The first thing I want to say is I am shocked at how much the synopsis gave away. I think there is a lot of criticism by readers generally in the mystery/thriller genre that synopses give away too much. But I was shocked when the things listed in the synopsis didn't happen until **70%** That really makes no sense to me.

As far as the story. I really enjoyed the set up and beginning. I always love stories centered around writers and the publishing industry. I don't love stories that go towards espionage and conspiracy type angles. So that component lost me a little bit. The main character's decisions and naiveté definitely bothered me at points, but I did like some reveals and the relationships that developed.

Sulari Gentill really writes unique stories and while this one wasn't my favorite, it was still fun and unique and I look forward to seeing what she does next!

Theo is a want to be writer who just moved to the United States to be near her brother after a few incidents caused her to want to leave Australia. Now in a new town, in a new country, Theo is trying to flex her creative fingers and explore the world of writing. As she sits down at a local cafe to try and churn out a few pages at a time, she becomes friends with one of the other locals who helps her hone her craft until one day he doesn’t show up and she goes looking for him at his home, finding a horrific scene and becoming a suspect in the process.

I enjoy a good thriller which can keep me on the edge of my seat and one thing I can say about this book is it has a lot going on. Perhaps a little too much at times, but overall it’s a pretty good story. It does take a few chapters for the energy to build, so it is a sort of slow roll and then a very quick chaotic tumble the rest of the way. We have mob like publishing companies, conspiracy theories, preppers, framing people for murders, and a host of other things I am sure I missed.

Nevertheless, I was entertained by this book and want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an audiobook as well as digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I thought the narration was well done and helped with the atmosphere of the story. I love when the narrator has the accent of the intended character. I hope I can read her other work “The Woman in the Library” soon. It seems to be up my alley as well.

I enjoyed the mystery writer. A 22-year-old dropout, Theo, from Canberra, decides to travel to Kansas to stay with her brother. Although he is surprised, Gus is happy to see her. Theo's plan is to finish her novel. She meets one of her favorite authors, Dan Murdock, and he becomes Theo's mentor and eventually her lover. For once all is going well in Theo's life until she finds Dan murdered. This novel is a good one and kept me guessing throughout the pages. It was well-written and had a great storyline that kept me engaged. The narrator was fabulous.

When I saw a book from Sulari Gentill available I requested immediately.
The Woman in the Library was a great book. But it raised expectations for this one.
This isn't a dull book or anything like it, I just expected a bit more. However I do think that if conspiracy theories aren't for you, you definitely should pass this book.

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.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
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I really enjoyed The Woman In The Library, so when I saw this I immediately requested it. While this was a really cool concept, this one didn’t hit the same.
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The Mystery writer is told in a singular POV with snippets of an online conspiracy theory forum which made the story even more exciting. The story follows Theo as she leaves college, shows up at her brothers, decides to be a writer, meets and author and then he’s found dead. Attempting to solve the crime, many more murders ensue, and the reader is taken on a wild ride of “who’s next?” The story itself is pretty straightforward. I wouldn’t say that there were many twists and right from the start I knew where this was going. I enjoyed the ride, though it was definitely more of a slow burn.
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Most of the characters were great. Theo was a bit annoying in general, her naivety really caused a bunch of issues that could have been avoided. Gus was so easy to love and of course my favorite character of all – Mac, with his stealth and of course crazy family. I absolutely loved listening to their conspiracy theories and learning about their doomsday prepping.
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I listened to this one via audiobook and it was narrated by Katherine Littrell and I thin that she did a great job with this one.
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This is a very interesting story. It was a bit slow for me and a little too predictable. But, overall a solid read. I continue to look forward to more of Gentill’s work. Recommending to all of my mystery fans! The Mystery Writer is being released on 3/19, be sure to check it out. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Sulari Gentill and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Mystery and intrigue follow a burgeoning writer after the murder of the man she befriended and came to love over coffee and books. Two more deaths follow, and she finds herself, her brother, and his friend the main suspects. Does getting what you always wanted always come with such a high price?

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 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 were a bit outrageous and went a 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

⚠️ 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.
The narration was well done.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the eAudiobook ARC! The Mystery Writer is the latest crime novel from Sulari Gentill, author of The Woman in the Library. Theo Benton arrives at her brother Gus's door, fleeing school and looking to start over and follow her passion for writing. Theo finds a writing spot in town as well as a mentor and lover, Dan. But when Dan is murdered, and the evidence starts piling up against Gus, Theo decides to do whatever it takes to release the people she cares about, even if it means disappearing. With several twists and interesting connections (as well as conspiracy theorist groups and corrupt high money and power companies), The Mystery Writer is sure to have you on the edge of your seat. Katherine Littrell offers a masterful performance to the audiobook to round out a solid story.

