Prepare to suspend your disbelief, and settle in for a rollicking good time. The Author’s Guide to Murder is the most fun book I’ve read recently. It’s part romance, and part mystery with a hefty dose of satire and tropes. Each of the main characters is so overdone that they’re nearly a caricature, and it’s hilarious. I loved the tropes, and the over the top plot lines. This book is clearly poking fun at itself, and if you’re a fan of either genre you’ll likely enjoy it.

I'm really struggling through this book to be frank. It very difficult to follow and therefore very difficult to get immersed in. I find myself getting confused which character I am reading from, what any of their motives are, and why there and now? I understand it is a mystery but really? This is like walking around with a blindfold on. Not my cup of tea.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. So many things seemed promising about this book and I really only half liked it.

I really wanted to love this.  It should have been super fun! A book written by three authors ABOUT three authors writing a book together?!  How fun!!  (At first, I wasted my time trying to guess which fictional author is aligned with the real-life author.  But after reading the first chapter, I decided each fictional author is truly very fictional.  But to really give Beatriz Williams a dig, there's a sheep named Beatrice.  Because of course.)  On a scene remote island in Scotland?  with a castle?! and some romance??  and there's a murder???!!   Perfect, right?

The three aforementioned authors go on a writers retreat to Scotland, and shortly after their arrival, the famous author-in-residence is found dead, probably murdered, and an investigation ensues.  This is told from three POVs. Each chapter in part 1 starts with part of the police interview transcript with one of the authors, and then segues into what happened a few days before the murder from that author's POV. The police transcripts were hilarious and I found myself wanting more of that and less of the rest.

Once the murder finally happens, the book does away with that format and there are no more transcripts, which was a shame. It's at this point that the book becomes a hard slog. Carry on, skim if you must, it gets better towards the end. I promise.

The parts that were from each woman's POV were a bit annoying because they kept mysteriously referring to things that happened "if he ever found out ... but I'm not thinking about that now ... because of what happened that night ..." etc etc.  I hate vaguey vague teasing like that.  If I'm inside the character's head, I should know everything that character knows.  Each woman had a reason to hate the murder victim, as is gradually revealed, and I think this book, and the mystery, would have been so much stronger if that had been clear from the start.

This book was too long.  In general, I prefer a short book, please just get to the point, keep the plot rolling forward, and give me a snappy ending.  I don't MIND a long book if the plot is interesting or if I enjoy spending time with the characters, but neither was true in this case.  The plot is simple:  a guy is killed, who killed him?  The three authors wander around the village of Kinloch being clueless.  There are a lot of annoying time jumps, where we follow the characters around as they do nothing, and then leap to the next morning, where gradually we learn what they did the night before. I don't know whose idea it was to structure it that way, but it was a bad idea.  And the characters were not appealing, I did not enjoy spending time with them because each one was a self-centered, insecure, prickly nitwit.   I believe the nitwit bit was for humor purposes, but it was never funny, just annoying.  The book sagged under its own weight in the middle.

The final 25% of the book is a madcap ride, full speed ahead, as one thing after another is revealed.  It's cute!  It's fun! It's exciting!  It's a great murder mystery (finally)!  I'm really glad I finished the book, because the ending was fantastic and left me feeling very happy. If only the entire book had been like this, I'd be giving it five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early uncorrected e-proof.  


<b>words I looked up:</b>
Weejuns - I know penny loafers, and I know Bass, but I've never heard the term "Weejuns" before!

Unfortunately, this one fell a bit short for me. I understand that it was a biiiiiig satire, and maybe I just wasn't in the mood for that, but I had a really tough time getting into this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a novel about three writers coming together to write a novel by three writers coming together to write a novel. Only the three real authors have done this before. And they are very good at it!

In their latest work, three authors meet at a writers group in Scotland. They are posing as "besties", but in reality, they are not the best of friends. In fact, it's fair to say that they aren't really fond of each of other. But they are together for a common goal. The male author who is hosting their event has a track record with each of the three female authors. And we aren't talking about Olympic gold. They all three have reasons to kill the host. And that's exactly what happens!

