I received this book as a promotion from the publisher. My opinions are solely my own.
I really struggled with this book in the first 1/4 because of the "conspiracy theory ".
I pushed through that part and ended up sucked into the story and characters.
Theo, Gus and Mac quickly became believable characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the Lawrence and KU factors that helped me get into the story

I like to read mystery novels and I was hoping that this would be another intriguing mystery; however, I found the pacing of the book to be very slow at the beginning. I found it a challenge to keep reading until 60 pages in. By then I had a fairly good idea who the murder was without much trouble which was a disappointment. It is an interesting premise; however, I found the pacing to be slow and the characters wandered a lot while trying to solve this mystery. I think this book could have used more editing and maybe a bit of pruning to tighten up the plot.

Theodosia Benson leaves her law studies in Australia and shows up unexpectedly on her brother's doorstep in Kansas, determined to finally devote her. time to writing. She soon develops a routine of writing at a nearby cafe, where she is taken under the wing of a well-regarded and established author, Dan. After Dan is found dead, Theo is the most likely suspect, while in the background conspiracy theorists have their own ideas of who Dan was and why he died. The main characters Theo, her brother Gus, his friend Mac, and a publishing agent Veronica are interesting characters worth exploring, and would be welcome in further books about Theo.

2.5 Stars🌟

After giving The Woman in the Library 5 stars, I had high hopes for this book and found the premise intriguing. I think it started off rather strong, but as I continued reading, I found myself becoming less and less interested in the story and just wanted to get it over with.

I found multiple grammar errors in the book, which is not unexpected in an ARC and I’m sure will be fixed before the final copy is printed. However, it felt like this story still needs quite a bit of developmental editing. At some points, I felt like it was constantly jumping from one person’s POV to another, even within the same scene. There were also a few time jumps where months or even years have passed by that you’re not expecting and aren’t really sufficiently explained. With both of these, it just felt very jarring as a reader, and I felt like I couldn’t get a solid grasp on what was happening.

I also didn’t appreciate some of the political undertones in this book. There are some “conservative” and “Christian” characters who are written in a very extreme way and are certainly not representatives of the majority of those who are conservative or Christian in America. I fear those who read this book who are not conservative/Christian or those who do not understand the American political climate could get some false ideas about these groups of people from the comments and insinuations made in the story.

Overall, the idea of the book was good, but I don’t think it was executed well.

Thank you to NetGalley for a complimentary e-ARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions above are my own.

I enjoyed the thrill of the first 2/3 of this story. It was well written and made me look at all the shadows and the people around me. But when the time jumps started happening, the book felt rushed and the story got confusing. I’m not sure if in the paper version if there were page breaks which would denote these large passages of time but there were no breaks or lines or bolded words indicating how much time had passed, which was odd. Additionally, there were significant events that occurred during the time passages that are never fully explained or recorded that could have fleshed out the story more. Her parents never appeared again, which was odd. Not a bad read but seemed like the writer ran out of time to turn in the story and needed to get it done so skipped fleshing out those parts which could have added to the book.

This is another brilliant mystery from Sulari Gentill! What I liked best: that you will second guess the actions and motives of every single character, over and over. You will wonder who is behind the mayhem and why. You will question just who are the “good guys” and who are the “bad guys” and then wonder if there is even a distinction. It is a novel about murders in a small town, but also about the conspiracy theories that abound in 21st-century America, constructed in an innovative story that is also about writers and the business of publishing. I found this book captivating and unsettling (I mean that in the best possible way) and absolutely one of the best mysteries I have read this year. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill was a book that I just finished reading yesterday and I was a bit disappointed because the storyline zoomed in different directions simultaneously and I found it very hard to follow what was happening. I also could not engage with the characters as I usually do in other books because they were not well elaborated on as to what their likes/dislikes were, their past histories, their relationships with others, etc. so I felt distant from them and their adventures.

