Theodosia Benton abruptly decides to quit law school in Australia and head to Lawrence, Kansas, where her brother lives. She dreams of being a writer instead and finds a local cafe/bar where she spend her days writing. Lots of would-be writers and actual writers spend their days at Benders and one in particular, Dan Murtaugh, takes an interest in Theo. They become friends and he encourages her writing, but when she asks him to send her manuscript to his agent, he balks and tells Theo, they are not right for her. When Dan, a highly successful author is murdered, the police think Theo's brother Gus has something to do with it. This begins a whirlwind of activity as other surrounding the writer are murdered and the net around Theo and Gus tightens, A tense, taunt mystery with many ins and outs and twists. Excellent reading.

One of my favorite books is by Sulari Gentill: After She Wrote Him. And I also loved The Woman in the Library. So I come into a book by Sulari Gentill with high hopes. And this book didn't quite deliver. It felt preachy at certain points and dragged in some places. I enjoyed the secret society and conspiracy theories.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I was not familiar with the author and had not read any of her other books, but was intriqued by the description.

I liked the book up until about the 75% point. I liked characters and I was intriqued by the story line. But then it took a big jump in time and seemed to veer off track. Frankly I got very confused with the conspiracy theory storyline. Also, I don't like when movies have long chase and action scenes and I felt like that's what happened toward the end of this book. I feel like it got very convuluted at that point or perhaps it was because I honestly lost interest in it.

Unfortuantely, this book just didn't did it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. So the summary and title of this book really made me excited to read it. I expected from the summary that there would be a bit of mystery with it and there wasn’t at all.
The book was ok but there was just nothing in it that I had expected to find. I kept reading expecting something to happen but nothing did. This one just wasn’t really for me.

I was so excited to get a chance to read an ARC of The Mystery Writer through NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book! I knew I would like this book because I loved The Woman in the Library.

Theo moves to the US to be closer to her brother and pursue her dream of writing a novel. As she is working on her Novel she meets Dan, an established author, who becomes her friend and mentor. Theo's world is turned upside down when she finds Dan murdered in his house, and she becomes a suspect.

I thought this novel was well-written and a great story. It kept my attention and kept me wanting more. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced thriller and to those who love trying to figure out the endings. It was definitely an ending I couldn't have guessed!

There’s nothing better than a cozy murder mystery and The Mystery Writer definitely delivers. Who doesn’t love a good conspiracy theory? Especially when it leaves you questioning things. This is a multi layered story with some great twists and turns. I’m excited to have discovered this author and look forward to more from her in the future.

A woman, manuscript and her suitcases arrive at her brothers door. He takes her in and she continues to work on her book.

Her mentor is murdered and her brother becomes the primary suspect.

This book includes conspiracy and doomsday theories, examines what siblings will do for each other and lots of twists and turns as life begins to replicate art.

When Theodosia Benton shows up on her big brother’s doorstep with some luggage and an idea for a novel, she’s sure of two things: she no longer wants to be a lawyer, and Gus will always have her back. A chance encounter at Benders, a local watering hole, introduces Theo to a famous writer, who takes her under his wing - and perhaps into his heart.

Just when Theo is at her happiest - contemplating her developing relationship and invigorated by her newly finished draft - things begin to unravel. Theo is drawn into a web of lies, conspiracy, and murder.

The novel shows its hand early in the story. This isn’t necessarily a drawback; letting the reader in on secrets that the characters haven’t quite figured out can add tension and increase suspense. However, the novel treated some of its more predictable plot points as unexpected twists, which impacted the story’s pacing. In the last quarter of the novel, the action winds down for a great deal of exposition about the characters’ pasts, the events surrounding a 2-year time jump, and the motivations and methods of the primary antagonists.

Despite the pacing in the final fourth of the book, the central conspiracy was compelling, the characters were varied and believable, and I really enjoyed the meta commentary on the publishing industry. As an American, I also appreciated the Australian perspective on American culture and gun laws. (Both the author and the protagonist are Australian.) Readers who love books about books, red herrings, and intricate conspiracy theories will likely enjoy this literary thriller. Overall, an enjoyable, layered mystery with well-developed, believable characters.

Thank you to Sulari Gentill, Net Galley, and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a digital advanced reader copy of this book. I look forward to reading more of Gentile’s work in the future (and to exploring her back catalogue)!

I really wanted to like this book and I did for the first maybe 40% but then everything went off the rails. I'm not sure how the timeline started jumping by months and then years so quickly when everything had been in the same time period initially. Then we are dealing with some type of super spy Tom Cruise "Mission Impossible" type shenanigans where there is multiple conspiracy theories, cults, authors working as spies and assassins, not to mention the crazy Doomsday preppers. I mean, what didn't this book have?? Towards the end we also have some really bad editing, as the different points of views were not clearly separated at all from paragraph to paragraph. It seemed rushed and like the author wasn't even sure where the ending was going and so was just throwing everything out there to see what would stick. This could've been a really good and interesting story with a twist, but it just fell incredibly short of the goal.

