Do you read books by your go-to authors right away or do you wait because you don’t want it to be over to quick? David Bell is one of those great thriller authors that I can’t wait to see what he will come up with next. Kill All Your Darlings came out on Tuesday, and I finished it on Wed! I just couldn’t wait! At over 400 pages, it was so fast paced, that I didn’t want to put it down.

Professor Connor Nye has a student who goes missing and is presumed dead. He then takes her manuscript and passes it off as his own. He doesn’t realize the book portrays a possible, real murder from two years before until the cops show up at his house. To top that off the book does very well and it’s not good when the missing student shows up at his door, making demands!

This book has a lot of twists and characters, so it’s a perfect whodunit mystery! Those are usually my favorites because I like to see if I can figure it out. I thought I had this one a couple different times but never did get it right!

This is one of my favorite authors! He manages to pull you into a story and then twist and turn the plot until the very end. I could sort of see where he was going with this one, but I couldn't be sure until I finished. The chapters are short (which I like) and the story moves along at a good pace. The main character was likable and a good storyteller. Looking forward to the next one by David Bell!

What did I just read? Just from the summary alone, I knew that this was going to be twisted. Connor has an impossible choice, but I guess that's what happens when you aren't a good person to begin with - right?

This is probably one of those books you'll read in 1 sitting if you have the time to spare. If not, you might just make the time to read it because you'll want to know what in the world happens! My curiosity was definitely in overdrive with this one!

Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell kept me guessing! One of my favorite things about this book is the setting and concept. Connor is an English professor that has been dealing with writer's block since the death of his wife and son. After the disappearance of a student, he takes a chance and reworks and submits her manuscript to a publisher as his own. I love books about books and writing, so this set up pulled me in immediately. And I love how this books jumps back and forth in time. It really pulled me in as a reader and propelled me through the story. This book needs to be on your TBR!

Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell

English professor, Connor Nye, spent several years in a fog, after his wife and son where killed in a freak accident. Any chance of publishing a book, which was a must for him get tenure and keep his job, was just not there. Connor didn't have it in him when he had trouble just getting out of bed in the morning. Really, his dog Grendel was all that kept him going.

So when a student, Madeline, disappears and is presumed dead, leaving her excellent thesis novel in Connor's hands, he edits it and publishes it as his own work. Now that the book is out, Madeline is back and she wants the money Connor is getting for the book. The story, with names and places changed, seems to parallel a real life murder in their university town so the police are very interested in talking to Connor since he seems to know some previously undisclosed facts about the murder.

Connor is in trouble with Madeline wanting money that he doesn't have anymore, the police wanting to know how he knows what he knows, and being on the verge of his plagiarizing going public. But there is more to things than just that. It seems that someone might want to hurt Connor physically, the police are getting closer to arresting him, and he's going to lose his job and everything he owns if he doesn't figure out what is going on around him.

With multiple timelines and points of view, the tension stays high as nice guy Connor, who's made a big mistake, seems to make things worse no matter what he does. This is my favorite David Bell book so far. I love that Connor thinks of Grendel and makes sure he's safe, when things look like they could blow up in Connor's face.

Publication: July 6th 2021

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thanks @getredpr @berkleypub the digital copy.

This is my first book by @davidbellnovels but definitely won’t be my last. I really enjoyed this one! Going into this one I was worried it would be too much like The Plot, but once I got started I realized it really wasn’t like The Plot at all. It did a wonderful job of keeping my attention and kept me turning the pages to see how things would end. Loved the multiple POVs and short chapters. The mentions of grief were so honest and heart felt. And of course loved the beagle in the story.

My favorite David Bell book yet! 🙌🏼 I was hooked from the very beginning — would have finished it in one day if I didn’t have any kids. 😂 Kill All Your Darlings is such a fascinating thriller about a college professor, a student, and a stolen manuscript that closely resembles a real life murder that will keep you guessing until they very end.

A solid good time from one of my favorite authors. I inhale David Bell’s writing at each release. I cannot stop raving about this book. Thank you for advance copy.

Thank you Berkley Publishing for my copy of Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell, in exchange for my honest review.  This title published July 6, 2021.

This was my first read by David Bell and I am kicking myself for waiting this long to read his work.  His writing was intoxicating and you literally are consumed by it once you get started.  I could not put this one down.