Not only is this a ripping good read, but it's a lot of fun. The authors use humor and witty dialog to tell the story. Each of the three characters' distinctive personality is well developed. In short, this book is a hoot. Enjoy!

3.75 stars

This was just a rollicking, doesn't take itself too seriously mystery featuring three well-drawn main characters. The conceit of the three successful real life authors and how the book came about is a fun side story.

Cassie, Kat and Emma meet at a book conference. Turns out they have all been victimized by the same predatory male writer who now lives on a Scottish island and ostensibly runs writing retreats. The three plot some revenge and sign up for one of his events.

The three female main characters each have an interesting back story and very different personalities: Cassie is the happily married mother of 6 who writes cozies with cats, Kat is the seductress dwelling in supernatural noir, and Emma is the ultimate queen of researchers.

But when they arrive and are ready to put their plan into play, they are too late. Their nemesis is already dead. All kinds of facts come out during the investigation and many suspects: the true owner of the castle who hated what the author was planning, the locals who resented him digging up old negative stories, and the inhabitants of the castle who all had reason to despise him.

The finale is unabashedly over the top, dramatic, unbelievable and fun. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was really excited about this mainly because I'm a huge Beatriz Williams fan and this sounded really fun. However, I couldn't get through it and ended up DNF'ing. I don't think I like when 3 authors write a book together. It doesn't flow well with 3 distinct voices. I didn't like the interviews with the cops at the beginning of the chapters and I was honestly just bored with it and couldn't stand the author characters lol. It seems popular with other reviewers, so maybe I'm just picky with how it was executed. But I couldn't get into it unfortunately . :/

I absolutely loved this book. The concept and delivery are perfect. It's a book written by three authors about three authors trying to write a book in the middle of a mystery. Perfect!!! Please don't compare it to Agatha Christie; it's not the same style. Each Author brings their own flair to this story.

Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I was wholly invested in Kat, Cassie, and Emma. Their Publisher sends them to a Scottish Castle to write a book together about a mystery from the past. At Least, that's what they say. Of course, it has nothing to do with a man they all have a history with. Now, someone is dead on this small island, and guess who the main suspects are. These three must figure out how to clear their names and maybe find a little time for romance.

Buy This Book NOW!!!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley for my Honest Review.

The Author's Guide to Murder follows three women mystery authors who travel to a writer’s retreat in a Scottish castle owned by a famous author. Their goal is to coauthor a book about the castle’s history and a famous murder that occurred there. However, things take a turn when a new murder happens during their stay. The three women decide to solve the mystery, getting to know the town's colorful characters along the way. This cozy mystery has a fun, engaging story with a bit of an edge.

I appreciated how the story kept me guessing about the true identity of the murderer. There were some amusing moments, and I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the locations, which made it easy to visualize the setting. The historical references and ties to characters from the authors' other books were also a nice touch.

That said, I initially struggled with the characters. Their personalities felt a bit exaggerated and could have been toned down. While the storyline was believable, it did veer into campiness at times.

If you enjoy historical mysteries, cozy mysteries, books about books, and anything Scottish, this book is for you. Think Murder, Scones, and Kilts. The Author's Guide to Murder provides a delightful mystery that's perfect for enjoying on a cozy winter's day when you're all snuggled in.

I was given a copy of The Author's Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams; Lauren Willig; Karen White as an ARC from NetGalley. The Author's Guide to Murder follows three authors on a writing retreat, where inevitably a murder happens. The book rotates between the three authors’ perspectives, but unfortunately at the beginning our authors have rather low opinions of one another, making it difficult to be endeared to our protagonists. Eventually a bond is formed among our three heroines and as a reader I started to cheer that they would not end up guilty. If you enjoy zany hijinks in your murder mysteries this book is for you.

If you have read Team W books before, this one is a bit different from the prior collaborations. In the same respect, if you have been following Team W, you will find so many parts of this book extra amusing. I enjoyed this one for being a unique story - authors co-writing a book, bonded by something unexpected and stumbling into a murder. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the early ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A group of my favorite authors wrote a fun to read intriguing novel and this one will be a hit! Loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Author's Guide to Murder.

