This is one of those books where so much is going on, you’re not sure what to make of it in the end.

The Author’s Guide to Murder is a collaboration between 3 authors: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. The book itself is about 3 female authors collaborating on a book… very meta. The book takes place in an atmospheric Scottish castle and is told in a multiple POV, nonlinear narrative.

I believe it is the authors’ intent for the book to be over the top in a comedic way, but perhaps this is a “too many cooks in the kitchen” situation. To keep track of such a large cast of characters, the compromise ends up being that all of them become one-dimensional. So even when serious topics are covered, it’s hard to care because it’s hard to feel invested in any of the MCs’ lives. The buildup to the murder is passable, but the climax of the reveal is just… confusing. I still can’t tell if I understand the whodunnit or how any of the characters ended up where they ended up in the first place.

Regardless of all that, I think this story would make for a much better movie than a novel. The setting is captivating and watching the characters onscreen might make them more entertaining than on the written page.

Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Author’s Guide to Murder is available everywhere now.

Unfortunately this one was not for me! I felt like it was very SATC coded. We had Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda and were just missing Carrie. I felt like this had a lot of promise but at the end of the day, it was a bit off for me!

This was a clever idea but it didn't work for me. The characters and the story felt disjointed to me. I felt like the pacing was off, the first 75% dragged and then the last 25% had a ton going on. 2.5 stars

A book about three author best friends writing a book together at a retreat in Scotland, written by three author besties, what could be more fun? Art imitates life, right? Well, hopefully not! The three don’t seem as close as they are pretending to be as they investigate the history of the castle and the death of its laird. The castle was leased by a popular author who offers writing retreats while working on his autobiography and preparing the castle to reopen as a tourist spot based on the former laird’s scandalous past. When said author is found dead, the authors become the center of the investigation and realize that they need to work together to find the true murderer.
Full of interesting characters, twists, and a remote Scottish Island, a fun story written by three author friends, each of whom writes one of the main characters: Emma, Kat, and Cassie. It’s fun to try and guess which author wrote which character. I have an idea, but I am not completely sure. An entertaining story, the ending and final twist were the cherry on top.
I love reading novels by each of the authors, and their collaborations are just as delightful. THE AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO MURDER isn’t their usual style, but just as pleasurable.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.

Didn't love this book, it seemed very disjointed. The concept was solid but the execution didn't work for me.

This is a fun female centered not quite cozy romantic mystery. Definitely fun to read and hits on all the issues of contemporary women. Wasn't thrilled with the ending, but I enjoyed the ride, which is what I was looking for.

Like Ocean's Eleven, "The Author's Guide to Murder" began with an all-star cast, and just like the movie, started off slowly, and at times, it felt a bit tedious. Then the pace picked up and it became hard to put the book down. I loved all the allusions (or at least the ones that registered). By the end, I was having as much fun as the authors. The only piece that was missing was a reference to the great Elizabeth Peters. Never fear, kind reader, my wish was fulfilled, as if the fates themselves had conspired in my favor.

This tongue-in-cheek murder mystery is a lot of fun, and the authors obviously had a lot of fun writing it together. Sending up many cozy mystery and romance tropes, the tale involves three female authors pretending to be best friends while attending a literary retreat in a remote part of Scotland. Each has a motive to wreak revenge on a slimy male bestselling author, also in attendance as the star of the show, who has done them all wrong. The novel has many a sly, humorous reference to the world of publishing, and the send-up of various literary types within that world is entertaining. The structure of the chapters, which alternate between police interviews in the present and action in the near past leading up to the murder, is effective in holding the reader's interest as the story progresses and the mismatched trio begin to form a real friendship. The narrative unfolds from the point of view each main character in turn, an effective device as the solution to the mystery is gradually revealed. The secondary characters are all pastiches of well-worn cozy mystery and romance stock characters, but with an edge. All in all, I found this a great light read.

Three female American authors come to a Scottish castle to enjoy time together, research local history, and collaborate on their joint effort. But are they working on their next novel, or murder?

