After English Professor Connor Nye’s wife and son die, he is so bereft, he can barely hold it together. His colleagues cover for him, and he finds solace in alcohol. He certainly can’t write, and in academia, it’s publish or perish.

When one of his students disappears leaving her thesis, a draft of a thriller, Connor passes it off as his own. In the excitement of the book’s publication, the true author returns, threatening to reveal his duplicity. At the same time, a detective questions the similarities between the plot of his novel and an unsolved murder.

If Connor admits he stole the manuscript, he’ll lose his career. But if he stays silent, he could be accused of murder.

Told from multiple points of view, 𝘒𝘈𝘠𝘋 is a gripping mystery that I couldn’t put down. It also is a scathing indictment of academia and its handling of sexual harassment and other misdeeds by professors. Both as a student and a professor, I saw too many teachers abusing their authority and too many others in power protecting them.

Thriller lovers, particularly those who enjoy academic settings, will want to read this book!

If I had to choose just one word to describe David Bell’s novels, it would be ADDICTIVE. Last year, I read his summer hit, The Request and could not put it down. The same goes for his latest, Kill All Your Darlings. I stayed up WAY past my bedtime last night finishing this one up. The chapters were short, so I kept telling myself, “Just one more chapter!” This wicked cycle went on until 1:30 in the morning. I’m not mad about it, just need a little extra caffeine today. Ha! I was completely intrigued by the college campus setting, twisty plot, professors behaving badly, multiple timelines, various perspectives, and an ending that I did NOT see coming. Bell shocked my socks off once again!

I’ve never read a David Bell book before, but I certainly will be checking out his backlog! When I read this description it sounded similar to The Plot, which I really enjoyed.

This book was very well-written. I especially thought that the alternating POVs and timelines were an interesting way to come at the truth from multiple angles. The plot was engaging and I couldn’t wait to see how it would all come together in the end.

I didn’t love Connor, the MC, but his story was certainly interesting. He kept making terrible decisions at every turn, screwing up the investigation and digging himself into a deeper hole. I did appreciate that he made sure his dog would be taken care of, though, instead of leaving the reader to wonder what became of him! My biggest fear is that something will happen to me and my dog will be left alone at home with no one to take care of her.

Connor is an English professor, but on his own, he's been unable to write anything of value for a long time. It isn't until a star pupil goes missing that he sees, and seizes, an opportunity to capitalize on a novel she turned in for an assignment just before disappearing, and publish it as his own work. With life looking up, Connor experiences his first real joy in years after his wife and child passed away, a joy that is scattered to the wind after his long-lost star pupil, Madeline, reappears out of nowhere. Her demand is simple: Pay up for using her work, and nobody has to know he plagiarized it, which would be akin to a death sentence for an English professor. Yet Connor's real problem is closer to actual death itself, as the novel he stole and claimed for his own contains details of a murder that nobody other than the killer would know.

I found this mystery thriller to be fairly effective at creating suspense, and I remained engaged with it until its final paces. It did falter a bit as it brought everything together, but I think that its earlier ability to weave suspense helps make up for that. Professor extraordinaire Connor finds himself in a pickle when he publishes a presumed-dead student's novel as his own, a novel that resembles a murder. With his not-so-dead student demanding money, and the police demanding answers about why his novel is so similar to an open murder case, how can he extract himself from this mess without destroying his life? What is Madeline up to? Where has she been all this time? The story is told from Connor's and Madeline's point of view as the story unravels, and I appreciated the alternation of past and present. Kill All Your Darlings is an interesting thriller that is capable of holding readers in suspense through most of its pages, and I recommend it to readers who enjoy moral conundrums, academic foul play, and protagonists who love dogs.

From my blog: Always With A Book:

I am a huge fan of David Bell and his writing. I find that he writes such addicting, thrilling novels, ones that totally consume me from start to finish and I have a hard time putting down and this latest one is no exception.

One of my favorite settings for books lately has been any type of academia setting, so of course when I saw that this one was at a university, I knew it would be good. Little did I know just how good! The idea of plagiarism of a student’s novel isn’t new, but the way David Bell handles it is all his. And when you add in murder and so many secrets, you have quite the tale that just hooked me immediately.

