When Theo decides to quit law school to pursue her dream of being a writer, she leaves Australia and moves in with her older brother, Gus, an attorney in Lawrence, Kansas. While writing her book in a local coffee shop, she meets Dan, a famous author who left New York City to lead a quieter life in Lawrence. Dan quickly becomes a mentor for Theo, and eventually their friendship turns romantic. When Theo discovers that Dan has been brutally murdered, she and Gus become the prime suspects, and Theo will do whatever it takes to protect her brother.

I was lured into reading this book by its description and beautiful cover, but ultimately I was left underwhelmed. There was a lot going on with different storylines and so many characters. I really enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of the story, and I would have loved it if it were just a cozy mystery without all of the conspiracy theorists and doomsday preppers. There were parts of this story that were hard to get into, but then there were parts that were so engaging that I couldn't read fast enough. Theo was a hard protagonist to root for because she was so naive and gullible. The side characters really saved the day, and Gus and his PI friend Mac were definitely my favorites.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With The Mystery Writer, author Sulari Gentill has crafted a multi-faceted, twisty gem of a book that is both well-written and fast-paced and keeps you enthralled and turning the pages well past when you should have gone to sleep.
The book provides a look into the cut throat world of literary agents and publishing, while also highlighting how the manipulation of opinion and belief has been honed online and can be used to incite and instigate those who follow certain threads. Gentill features a wide ranging set of diverse characters - from preppers to legal experts, conspiracy theorists to fiction writers. None of these groups is overdone or stereotyped, making them relatable and humanizing to readers who might otherwise have seen such groups of people as something 'less than'.
Such heavy topics are balanced out by hints of romance and the humour of two Australian sibling' reactions to aspects of American culture that are foreign to them.
The conclusion of the book may come as a surprise to some, but it is a satisfying one. I highly recommend this book!
I consider myself fortunate to have received an ARC of #TheMysteryWriter from #NetGalley.

I was so happy to receive the ARC this new novel from Sulari Gentill, I loved her previous books (After she wrote him and The woman in the library) and this one too is going to be one of my favorite mysteries.
The book has a slow start but then the plot thickens and I was really enthralled in the story; I ended up not sleeping much these days because I wanted to see the end of it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
DNF around 20% I liked the synopsis of this book and was excited to read it but I felt the story was very slow and hard to get into. This is a genre I typically like so I am a little disappointed 😞

I like reading about conspiracy theories, but this felt like I was reading from Reddit with the conspiracy conversation. I couldn't get hooked even with one of the "thrilling" scenes it was very quick and then fell flat again.

Theo was also very naive and I found her irritating.

I was sent this ARC on NetGalley by Poison Pen Press

I really liked this authors first book but the second was just average. I could not connect with the main character and I found I had to really suspend my belief in a whole lot of things she encountered.
Pacing was another issue I had. I felt like it just drug on and on. It also had a bit of the previous book and I almost felt like I was watching a rerun.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for a honest opinion.. 2.5⭐️

This book was just okay. The writing itself was fine but the story could have been more tightly written with a main character who was less frustrating to follow.

This is my second book by Gentill and I'm again impressed with her talent at devising compelling plots that hook the reader. I love books that are about books and this was a fun jump into the writing process. Recommended for anyone who likes bookish mysteries or is interested in the lives of writers.

Well written but a tad slow in the beginning. It was easy to be invested in the characters. There were a few twists at the end. The resolution, I did see coming, while a couple others surprised me. I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptive narrative but I wish the plot had taken a slightly different turn. Overall, I would read more by this author and this story was worth the read.

I thought Woman in the Library was so wildly crafty I knew I needed this one.
And I was not disappointed. This was definitely more chaotic plot wise but was very fun to read.

Theo Benton was raised in a cult in Tasmania and is currently abandoning law school and takes refuge with her brother in Kansas to write her book before telling her parents she quit school. Theo meets a very famous author, Dan Murdoch, in the bar she has been writing in and forms a mentor/mentee relationship with him. She is hoping that he can help her get signed to his agent and get her book published. When she finds him dead she finds herself a suspect and getting stalked by his conspiracy theorists fans.

With so many twists and wild ass characters this kept me on my toes and really had no clue where this was going. It was a fun time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an eARC

This one just was not for me. I appreciate that it was well written, unfortunately it just wasn’t my cup of tea!

This one didn't keep me hooked as much as I thought it would. The story line was decent and there were definitely a few good twists; however, I felt as though there was a lot of extra filler information that wasn't quite necessary or super interesting.

Mysteries about books, bookstores, and writers are some of my favorites. That fact and having LOVED Gentile's The Woman in the Library made me very excited to read this one. Many thanks to @netgalley @poisionedpedpress @dreamscape_media and @sularigentill for digital and audiobook copies. Below is my honest review.

Theo has quit law school in Australia and traveled to live with her brother Gus, who practices law in Kansas. She has dreams of becoming a writer and spends her days writing at a coffee shop/bar in town. She discovers that another morning regular is a world-renowned author. Over several months, he becomes an important mentor to her as she helps re-inspire him to write. When he is found brutally murdered, Theo and Gus are key suspects but also quickly discover that they may be caught up in something much bigger than either could have imagined. As the walls begin to close in, Theo makes an impossible choice to save her friends and family.

