Although this is marketed as an “unputdownable psychological thriller with edge of your seat suspense’ , I think they’re missing the mark on that to be honest. I think to be more accurate, I would categorize it more as a detective novel or a mystery than a thriller or suspense, because it’s lacking, well, thrills or suspense. Does that make it bad? No. It just needs to be marketed differently so the reader knows what it’s getting into so as not to be disappointed. Because if you know you’re going into a detective type novel with this, you’re in for a good one.
Becca is a struggling writer who works a waitressing job to pay the bills while she waits for her big break. Every Monday she meets with her Writers Club, the Mystery Maidens, to go over what they’ve worked on that week and brainstorm new ideas. Soon, the ideas they discuss are playing out in Becca’s real life. Will anyone believe her when she tells them? Will the police see her as a witness who just happens to keep turning up at the right place right time, or as the attacker executing the stories? Especially when they find out that she’s still haunted by the murder of her best friend ten years ago and ever since then someone has been randomly sending her black hearts to make sure she never forgets what happened.
While at first it seemed like there was no connection at first, there was actually so much connecting the women and it was all revealed at perfect pacing to keep the reader engaged and questioning everything. It wasn’t too far out there to where you had to suspend all belief to get to where you needed to be and still enjoy it. Overall, an enjoyable read and I look forward to more from this author.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

The Writer by Miranda Smith

Becca was pursuing her dream to be a writer. All these years, she received letters with black hearts. Now her own murder story happened in the real life. The ending was a surprise, which I didn’t guess it right.

I loved the story setting, from the writer perspective to write The Writer. While I was enjoying this thriller, at the same time, I understood more about the life being a writer. Also, the hope that hoping the readers like her book. The author Miranda Smith did it too.

A slow-burnt but then the pace picked up. You will finish the book before you know it.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for my copy.

Pub date: April 15, 2024

Becca is in her thirties and her life is a mess. She dropped out of college and for the last ten years she's struggled to hold down a job or have a meaningful relationship. Her dream is to be a published author but there's one rejection after another for her manuscript and the only thing that's helping her move forward is joining the Mystery Maidens, a female crime writers group.

On and off over the last ten years Becca has been receiving mystery messages with black hearts. She's being stalked and blamed for a tragedy in her past and these messages have been the cause of many things going wrong in her life.
It's been a while since any black hearts and the writer group support is a positive step forward. Life is getting better but then art starts imitating life. Becca has her tyres slashed and there's a hit and run in her street with both events resembling details of stories read out by the Maidens. And then there's a murder based on her own short story and the black hearts are back.

Is one of her crime writing friends a murderer and an enemy? Or has someone got access to their documents? And how does it tie into the past?

It's relatively slow moving to start with as the mystery of Becca's past is fed to us a bit at a time and she goes over the same questions in her mind again and again.
But then the plot hooked me in, the pace picked up and it was a quick read to the conclusion with twists and turns along the way.
Becca is equal parts likeable and frustrating.
It's definitely more thriller than whodunnit as the answer almost comes out of nowhere and there's an unnecessary epilogue but overall it's an entertaining read and it's a bonus that it's about writers and writing.

2.5 rounded up to 3.

The Writer by Miranda Smith had an interesting premise that drew me in. I’ve yet to read anything similar. With this book being described as a gripping psychological thrilling page turner, I had high hopes. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.

The chapters are short which typically makes for a quick read. It just lacked something to make me excited to pick it up to read. I found myself reading it not because it was shocking, but because I wanted to get through it to move on to other things. I hope that’s not too harsh, it’s not a bad read, just lacking “something”.

I had a difficult time connecting to any of the characters which made it especially hard to root for Becca. There were also things that I just couldn’t make sense of. For instance, how a group of women can meet weekly for over a year and not know a thing about each other. Or how V can’t tell when something is plagiarized or not written in the so-called author’s writing style… also a little odd for a professor to invite a student with a 10+ year age gap to join a social group outside of school. The ending felt forced when everything was finally being explained and the epilogue seemed unnecessary.

Thank-you to Bookouture, Miranda Smith and NetGalley for this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

First, I want to thank Miranda Smith, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

WOW!! They always say write what you know and are passionate about! That is just what Miranda Smith did with her latest The Writer! If you are a reader, aspiring author or love psychological thriller books you will absolutely adore this book like I did. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could!

Can we just say how beautiful Miranda’s cover for The Writer is? This was so spot on to the storyline! One of her best covers yet. Great job goes to the graphic designers who created this cover!

