Cover Image: Crime Writer

Crime Writer

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Member Reviews

It was interesting and intriguing, it kept me on the edge of my seat at all times. There were scenes and twists that had me gasping in shock. It was written perfectly. The only problem I found with it is the writing style being a bit flavorless but it was subdued by the passionate storytelling.

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Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was so intriguing and also confusing but it was really good. I have a hard time to decipher them but the pace are fast and make me really invested in them

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This was a novel about a woman writing about a crime novel? So it was difficult to pick a category for this particular novel. Evie is a best selling author, this main character did have a background which was interesting at least.

It isn’t until a little while in she realises she has far from the ‘perfect life’ she thought she had.
She begins to solve her own mystery. It was an interesting read.

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“But they exist to me, and when people read my books they exist to them, too.”

10/10 and wonderfully unexpected read from debut novelist Dime Sheppard. I expected a typical mix between a crime-novel and romance, and what I got was a thousand times better. Our MC Evie is stuck in both the literal and metaphorical gauntlet of her most recent novel, finding it hard to overcome the writer's block she's experiencing. Finding comfort in the characters she has created, Evie works through the blank slate of her novel with her characters, communicating with them to mold the story to their characteristics and nature. They become more than just characters-they are her best friends, her confidantes.

One day, she discovers that she's not the only one who can see them.

Crime Writer was published late October 2021. Thank you to Ruby Books, NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This book was not well written. I tried the first two chapters and I couldn't subject myself to the torture that was reading this book.

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Ok I excepted a completely normal crime story from this book but it‘s so much more than that. This has some kind of fantasy, romance and crime aspect to it. Honestly at first I thought I wouldn‘t like it but after like the first 20 pages I knew this was going to be good and it didn‘t disappoint at all. I‘m so happy that I recieved this one as an ARC and am so excited for everyone else to read it too. It‘s just so good. It will be published in october and you need to get your hands on it.

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I used to read a lot of crime books, but had sort of fallen out of love with them in recent years, but this book has changed that!

The story was great, excellent pacing, loved all the characters & even a bit of romance, what’s not to love? And as an extra added bonus, the dialogue was very witty!

Thank you to victory Ruby Books & Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

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I unfortunately could not get into this story. It was more fantastical than my taste, and I found the characters crossing the fourth wall to be confusing. It was well written and I liked the dry humor, the plot itself was just not for me. Although I think that it is a very cool premise and can see why people would enjoy it!

I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to read this book-- thank you so much!

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What is this about?
Looking at crime writer Evie Howland, you would think she has a tendency for imagining her characters have come to life. Thing is? They really have come to life.

What else is this about?
This is love letter to books, to every character you’d wished come to life but never did. It’s just fun!

Blurb
Dime Sheppard delivers a smart and witty caper about a crime novelist who recruits her main characters to investigate her maybe-unfaithful fiancé.

Evie Howland has problems.
Guns. Bombs. Murderers.
And that’s just on the page…

In real life she’s meant to be planning a wedding to adorable billionaire Daniel Bradley, but Evie is seriously snarled in the sixteenth book of her successful crime series. In fact, her protagonists are becoming almost impossible to wrangle: NYPD detective Carolyn Harding is volatile after a messy divorce, and Detective Jay Ryan has that heated look in his blue eyes again. They’re both sick of being written. And frankly they’re getting a little…physical. Evie is beginning to wonder if she’s ever going to finish Book Sixteen and get them back into fiction where they belong.

But when a disturbingly familiar homicide surfaces in the city papers, it seems as if other, darker characters might have crossed the fiction-frontier too. In which case, Evie is in a lot of real-life trouble.

If she’s going to survive it, Evie must face her own worst fears, and learn that real love can be the best way of writing her own story.

But can she change the ending?

Full of high-octane adventure and dry humour, this novel is perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich’s action-packed Stephanie Plum novels, or Mary Stewart’s stylish romantic suspense.
You know how Stephen King said this:

“Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”

― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Crime Writer definitely does not listen.

Evie is a crime writer and an accomplished and popular one at that. But when the book opens, she’s stuck on book 16.

Evie should be, among other things, planning her wedding to the picture-perfect Daniel, while trying to finish her book. That’s a bit hard to do when the characters she thinks of as real, are suddenly very real, including her villain, because yes there’s a murder in real life that’s distressingly familiar to Evie.

Evie is someone who lives through her books — who loves her characters and as a reader, you won’t be able to help loving her. What I very much appreciated, is that Evie has a distinct character arc over the book, from someone who would find excuses for the bullshit from certain someones in her life, to someone who very much takes matters into her own hands.

The inbetween in that character arc involves her tagging along with Carolyn and Jay as they investigate familiar murder, and try to track down their villain. I loved that Evie and readers got to see how her decisions in the way she wrote them affected them emotionally, and that they are still in fact dealing with those consquences like a ‘real’ person would. I forgot that Carolyn and Jay were supposed to be from one of Evie’s books!