The story follows Connor Nye, a struggling writer and College Professor who after years being out of the writing game, publishes a thriller novel that becomes a huge hit.  The only problem is the book wasn't written by Connor. In fact it's author is a student who mysteriously disappeared 2yrs ago...

Kill All Your Darlings was a diabolical tale set in the real of academia and encompassed some relevant issues like sexual harassment, plagiarism and grief.  Told through multiple POVs and dual timelines, I thought it moved at a steady pace as Bell unpacked his story.  I enjoyed the multiple twists and turns the story took and the ending completely caught me by surprise - in a good way!  The characters were well-developed and despite being unlikeable, were quite entertaining.

Bell sure knows how to keep his reader engaged and his ability to keep the momentum of suspense throughout is impressive.  There was never a dull moment in this story.  This was definitely a bingeable read, despite its page count at just over 400 pages.  I will be checking out some more of Bell's backlist as I really enjoyed his writing style and plot execution.

I highly recommend adding Kill All Your Darlings to your reading list this summer.  But set aside some uninterrupted reading time for it, because once you get started you won't want to put it down until you finish

Thoughts
After reading The Request by David Bell last year I was excited to see he had a new suspense novel coming out, and it did not disappoint.
Connor Nye has been struggling to write anything of value ever since his wife and son died. All of a sudden he has a book being published which is shocking to his colleagues and the university because of how fast he cranked it out, and because it's a thriller! His co-workers are not the only ones interested in the book. The police find the graphic details of the women's murder eerily similar to an unsolved murder a few years back. Then his student, Madeline who is missing and presumed dead, shows up at his doorstep wondering why he published her story!
Wow this book was a rollercoaster ride! You're not only trying to figure out why Madeline made herself disappear, but who killed the woman she wrote about?! I love it when a book has more than one mystery to solve so I was all in! However when the killer is revealed I have to say that part was a little predictable. The author did a good job of trying to throw you for a loop, but in the end I thought the real reason behind everything that happened had been done before. If I say anymore then that will give it away!
This one is available now! Thank you GetRed PR, Berkley Publishing and Author David Bell for my #copy!

The idea of Professor Nye stealing his student's work after she goes missing and not knowing it was based off a real murder was a great topic and had so much potential. The execution just wasn't there. The characters weren't developed enough to care about any of them and I saw all the twists coming. There was no excitement and details for you to get invested in. I lust wish there was more to the story,
or that the twist was much more shocking. I listened to this one on audio and I kept drifting off because there was nothing to keep me engaged in the story. There was so much more that could have been done to enhance the main character.

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: When a struggling college professor decides to use a stolen manuscript as his own, he gets far more than he bargained for.

BRIEF REVIEW: Professor Connor Nye teaches creative writing and has his tenure on the line unless he gets busy and gets published. The problem is he is in a bad state after the death of his wife and son in a tragic accident. When one of his writing students goes missing and is presumed dead he decides to pass her work off as his own and the book is quite successful. Thinking he can relax a bit and no longer have to worry about tenure, his plagiarism comes back to haunt him in ways he never anticipated. Not only is he being blackmailed but, the police are also interested in him as the storyline in the book he passed off as his own has similarities to a murder case of a local girl two years earlier. Is there a connection and if not, who is the real killer?

This is a story that held my interest and kept me wondering. I liked the college setting and the issues typical in academia. I also thought the characters were well written with a few I liked and felt for and a few that were easy to dislike as well. I though the multiple POVs worked well as well as the insights into what had happened in the past. This story is similar in some ways to a book I read earlier this year and also enjoyed called: The Plot by Jean Hanff-Korelitz in which a writer feels pressured by his publisher to write and steals "the plot" for his book from someone else.

RATING: 4/5

https://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2021/07/2021-kill-all-your-darlings-david-bell.html
Thanks go to NetGalley and Berkley Publishers for allowing me access to this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Kill All Your Darlings pulled me in and captured me almost immediately and I finished this thriller in less than 24 hours! The story follows Connor, an English professor at a small college whose family died in a freak accident 5 years earlier, after he publishes a thriller about the murder of a young woman. Except the book wasn't his and it turns out that the details in the book match an unsolved murder that occurred in his small town 2 years earlier and now Connor is the prime suspect. With that, and with the return of the missing student whose book Connor stole, from the very start the reader is grabbed and trying to figure out who is really at fault. The story is told from multiple point of views, and in a dual timeline format - both of which were perfect in this book!

