacing to be a bit off in this one however; in the beginning there were minute details of Theo’s day from what seat she chose to write in to what sort of pizza they were eating for dinner to a three year jump with a lot of things summarized a bit too quickly. Also, a pretty unbelievable plot and many unnecessary scenes.

READ IT?
I really loved this author’s The Woman in the Library (I gave it 5*) - but this one seemed a lot more rushed.

3 Stars

I liked this book a lot. It was definitely a bit of a slow burn and took me a little while to get completely sucked in. Once I was invested though, I flew through the story. I loved that the POV changed once Theo disappeared. The twists and turns came full speed towards the end of the book and I enjoyed it. I also loved watching Theo and Mac's relationship grow throughout the book. I definitely have a soft spot in my heart for Mac. The biggest investment for me throughout the book was making sure Horse was okay. I am a sucker for a dog companion in a book and Horse was good one. I also guessed the twist wrong and I always love when that happens. All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot but it took me a while to become totally invested.

Theo Benton, a former university student, leaves her career as an attorney and returns to Kansas with an unfinished novel. She meets Dan Murdoch, a successful writer in residence, at a cafe called "Benders." Murdoch becomes her mentor, but is murdered. Theo investigates conspiracy theories, but the protagonist is portrayed as a naive and naive person. The book also lacks a strong connection with the characters, with the author implying that all Americans are armed with guns. The last 30% of the book uses abrupt time jumps, making the ending feel rushed and overly dramatic.

Thank you to Poisonwood Press, Netgalley, and Sulari Gentill for the this ARC for an honest review.

Theo quit her law studies to become a writer. She decides to finish writing her book at a café, where she meets an author, Dan, who is really into conspiracy theories. When he ends up brutally murdered, Theo wants to look into it, if only to take the cops' eyes off of her as a suspect.
This mystery thriller is the first one I read be this author. It started out great, the writing pulled me right in. I loved Gus, and Mac, and Horse, but I didn't relate much to Theo. She was way too oblivious and naive. And I started struggling at around the halfway point, I felt like the story was dragging, then something dramatic happened, then it dragged, then something else dramatic happened, the it dragged some more... the pacing felt off to me. It didn't need to be 400 pages - 300 would've been plenty and probably would've helped with the pacing. And after the halfway mark, it started to be even more unbelievable and wild. Also, I felt like the synopsis gave up way more than it should have.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Sulari Gentill is a surprising, innovative mystery writer. As she did with THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY, Gentill explores the bounds of storytelling and craft in this new book. THE MYSTERY WRITER falls outside of my usual genre for review (cozy mystery) so I was not able to review it professionally, but I would encourage readers who enjoy mysteries, conspiracy stories, and books about the literary world to pick it up. It's fast-paced and Gentill maintains great tension throughout. Not the best choice for readers who are turned off by conspiracies or plots that are a little wild.

I'm genuinely upset that I had to DNF this around 25% of the way through. It's not a bad story by any means, but the writing just was not for me. I also was not able to connect to any of the characters. We are really thrown in to the story and while that absolutely does work for people, I felt like I walked into a movie 50% of the way over and couldn't catch up. So keep in mind my star rating is purely based on the 25% I did read and it could get a lot better with a stellar ending. I just couldn't continue. Thank you to all involved for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A mystery whodunnit mixed with conspiracy theorists and writers? I’m in. I was so invested in this story and how it would play out.
Theo just dropped out of law school and showed up at her brothers, Gus, house. Her dream is to be a writer and she meets a fellow writer, Dan. When Dan is murdered and fingers are being pointed at Theo, she gets the help of Gus and his friend Mac to figure out what happened.
Things get crazy in this book. And I didn’t know which direction it would go in with the weird publisher and murders. It was a fun mystery to get caught up in.

So, it starts off interesting but as time went on I had a difficult time believing the MC was a real person. She was basically a damsel in distress that needed everyone to help her solve each problem. It made it hard to root for her success when she seemed to be completely naive to everything. As the story progressed I questioned her actions and finally stopped caring about her. By the end I no longer cared what happened and story felt rushed. Not a book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I enjoyed the premise of this one. A young writer just starting out gets embroiled in her own murder mystery. Unfortunately it goes off the rails a bit while also keeping a relatively slow pace. I kind of had to force myself to keep reading. A few too many elements were tossed together without much payoff. It had potential but it just ended up not being for me.

This seems to be mystery meets conspiracy and thriller. Although a little confusing at times with regard to character relevance, the overall story kept me coming back for more. Would seek more from this author.