The pace of the storyline went too fast for me to get a good grasp of the various settings in the storyline and the interactions between characters. For example, at one point, the main characters, Cormac, Gus, and Theodosia, were arrested by the police for further questioning in the murders of three individuals - Mary Cowell, Burt Winslow, and Dan Murdoch, and before I could get the scenario well established in my mind, I found out that Theo disappeared. It left me hanging in the lurch and it wasn't until later on in the novel, that I found out what happened to Theo. Additionally, the fight scenes in the novel felt too simplistic for my liking; there should have been more elaboration of the physical struggles between Jock and Bellhop and our protagonists. When Mac and Augustus start looking for Theo and discover that she is in Dallas, the storyline veers off unexpectedly to Theo's situation with Veronica Cole which left me puzzled as to how Mac and Gus's search for Theo connected with Theo's escape from the hotel room in Dallas; I didn't find that the storyline flowed very well. Although the author does explain some of the questions that I had about Theo and how she disappeared during the story, and how Mac got locked in prison (in the aftermath of Gus's shooting) and what happened to Gus when he came out of the hospital, I could not say that I was entirely satisfied overall for the book's entertainment value. I will not factor out reading future novels from this author as she is a good writer and her plot was good enough to be publishable however it felt that more development to the storyline was necessitated. I do hope to read more from Sulari Gentill.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It's a little difficult for me to gather my thoughts about this book as it started out absolutely great and then turned into what I could only describe as a disaster. I did enjoy some of the characters, mostly Theo and her brother, along with a few other male characters here and there. I thought there was a bit too much plot, if I can say so, in the sense that people started dying and there was a lot of intrigue -- for hundreds of pages, you don't find out anything about the mystery per se. As any reader knows, it can be frustrating to continue reading something and wait for at least a serious clue for pages on end, without getting any 'reward' whatsoever.
Then, about mid-way, I was seriously put off by a few descriptions. Unfortunately, I was met with a few character patterns that I have encountered in many, many other books, the types you buy for $.99 in the Kindle Store and that aren't necessarily the best ones.
Finally, the ending was just disappointing. Similarly to other reviewers, I figured out what the mystery was (or at least suspected it) pretty early. All I can say is that the ending was what convinced me to give a 2-star rating to this book... Too over the top and too unlikely. These things just don't happen in real life like they were presented here, and if I had been reading a fantasy novel, it goes without saying that I would've had other expectations. But this was supposed to be a contemporary mystery.
It was an interesting experience, though, since one can mostly tell if they're interested in a book or not in the first 100 pages -- it took more than 200 for me to realize that this was going nowhere and that I should've probably not requested it on NetGalley.

I LOVED The Woman in the Library, so consequently I had high hopes for this one. For me, it fell flat. The premise is actually quite interesting, but the storyline felt poorly executed and the timelines were odd. It abruptly shifted forward months or years without any warning or context clues. Additionally, the POV kept changing, sometimes even within the same chapter.

I think this book is good but could’ve been better.

This is my second book by Sulari Gentill, and I enjoyed it! I really liked the beginning and some of the initial twists - I did feel like it jumped the shark a little at the end which made the conclusion feel less interesting. The core three characters, Theo, George & Mac, are awesome, relatable but all a litttttttle unreliable, which improved the reading experience. I would generally recommend to folks who enjoy mystery/thrillers with lots of twists (this is definitely not cozy, my friends). 3 stars - I liked it.

Content Warnings: murder, sexual assault, stalking, gun violence

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC!

After reading and enjoying Sulari Gentill’s The Woman in the Library, I was super excited to pick up her latest book, The Mystery Writer. I found The Woman in the Library to be clever and creepy, and I was hopeful that The Mystery Writer would top it.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, to say the least.

The Mystery Writer was a slow-paced, convoluted story that was honestly so ridiculous at parts that I had to roll my eyes and walk away. The novel follows the story of Theo Benton, an aspiring author who drops out of law school and moves to the US to live with her older brother. As she starts working on her manuscript, she befriends an older author who takes her under his wing. Everything is going great — Theo is finishing her manuscript, her relationship with her mentor is turning into something more — until her mentor ends up dead, and Theo is the prime suspect in his murder.

But that’s not all. It turns out that Theo’s dead mentor was involved in a conspiracy that might just go all the way to the top. And now Theo isn’t just caught up in a murder; there’s a whole web of secrets, lies, and violence in which Theo finds herself thoroughly wrapped.

This sounds right up my alley. So what went wrong?

To begin with, the writing itself felt amateurish and unedited. The book read like a first draft: lots of potential, but lots of cleaning up to do. I overlook a lot of typos and mistakes in ARCs, since they are not finished with editing, but this book had a long way to go in that aspect. There were also continuity errors and logical inconsistencies that took me out of the story on more than one occasion.