The other interesting aspect in this is the worldbuilding and the rules around what Evie can make real from her books. It’s a very cool premise, and I am hoping to see more in the next books.

Overall, this is a great start to a new series!

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This was an incredibly unique read. We start with a crime writer who is somewhere in her novel and stuck completely. We follow her as she tries to battle all her deadlines and expectations.

I laughed so much for this one. It felt like I was a little fly on the wall throughout this book and I read it all in one sitting. The banter was seriously my exact type of humor. It was dry when it needed to be with deadpans, but also hilarious comebacks and wit.

Evie was so good in this novel and I'm surprised I haven't seen more about this book online. I think Dime is an exceptionally funny writer and I can't wait to read more of her work.

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I may have pushed myself a bit too far out of my comfort zone by requesting Crime Writer by Dime Sheppard. From the get-go I had trouble understanding who was real and who was not. Once characters started to blend into the real world I got even more lost. The whole concept was complex and hard to follow to the point where I DNF at chapter 22. I was simply too confused and the writing did not engross me enough to stay. I did enjoy the parts I read about Daniel and his sketchy whereabouts.

This book is complex and was not right for me, but it may be for you!

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I mean this book had everything I wanted and everything I didn’t know I needed!!! The mystery, the wit and the romance, this book was fantastic! I absolutely loved it and it kept me on my toes with suspense! I want to reread this over and over again like it was the first time!!! Highly recommend for Mystery/Thriller lovers!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Ruby Books for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This book was personally not for me. I-personally- do not enjoy books where two storylines take place at once. If you do then this would be the book for you! It follows a mystery/thriller novelist who is in a reading slump. You get to see the story being written and the authors life through the book. I cannot go into further detail since I DNF and left off on Chapter 3, but if you're looking for a mystery book with a twinkle of romance I recommend you pick this book up!

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This is far from your typical crime novel, and not what I was expecting. Definitely a fun read, with nothing “traditional” about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for graciously allowing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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This book surprised me in so many ways. When I read the description I was curious because it included all the genres I like, which also made me wonder if all of that was going to work in a book, and I'm happy to say that it DID work and in the best way.

This book tells us how a crime writer finds herself in a block and doesn't know how to continue the story of the book she is writing. However, while she has to deal with this, she is also planning her wedding, oh and as if that wasn't enough, she realizes that the characters of her books exist in the real world?????

I know, it sounds crazy and believe me, it is, but once you start reading it you will feel trapped trying to discover the answers to the mysteries and just when you think you have the answer something will happen that will leave you with thousands more doubts, and because of this you won't be able to stop reading until you reach the end.

This book is unique, fun and with a main character that is very easy to identify with.

(Thank you NetGalley for a copy of the E-book in exchange for an honest review)

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This is a fun book but way too long. We understand early on that Evie Howland suffers from writers block and that she is plagued by Carolyn and Jay, detective characters who manifest them selves in her living room. But then other characters start appearing and the line between fact and fiction blurs (disappears entirely, really). The author pushes the concepts to the absolute limits and then goes on to another half book playing it all out. The book could easily have been a third shorter. I got tired of all of the twists and turns and did not finish, even though what I did read was fun.

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Creatively unique! Creatively witty! Creatively charming! Creatively memorable! Creatively unexpected!

The novel begins with writer Evie Howland frustrated by the clichés she’s written to begin Chapter 3 of the 16th book in her crime series. Is that what writer’s block does to an author? Thankfully Evie’s agent Jenna places a reminder telephone call as Evie has forgotten there is a party at the home of her future in-laws to attend with her billionaire fiancé Daniel Bradley.

A page-turning delight from the opening sentence to the end. Dime Sheppard’s author debut is bold and magically different. I simply loved it!

My sincere thanks to Dime Sheppard, and Ruby Books for my complimentary digital copy of this title, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

#CrimeWriter #NetGalley

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I honestly didn’t know what to expect when going into this book as the plot could have been bland or uninspired. However, I can say with utmost certainty, that I loved every second of this book! Evie was an incredible character and the characters she wrote are even better. I loved the whole idea of this book and it did not disappoint. Edge of your seat action along with plenty of comedy and a little romance. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

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This was a ??? Romcom thriller? Adventure book? It certainly was not a cozy mystery like I expected. It’s quick and easy and kind of a weird quirky thriller. Almost a cozy mystery, just not set in a cozy town and with hardly any of the Standard Tropes. It’s also kind of a little surreal, and there’s kind of a meta mystery going on top of the mystery. Not sure if I recommend this. Three stars? It’s possible that I’m not the intended audience.

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If you like crime, mystery, authors, character development and discovery, as well as writing, you will love this book. This book has a turn of events that transforms what you previously thought about characters and how they impact the real world. It was refreshing and exciting.

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