3.5 stars

I really enjoyed a good thriller, so I was excited for this one. The start was a bit slow, but after the first 10% of the book, I was hooked. There are a lot of interesting concepts intertwined: the search for purpose, the conspiracy theories, isolated communities, the communities preparing for the end of the world and the process of writing a novel.

I was entertained throughout the entire book and the plot was easy to follow and intriguing at the same time, which is actually hard to accomplish.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book and that impacted the experience for me was the delivery of the resolution of the mystery and the timelines. I actually liked the way everything explained, but for the pacing and the way it was delivered left me with mixed feelings. The plot is good and it kept me in the hedge of my seat. While I was there, three years suddenly passed and all that was building up was somehow handled (but not completely) and we just hear about it in two pages. After all the buildup, it fell flat. I understand that a time jump was necessary for the plot, but the way it was done made me feel detached from the history and characters.

Overall an enjoyable read.

Thank you very much Poisoned Pen Press and NetGallery for providing me this ARC.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher of this book for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’ll be forthcoming in that I read this book rather quickly as life got in the way. Because of that I didn’t give it the time needed to give a justified review in full. However, I did enjoy the book very much enough that I ordered it from my library so I could re-read it and enjoy it fully. When o finish it I will amend my review.

I did enjoy the “voice” of taking a writing and flipping things around from the typical as the thriller unfolded. It kept me turning the pages and wanting to finish it in the time allotment given.

I will return to write more thoughtful comments but in the mean time, I recommend picking this book up and giving it a read!

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Theodosia Benton took a gamble when she withdrew from law school to pursue her dreams of becoming a writer. When her famous mentor was brutally murdered, Theo found herself and her loved ones at the centre of the investigation and took drastic measures to protect them.

The Mystery Writer was such a good book! It was unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I was captivated from beginning until end. There were so many shocking twists and turns and I truly could not have predicted the directions this book went in.
The entire cast of characters were superb, however, my personal favorite was Theo’s brother, Gus. He was supportive and protective of Theo, and seemed like the kind of big brother that I would have wanted. My only real criticism was that there were some elements that felt super far-fetched, which detracted from my immersion in the book at times. All in all, I highly recommend getting yourself a copy of this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this ARC!

In "The Mystery Writer," the author skillfully weaves character backgrounds into the plot, avoiding distractions. Theo, a law school dropout from Australia, reunites with her brother and forms an unexpected bond with Dan Murdoch, an older author with secrets. As Theo gets entangled in dangerous events orchestrated by Dan's publisher, she seeks help from Mac, her brother's friend. A potential romance blossoms as they unravel a murder mystery. The story takes unexpected turns. A compelling read.

I dithered about giving this title three stars or four stars, but realized that if I was dithering, I might as well make it four.

The Mystery Writer, a "writer's life" sort of novel pulls together all kinds of threads. The writer in this case is young-ish, has just left law school in Australia, and shown up on the doorstep of her brother who now lives in Lawrence, Kansas. There's the writers' cafe scene; a well-known, yes mysterious publisher; a murderer on the loose attacking writers and those in related fields; off-the-grid living in Australia; and U.S. survivalists and gun culture.

The pacing here was uneven—some stretches of time are set out in detail, but the are also sudden jumps or weeks or months, or, yes, years. I found this put a sort of distance between the reader and the characters. We don't have the continuum of getting to know people across time, but the novel needs that structure to do what it does.

If you enjoy quirky conspiracy theory mysteries, you're in for a treat with The Mystery Writer.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

Conspiracy theories, doomsday preppers, a famous writer in Lawrence, Kansas, all combine to make a fabulous mystery in The Mystery Writer, by Sulari Gentill. Theodosia drops out of law school in Australia and shows up at her brother, Gus's house in Kansas, and a chain of events starts that leads to three murders. They all seem to be connected to Theo. What follows is a "Who done It?" that is well worth the read.

it's not all murder and mayhem. There's family love and loyalty and a little bit of romance thrown in. If you enjoy a good mystery, you've found one here. I was able to read an ARC on #NetGalley.

I was looking forward to reading this book and it was burning on my NetGalley Shelf. I enjoyed the other books by this author, so this one seemed promising, but unfortunately, it wasn't as good as the others and this book wasn't for me.

The story started out great and I was flipping the pages and then there was an absolute wall I ran into. The conspiracy theories became too much and unbelievable. I also didn't like the time jumps as they just came out of nowhere and left you with a WTH?! The other thing is that I can not stand is head-hopping. It's confusing and not necessary. I can understand that there are some editing issues that need to be resolved, but for me, it felt like this book was still in the developmental editing phase. There were parts in the story that could have been removed and probably made it a lot better. The ending was so predictable, but I already was at a point where I didn't care.

Theo was a real ‘Damsel In Distress’ although I did like the sibling bond between her and Gus. The development of the characters wasn't there, which made it hard for me to connect or relate.

