Captivating and well-executed, the narrative skillfully weaves through time, although it may be a bit confusing at points. The mystery surrounding the writer's life keeps you guessing until the end.

Despite moments of uncertainty, the conclusion is masterfully crafted, leaving a satisfying impression. The intricate storytelling and character development create a compelling and thought-provoking experience.

The audio's ability to engage the listener's imagination is commendable, making it an overall enjoyable journey through the twists and turns of the writer's enigmatic life.

I thought Woman in the Library was so wildly crafty I knew I needed this one.
And I was not disappointed. This was definitely more chaotic plot wise but was very fun to read.

Theo Benton was raised in a cult in Tasmania and is currently abandoning law school and takes refuge with her brother in Kansas to write her book before telling her parents she quit school. Theo meets a very famous author, Dan Murdoch, in the bar she has been writing in and forms a mentor/mentee relationship with him. She is hoping that he can help her get signed to his agent and get her book published. When she finds him dead she finds herself a suspect and getting stalked by his conspiracy theorists fans.

With so many twists and wild ass characters this kept me on my toes and really had no clue where this was going. It was a fun time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an eARC

Sadly, I had to DNF this one. I received the audiobook copy and was not able to follow along with the story. I think it was a combination of the storyline shifts and the author's tone, but I tried multiple times in multiple settings to no avail :(

This one just was not for me. I appreciate that it was well written, unfortunately it just wasn’t my cup of tea!

This one didn't keep me hooked as much as I thought it would. The story line was decent and there were definitely a few good twists; however, I felt as though there was a lot of extra filler information that wasn't quite necessary or super interesting.

I did love the narrator!

This books has an interesting premise: the main character, Theo Benton moves to the US to finish writing her novel and is approached by a super exclusive and secretive publishing company. The rules that a writer must follow to be published by this company are very strict, but Theo’s mentor was a published writer by this company before his murder. The rollercoaster that follows is full of secrets and twists. The audiobook is well narrated and held my attention. This one does start as a slow burn, but picks up at the middle and is worth sticking with for the ending.

Thank you @dreamscape_media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest opinion.

There's a lot going on in this book--but it works! Theo is a compelling character who makes decision that MAKE SENSE. That's not to say the decisions are all "good", but we're shown enough to understand her relationships, writing, and approach to her career. I do think this is stronger than Gentill's debut novel, and this will appeal to a wide range of mystery and thriller readers, with conspiracy throughout.

Mysteries about books, bookstores, and writers are some of my favorites. That fact and having LOVED Gentile's The Woman in the Library made me very excited to read this one. Many thanks to @netgalley @poisionedpedpress @dreamscape_media and @sularigentill for digital and audiobook copies. Below is my honest review.

Theo has quit law school in Australia and traveled to live with her brother Gus, who practices law in Kansas. She has dreams of becoming a writer and spends her days writing at a coffee shop/bar in town. She discovers that another morning regular is a world-renowned author. Over several months, he becomes an important mentor to her as she helps re-inspire him to write. When he is found brutally murdered, Theo and Gus are key suspects but also quickly discover that they may be caught up in something much bigger than either could have imagined. As the walls begin to close in, Theo makes an impossible choice to save her friends and family.

Like The Woman in the Library, the way this book is written reminds me of M. C. Escher's etching Drawing Hands because the story is writing and re-writing itself - unfolding a little at a time. Although the primary narrative is told through Theo's perspective, the prologue and numerous excerpts throughout are told through other lenses, making clear that there is more to the book than what Theo is experiencing. Although I still have some questions because of the story's complexity, I loved the core characters of Theo, Gus, and Mac (a writer, a lawyer, and a detective). My favorite part of the story is how they work together, their messy families, and their unwavering belief in each other. I did not see the end coming, but I really enjoyed it.
The audiobook gets huge kudos for all of the different accents and characters that are expertly voiced by a single narrator.