I absolutely loved all the dreams, ambitions and goals that Becca had for herself. She knew what she wanted and she wouldn’t give up til she got it. This is a great life lesson for anyone.

I have been a fan of Miranda’s for a while now. All of her books are great and worth checking out. However, I was more drawn to this one because The Writer is more relatable. Yes, I am not a writer nor do I wish to publish a book but I could understand where Becca was coming from.

Becca’s Mother was NOT my favorite character! She totally upset me by not supporting her daughter in what she loved doing most-writing. She was a very good writer and her Mom just could not see that!

The Writer had a very interesting mystery to solve! There were so many secrets, twists, turns, and my favorite explosive shocker at the end!

Miranda’s The Writer is a very creatively written book that is totally outside the box. It is one you must put on your TBR list.

Hello Muderinos, have I got a popcorn thriller for you!

"The Writer," is a fun little page turner that you probably won't be able to put down. When an aspiring writer named Becca notices murders start to happen that are just like the ones discussed in her Mystery Maidens writer's group she knows one of the women must be behind the crimes. This leads us into a fun whodunit story.

The premise of the book is great, and it was an easy book to read before bed. I felt very engaged in the story. My only negative feedback is I didn't love the epilogue. It felt like one twist too many, but I'm curious what everyone else thinks. Was it needed? I can't help but love the possibility of discussing this with my friends!

For readers who enjoy thrillers with a writer/reader plot, "The Writer" has a book-within-a-book storyline focused on a murder mystery writers' group who end up pointing fingers at each other when various people turn up dead based on their tales. A surprise twist middle and completely unexpected ending will keep the reader guessing. A wholly enjoyable thriller that can easily be consumed in an afternoon.

**Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.**

I flew through this book! I loved the premise of The Writer. Smith's writing had me in a trance, and I needed to know who the murderer was. I kept guessing, and changing my guess, and they all were wrong. I'm a big fan of Miranda Smith's writing style. This was one of those books where I kept saying "just one more chapter" and before I knew it, I was done. The plot developed in a way that keeps you unsure of who the antagonist was. The characters were well developed. I felt like I knew them while engrossed in this story.

The ending left my mouth wide open! This book was entertaining, thrilling, full of twists and turns, and engaging!!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book very much. The impending sense of menace builds steadily from the start as the layers of untruths are peeled away and the truth is revealed. Becca’s past is weighing her down as she blames herself for a terrible mistake that happened when she was a student. So, too, does the person who is stalking her – they are determined not to let her forget. Getting by as a waitress, Becca’s real passion is writing and the friendships she has formed in a writing group. These friends are shadowy at first, almost stereotypes, yet as the book progresses Becca realizes this is a very personal vendetta and as each character is brought to the fore, each one of them is shown to be more complex than at first depicted.
As their stories unfold, Becca is drawn further into a web of deceit and does not know who to believe. With twists and turns, Becca realizes the truth is too close for comfort when the murders start to mirror the stories written by the four friends. Her only hope is to uncover the motive driving the killer.
A well-crafted, suspenseful read that had me turning the pages.

It has been a long time since I have had the opportunity to read a book that starts as strongly as The Writer by Miranda Smith. Instantly gripping, it was impossible not to flip through pages to find out as much as I could about the main character, Becca, and the series of events that led to a stalker, a killer, and a writing group. It was an interesting dynamic to not only meet other characters, but also get a glimpse of who they are through their writing. Both what they chose to write and the method in which they all chose to share led to a thorough stream of information when the characters were together.

Unfortunately, the middle of the book lagged a bit, which was surprising, given the incredibly strong start of the novel. There was a darkness in the topic at hand that was difficult to see past to get to the storyline of the novel. Becca was so influenced by the darkness of her past that she lost sight of anything else in her life. That is completely understandable once the circumstances are uncovered, but it takes a long time to get to that point. There is a great deal of theorizing without anything actually happening to drive the plot forward.

The story tries to dive into the different ways that people handle grief and trauma while still trying to maintain the story line. It was interesting to see how the different side characters handled the difficulties of their life in relation to how our main character handled her own trauma. These explorations into the characters helped bring back to life characters that would have otherwise been very two dimensional. Despite these insights, many of the characters still remained rather dull for a majority of the novel.