I was pleased my request was approved because the premise was intriguing but soon after I began reading, I found the narrative not to my liking.

First, the murder happens off-site and is a minor subplot to the real story, the lives of the three female authors who are staying at the castle and who all have ties to the deceased.

Second, for a 'cozy' mystery, the deceased is despicable scum and the women are survivors of assault and plagiarism, just to name a few of the awful things they endured.

Third, the narrative is too long, redundant, and tedious, since we have to deal with the women's perspectives and their backstories. That's what happens when three authors co-author a novel together.

I didn't like anyone, no one, except for the dog. I love dogs.

The ending was hard to suspend disbelief for, not to mention that happily ever after ending, but that was to be expected, I guess.

This was not my typical type of book, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how quickly I was hooked and couldn’t stop thinking about it every time I had to put it down! It put my detective skills to the test, and kept me wondering who the killers were. It was very entertaining and an incredible collaboration of three very talented writers! I did not care for the smaller details of the epilogue, but I was happy with the outcome for Kat, Cassie and Emma. Wonderful book! I enjoyed it very much!

Thank you #WilliamMorrow and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Did not finish. Got to 10%, and even that was tough. The characters are all awful and the writing is sloppy. Will not revisit.

Oh this is such a FUN one by the 3 Ws! It’s a comedic whodunnit with a hilarious premise (3 authors writing a book together & end up stumbling on a murder). Lighthearted and a lot of jokes. Set in Scotland - that was fun! I liked Emma the most but all 3 characters were really fun to read. Having watched Outlander helped with reading all the Scottish-sounding words! 🤣

I chose to not finish this book because it opened with very un-cozy like subject matter. I thought the book was cozy but apparently...not really. A bit too much sex talk in the beginning and I had a feeling it was only going to get worse. Not my cup of tea but it was a cute idea and premise. I gave it a three because the writing was very good and I'm sure others will enjoy it more than I would.

I do appreciate the publisher letting me give it a chance though!

The three W's deliver a departure from their previous offerings. While their earlier books were typically historical novels with three timelines, this is their first book set in the modern world; and instead of giving us a historical romance, they provide us with a satirical mystery told from the point of view of three different authors. This is obviously a tongue-in-cheek book, and you'll see many parallels between the fictional characters and the actual authors of this book; but that's part of what makes it a fun read. While Karen White, Lauren Willig, and Betraiz Williams were all successful novelists in their own right, they came together at a book conference many years ago and struck up a friendship that turned into a writing partnership. A similar situation happens in this novel, only the characters start out as enemies ... until they're forced to bond over the murder of their common enemy, a male author with an ego the size of Scotland, which just happens to be the setting for this satire.

I appreciated the new approach the authors took with this book. Their previous books were all great fun, but they were becoming formulaic. This time we have three very different characters with distinct personalities interacting with one another throughout the narrative, so it read like a cohesive novel instead of three separate novellas. Each character has their own subplot, and they all intersect beautifully at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my opinions. I look forward to reading more books by these authors.

Join the party! Three incredibly different and equally hilarious authors attend a writer's weekend workshop in Scotland. The three are determined to write a Scottish mystery together and have convinced their shared publisher to pay for the trip.

It turns out, that while the 3 (Kat de Noir, erotica fiction, Cassie Pringle, Southern cozies, and Emma Endicott, historical fiction) all have their own reasons for attending the workshop helmed by the famous novelist Brett Saffron Presley. When he is found dead, they are all suspects!
On an island of less then 250 inhabitants, there is plenty of small town hijinks, history, and romance. The story is infused with all three author's voices and they blend together seamlessly. I couldn't think of anything more fun than this novel except perhaps spendeing time with the novelists themselves!

A bit meta, a bit crazy but all together perfect, The Author's Guide To Murder is the by far the best -cozy, quotable, quip-ful and hilarious mystery!

#williammorrow #theauthorsguidetomurder #beatrizwilliams #laurenwillig #karenwhite