I struggled to get into The Mystery Writer. Maybe it was just me at this time. Thank you so much for my gifted ALC!

Quick Summary: A thrilling, fast-paced mystery filled with secrets and ghosts

My Review: The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill is a gen-fic mystery/thriller. It is a mind bending maze of shadows, conspiracies, manipulations, and a massive web of deceit.

About the Book: Theo Benton has a story to tell. As an aspiring writer, she lacks the confidence she needs. When a chance meeting with an acclaimed author presents itself, her life changes in ways she never could have imagined. Soon, death and deception shroud everything she holds dear.

About the Narration: Katherine Littrell did a tremendous job narrating this novel. I was all in the entire time.

My Final Say: This novel is pure genius! It is absolutely brilliant.

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Status/Level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Narration: +

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (Dreamscape Media), and to NetGalley. Thank you for granting access to an audio ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. The words I have voluntarily shared are my own.

Normally I enjoy a good mystery book. Sadly, this one was not it for me.

The mystery itself was very predictable to me. And it was frustrating that the characters didn’t put it together themselves. There are clear red flags that get completely ignored until the reveal.

The main character, Theo, is so naive and at times just unintelligent (she didn’t know what a burner phone was…?) which I found very frustrating.

The pacing of this book is another issue, since the last 25% has some huge time jumps, different POVs than the rest of the story and also felt very rushed.

All in all, quite a disappointment, especially since I’d seen great reviews for Sulari Gentill’s other book, the woman in the library.

Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The mystery writer follows our FMC Theo, who decides to drop out of university and attempt her dream of becoming a famous author.

To do so she moves in with her big brother Gus, and spends her days at a local coffee shop working on her book. There she meets (and fan girls over) one of her favourite authors, and soon they build a flirtatious friendship and spend their days together where he informs her that he is working on a horror novel inspired by information he finds on online conspiracy theory chat rooms.

Everything is going perfectly, their friendship turns into romance and Theo completes her novel with the hopes of finding a publisher. But that all goes down the drain when she stumbles upon her boyfriends gruesome murder.. “And she knew suddenly that she had slipped in his blood”.

Events following lead to lies, deception, disappearances and time jumps.

What I liked about the book:
I really enjoyed the narration by Katherine Littrell, I’m a big fan of Australian accents and it made the reading experience enjoyable for me.

The book started out with a bang.. the phrase “There was nothing left to do but die” caught my attention and invested me into the story.

The plot was unique and sent you down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and mysterious unexplained occurrences.

That being said, I found it difficult to get behind the FMC, her character was somewhat pitiful for her age and I just wanted to shake some sense into her.

The time jumps at the end left me feeling a little disconnected to the conclusion of the story and I would have preferred a clearer picture to what was going on. All in all I’d have to say this book was so-so, definitely not in my must read recommendations list, but also not a bad book overall.

This is my first read by this author and my overall feelings won’t deter me from trying again with another piece of their work.

Thank you to Sulari Gentill, dreamscape media and NetGalley for an ALC! 🩷

Thank you so much to Dreamscape Media for the free audiobook!

After reading and enjoying The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill I was so excited to get my hands on this one- especially with that incredible cover! As an avid reader and thriller lover, the idea of a thriller about writing really enticed me.

The prologue definitely grabbed my attention as did the first few chapters as I was introduced to the characters. The storyline was definitely unique and as soon as Daniel was introduced, I knew there was going to be a lot more going on than meets the eye.

While I do think that the twist was creative, it just didn't connect with me and I struggled to understand what was going on at times. While there was so much going on, it still didn't hold my attention in the way that I hoped it would.

I still think this will be a big hit for a lot of readers!

This will be available on March 19th!

Have you ever read a book and figured out the twist fairly early on in the story, but you dismiss it out of hand because it sounds too far-fetched?

Yeah, this is that book.

