This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me, that ultimately didn't work.
I struggled from the start. In the first three pages, we move through three different characters and points of view. This rapid shifting made it difficult for me to find the character and story of the novel. Even when I finished, I did not understand why the prologue was included, and was uncertain which character it had even been following.
Once we got to the character that ended up being the main character, things got better for a while. I did enjoy some of the aspects of a new writer trying to sort out how to make writing books work. When the big mystery of the story was introduced, I was still invested.
After the halfway mark, things took a dramatic turn. The main character was no longer present in the story, instead we were following two of the characters close to her in the first half. From that point forward, the main character did not drive anything that happened in the novel, instead becoming a passive character that things happened to.
In the end, I was disappointed in the overall arc of the story and the character development.

A unique and innovative plot. I just had to keep turning those pages.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is an interesting mystery, but I’m not sure it was totally what I expected it to be. I started with the audiobook but switched to kindle so I could finish it faster. It started and moved slowly but there were parts that jumped. Theo goes to stay with her brother after she decides not to finish law school despite what their grandparents’ trust wanted for her. He supports her and she decides to start writing and to achieve her dream of being an author. As she writes she meets another writer and they become friends and eventually loves. But when he murdered it looks like her brother may be the primary suspect. Theo is desperate to find out who killed her friend, but there are more secrets than she could have ever guessed. There is a lot of conspiracy theory layers to this one and while that’s not always my favorite it worked for the story. I do like my thrillers to seem a bit more realistic and I guess there is not enough of a conspiracy theorist in me to find this mystery realistic.

This story has just enough thrills and twists to keep you turning the page. We have some great, well developed characters and a little bit of romance to boot! If you’re looking for a unique story, look no further.

Thank to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed The Woman in the Library and assumed I would love this one, too. I ended up with a DNF at around 15% --just couldn't connect with any of the characters. I did think the conspiracy theory aspect is really interesting, but it wasn't really enough to keep me reading.

When Theo decides to switch careers and become an author she is excited when she meets and befriends a well known author. But things take a dark twist causing Theo and her brother to uncover more than they ever imagined.

I really enjoyed "The Mystery Writer"! It felt like a modern day Agatha Christie with interesting characters and a well plotted storyline that kept you reading to the very end.!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in advance of publiation.

DNF at 10%

I've loved Sulari Gentill's last two releases and was so ready for another meta-murder mystery from her. The Mystery Writer definitely has the propulsive writing that Gentill is known for, but I couldn't find myself connecting with this particular story in the chunk that I read. Knowing that this also contains content that is personally triggering, I figured that DNFing this book would be the better choice for me in the long run.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

I enjoyed this but not as much as I was expecting. I do love a conspiracy theory though! I felt the pacing was a little slow to keep my attention going.

Theo shows up on her older brother Gus’ doorstep with her unfinished novel and her unfinished law degree (and she only wants to complete one). After having a brief affair with an older writer and mentor she meets at the bar she likes to write at, she finds him brutally murdered and becomes the police’s main suspect. Now Theo and Gus are sucked into a dark, murderous literary world where one’s identity can be as easily rewritten as their next novel.


I half listened and half read this one and was just as engaged with both (the narrator was really great). Some parts may have gone too far in the conspiracy angle but it was definitely a fun read. I found the plot predictable but I still enjoyed the ride and got through it pretty fast. Theo’s character was not a favorite, but the ancillary characters (like Gus) made it all worthwhile. This probably won’t be a book I remember in 2 years but it certainly entertained me for the 2 days I was reading it.

3.75 stars

The premise of the book intrigued me as I have always loved writing mysteries. The main character, Theo, was okay. When her boyfriend died right after she gave him her manuscript to read, she started coming up with a lot of conspiracy theories. It was a bit too much conspiracy theory for my taste but i can see why others would enjoy the book. Overall it was a decent read

DNF @ 50% - I really wanted to finish this one as the initial mystery pulled me in… but the writing style just wasn’t for me. the characters were written as adults but the way they acted was so childish and idiotic (and not in a scary horror movie idiotic way, either). I couldn’t get pass it as it was disrupting my reading and kept pulling me out of the story. I think this would be great with a few more cuts and edits. thank you to netgalley and poisoned pen press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I want to say that I think my rating would be higher if this was a genre I usually like. For that reason I will not be sharing my feedback elsewhere. When I initially read the description it sounded like something else. I was really confused the first couple chapters but after everything untangled I started to enjoy it. I needed more from Theo to care about why I should root for her to become a writer. I wanted more back story. I really liked how there were screen chats, that was fun. I felt that the end came too quickly with jumping all over the place to tie up loose ends.