This story is full of twists and turns. How far will people go to protect their reputation? It’s a fast-paced, suspenseful read that is completely captivating. The short chapters keep you flipping the pages and the mix of characters will have you wondering just what is going on. It shifts back and forth in time to fill in what has happened and will have you guessing where it is all headed as you try to put all the pieces together.

I loved that I never knew who to trust. There is such a great mix of layered characters that we meet – from professors to students to detectives to neighbors and each is developed just enough to feel that we know them. They might not all be likeable but they all serve a purpose. And just about everyone has questionable ethics, which would make it a great book for bookclubs…so much to discuss!

If you like fast-paced, dark, thrilling reads, I highly recommend adding this to your summer reading!

This was my first David Bell book, and I loved it!
I had recently read another book that came out that was about a stolen manuscript, and I wasn't a fan, but this one drew me in right from the beginning.
I DO have to say that the main character drove me CRAZY with his actions! He kept doing the worst thing he could do. His decision making skills were the worst!
It had just the right amount of twists to it. I highly recommend!

I have enjoyed every novel David Bell has published, but Kill All Your Darlings is the best. This compelling story of a down on his luck English professor who steals a missing student's manuscript and publishes it as his own is filled with surprises and twists to the very end. Highly recommended.

Thank you to the author, publisher & Get Red PR Books for gifting me an advance e-copy!
———
Before I review this book, I want to address something about the official synopsis. PLEASE DON’T READ THE SYNOPSIS!!! It gives out way too much about the book plot! I was very fortunate to go in blind with this one and I enjoyed it because of that. If I had read the synopsis, it would have ruined the book for me!!!

With that out of the way, I’m going to add very little here. The story is about a professor, Connor, who plagiarizes and publishes his student’s work assuming she’s gone missing, or dead even, for 2 years. However the student, Madeline, returns and wants him to pay her back her dues or expose him to the faculty.
Connor is a morally grey character and loves his students despite what he did, so he attempts to salvage his mistakes.

However in another plot twist, the police are after Connor because the published book contains specific grisly details of a local girl, Sophia, who was murdered. Only the killer would know such details. This places Connor in a conundrum. How does he explain to the police, the university and his publisher that the book was, in fact, not written by him? If he doesn’t expose his plagiarism, he’s facing prison time. How does Madeline know the fine details of Sophia’s murder? How does Connor get out of this catch 22 situation? You will have to read to find out.
There were several players involved in the entire making of this novel and each one was etched out really well. Almost all characters were either morally grey or downright unlikeable but I felt I was rooting for Connor despite what he did. This book would make an excellent book club pick to discuss various forms ethics and its current forms of limitations in the world of academia. David Bell is an autobuy author for sure!

Wow just finished this suspense novel by David Bell! I’m shook! This book grabbed my attention slowly and held on long after I read the first page! A young student goes missing and her professor publishes his first novel making a huge name for himself. The police want to know why he wrote so many details that no one else knew about the murder of another young lady. How is this connected! Who is the killer?? I had to read and find out, and am not sorry I did so! Great read!!

#berkleybuddyreads #berkleypublishing #berittalksbooks #books #reviews #arc

Thanks to @netgalley and @berkleypub for this temporary, advance digital copy for me to read and enjoy!!

A smart, twisty whodunnit that delves into the darker side of academia and grief.

English professor and writer, Connor Nye, has spent years in a fog following the tragic accidental deaths of his wife and son in a kayaking accident. He must publish a book in order to obtain tenure and keep his job but he simply can not get on the right side of his overwhelming grief.

When a student he is advising, Madeline O'Brien, suddenly disappears and is presumed dead, Conner is left with her novel - an engrossing tale of friendship and murder. Conner makes the decision to edits and publish Madeline's book as his own work. Finally able to obtain tenure and a small bit of writer fame, Conner allows himself to relax and possibly begin to emerge from his life of grief. Until the book releases and Madeline returns!

The book tells a tale which too closely resembles a real life murder in their university town. Suddenly, Conner finds himself in the middle of his book plot, fighting for his reputation, his job and possibly his life because not only is Madeline back demanding the money made off the book which rightfully belongs to her, but the police are looking at Conner as a prime suspect for murder.