The cast of characters reminds me a bit of Designing Women. Emma evokes Julia with her encyclopedia brain, sharp wit, classic fashion sense, and understated grace. Kat is Suzanne Sugarbaker on the outside - dripping with sex appeal, but with Mary Jo's insecurities on the inside. And rounding out the group is Charlene, or in this case, Cassie - the sweet, Southern, motherly type that's a tad on the innocent side. All three ladies are faced with either career or personal ruin and must join forces. The men, women, dogs and sheep they encounter at their writing retreat provide mystery and humor. The murder that occurs on castle grounds adds mystery and suspense.

I'm a huge fan of Beatriz Williams historical fiction. While there are some historical elements, it's not anything like her normal individual works. It's not quite a thriller either. This is more of a cozy mystery with romantic comedy.

Was it a work of literary art? Nope. It read like three authors worked together to write about three authors - there were some things that could use further explanation, but overall, it worked. It kept me entertained, guessing, and laughing. I loved the references to the cheesy 80s romance novels that we all secretly read in our youth. What a great reminder that a book doesn't have to win awards to win our love. Sometimes our favorite books are simply the ones that keep us entertained, and that's why I loved this one.

A murder mystery mixed in with a little romance - Sign me up. Exactly the kind of book I expected from Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White - enjoyed reading it in my hammock. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

This was so entertaining! It was funny, punny, with lots of romance novel jokes, and a murder mystery too. Gags about stiletto heels (and pantaboots), plaid, a small Scottish island with people wearing multiple hats: The barmaid is the island midwife and medical examiner as well as the local GP and the sister of the DCI - Detective Chief Inspector).

The concept is tongue in cheek – three actual authors collaborating on writing a book about three authors writing a book. Here’s how the real-life authors accurately describe their book: “The excruciating jokes, the atrocious Scottish accents, the tropes, the puns, the murder of nefarious male authors – all written with a wink and a nudge and a great deal of love, and maybe a teeny grain of truth.”

To be honest, it took me a few chapters in before everything clicked for me. The three main characters weren’t all that likable at first, but the more time I spent with them, the more endearing they became. And that went for the Scottish characters too, from Beatrice the sheep to Loren the dog as well as the humans. And then there’s a murder and the three American authors are the main suspects. They realize the best way to prove they didn’t do it is to find out who did.

If you’re in the mood for a feel-good murder mystery with some romance and lots of jokes, a few red herrings, an edge-of-your-seat climax, and a happily-ever-after ending with a Scottish location, this is the book for you.

This book had a lot of tropes that I like: locked room mystery, Scotland setting, books about authors so I was excited to dive in. The book didn’t capture me as much as I was hoping. I found the main characters a bit tough to like and I wasn’t too invested in the murder. It’s advertised as “like Agatha Christie”, but as an avid Christie reader I don’t think that’s accurate at all. Overall, it’s an average murder mystery book, with some witty banter between the main characters.

Thank you William Morrow for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for a honest review.

I'm not sure that I heard each of this author's voice in this story as I expected to hear some distinctions but instead it was so well blended. I find it unique that this is a story authored by three women of a story with the same premise of writing a story collaborated by three women authors. I do love a closed room mystery but the back and forth with he detective as they each told their story was a bit disjointed and I felt I was playing catch up. While the twist at the end at the reveal of the murderer was satisfying, the rest of the story wasn't as interesting. Truth be told, it became a story that I soon forgot about after the book was closed. That being said, while I read it, I enjoyed it. Hense the 3 out of 5 stars. I do look forward to book written solely by each of these authors. Many thanks to net galley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Three American women on a book retreat find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation at a Scotland castle while they are trying to write a book about the mysterious castle and its legendary owner Edward Kinloch, aka Naughty Ned.

Cassie is a murder writer, Kat is the romantasy writer and Emma writes historical books. All three women met at a convention and with the suggestion of their shared editor, Rachelle, they decided to write a book together. They arrive at Kinloch Castle, now leased out by Mr. Brett Presley, aka BSP, who is a widely known author and notorious jerk. Right away, BSP is killed and we learn that each of these women all have some past connection to him. While pretending to be best friends, these women all have their own agenda and we follow along with them as they try and clear themselves of this murder. As the reader, we slowly uncover what these women's motivations really are and why they decided to take this trip to this castle.