I loved the story idea, but it wasn't executed very well.
I do like Sulari her writing style and will read another book by her, but this book wasn't for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, NetGalley, and poisoned pen press for this ARC.
2.5 ⭐️ rounded up

Though I hoped this book would be a fast paced, exciting thriller, I was disappointed by the slow pace. I found it hard to get into and found the main character to be a bit unlikable and tough to relate to. The premise of conspiracy theories sounded interesting but ultimately I just couldn’t get past the slow plot to get invested in the story. However, reviews are always subjective and other readers who enjoy a slow burn, cozy mystery type of story may be more drawn to this book.

Thank you to the author, Poisoned Pen Press, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

"Despite the great many hours in conversations during which Theo felt she was laying her soul bare and confiding her greatest hopes and fears for her writing, Dan Murdoch was, about his current work in progress, evasive." - Sulari Gentill, The Mystery Writer
.
Not too long ago, thanks to the publisher and Netgalley, I was able to dive into the second book I've read by Sulari Gentill. When I read The Woman In The Libary last spring and listened to the audio book, I was hooked, so I had no doubt that I would enjoy this one just as much.
.
There is so much to say about this amazing book, but I don't want to spoil it because it is coming out in a couple short months on March 19th, 2024! It has another lovely cover and is well done, a page turner, so relevant in so many ways, and the characters are fascinating and show so much development for the amount that the reader is given about them.
.
Many books focus too heavily on backgrounds of characters and past events, or that go in a million directions. In The Mystery Writer there is a complementary blend of setting the scenes and chapters, introducing each character, giving relevant pieces of their backgrounds as needed, and tying in more realistic events such as brief mention of pandemic times, without any one single thing distracting from the plot line and outcome.
.
In The Mystery Writer, we see Theodosia Benton, who goes by Theo, arrive from Australia after dropping out of law school. She shows up at her brother's house and while confused, he welcomes her there and they reunite after a long time. Theo also gets acquainted with Horse, her brother's dog.
.
As the book progresses, we see Theo start writing in a bar in Lawrence, Kansas at her brother's suggestion of her needing an "office". Over a span of months, Theo grows close with a man significantly older than herself named Dan Murdoch who is also an author. But Dan is secretive and careful, and Theo is vulnerable, young, and unsuspecting. Dan's work in progress is a book that ties into an entire theory "fans" and conspirators have developed, but it turns out that the publisher he works with is behind everything that happens. Theo is swept up in one bad event after another after she meets Dan.
.
Through the Rollercoaster ride of Theo being in the wrong place at the wrong time and growing attached to someone with a lot of secrets, she recruits the help of her brothers friend and colleague, Mac. We see a potential romance blossom between Mac and Theo as he grows increasingly protective of her. But Theo is determined to solve the murder of her good friend. Eventually, everything leads to Gus (Theos brother) ending up in the hospital, Mac getting into legal trouble, and Theo going missing.
.
In the end, Gus and Mac end up piecing things together and figuring out where Theo is, but this is somewhere around 5 years later and in the future ahead of the readers time as well, which is interesting to discover. Theo does uncover the secrets Dan was holding onto, and she ends up publishing her book under a pen name, but this leads Mac and Gus to her because Mac had heard her ideas and picked up subtle hints. I was glad to see that there was a happy ending, or at least some happiness, for all of the main characters. Theo and Gus both live, Theo and Mac are free to be together, and Gus Is able to go back to his law career with his name cleared.
.
Overall, this book was a whirlwind, but I loved the happy ending and unpredictability! I look forward to rereading both books again.

WOW!!! This is an amazing mystery. I tend to like a quirky plot, but I am definitely character driven. I thought Gus and Theo and Mac were great characters. Veronica gave me chills from the first time she was introduced, but I couldn't say why!! Great writing! The conspiracy theory part was fun for me. I tend to take them worth a grain of salt. BUT.......?

I'm not sure what this book was trying to be, or what market it's aiming for, but it was all over the place. A young Australian woman, Theo Benton, comes to the US to stay with her brother, Gus, who is a lawyer in Kansas. Theo has dropped out of law school and wants to be a writer. She spends her days in a coffee shop where she works on her book. Before long, she catches the eye of another writer, Dan Murdoch. Soon they begin a relationship but when Theo asks Dan, an established writer, if he'll submit her manuscript to his agent, he adamantly refuses. The next day she goes to his house to smooth things over, only to find he's been murdered.

Up until this part, things were going along well, setting the scene for a traditional mystery, but now things fly off the rails. Theo and her brother Gus are harassed by the police, even though there is no evidence against them. Gus works closely with a private investigator, Mac, who is somehow insanely rich. Mac's family are all bizarre characters -- "preppers" who believe the government is spying/out to get them while working on a plan to reanimate dead people (?). They are all constantly armed, even inside the house, only removing their guns to say grace before eating. As soon as the meal is finished, they stand up and strap the guns on again (this made me wonder if the target audience for this book is Australia or the UK, since the Americans are quite cartoonish). As outlandish as that is, well, wouldn't you know it, soon Mac is arrested by "the feds" and held without charge for months and his assets (wherever they came from) are seized. I'm still not sure what that was about. Then there are more murders and Theo disappears and time passes and . . . I just don't even know. I'm sure it was a formatting issue, but at the end there was complete chaos and confusion as people in one location were doing something and then suddenly in the next paragraph someone in a different location appeared. It was extremely hard to follow. And at the end there were threats of people being charged with "perverting the course of justice." I'm sorry, is that even a thing in the US? I've only ever heard that terminology in a UK crime show!

