"The Myth Maker" delivers a solid police procedural with an intriguing Greek mythology twist, though it sometimes gets tangled in its own threads. The story follows Detective Cassidy Cantwell as she investigates a series of murders staged to evoke Greek goddesses, while simultaneously grappling with her best friend's unsolved murder and her increasingly complicated personal life. The mythology angle adds a fresh layer to what could have been a standard serial killer thriller, and the killer's perspective chapters are particularly chilling.

However, the pacing feels uneven, with subplots that drift in and out of focus (particularly the best friend's murder storyline), and some narrative threads that never quite weave together satisfyingly. While the ending suggests this might be the start of a series, which could explain some of the loose ends, it leaves the current story feeling somewhat unresolved. Despite these hiccups, thriller fans who enjoy mythology-tinged mysteries and complex female protagonists will likely find enough here to keep them turning pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with an eARC of The Myth Maker in exchange for my honest review!

This injects me with the suspense I'm looking for, its inclusion of Greek mythology being an especially atmospheric element. The tension builds up at a smooth pace and draws me into the murder scheme that our culprit is rolling out—a scheme that shows us just how much of a fixation this individual has on mythology and how far they'll go to carry it out in real life, brutally stealing people's lives along the way. Then there's the story running underneath the mystery—the story of Cassidy's personal life as she wrestles with grief and guilt over her murdered best friend, as she contends with her boyfriend and the distance that keeps growing between them, as these slices of her world snake their way into her current investigation. I'll admit that as much as these things do grip me, I'm also left feeling like the story arcs aren't interwoven together as fluidly as they could have been. Again, they're all enthralling threads to follow, but they tend to trail around each other fairly separately, and it stops me from becoming as emotionally invested in the book as I want to be compared to other thriller novels that have hit me in the heart with a bigger punch.

Even with a criticism like that, I continue to enjoy what The Myth Maker can dish out, and I'm intrigued by the ending's decision to wrap up on a note that leaves open room for a sequel. If that comes out down the line, I'd definitely pick it up. Overall, I'm officially rating The Myth Maker four out of five stars.

A creative and captivating read ! After reading the blurb, ‘The Myth Maker’ immediately intrigued me, especially because I always love a story that incorporates Greek mythology.
The book started of really strong for me, especially the flashback to Jenna’s murder. I liked how her murder was introduced into the storyline early on, however, it felt like Jenna’s murder was forgotten about in the middle part of the story. There were no more ‘gifts’ to Cassidy after the first two, or even mentions of or thoughts about her murder, so when the murder case all of a sudden reappeared nearing the end, it felt quite abrupt to me.
Another aspect I really liked in this story, was the killer’s point of view. The first time I encountered one of his chapters, I got all the more intrigued. The only remark I have is that I wish there would have been more of them, especially diving into why these specific women symbolized these specific goddesses to him, how he met them and how he perceived them. During the end there was a bit more insight into his mind, especially with his perspective on his Persephone goddess, but I think if these chapters came earlier on, and perhaps also more frequent, I would have been drawn in sooner. But nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book, and the ending left me curious for more.

An amazing mystery perfect for fans of Greek myths. I adored how thrilling it was. The twists did surprise me many times. Will check out from this author. 4.75 out of 5 stars.

As expected from the blurb, I was drawn into a very classic procedural, where the protagonist Cassidy is on the case to solve murders linked to a textbook serial killer, whose inspiration are Greek goddesses. Not only is she hardly sleeping because of the fast recurrence of the murders - and time is of the essence when a kidnapping is next -she is also trying to solve the murder of her best friend who died when she was a teenager, and she is trying to salvage a wobbly relationship.

It isn't surprising that this is a very fast paced thriller with everything going all at once, but it didn't deter from the main storylines: the hunt for the serial and the cold case. And in that respect, this is a true pageturner where you want to know where the story is going. However, there is one serious fault here that made me go for three stars only: the number of characters. There is a handful of policemen, a handful of FBI agents, a second team of FBI (who luckily are lost quite rapidly), then a SWAT team, a whole lot of witnesses and and a bunch of family members - from Cassidy but also families from victims and other characters. I had a hard time trying to distinguish all of them, and eventually I just let go and read on, accepting that I possibly would lose some details of the plot (I didn't).