My biggest problem, though, was the character of Theo. I wanted so badly to like her, but I found her so clueless as to be unbelievable. I understand that books typically need miscommunication and bad choices for the sake of having a story, but this went far beyond that. Theo overlooked every red flag in her path and constantly put herself in harm’s way out of unimaginable ignorance. It was hard to root for her when it seemed every decision she made was so wrong.

I also found the plot to be unbelievable to the point of, quite frankly, absolute ridiculousness. This was not a murder mystery, it was a conspiracy-theory thriller completely unrooted in reality. With too many characters, a litany of alternating perspectives, and abrupt time jumps of years, I just could not center myself within this story. I could not even bring myself to invest in the story; I only wanted it to end.

I love metafiction and murder as much as the next guy, but sadly, this is not a book that I would recommend to anyone.

⭐️: 3.25 / 5

Publication Date: March 19, 2024

I want to thank Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for allowing me to get an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The prologue leaves you with a sense of “wait…what?”. And if I’m being totally honest I don’t think it’s ever addressed later in the book either.

Some of the coolest aspects of this story, was that part of this book was the process of writing a novel. The use of electronic posts, reminded me of Reddit posts/comments and I thought that added an interesting element to the developing story.

As for my reservations, this book took a turn to the ridiculous. Some of the actions and decisions that the FMC does had me rolling my eyes a bit and felt like it was realistic. As for the rest of the plot, I was on board until the climax started to happen towards the end and it just felt so out of left field which I was really disappointed to see. Some scenes were summarized in an odd way instead of writing out the scene as it deserved while some paragraphs were dedicated to the FMC thinking through events that felt redundant.

Overall I liked this book but the ending really took away some of the enjoyment. I felt like this was a quick and easy read to get through. I think that others will enjoy this book and it definitely had a unique premise.

Would recommend for those who are fans of
- Books about writing books
- Author FMC
- Conspiracies

⚠️ violence, assault

I was at a loss for this one.

So many storylines going on, different perspectives, lots of characters, and just overall a lot going on. The act 3 switch and subsequent disappearance of Theo was a bit much for me, it seemed a bit out of character.

If you're a complex novel reading kind of person this is the one but it wasn't for me

This was my first book from this author and I promise you it will not be my last, what a great story!! I was a little hesitant at first when the story seems to show signs of conspiracy of a Frankenstein Project, but it worked so well with the main story!
Theodosia shows up on her brothers doorstep in America after dropping out of the Australian university and wants to become a writer instead of a lawyer. As she finds a local coffee shop to start writing her book, she meets up with a famous author Dan Murdoch. Their friends is fast and feelings are starting to evolve between the two of them when Dan gets murdered and it appears that Theo is the number one suspect. This is where the book gets wild and super interesting! Publishers are shady and twisted, Theo gets herself further and further in the weeds of more murders and the people finding a conspiracy with the whole ordeal are out for blood.

The only negative I have about this book that knocked it down from 5 stars to 4 for me was the last quarter of the book. The entire book was well paced and provided just the right amount of details until the last quarter. Then it kind of just jumps to the ending. It felt a little rushed and like he was just trying to wrap things up. I did like how there were no loose ends and all my questions were answered, but I think it could have been a bit more detailed in the end.

Overall this was a EXCELLENT book and I will be seeking out more reads from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

3.5 stars

In Gentill's latest THE MYSTERY WRITER, Theo (female) arrives at her brother Gus's house after having dropped out of law school and deciding to become a writer. Theo soon decides to continue writing at the local hangout Benders, and there she meets Dan, a published writer, who is also there to write. They start up a friendship (and more!), but when Theo discovers Dan's dead body, she is pulled into a mystery where her brother is the main suspect. Gus's friend Mac, who is from a doomsday prepper family, is also pulled into the mix.

There was a slow start to this, which I really enjoyed as I settled into the story. The slowness continued until past it had worn out its welcome. A lot of the middle is about the logistics of hiding, which frankly wasn't that interesting. And then there was a burst of 10-15% of the book toward the end that read like an action novel, and it was almost too chaotic. So the pace was rather uneven, and for most of the time I felt like Goldilocks (mostly wanting a faster pace, but toward the end wanting a slower pace).

I liked the atmosphere for most of the book except toward the chaotic end. There was some intrigue. I felt like the author had some things to say about publishing via the story, which I liked, but it was much more subtle than, say, YELLOWFACE.

