‘The Mystery Writer’ by Sulari Gentill is a page-turning murder mystery that touches on topical themes in our current post-covid world. While I felt the end was hurried, I enjoyed the first half's build-up to the twist at the end. While none of the characters, especially Theo, were physically described in detail, I feel like this plays into the meta nature of ‘The Mystery Writer’– Theo discusses how she never describes her own characters in her writing as she wants them to remain subjective to the reader (“Making your protagonist a blank slate canvas allows you to reflect that; it allows the readers to find themselves in your characters and perhaps to recognize their own biases”, page 23).


The themes of this novel are as follows:


—Parasocial relationships—

At first, Theo is under the impression that Dan Murdoch‘s obsessed fans are to blame for his death. It makes you consider the parasocial relationships between fans and their idols and the potentially harmful consequences that can come from these. For instance, Theo’s brother, Gus, notes that: “The public’s interest in the lives of writers had increased with the accessibility afforded by social media and the web in general, but the very accessibility was dangerous.“ (p. 234). The fact social media has blurred the lines between reality and fiction affects how close a person feels to the celebrity they have never met, but idolise online. Take, for example, the horrific tragedy that befell Christina Grimmie and the hands of one of her so-called fans.


This not only means that ordinary people feel entitled to the private lives of celebrities, but it also leads to the ability to manufacture how one presents themselves online. For instance, in ‘The Mystery Writer’, the authors’ agents run the social media accounts for authors.


—Separation between art and artist—


In ‘The Mystery Writer’, Gentill presents the concept of PR-run social media accounts to manage damage control. We are now living in a world where we are slowly coming to terms with the reality of problematic celebrities who otherwise portray themselves, and are thus perceived, in a very different light until allegations or problematic stances arise. Stars like J.K. Rowling or Lizzo are perfect examples of this phenomenon.


—Conspiracy theory-fuelled forums, doomsday preppers—


“My mother is getting ready for a war—civil, or some kind of invasion; Zeke thinks there’ll be another worldwide pandemic or several; Sam is convinced that electromagnetic solar pulses will render all forms of technology inoperative leading to a breakdown of the social order; and I think Caleb still believes in zombies…”
Gentill, p. 189


The story is peppered with snippets of chats between conspiracy forum members, one of them being Caleb, whose account we begin with at the start of the book. Although only one of the branches of this story, I found it interesting how it intertwined with the main narrative. Especially as the belief in conspiracy theories has intensified in recent years.


“…fictional narratives could be used to influence people into all sorts of things, to vicariously control democracy.”
Gentill, (p. 275)


This is an advance copy gifted to me by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.

Theo is an aspiring author who leaves law school in Australia to live with her brother in the US and learn her new trade. Finding her favorite author in a coffee shop and being mentored by him is a dream com true. That is, until the dream turns into a nightmare when her mentor is found murdered. This is a twisty tale that keeps you guessing and quesioning from beginning to end. With writing that grips you, you plunge headfirst into a story full of mystery, thrills, conspiracy theories and doomsday plots. A gripping read you won't want to put down. Thanks to #NetGalley#PoisonedPenPress#SourcebooksInc.
#TheMysteryWriter

I greatly enjoyed the author's last book, but this one was extremely disappointing, It thinks it's clever but it's actually just ridiculous and silly. I love a good twist, but this one strains credulity.

And I don't think whoever has written the marketing copy has read the book. If I'd know I was in for doomsday preppers and Qanon type conspiracies I would not have chosen to read this book.

The character of Theo was either woefully naive or just plan dumb.

I can't remember when I disliked a book as much as this one.

I'm shocked by how much a did not like this book after loving Woman in the Library.

I love this author’s writing. Lures you in, always suspenseful, keeps you guessing. I liked Woman in the Library a bit better than this one for a few reasons.

This book was great about keeping me guessing throughout. But I did know about 45% of the way in that everything had to be down to Veronica Cole and the agency. And it irked me that Mac — who was brilliant and a private investigator — noted that it was odd that Cole and Day Delos ended up with her manuscript but then never investigated them. And that’s not to say this book didn’t surprise me; it did. I just knew that agency was at the heart of whatever was going on.

The final thing I struggled with was that I felt like Theo was weirdly naive to the point of being pretty stupid. And it wasn’t until the very end that I understood better how she’d be raised and just how sheltered she was. And that explanation totally worked… but I still spent a lot of the book annoyed with Theo haha.

Still a solid 4 star read!