Like The Woman in the Library, the way this book is written reminds me of M. C. Escher's etching Drawing Hands because the story is writing and re-writing itself - unfolding a little at a time. Although the primary narrative is told through Theo's perspective, the prologue and numerous excerpts throughout are told through other lenses, making clear that there is more to the book than what Theo is experiencing. Although I still have some questions because of the story's complexity, I loved the core characters of Theo, Gus, and Mac (a writer, a lawyer, and a detective). My favorite part of the story is how they work together, their messy families, and their unwavering belief in each other. I did not see the end coming, but I really enjoyed it.
The audiobook gets huge kudos for all of the different accents and characters that are expertly voiced by a single narrator.

Wow! This was a great read. Quite the ride. There were a couple of times I was like, where is this story going? Very enjoyable book with very smooth writing

While the story had good bones, it fell short of fully engaging me. The desire for a more satisfying resolution lingered, as did the feeling that the characters and plot could have been more fleshed out. Despite my reservations, Sulari Gentill remains an author of interest, and I'll keep an eye out for her future works, hopeful for a more immersive experience.

An aspiring writer drops out of college and moves in with her brother. However, she is drawn into a mystery when her mentor dies and her brother is the main suspect.

I liked the premise here but I really couldn’t get into the writing. It didn’t draw me and I think part of that was I wasn’t clear on what was Theo’s novel and what was other parts. I think it could have been demarcated better so that there is less confusion for the reader.

‘We Know What We Know’

Meet Theodosia (Theo) Benton. She’s twenty-two years old and has abandoned law studies in Australia. Theo, with two suitcases and an unfinished novel, turns up in Lawrence, Kansas where her brother Augustus (Gus) is a partner in a law practice. Theo is hoping to stay with Gus while she writes. She is expecting some objections: a trust account is funding her law studies, and her parents won’t be happy. And while Theo is not confident she has what it takes to be a successful author, she wants to try.

Fortunately, Gus welcomes Theo and she settles in with Gus and his dog Horse. Theo starts writing in a local café where she meets Dan Murdoch, a successful author. Dan encourages Theo and their friendship develops. But one day, when Theo visits Dan to invite him for dinner and to meet Gus, she finds he has been murdered. Who killed Dan, and why?

‘It feels like everything is going wrong, and there’s nothing I can do that helps.’

One of the most interesting characters in this novel is Gus’s friend, Mac Etheridge. Mac is a private investigator. Most members of his family are committed gun-toting believers in conspiracy theories whose suspicion of government leads them to prepare for doomsday. And, while some conspiracy theories can be easily dismissed, Theo becomes entrapped in an unsavoury literary world.

I’ll stop describing the novel there. I don’t want to spoil what I found to be a very unusual mystery with a couple of intriguing twists. Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I am a big fan of Ms Gentill’s writing. I first discovered the Rowland Sinclair Mystery series in 2011 (currently ten books) and have been reading her novels ever since.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Theodosia Benton has decided to drop out of law school in her native Australia, to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. She surprises her older brother Gus, by showing up at his home in Lawrence, Kansas. Gus, who is an attorney ,owns a small law firm. He promises Theo he will smooth things over with their parents, and will keep her trust fund intact. Theo finds a great coffee shop where she can write her novel. There she meets a famous writer who becomes her mentor. A murder ensues and Theo, Gus, and his investigator Mac, are in danger. As they pursue the murderer, other subplots emerge. A survivalist cult, and a conspiracy involving a book publisher, become important to the plot. . At this point the original storyline becomes obscured, and somewhat confusing, making the last part of the book disappointing.

Compelling story and kept me reading - took me a while to get through this but an enjoyable read all the same.

****UNPOPULAR OPINION TIME***

I did not like or enjoy this book at all. It was ridiculous, not plausible and there was no point to it. I do agree with other reviewers that the synopsis on the inside cover does give some of the ridiculous "mystery" away. The pacing and plot was all over the place, and that usually does not bother me but everything with the characters, the plot, and conspiracies were wayyyy overdone.

I usually like conspiracy theories in plots of books, it can add interest. That is not the case with this book. A few are only half explained. Some are just outrageous and nonsensical. It took away from the characters, who I did not really care in this book. Why do you ask? The book was irritating.

Cannot recommend. Do not waste your time. I struggled to give this even one star.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sulari Gentill and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 3/19/24

Theodosia Benton show up on her brother's doorstep in Lawrence, Kansas as a law school dropout with an unfinished novel and big dreams. She has no idea how her brother Gus, a successful lawyer, is going to react, but she has nowhere else to go and Gus has always been her hero.

Gus welcomes her with open arms and several months later Theo has a highly successful author as a mentor and has just finished her own first novel. However, Dan Murdoch, her mentor, refuses to introduce her to his agent or submit her manuscript to his publishers, insisting that they aren't the right ones to represent Theo, she is crushed. When he's killed just a couple days later and she's the one to discover the body, suspicion falls directly on her as the angry colleague, then on Gus as the over-protective big brother. As Theo and Gus dig deeper, they find themselves entering a labyrinth of lies, conspiracy theories, and danger they never imagined and that they might not survive.

The concept of this book appealed to me, as well as the fact that I previously enjoyed the author's book <i>The Woman in the Library</i>. This book was always captivating when I picked it up, but not so captivating that I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the characters and the plot pacing, but found the clues along the way too obvious and the big reveal to be far less believable than in her Gentill's other book. 3 1/2 stars

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.