Realizing that law school is not for her, Theodosia takes a flight to the US to surprise her big brother Gus,who is a partner in a law firm. As Theo decides if her wish to become a published author is really something within her grasp, she meets a fellow author at a local pub. As her relationship with this author develops, she finds that he is keeping secrets that he claims his publisher insists upon. Wanting to be published by the same publishing house, Theo wants to know why her friend won't recommend her to his agent. When he fails to show up at their pub, she goes to his home only to discover that he's been murdered. As the story of the murder/suspects and motives unfolds, readers are given an inside look at an underground conspiracy webpage/blog which claims that the deceased author was going to produce their perfect manifesto. However, the manuscript is missing and so the followers rally to find the murderer--only to pin the blame on Theo. As bodies start to pile up, Theo and Gus find themselves being hunted by more than one group either seeking the truth or wanting to cover it up. The publisher is all powerful and controlling of the lives of its authors and this leads to some extreme measures being taken by them to keep their secrets safe. Some quirky secondary characters add to the story nicely. I found it a bit slow at the start, but it picked up the pace about a third of the way in and I found the rest of the story enjoyable.

This book started out very well, and I was immediately drawn in to the interesting storyline and character development. Then the final 1/3 of the book kicked in and the whole thing decended into absolute nonsensical chaos. The timeline is completely thrown out the window, where one sentence is 3 months later, the next is 5 1/2 months, and the next is 3 years. What?!?! And there's no clear dilineation. We're dealing with conspiracy theories, right-wing politics, Tasmanian cults, writers who are assassins for hire, Homeland Security secret prisons, high speed chases, doomsday preppers, love at first sight...this book really does attempt to cover every conceivable base.
I feel like the book might still be in the editing stages because the storyline starts crossing over itself, across character perspectives, sometimes within the same paragraph. It all becomes a confusing action-adventure mess that sloppily ties up a bunch of ends no one even knew were loose. Add in a couple of love stories that are thrown in as an afterthought and this is what you're left with.

Maybe the author was pressed with meeting a last minute deadline and scrambled to finish. I sincerely hope that is the case. Either way, I won't be reading anything from this author again. Fool me once...

My first time reading a Sulari Gentill gook and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I did enjoy the book and will read others by her. It did take me couple of days to really get into the story as it was a bit of a slow burn but once I did. really enjoyed it and was not wanting to stop reading it. Everything about this book screams plots twists and who is the killer and I couldn’t get enough. Every time I thought I had something figured out, I was wrong! Who knew a story about a law student turned writer could be turned into a great thriller?

As a reader and wish I could put my pen to typing, this story had the twists and turns I find enjoyable. I like to continue guessing as the page turns. Thanks for the ride. The characters are developed in pieces, which leave you to guess what else is there. Made me connect. The theories made me smile and laugh at a few thoughts. Reminded me of a touch of CSI and Law & Order.

I just reviewed The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill. #mysterywriter #NetGalley

This was different. I love conspiracy theory stuff in fiction because it’s based so strongly in possibly conceptual truths.

When Theo abandons her law career path and turns to her brother for a place to stay, she decides that her unfinished novel is what she wants. So, she spends time in a coffee shop “writing”… There she meets Dan, a well known writer working in a manuscript of his own. The two form a swift friendship, which quickly turns romantic.

But, when Dan is found dead and his manuscript missing, things become stranger and stranger. Theo knows that she needs to learn more about Dan and is determined to do so.

This was good. I enjoyed the characters and the plot, but there was something missing for me, something that kept me from fully engaging with the story. It was a fun and interesting take on the rich and powerful and how far the reach goes.

Sadly, I'm giving this a rating of 2.5 and rounding out up to a 3. I really enjoyed The Woman in the Library, so I had high hopes for this book and was thrilled to pick up another book by the same author. It initially started off well but then it got jumbled Yu and way too complicated. All of a sudden the genres became mixed up. It went from Mystery to like action thriller. I mean where did assassins fit into this. I made myself finish this book because I don't like to DNF a book. unfortunately, I did find myself skipping through parts that I found either confusing or not interesting. It's not a book I would recommend.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but sometimes the pacing felt a little slow and it dragged. The characters were great but sometimes there were elements that were so out there that I really had a hard time finishing this one. A majority of the storyline was revealed in the synopsis so there wasn't much beyond figuring out how everything tied together as it went. Some of the phrases were beautiful and Gentill has a clear mastery of their craft.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

With a title like "The Mystery Writer," a reader could be forgiven for anticipating a contemplative sort of book about the writing life. That is not what is on offer here.

Theodosia (Theo) Benton is a newly-minted writer who has an idea for a mystery novel. She is also fleeing law school and Australia and has ended up on her brother's porch in Lawrence, Kansas. Her brother, Augustus (Gus) Benton, is a partner in a law practice.

Gus takes her in, and wisely tells Theo she needs to have somewhere to go to work on her writing. How about a bar?

This works out well for Theo at first-- just not for the corpses that start piling up. And then not so well for Theo, who becomes a suspect.

"The Mystery Writer" is quite the page-turner. Several characters are not who or what they seem to be-- but which ones?

I enthusiastically recommend "The Mystery Writer," as well as the other Sulari Gentill book I've read, "The Woman in the Library."

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advance Reader's Copy of this book.

I really enjoyed the other book I read by Sulari Gentill and this one was no different. These books have a different quality about them that makes them very easy to read and make you think about them after you put them down. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

This was a slow burn read for me. It was fast paced as I'd like a book but I hung in there because I really like the writing style, character development & plot besides it being on the slower side. Everything tied together nicely. Thank you

I had high expectations for this, and it started off pretty well. I was amused by the Australian look at life in America. The promising start soon got bogged down with conspiracy theories, preppers, random violence, and it all didn't quite gel for me. The whole conspiracy theory angle didn't feel well-explained, and the changing POVs were a little shallow for me.

There is enough to keep one's interest, and I can see that many people loved all the different angles here. I just wasn't one of them.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being offered freely.