Theodosia does not want the life laid out for her in Australia. When she shows up on her brother’s doorstep in the United States, he helps her pursue her dreams of being a writer. Theo becomes determined to finish her book, going to a local bar everyday to write. While there, she meets another writer and they develop a close relationship. When Theo walks into his home and finds him dead, she finds herself in the middle of his murder, all while still trying to publish a book.

I really enjoyed this read. While I was able to predict a lot of things that happened in the book, this didn’t take away from the overall reading experience, and I still found myself invested in what would happen next. There are quite a few characters and plot lines in the book, but Gentill does an amazing job of giving each character a distinct voice to keep this manageable. I also appreciated the social commentary included within the book alongside commentary on the world of publication. My only complaint about this book is the blurb. It gives away something that doesn’t happen until 60% of the way through the book (I was able to check because I was using an e-reader). Overall, this is a great read, but I highly recommend going in blind!

I started out being really into this—published authors writing books about publishing is something I am greatly amused by, and the conceit of this writing-and-publishing-centered mystery/thriller was wonderfully wacky while also being dramatic and suspenseful. I was already pretty sure of the destination, but I was thoroughly along for the ride anyway. But then about 2/3 of the way through the journey, the wheels fell off! A major change in place, time, and character perspective right in the middle of the action caused the story to lose all momentum, and changed the back third from the thrilling conclusion I was expecting into a confused mess, ending with a series of contradictory, backward-looking summations.

⚠️ Conspiracy theories

I remember watching Lost and one of the characters was a big conspiracy nut and thinking I'm glad they are rare. But now half of the United States are conspiracy nuts. I tried going into this book with an open mind. The mystery of this book is convoluted. I listened to the audiobook and sometimes I would have to pause it and pull out the book and read what I just listened too. The book itself is confusing and full of conspiracies. Theo the main character is a young woman who trusts way too easily. I shook my head at her, most of the book. The cover drew me in and the book
itself did not.

Overall, I liked this book. It’s the story of 2 siblings Theo and Gus who get tangled up in a series of murders. Theo drops out of law school to pursue writing and moves in with her older brother, Gus. When a fellow writer gets murdered, Theo and Gus are looked at as possible suspects. A friend of Gus’, Mac, is recruited to help solve the murder as more people are found dead. I enjoyed the characters and thought they were well developed. There was a little bit of a gap in the story for me when Theo disappeared and again toward the end of the story. When the rest of the book was filled with such great detail, it just threw me off a bit. This book wasn’t one of those twisty, gotcha stories, but it was suspenseful and kept me interested. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I've started reading more books in this genre and this one did not disappoint. It was the perfect blend of mystery and drama. Great characters and descriptions of everything throughout!

I'm tough to surprise when it comes to mysteries, but this book delighted me with its unexpected twists and turns. Highly recommend to anyone who feels like they can see endings coming a mile away when reading suspense fiction—I'm confident you won't see this story coming.

When an aspiring author's famous author boyfriend is murdered right as she gives him her manuscript the last thing she expects is to spiral down conspiracies, assassins, and finding out who exactly her boyfriend was and why someone murdered him. Theodosia Benton has just abandoned law school to pursue a career as an author. She's moved in with her brother and starts hanging out at a coffee shop... where she meets Dan, a famous author who she begins falling in love with. Yet when she gives him her manuscript and asks him to get in contact with his agents for her... and he rejects, the last thing she expects when she goes over to his place to apologize is to find him murdered. Theo wants to find out who did this and why, but Dan has left a trail of clues for her to follow and now with her brother Gus's help and a few new friends, Theo is definitely on a new path... but she'll have to find a way to find the killer without being killed herself. This one started off really interesting but ultimately lost me. I was interested in the mystery at first but found myself getting bored and struggling to want to finish the story. I adore fun mysteries but this one just didn't work for me unfortunately. I think if you enjoy mysteries with lots of twist maybe give this one a go. maybe you'll have a better time it than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book was a bit slow for me in the very beginning, but that changed about the 20% mark! I love how smart the mystery is and how some characters are not what they seem. Just when you think you have it worked out, you realize how much you underestimate Gentill’s ability to craft a plot twist!

Really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see what she turns out next!