The end of the story once again brought back the thrilling, high-stakes nature of the beginning of the novel. It was exciting to finally get to see who was really behind so many of the traumatizing events of Becca’s life. That being said, the connections felt forced, despite the little hints that I picked up on once I looked back. Despite it all, I still loved the ending and just sat there at the very end staring at my kindle while I processed everything.

⅗ stars for a quick, thrilling read.

This book deals with many heavy topics, please check trigger warnings if needed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookoture for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Chilling premise where a writing group meets, all with hopes of being published. But when murders start happening based on their stories, who is the real murderer? Lots of twists and red herrings in this psychological thriller where you won't guess whodunnit until the very end!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

I was intrigued when I read the synopsis and it did not disappoint. I barely noticed as I flew through chapters, the story is gripping and full of twist and turns. Definitely wanna check more of this author!

What an absolutely brilliant psychological thriller. The Writer by Miranda Smith was an absolute wild ride. I could not put it down, literally! From the moment I came home from work I’ve done nothing but read this book until I finished. The Writer is the type of book where you can loose yourself and leave your reality behind. I felt a gamut of emotions; exhilaration, anxiety, trepidation and suspicion. I must confess, half the time my heart was beating out of my chest as The Writer was an extremely intense book.

Meet Becca, a struggling, aspiring writer who pays the bills working in a pizza joint. When not at work, Becca writes stories and meets with her Women’s Writing Group. The group meet at a local bar sipping wine while discussing their latest writing endeavours. This group is a sounding board of 4 women encouraging one another in their writing journey. But what the women do not know is that they each harbour a secret.

Becca’s secret is her troubled past, which she thought she’d left behind when she dropped out of University 10 years ago. But it seems that Becca’s past is coming back to haunt her.

If you want to get your heart pumping and your brain spiralling then I highly recommend you read The Writer. A book about mysterious notes, murders, slashed tires and shocking secrets.

Thank you so much Bookouture and Miranda Smith for having me on your book tour and for my arc of The Writer. A definite 5 ⭐️ read for me.

Pub Date: April 15, 202

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
The first 30% was a bit slow , but once it picked up pace I was hooked! there were so many twists and turns. I was sure I had the story and killer figured out but nope I was wrong ! This was a fun ,suspenseful thriller the authors writing really gripped me and made me feel as if I was there in the writing group trying to solve the crimes ! It was a fun read and I honestly enjoyed it !

The Writer by Miranda Smith is a gripping thriller. With so many interesting twists and turns, readers want to keep flipping the pages to find out more. It fascinated me so much that I read it all in one night. This is my sixth book by Miranda Smith and I enjoyed this one as much as the others.

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This is a fantastic book! It follows Becca as she joins a writers group in the hopes of becoming an author. Secrets, shock and intrigue are just a couple of the words that come to mind while I was reading. This book had me guessing with the twists, turns, and secrets. The twist at the end was shocking and I wasn’t expecting it! Thank you Netgalley and bookouture for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was an entertaining read with a well developed plot. The twists and turns kept me hooked and wanting to get to the bottom of it!! I would recommend this book to others and read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy for my review!

The Writer captivated me completely—it was just a fabulous, bookish rollercoaster with so many brilliant twists! I was caught off guard by the revelation of the unanticipated murderer, and I was left hungry for more. Miranda Smith is a new author for me, but she is an incredible storyteller, and I am looking forward to reading her other books.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

First of all, thank you for the ARC ❤️

This is an enjoyable, light read for me. The synopsis does caught my interest - as to simply put it - things does comes to life based from what the writer’s writing about - yeah intriguing indeed.

The plot started with nicely paced introduction towards the writer / fmc, Becca, upon what’s going on with her life at the moment as well as the people around her. There are also mentions of her past, something bad, yet that’ll only been revealed later towards the ending. The plot growth kinda slow but steady, managed to keep my interest and keep me wondering as there are many things happening as well as the whodunnit.

I like each characters in the story as well, each definitely strengthens where the plot goes and love the mini twist at the end as well.

The story isn’t deep or dark or complicated actually, even though it’s seems like a lot going on as the plot thicken, yet frankly it’s easy to follow and enjoy at the same time, hence I feel it’s more of a light reading for me.

Overall, I enjoy reading this and it might be a good choice if you’re looking for a light yet still in thriller-mystery-murder kinda reading.

A brilliant and unique story about a female writer who is part of a local writing group- only the stories they write about seem to be happening in real life. Reclusive following a trauma in earlier years she plots to find the truth. Fab writing and characters really enjoyed this