What did I just read??? Theo has come to America leaving law school. She’s staying with her brother and is writing a book. She meets another novelist Dan Murdoch and they become friends. Then Dan is murdered and what Theo thinks she’s knows about him might not be true. This book has suspense, chases, gun fights, murder, and doomsday preppers. I have no idea what I just read but I couldn’t put it down.

A great follow up to the author's previous work. This one has a slightly more expansive setting and, therefore, less of a 'cozy mystery' feel to it. Characters were interesting and the author did a great job maintaining levels of suspicion and mistrust among various individuals. A great read for a rainy day!

Another great mystery from this author. I look forward to recommending it to readers who love a dark, suspenseful story with lots of surprising twists and turns. Just when you think you have this one figured out, a character or situation totally astonishes you -- makes this a book that is just about impossible to put down.

4/5 it kept me interested, I enjoyed the read, the character development and the general story plot, I found myself thinking some parts were unnecessary but overall I enjoyed the read

The Mystery Writer is an excellent thriller involving writers, publishers, private detectives, and even an apocalyptic thread which makes for a very interesting read. This was the first book by Sulari Gentill that I had read and I am looking forward to reading more of work. She has an easy, flowing style with convincing dialogue and characters that are well fleshed-out. The storyline is very original and believable with plenty of action, humour, and a plot that really keeps you reading to what is a very satisfying conclusion.
Highly recomended.

Just finished my early copy from @netgalley and omg 😲 What a ride. I really love how @sularigentill uses just the right amount of Australian references in novels set in the US, it's such a great balance of familiarity and otherness.
The mystery was really good in this once it all got going. I will admit I was very curious at the beginning where it was all heading but wow, big reveals and craziness to end. Love a book about books 📚

Theodosia Benton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas after dropping out of law school. She looks for support from her lawyer brother, Gus. Theo wants to pursue her dream of being a writer and Gus agrees that she should give it a try. She finds herself spending her days writing at a coffee shop/bar. When Theo starts becoming friends with another writer, Dan. at the coffee shop, she realizes that he could become more than just a mentor. When Dan is murdered and Gus becomes a suspect in his death, Theo finds herself facing a challenge of trying to prove her brother's innocence. While trying to help her brother, Theo finds herself getting deeper into something she doesn't entirely understand. This book was enjoyable overall, but there were parts that dragged a bit.

THE MYSTERY WRITER by Sulari Gentill
Releasing March 2024

Thanks to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for a free review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

After reading THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY last year and really enjoying it, I was excited to pick up Gentill’s latest novel. However, I’m disappointed to say that this one didn’t work for me.

Theo, the main character, was not the strong female character I hoped her to be. In the mystery genre, there is a common trope of “amateur investigates and solves a murder because the police are bungling it and/or don’t believe the amateur”. And I actually like this trope a lot! But in this story, multiple traumatic things happen to Theo (arguably too many, is she the unluckiest girl in Kansas?), and she seems to be carried along rather than taking matters into her own hands. I need a character to root for, and I just couldn’t care about Theo as much as I wanted to.

Although there is an element of pacing that I found confusing (and going into detail would involve spoilers), the premise was strong and the overall plot was quite propulsive. Some of the chapters involve a mixed media form of “web forum” style posts, and I wish I could have had more of that, because it was a fascinating and unique way to tell the story. Overall, with some tweaks, it could have landed better for me and what I’m looking for in a mystery novel.

I read and enjoyed Sulari Gentill’s last mystery, The Woman in the Library, last year. So when I got the opportunity to get an advanced copy of her new book, The Mystery Writer, I was super excited. The basic premise is interesting – Theo, a law school dropout from Australia moves to the US to live with her brother who is an attorney. Theo decides that she wants to write a book so she starts spending her day at a local café where she meets meets and befriends a famous older man who is also a writer, who helps her. Just as they start to get close, he is murdered and Theo becomes the prime suspect. Pretty straightforward, no? The problem is that there is an entire huge plot about conspiracy theorists who are trying to solve the murder and making everything a million times more complicated and I didn’t love the whole thing.
This book starts out as an enjoyable mystery, but by the end, it becomes something entirely different, and not in a great way.
The book is scheduled to be released in March, 2024, and it wasn’t a hit for me, but I’m still very much looking forward to another book from Gentill soon.
Thank you to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for an ARC of this book.