Told via multiple timelines and POVs. The truth is exposed through chapters from the past from Madeline’s POV and the present through the POV’s of Connor, Madeline and another writing student, Rebecca Knox who unknowingly finds herself drawn into this web of deceit, cover up and murder.

I enjoyed this book and felt for Conner. Underneath it all he was a good guy who just kept making bad decisions. Loved how grief was explored and how Bell uses that to fuel the plot. Kill All Your Darlings was smart and twisty and had a great message about the abuse of power in the collegiate setting.

The below 3.5-star review was posted to Hillbilly Highways, Amazon, and Goodreads on 7/7/21:

I didn’t originally plan to write a post on Kill All Your Darlings. It is positioned as a psychological thriller and set on a college campus. Hardly the stuff of grit lit or country noir. But it is set in Kentucky, and Bell leavens the thriller tropes with enough (well-crafted) literariness and inserts enough grit into character backgrounds to slink onto these pages.

Connor Nye is an English professor teaching creative writing at Western Kentucky University Commonwealth University in Bowling Green Gatewood, Kentucky. It has been years, but he is still reeling from the death of his wife and son. Their deaths left him barely able to function—he has been lucky to get papers back to his students, let alone do any writing of his own. Which is a problem when you are on the tenure track and haven’t published anything since a collection of short stories when you were in grad school. A problem he solved with a simple plan, an easy way out, a shortcut. As is usually the case, it doesn’t go well.

It seemed low-risk. A brilliant student disappears, leaving him in possession of a handwritten copy of the gripping thriller she wrote for her senior honors thesis. A publisher snatches it up (under Nye’s name, of course) and his tenure vote goes through, but everything starts to unravel after it is published. Madeline reappears, not dead after all and expecting the money from her book. And Nye catches the wrong sort of attention from the police after a detective reads a detail that far too closely matches non-public information from a local murder.

Kill All Your Darlings is, for the most part, a capable thriller. Ample careful detail lends the story plentiful verisimilitude. The end game is plainly transparent, and far too much of the plot relies on a main character with a PhD “in stupidity” (and, no, having another character point that out doesn’t make it okay). The hardcore thriller fan may walk away unsatisfied.

But I am interested in Kill All Your Darlings as more than just another potboiler. My interest was originally piqued by the setting and main character (Bell teaches English as Western Kentucky), and there is plenty of subtle commentary on academia, especially on faculty-student relations in the wake of the #MeToo movement. What kept me reading, though, was Nye’s grief, a middle-aged man still grappling with tragedy years later, and Madeline’s hardscrabble upbringing, something that drives her decisions throughout the story.

3.5 of 5 Stars.

Disclosure: I received an advance review copy via NetGalley.

Love, love, love David Bells books. Kill All Your Darlings is no exception. Connor Nye is a grieving widow, who just happens to have published his first novel. Except he didn’t write this book. A missing student did. But she won’t know, right? Until she shows up at his home, threatening to tell everyone. If that drama isn’t enough, there is also the problem of the novel implicating him in murder.

There have been several recent thrillers featuring the misappropriation of a literary work or idea as a plot line. Kill All Your Darlings is a fine entry in this line of books, with interesting characters and a fast paced story. Similar to a "cozy mystery", Kill All Your Darlings is a sort of "cozy thriller" in that it has no graphic violence or imagery, and none of the players is utterly evil. Even the killer is more pathetic than scary. Recommended for people who like their thrillers intricately plotted, but without the serial killer vibe.

This book is a twisty psychological thriller centered around a college professor, Connor Nye, who plagiarizes his student’s work.

The day his book is published, Connor finds himself in a mess. The student he plagiarized from shows up unannounced at his house after vanishing out of thin air for two years. The next day, Connor is the main suspect in a murder investigation that is eerily similar to what happens in the book. And then things take a turn for the worse for Connor when another murder occurs.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was very engaging and written in a way that made me want to keep turning the pages. Connor was a bit of an unreliable narrator, but it added mystery to the story. He did a terrible thing, but he also had some terrible friends. My favorite character was Rebecca, who was the strong woman in this story. She was the most likable and relatable. This book also had some interesting twists and turns. While I had guessed the true murdered, it was a bit more complicated than I had originally imagined.