I would happily read the second installment because yes, it does end with a cliffhanger, and the character of Cassidy is very interesting! But I sincerely hope that would involve a serious cut in the number of characters.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and the author for an ARC.

This was a generally enjoyable read. Definitely worth it if you enjoy books like The Silent Patient and The Amber Fury. The whole concept was brilliant; I found myself losing interest in the middle but was recaptivated by the conclusion.

Overall The Myth Maker was a solid mystery with suspense, surprises and drama. The story jumps and skips a bit too much and is disconnected in parts with open sub-plots left unresolved. The ending is abrupt but hopefully that means there will be another book in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This felt like a very unique mystery/thriller/serial killer/crime story. This book follows the serial murders of a bunch of women, but these are no ordinary murders, they are all based on Greek gods and goddesses. And I thought that was super interesting.

I also think this cover is really cool. Simple but effective and aesthetically pleasing.

Some parts of this book did feel a bit choppy (the pacing as well as the writing did that).

But overall, this was a pretty decent thriller that I could see many people enjoying (I just wish it was a tad more thriller-y (aka thrilling).

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month it my monthly reading wrap-up.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Alie Dumas Heidt writes a suburb debut police procedural thriller with this book The Myth Maker. A new developing plot involving a serial killer targeting women and setting up crime scenes adjacent to Greek gods. The book fell a little short for me with some disjointed parts and the ending which left it open to this becoming a series which was not advertised.
All in all, a pretty decent thriller read, thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

#Netgalley

The Myth Maker by Alie Dumas-Heidt Review

Star Rating: 4

For lovers of crime and psychological thrillers, this book will leave you breathless!

The Myth Maker by Alie Dumas-Heidt follows a new detective as she works on the most significant case of her career. This thriller follows Cassidy Cantwell as she works to uncover a serial killer in her city. Amongst the seriousness of the murder, Cassidy deals with challenges that any reader can relate to: family drama. Add that on top of a clingy boyfriend and an unwanted roommate, and Cassidy is already at her wit’s end. We also can't forget that a killer is sending Cassidy notes and trinkets as she gets closer to solving the mystery of who killed her best friend.

Throughout the novel, I loved the author’s ability to keep the reader guessing who could be the next suspect and where and when the next clue would be given to Cassidy. The author’s ability to take the reader on a dark and twisty journey through Greek Mythology and murder kept my attention throughout the book. Dumas-Heidt’s intricate details throughout the story keep me guessing as the story unfolds. Her ability to show each character as their person with their perspectives and lives made her characters so realistic that they jumped off the page. I was unable to put this book down until the very end!

My favorite part of the story is the portrayal of human relationships and how death impacts our relationship with ourselves and the people around us, be it through Cassidy’s reaction to this case or her work on her best friend’s death.

Readers who love psychological thrillers will love this book. It is a great overall read that makes me anticipate the author’s next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.

This was an interesting read! It was creepy and had that intriguing aspect due to the greek mythology tie in. It was an interesting combination, and the writing was good! I enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

The case of a serial killer who tortures and murders women based on Greek mythology is assigned to Detective Cassidy Cantwell. As she works the case, she also finds herself dealing with a difficult relationship, a meddling family and the parallel investigation into the murder of her best friend, Jenna, as a teenager.
From the first moment I was immersed in both the case and Cassidy's life. I also found the rest of the characters very engaging and well drawn.
After the resolution of the case I'm glad to see that the door is open for a continuation.
The pace is breathless and the plot makes you devour the book without even realising it. Recommended to lovers of the genre.

Someone is killing women and staging their bodies in strange, evocative scenes in this Greek-mythology-inspired serial killer thriller! Fantastic read! What a chilling thriller! I loved this book! It had great suspense, gruesome murders, mystery, a great who done it and some wild twists! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!