At times, I felt like there were a few too many characters and details, but ultimately, I think that they helped to make the story more complete than convoluted. I'm so grateful to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the chance to read this awesome thriller to kick off my summer reading!

Another thriller from David Bell that did not disappoint! If you’re wanting something you can binge with plenty of good twists and suspense, then you can never go wrong with picking a book by David Bell. KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS is no different and we’re brought into the academic world where plagiarism and a disappearance are the focus. What would you do if the perfect story fell into your lap?

English Professor Connor Nye is struggling. Not only is he grieving the death of his wife and son but the pressure is mounting for him to be published to secure his tenure at the university. Dealing with writer’s block, the perfect manuscript crosses his desk in the form of a student’s senior thesis. Madeline goes missing and Connor saw his opportunity and took it – “My Best Friend’s Murder” is now his best-selling novel and everything is looking up. Years later, the presumed dead, Madeline shows up on his doorstep demanding the credit and fame that was rightfully hers.

As if this isn’t enough, his best-seller has caught the attention of a detective because there are some details in the book that are eerily similar to am old cold case. Details that only the killer would know as they were left out of any reports to the public, so naturally he’s become a person of interest. Is Madeline involved? How can he implicate her without admitting to his plagiarism?

I loved this and the suspense. Definitely one you’ll want to clear some time out for. I feel like there could have been shorter in some places but otherwise the POVs we got were great and really kept the pace up. And now the wait begins for the next David Bell release!

This was a fast read, but ultimately it was a frustrating one. Connor is so dumb and does so many dumb things--personally, I love when he "anonymously" called the cops. From your cell phone, my dude?--that it wore on my soul having to follow him around.

I have been reading David Bell’s books for the past few years now and really enjoy them, and this is another one to add to that list. I love books about books and when they are thrillers then it is even better. Connor Nye lost his wife and son years ago and is still grieving. He has thrown himself into his work as an English professor, but to make tenure he needs to write a book, and has finally done that - he has written a thriller about a young woman who has been murdered. Fun fact, he didn’t write this book, one of his students did, but she’s been missing and presumed dead, so no big deal, right? Right.

Well, except she shows up right as he is getting popular, because the book is good, and it gets worse for him because the description of the murder might have some deets that were never made public, making our boy Connor a new suspect in the cold case. So, he can either admit he didn’t write the book and deal with those consequences, OR he can continue to dance with the detectives and hope he has enough to prove he didn’t commit the murder. It’s a real oopsie doopsie he has found himself in, and let’s not forget the pesky issue of the missing student that has resurfaced only to him and has some demands of her own.

This is a wild ride with Connor basically trying to keep everyone at bay while simultaneously trying to figure out what in the world is going on, and slowly realizing there is something big on campus that folks are trying to keep hidden. This all makes for a delicious read that I devoured in a day. I really enjoyed this one and even though you can guess what is happening before it is over, it is still so much fun to read.

Thank you to Berkley Books and NetGalley for the advanced digital galley to review.

I included this title as part what's new in suspense, mystery, and thrillers in the month of July. I promoted on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram. https://www.bethfishreads.com/2021/07/22-mysteries-thrillers-suspense-novels.html

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It kept me wanting more and on the edge of my seat! I thought it had awesome characters and it was engaging and suspenseful! I could not put it down!

The thriller tells the story of a professor who steals one of his student's manuscripts and passes it off as his own after she goes missing. After the novel gets published, it comes out that some of the details in the novel are very similar to a real murder case that took place in the town the year before.

While I loved the premise of this novel, I didn't love the ending or the way the case played out. It was an enjoyable and fast paced read, but not my favorite in the genre.

Connor Nye is an English professor that has been in need of a book to publish to get tenure at his university and one has fallen in his lap when a student submits a thesis and then disappears. He steals the manuscripts and publishes it as his own, but upon publication she returns and then the dominos start to fall.

Before reading this book, I was already a David Bell fan, so I didn't even read the synopsis before starting and just dove in. It was so easy to get into these characters and get attached to each of them and want to know everything about the situations they found themselves in. Not only were the characters built quickly, the plot was moving fast from the very beginning.

I tend to judge a mystery book based on the final culprit and while this book had some great twists and turns, I was completely satisfied with the culprit and how the book came together. This book solidified my love for David Bell and I will keep reading his books without any synopsis!