Another phenomenal book by David. Honestly, he is definitely one of my top five favorite authors of all-time. He never ceases to fail! His stories always grip you right from page one. This book is no exception. If you are a fan of mysteries or suspense novels, don't even hesitate on this read - pick it up ASAP! I can't wait for his next thrilling tale!

4 Rock Or Hard Truth
* * * * Spoiler Free-A Quick Review
Oh, the troubles one man has. He has lost his wife and son under horrific circumstances. He is trying to recover and as the English professor of a college, he is looking to find his way.

He had a talented student who submitted to him a manuscript worth reading. He found it to be a solid piece of work, and then the student seemed to disappear, thought to be dead. He made the critical decision to take this manuscript, call it his own and publish it.

And then the unthinkable happens, the woman shows up on his doorstep threatening him to put up or she will out him. This is a problem but then when things couldn't get worse...the book is a blueprint to a recent murder and the police are looking at him.

Oh, the ramifications to actions we take.

Talk about a rock and hard place! Connor Nye is backed into a corner with two choices - one bad and the other worse. And here's where I'll tell you that I didn't much like our Professor Nye. He's been through a lot and maybe felt like he had no other option, but that doesn't make what he did okay. At the same time, his circumstances did make me feel a little sorry for him, so David Bell does an excellent job of making sure we understand that there is much more to Connor than his bad choices.
The story is very well written - it's a bit of a slow burn, but there's enough going on to keep the reader engaged, and the tone of the story kept me right there, waiting to find out the who and why of it all. I did guess part of it, but Bell threw a curveball in that I didn't expect.
As a Kentucky girl who lives just a hop, skip, and a jump away from David Bell's hometown, I appreciate the mentions of places and things that are recognizable to me, and I love how it all has an authentic feel, right down to the mention of a bluegrass festival. The story also includes a big nod to the #metoo movement and how women might be wary of speaking out and not being believed, so it's certainly relevant.
All in all, Kill All Your Darlings is a thriller that kept me reading long into the night with its ever-growing tension and suspense. With this story, the author gives us a character who isn't perfect by any means, who doesn't always do the right thing, but he's redeemable enough that you can't help but hope it all works out. This is one of those stories that sticks with you long after the last page has turned. It's a must-read for any thriller/suspense fan.

3.5 rounded up

I loved the premise of a floundering professor stealing his missing student's work and then having her turn up on his doorstep demanding money. Also loved the multiple POVs and timelines and appreciate the attention paid to college students being sexually harassed by gross old men. The twist was pretty obvious and the pacing was a little slow and felt a bit repetitive, but this was overall a really entertaining thriller. Perfect read for an afternoon by the pool or while hiding indoors with the AC blasting.

I devoured this book. David Bell has always kept me entertained with his amazing talent
of writing thrillers that do not let me stop reading but Kill All Your Darlings might be my favorite so far.
I loved the college setting. I could picture the students sitting in class while their professor lectured. The quaint coffee shop was the perfect place for many of the characters to meet at. The characters were all relatable and easy to care about. I cared that Connor had gone through a horrible personal experience and was just not coming out of it while having to deal with being accused of murder. With each chapter I became more invested in the outcome and hoped that the killer would be found.

David Bell kept me guessing. As the clues started to come together, I thought I had a good idea at who the guilty party is, but I was never 100% sure until the end. I enjoyed being kept on my toes and I knew that I would love however the end was written.

Kill all Your Darlings is one of the best mystery/thrillers I have read this year! It is engaging, twisty, emotional, tense, character driven, and surprising. I found that the pages turned fast, even during moments when the pacing was slowed down for effect. The characters are well thought out and we are allowed to get to know them throughout the book, which I much prefer to an info dump. The plot was carefully executed in the same way; every time you think you have the mystery figured out, something else gets thrown in and messes your ideas all up! And I loved every moment!
There was no need to rush through events or skim over anything, because the author added very little that wasn't relevant to moving the story forward. I was entertained from page one and am adding David Bell to my auto-buy list!
I highly recommend this book to all mystery/thriller/suspense readers! If I can offer one piece of advice before you start this book, it would be to not read the blurb on the back of the book, just start reading so you aren't given any spoilers!