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?

#netgalley #themysterywriter #sularigentill #goodreads #amazon #bookstagram #honest #review #mystery #thriller

This is really an interesting book. The underlying premise is quite unexpected and fascinating. I was a little confused at the end with the switching back & forth between perspectives/locations (no asterisks or spaces, for example, to separate them), but I'm sure that will be fixed in the final version.

The Mystery Writer weaves conspiracy theorists, doomsday preppers, authors and an awfully lovable dog all into one in a way I could not have seen coming.

Theodosia Benton arrived in the Lawerence, Kansas by way of Australia to stay with her older brother Gus. Affectionately known as Theo, she has given up her passion to be lawyer discovering she’d much rather be an author instead. Gus is happy to have his sister stay with him, insisting she work full time on her novel. When Theo meets an established and renowned author at her favorite local hangout, she can’t imagine her luck could be any better. But, when said author is found dead, and Theo is the only suspect in sight, her luck seems to turn for the worst.

This book was so much fun to be honest with you. I’ve read some of Gentill’s previous works, but I think this is by far my favorite. I loved Theo as a main character, and her family and friends were strong and distinct, and I found myself loving all of them. The plot was interesting, and there were tons of twists and turns I never expected. There was a few stylistic choices that weren’t my favorite in the writing, and I did find some of it to feel more like filler plot than necessary to the story. But, overall, this was a solid 4 star read for me.

Theo’s character starts out as unsure of herself and almost meek, and I loved seeing her break out of that and become strong and self-assured by the end of the Nobel. Gus and Mac were both easily lovable characters, and while they had their flaws, they seemed genuine and real to me. Of course I couldn’t write this review without mentioning Horse. I’m a sucker for a dog in any book, and he was easily adored.

The plot of this book is so heavily layered and mesmerizing. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, and I enjoyed it so much. I do feel like some of the plot about Gus and Theo’s family could have been omitted as it didn’t do much to propel the story forward, but otherwise I found the book to be titillating and entertaining.

One stylistic choice that really bothered me was that Gentill continually refers to some characters constantly by their first and last names and others she does not. I think it felt a bit disjointed to not keep doing it or not do it all. There were some spots where I felt I read one characters first and last name at least 4-5 times in just a few pages. I eventually got used to it, but I’d have to say it was a bit jarring to the reading experience at first.

Overall, I’m so thankful to have gotten my hands on an ARC of this novel, and I think many people are going to love it. It’s an interesting take on the prepping community and secret societies and conspiracy theories all while sustaining an interesting whodunnit throughout.

The mystery writer
Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of this book.

This book started off a little slow for me, I was not entirely sure where we were headed. Once I was a few chapters in I was immersed in the story and needed to keep going!

The book opens up with the FMC, Theo deciding not to do law school, but peruse her writing career. So she leaves Australia to live with her brother, Gus in the states.
She met a fellow writer Dan in a bar (Benders), who was later found murdered. Gus ends up being their prime suspect, and Theo can’t let her brother take that fall. What will she do to protect her Brother? Who killed Dan, and why?

The book takes place in present day, and has many mentions of common conspiracy’s thrown in the story. I enjoyed this part of the book!

If you are a mystery lover, and love twists and turns this book is for you!
Pub Date: March 19 2024

This book was good for about the first 75%. Not great, mind you, but interesting and enjoyable, and the pacing was pretty good. Then it completely jumped the shark in the last 25%. The timeline was completely wacky and the events did not make sense, not to mention how silly the plot was. This was an interesting overall idea but the execution missed the mark.

Theodosia abandons her schooling of becoming a lawyer and shows up on her brother Gus's doorstep. She took a chance he will not turn her away and let her stay with him - she really wants to become a writer. He encourages her to do what she wants to do. But there are many obstacles - she finds a friend and he gets her involved with his agent and then it al goes downhill. This is a very interesting, fast moving story of the literary world - what they do, can it really happen? This is a very interesting and moving story which will keep you on the edge of your seat while reading. I thoroughly enjoyed The Mystery Writer and would highly recommend it. I have read a coupe of Ms Gentill's other books and was not disappointed with any of them - in fact I just finished After She Wrote Him and was thoroughly engrossed Give Ms Gentill a try, you will not be disappointed. I definitely have to say Thank You NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me the opportunity to read this great story.

I feel there is a lot of character to start with and places, I'm not able to stay in one places at a time, I wish I didn't have to dnf this but I have to. Sorry

** A copy of The Mystery Writer was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **

Umm wow - this novel is a rollercoaster ride! It’s an intriguing and sometimes confusing thriller - very much like a conspiracy theory.