I felt like the author held us a distance from the characters. Mac was my favorite character. Perhaps that was because I got to see Mac interact with his family. I was intrigued by the family Gus and Theo came from, so I was frustrated that we didn't get to see more dynamics with their parents.

I wasn't wowed by the author's previous thriller THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY, so perhaps I should have skipped this because this author may not land for me like she does for others. It was an overall solid mystery, but there were a few elements that didn't quite work for me (the pacing, felt like I didn't get a close view of the characters, wanted to explore more of Gus's and Theo's dynamics with their parents).

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

Ok first speaking as someone who doesn’t have siblings but always wanted them the sibling love in this book was amazing. They would truly do anything for eachother.

There was a lot going on at ask times with this book and that was kind odd confusing for me but I really enjoyed this book a lot.

Theodosia Benton leaves her home in Australia to join her brother Gus in Lawrence, Kansas. She’s dropped out of law school, giving up her parents’ plan for her to follow the family tradition, choosing instead to follow her own dream of becoming a writer.
Through pure luck, or, perhaps karma, she is befriended by Dan Murdoch, a famous novelist, in the coffee shop/bar where she spends her days writing. He takes an interest in her writing, and mentors her through the months it takes to finish her book. Finally, it’s done, and a prestigious agency wants to put her under contract. She tries to give Murdoch the good news, but it seems that he’s ghosted her. When she goes to Murdoch’s home, she finds out why. The door is open, and she stumbles through a pool of blood to see his dead body.
This sets off a series of events that sends her life, and the lives of those close to her, on a path straight to Hell. She’s the primary suspect in the murder, and her brother, in trying to defend her, gets caught up in the mess. Soon, everyone she is close to is in danger.

I really enjoyed Theo's journey from the start. She is quirky and ultimately searching for the life for her when realizing being a lawyer isn't for her. I like how this showcased we can change the direction of our lives, even when there is outside pressure from others. I loved the relationship between Theo and her brother, Gus, and of course, the dog, ironically named Horse. The relationship between Theo and Dan was interesting and I was immediately waiting for the shoe to drop with the build up Sulari provided right from the beginning. The writing was in a way ominous as you knew what was going to happen but the writing still pulled a reaction from me which is huge because I usually don't like when I already know plot points. Theo was surprisingly naïve with her interactions with people which I wasn't expecting and I found myself telling her to be more cautious and wanting her to speak her mind and stop following with whatever someone was saying. The mystery surrounding Dan as a person and the addition with the snippets with the conspiracy theory had me hooked. Once Dan was murdered, things really took off and you get to see so many of the twists and turns play out which kept me wanting to read more. There were parts that kind of dragged and I felt didn't flow the best but overall I thought it was a good read and was different from other books I read which I loved.

It took me a little while to get through the book but that is not a reflection on the actual book itself. When I had time to read I was engrossed and flew through the pages with ease. Overall, this was an enjoyable read for me and I recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thoughts: Wow. This was definitely not what I was expecting. It was much more. First of all, it’s a thriller, not a cozy mystery. The main character, Theo, sometimes comes across as naïve and meek, but by the end, she has grown into a stronger person. I loved the character of Mac, and Gus wasn’t too bad either. And the dog, Horse, was adorable. The plot was at times a little confusing, but did work out in the end. In fact, the end surprised me a little, but in a very good way. It’s definitely not the kind of work I usually read, but I’m glad I did. It was very different and intriguing.

Recommendation: Recommended.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

I decided to read The Mystery Writer, based on the previous Sulari Gentill novel that I had read, The Woman in the Library. No two books could be so different. I learned a long time ago to always complete a novel, once started. Sometimes a writer will surprise readers with something totally unexpected. That was not the case with The Mystery Writer. Finishing this novel was a real struggle. All of the conspiracy stuff was a distraction that was confusing and served no purpose. The relationship between brother and sister and their family had possibilities that went unfulfilled because of other distractions.

The Mystery Writer takes a lot of work and constant rereading to try and understand the point of so many confusing digressions. Reading The Mystery Writer was a great deal of work and without the hoped-for reward. It is rare for me not to enjoy a novel. However, I realize that not every book appeals to every reader. Reading tastes are highly individualistic. Films are the same way. My grandsons loved a very strange film that won many awards, but I totally missed the point. I kept wondering why they were laughing.

Thank you to the author, Poison Pen Press, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I encourage people to read all of the reviews for any book they consider purchasing. Many people enjoyed The Mystery Writer. I am just not one of them. 2.5/5