Just a mess from all directions. Evil corporations, conspiracy theorists, police and government agencies arresting people for no reason and with no evidence, over the top preppers, oh, and a seeming attempt at some coziness with quite a lot of emphasis and attention paid to the dog in the story. Maybe this would make more sense as a TV series, but as a reading experience it was trying to do too much all at once and not really succeeding at anything.

The Mystery Writer is a mystery/suspense novel with a big dash of conspiracies thrown in for good measure. Theo wants to be a writer and gives up on law school and her inheritance to pursue her dream. Her brother, a lawyer, provides her a place to stay and helps to win her a settlement from her inheritance so she can write. Theo hangs out in a bar writing where she meets a fairly famous author. They share ideas and soon a bed. But then Theo’s friend is murdered and she’s seen as a suspect. The story keeps spiraling in predictable pattern and I quickly knew who the bad guys. The ending had a few twists but nothing jaw dropping. The characters are likable enough but the story almost had me sitting the book down 3/4 of the way through. This book was just an okay read for me. My voluntary, unbiased, and non mandatory review is based upon a free review copy from NetGalley.

What I loved most about this novel was that it contained murder and mystery without the gore, which I sometimes appreciate. This is more along the lines of a cozy mystery involving authors and writers.

The story starts off slow but the reader will soon be sucked into Sulari Gentill’s web of deception. The writing was skillful and well plotted.

I am a huge fan of the author since I read The Woman in the Library, and this book was another wonderful read indeed.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Theodosia Benton leaves law school behind in order to pursue a career as a writer to complete her unfinished novel. Surrounded by uncertainty, and the fact that she may not be talented enough to become a successful writer, she moves in with her brother Gus in the hope that he will support her. She fears that if she tells her parents they will insist she return to school and complete her law degree.
In the midst of the turmoil in her life, Theo finds comfort in an accomplished author, who becomes her mentor and encourages her to finish her book. When her mentor is brutally murdered her brother Gus becomes the prime suspect and Theo becomes heavily involved in the investigation in order to protect him and prove him innocent. Gus is able to dodge the police to get involved in the investigation in order to prove his innocence. In the midst of his search for the truth he finds out that the author has left a labyrinth in the form of a story and Theo suddenly disappears. When Gus breaks the code behind the labyrinth he finds that Theo, and everyone associated with her must die.

I don't think this book was really for me. It started out very interesting with a mysterious plot and a murder. It ground to a halt and dragged about 50% of the way through and didn't recover. My biggest issue was that Theo felt like a stand in for the reader rather than a character. Her role was to be a woman that things happened to, which she would then wring her hands over, and diminish her responses or the situation. I was expecting she'd be an intelligent woman who was able to make it into law school, but she never seemed to demonstrate much talent or personality outside of how she related to the male characters. I also disliked that Mac seemed to always have a solution, more like a convenient plothole cover, than an independent character who is fully explained. Because if you explained him it suddenly wouldn't make sense.

I think people who are looking for a mystery novel with a conspiracy plot will like this. If they aren't reading very deeply it probably won't even be noticed.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

I unfortunately did not finish this book before my time with it expired.
Honestly, this one felt very difficult to get into. The whole beginning just confused me and I never quite felt connected with the characters or with the story. It ended up being put on the back burner and it simply expired. So my star review should not be used to reflect the status of the entire book, it just simply wasn’t for my taste.

I tried. I really, really tried to get into this book. No matter how many times, at different months, I tried, I could not. I found these characters supremely boring from the get go and I could not grow to love them. I tried. I tried too hard, probably, but I did.

I’ve seen Theo referred to as a Damsel In Distress in many reviews, and I couldn’t agree more. One must grow up and take responsibility for their actions at some point in life, and Theo is past that point. The author presents the reader with a lot of time jumps to “wrap everything up” but it really only feels jarring, further detaching me from the read.

Overall, this is not a good that I can recommend.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This was a fascinating story and I enjoyed the basic plot very much. Some editing was needed where words were missing, which created some difficulty in staying immersed in the story (but of course, it was an advanced copy, so I give a lot of leeway here). There were twists and turns that I was absolutely not expecting, and I was delightfully surprised by the way the story unraveled. That being said, although great ideas underpinned the plot, some was such a stretch from reality that I couldn't go higher than three stars.

Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Sulari Gentill for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the conspiracy theory aspect of this book (I’m a sucker for a whacky conspiracy theory) but I ultimately found I *really* had to suspend reality for this one to be remotely believable.

I know, I know. It’s fiction. But it just really went off the rails about 80% in for me. The ending also felt kind of rushed in comparison with the buildup of the rest of the book.

Ultimately I really enjoy this author so won’t hesitate to read her next book!