I really should have liked this book— it was right up my alley but I struggled to get through this book. Something was off. I didn’t connect with the characters and it was hard to get invested in the story with all three of them fighting for page time.

I guess I expected a Saved By The Bell murder mystery that was tongue and cheek and I got more of an Murder She Wrote mystery that was trying to be funny and clever. The characters decide the only way to clear their name is to solve the murder on their own but it was hard for me to follow along with the clues because the story was a bit disjointed and didn't keep me invested.

Overall it was a satire on murder mysteries with a classic whodunit component but it fell a bit short for me.

I love all of Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White's books that they write by themselves, and I always enjoy their collaborations. The Author's Guide to Murder was another fun one...most likely because I love the setting of Scotland so much! I love a good who-dun-it and I happily listened along as I tried to figure out what Kat de Noir, Cassie Pringle, and Emma Endicott were up to!

I read/listened to the audio which was made even better by a couple of my favorite narrators, Brittany Pressley and Saskia Maarleveld along with Angus King and Lisa Flanagan. It really helped to have distinctly different voices for each character.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 5 November 2024

The premise of this is great, and I loved Scotland as a setting.
The beginning was interesting, especially as we figured out that the 3 women were pretending to be friends, but actually disliked each other.
The pace moved a bit slowly for me, but I enjoyed it enough to finish. It was an okay, middle-of-the-road read.

I love the setup for this homage to golden-age mysteries — and the ending really landed well. Satisfying twists and nice relationships. But I wish the characters had been more distinctive. The cast of frenemies-turned-friends and their associated male paramours are somewhat interchangeable except for their outfits. However, this is a fine way to spend some time if you want a little escape to a Scottish island.

I've never read anything by any of these authors before, but sadly, this book missed the mark for me. I was never able to connect with the characters, which made it really difficult to care about the story or the outcome. I really did enjoy the setting, however. The pace was very uneven, with the first part being quite slow and the latter part moving at a reasonable pace. As a result, some details felt rushed and others dragged on, such as backstories. The ending was satisfactory.

These three authors, Karen White, Lauren Willig, and Beatrice Williams, are all phenomenal writers and together with their uni-brain, have co-written an entertaining and compelling murder mystery set in Scotland at a writer’s retreat.

The plot is multifaceted where three American novelists, visit a castle to research a historical murder, but before they can begin, their host is found dead and now the three women become the focus of the investigation.

This book has an overall light-hearted feel but does touch on some deeper themes. I thoroughly enjoyed the castle setting and the wittiness of the of the characters. Readers of all genres will get a glimpse into the literary world and will absolutely find themselves laughing at the clever banter! Highly recommend this book.

Thank you so much to authors Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White, as well as publisher William Morrow and NetGalley for providing this free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Similarly to how this novel was written by three different authors, The Author's Guide to Murder follows 3 seemingly BFF authors as they essentially take a "besties writing vacation" at historic murder castle, Castle Kinloch--or is there more to their little trip? (Read and find out; no spoilers here). While the formal summary describes this story as a locked-room mystery, I would argue that that is a lacking explanation of the events that happen.

A satirical take focusing on the well-known tropes of murder mysteries of days past, this novel was a joy to read. I am so used to the typical murder mystery tropes that this was a refreshing and funny read for a particularly stressful time for Americans. The side characters each had a life of their own, and figuring out who murdered who was fun, as I kept changing my guesses. Each character/author had their own distinct personality and voice that the story was easy to follow despite having so many different POVs.

The structure itself was flipped on its head in a way, as we begin the first half of the book with police interviews and flashbacks from before the murder. I do believe that the murder actually occurs about 50% through the book? Afterwards we are brought to the present with our heroines as they solve the mystery for themselves. Overall, this was a fun mystery novel that I recommend to those in a murdery yet goofy reading mood!