Again, here's another story I really wanted to like, but it was just too ridiculous to take seriously. I don't mind stretching believability to a certain extent, but the ending of the book just stretches too far. The main character, Theo, makes so many bad decisions and poor choices that you can't help but feel like she's just an oblivious, walking disaster. Her brother, Gus, is never quite flushed out enough-it starts out looking like he's a hotshot lawyer/playboy/doofus but this characterization is almost immediately abandoned. Everyone else is a cookie cutter cliché, so I won't bother going into to it.

I mean, it makes sense to want to explain why some people are so obsessed with conspiracy theories and obviously untrue narratives, but I'm not sure this book has a credible solution.

OR DOES IT?? Nah, just kidding. It does not.

I received a free audiobook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I will admit first off, that I struggled to get into this on first listen (primarily distraction, secondarily not quite connecting to Theo) so I put it down, and tried again, and I am really glad I did. This is the type of audiobook/ thriller where you need to pay close attention as if you blink once n this excellent narrative, it is easy to miss the trajectory and insodoing, the point

Theo Benton has had her life decided for her in the Trust left by her grandfather (hideous control freak) but she decides to leave Uni and travel to America to join her older brother to finish her novel. Gus has followed the path laid out by their grandfather and qualified as a lawyer. He also tries to convince Theo not to tell the trustees she has left Uni, that she is just taking time out to get work experience with her brother

However, Theo's lover is murdered and she is desperate to seek justice and find his killer, but, the murderer turns out to be Gus, but don't worry, this is not a spoiler, it is only the beginning of a very, very intricately woven thriller that is so beutifully written and so brilliantly read that you will be absolutely gripped to the end

Sulari Gentill is an awesome author and I really like her structures and character development. It's like when you whip out a washing line after the rain and the line shakes of the droplets in an arc leaving only the most tenacious clinging on and that is the one to focus on to wipe off.

The narrator Katherine Littrell brings the ambience and drama, her mastery of setting the scene through tempo is simply chef's kiss

A fantastic listen, I highly recommend

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the author Sulari Gentill and narrator Katherine Littrell for this phenomenal ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

This is such a fun ride through a world in which conspiracy theories (at least some of them) are true. 'The Mystery Writer' will delight those of us who enjoy cult stories, or think QAnon would make a gripping thriller if only there weren't people who actually believe the fiction.

Premise - a young writer is delighted when she develops an informal mentorship (that eventually becomes more) with a renowned author. When said author is murdered right after reading her manuscript, and his agent shows up offering her a contract, she's sucked into a web of conspiracies and wickedness that goes deeper than she would have ever believed.

Well-paced and packed full of chronically online 2020s-type personalities, this was hard to put down!

📚 Series or Standalone: standalone
📚 Genre: psychological thriller
📚 Target Age Group: adult
📚 Cliffhanger: no

✨ Will I Reread: maybe
✨ Recommended For: fans of cult thrillers

💕 Characters: 5/5
💕 Writing: 4/5
💕 Plot: 4/5
💕 Pacing: 4/5
💕 Unputdownability: 4/5
💕 Enjoyment: 5/5
💕 Book Cover: 5/5

Thanks, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Throughout this story we get to follow Theo -- former lawyer now writer as she transitions career paths and navigates both professional and personal relationships. When someone close to her is found brutally killed, Theo knows justice must be found. From there the story picks up quickly as we unravel the mystery of his death and all it entails.

This story started slowly for me, but picked up after about 15% and was intriguing from that point on! The ending left a bit to be desired, but didn't decrease my overall enjoyment of the novel.

I couldn't get past the 54% mark, the plot dragged a lot and most of the mystery has already been given away on the back of the cover and in the synopsis and i can't fathom why??? The starting was really interesting and i listened to most of the first half in a day but then it got ridiculous and boring
So i came to Goodreads to reas reviews with spoiler to see what I'd miss out on if i Dnf, and found out I'd be better off quitting this book