While the general concept is intriguing, I only made it a few pages into this book before stopping. It just didn’t pull me in, the writing seemed juvenile, and they introduced too many new people and places and supernatural phenomena (?) in the first 10 pages. Overall just not for me!

Sulari Gentill follows up her brilliant “The Woman in the Library” with another thriller set among books and authors.

Theo is an Australian law school dropout who wants to be a novelist. She’s hiding out at her attorney brother Gus’ home in Lawrence, Kansas, where she meets an established thriller author, Dan, experiencing a bit of writer’s block, in the same cafe/bar that she writes in. Their friendship grows into a kind of mentorship (and more) and Dan lets Theo know that he’s researching conspiracy theories as a basis for his next novel. Conveniently, Lawrence, Kansas is located near a rumored gate of hell in Stull Cemetery (real place and real rumor).

We get to read some of the message boards Dan must be visiting and very vulnerable minds are waiting for Primus (like QAnon) to reveal himself in order to save the world from body-snatchers. Primus goes silent after mentioning that there will be a bestseller book everyone should lookout for. Dan gets murdered, while Theo’s finished novel is titled “Underneath,” a word often used by the conspiracy theorists. Oh, oh. Also a bad sign: the plots of both Theo’s and Dan’s books are never discussed, but both are potentially blockbusters (at least according to Dan’s former agent circling like a vulture over Theo’s book).

And more people are targeted, some successfully. Since every victim has a connection to Theo, the police keep unreasonably looking at her as a suspect instead of protecting her. Theo seems to be stepping into a real life conspiracy theory.

This was a fast paced and twisty literary thriller — much like Ms. Gentill’s last novel. My brain was hurting trying to figure out clues and connections and I just went with the suspenseful flow, letting the book surprise me. 5 stars!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Probably Gus since he dons a green tie to “bring out the colors of his eyes for the cameras.”
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Although, I’m not sure if there is a single topiary duck in Lawrence, Kansas (or anywhere else in Kansas).

This is my first by Sulari and I really enjoyed. The writing is easy to follow. Subject was original which I appreciated.

I really enjoyed The Woman in the Library so I was excited to receive an advanced copy of The Mystery Writer. I love anything involving secret groups and conspiracy theories, so this book was definitely for me.

Theo leaves university in Australia and travels to America to stay with her brother and work on a novel she’s been dreaming of writing. She meets Dan in a cafe one day and develops a friendship with him. Just as the friendship starts to move to the next level Dan is found murdered. As the investigation progresses, Theo realizes she knows nothing about Dan.

When I started reading the book, I thought it was going to be one of those run-of-the-mill mystery/thrillers. But I was mistaken. It turned out to be a fast-paced, page turner that I had to read ’til the end despite my attempt to read another book simultaneously. Although I was unable to read the book as fast as I wanted, I was still able to finish it in less than a day, if you’d put all the hours I spent on it together.

Without giving anything away other than what’s on the synopsis, The Mystery Writer is a story that will take you through baffling twists and turns. Although it provides hints every now and then, it will lead you back to confusion every time. If you want to read a book that’s complete with childhood trauma, dysfunctional families, a sinister literary agency, and a trio of heroes with their own skeletons in the closet, then this mystery/thriller is for you. It is full of action that will have you breathing faster than you intend and a trail of breadcrumbs that will lead you to an ending that leaves you hanging and aching for more.

I love this writer and having read her other books I was very happy that NetGalley gave me the opportunity to read it early.
Wow! It starts off great and never lets up. There’s conspiracy nuts, a short lived May-December romance and a great characters in the writer and her brother. There’s a murder and the FBI. There’s a nefarious agent/publisher thrown in for extra spice.
I enjoyed this book immensely and couldn’t put it down. Read this book - you won’t be disappointed.

✨Netgalley ARC Review ✨

The Mystery Writer by Sukarno Gentill ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Publication Date: March 19th, 2024. Mark your calendars. Available for preorder now!

I went back and forth between a 3 and 4 ⭐️ but ultimately landed on 3.5. The book has a good mystery/thriller plot but I just wish there was more explanation, transitions, and the “wow factor” in some areas.

Theodosia (Theo) Benton quits her job and creates a new life for herself which lands her at her brothers residence for help. Theo wants to be writer so bad, but in the process, her mentor ends up brutally murdered although he leaves a trail to follow.

Gus (Theo’s brother) follows that trail to help his sister although he ends up earning a spot as the suspect in the case. Theo and everyone around her is in danger. Will everyone die or make it out alive?

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