Theodosia Benton drops out of law school to become a writer. She moves in with her brother. She starts going to a bar to write during the day and meets an author that she forms a relationship with. When the author is murdered chaos insues for Theodosia. This is an exciting thriller with twists and turns. The narrator does a great job bringing the book to life in the audiobook.

The book had big shoes to fill coming on the heels of The Woman in the Library, and I think it did a pretty good job. Theo Benton is an aspiring writer in her early 20s who leaves college and moves in with her brother to pursue her writing career. By chance she meets and becomes close with a very famous writer. Then she finds his corpse. Then she finds another corpse. Then she becomes seriously tied up in both the murder investigation AND in the murderplot badguysituation.

There were some really interesting characters in this book and the plot was intricate and detailed. I don't remember too many big surprises or twists, but the fast pace and intricacy kept me engaged and eager to know what would be next.

I listened to the audiobook of this novel and thought it was really well done. The reader was great with voices and the tone and inflection always felt appropriate.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook copy. I loved this book. The narrator was excellent. I especially loved that the setting so was close to home. I admittedly preordered this book.

Thank you to Netgalleym Sulari Gentill and Dreamscape Media for the eAudio of The Mystery Writer.
Narrated by Katherine Littrell

I did enjoyed listened to this book. Katherine Littrell had a lovely paced voice for this particular book and kept me engaged. I feel that if I has read this book, it may of been a DNF for me.

I found the plot quite slow and even though I liked the interactive parts of the conspiracy theory online group, I felt the book was bulked out with a little too much. The bones of the book, the dynamics between Theo, her bro Gus and Mac ( Gus' friend ) were pretty good and I enjoyed that. Even though I understood the ending, I felt it didn't really suit the narrative or the direction of the book. I shall be looking into reading more of Sulari's books though as I can see lot of things I like about their writing.

3 stars for me.

Book Review: The Mystery Writer
Stars: 4 X 5
Author: Sulari Gentill @sularigentill
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press @sourcebooks and DreamScape Media @dreamscape
A big thank you to @netgalley for both the book and audio version of the ARC

Young 22 year old Theodosia Benton arrives at her brother Gus’ door. She came from Canberra Australia to Lawrence Kansas. Gus is a partner at a law firm and Theo has come to the US after leaving Law School. She wants to be a writer.
Gus agrees to Theo living with him and attempting to write her book. Theo ends up heading to Benders a coffee shop/bar to write during the day. It is here that she ends up meeting fellow writing Dan Murdock. Dan has authored many books and is writing a new book himself. Dan and Theo befriend each with Dan acting as her mentor. They become close friends. Theo finishes her manuscript and she fantastic. Theo and Dan have become extremely close and she ask Gus if it is ok to invite Dan to the house to celebrate. Gus is good with this and when Theo is unable to get hold of Dan by phone she goes to his house to invite him. When Theo gets to Dan’s house the front door is ajar and she enters assuming Dan left it open by accident. Theo enters the house looking for Dan and ends up finding his body in the kitchen and he has been murdered. As the police investigate Dan’s death, Theo’s life is turned upside down as she becomes a suspect. This not only affects her life but also Gus’, his coworker and fellow lawyer Jackie and best friend/investigator Mac. Theo decides to try to find out why Dan was murdered. She also believes that this online conspiracy forum Dan was involved in may have been involved. As time goes on and the four of them now delve into the circumstances of Dan’s death it become perfectly clear that their lives are in jeopardy. They must do anything to survive and find Dan’s killer.

The beginning of the book was a bit slow which is to be expected as the author was setting the backstory of all these characters. But I will say once you get through it is an amazing read/listen. I ended up just reading the last third of the book and could no put it down . I will just tell you the ending is amazing. This a great book to read or Listen to. The Audio Narrators do a fantastic job with the audio version too.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I heard great things about Gentill's previous book, so I figured this one would be a slam dunk, but I find myself wondering what the hell I just read. The first 3/4 of the book progress slowly but capably, building a really nice relationship between sibling MCs Theo (Theodosia) and Gus Benton. Throw in Cormac, Gus's "researcher" (read: PI) from his law firm, with his doomsday prepper family, and you've got a cute trio. The book treated stressful criminal situations as ... stressful! Which was nice as they are often taken in stride by fictitious characters. However, as the criminal activity piles up, it seems that the plot gets out of hand for Gentill, and in the last 1/4 of the book, it gets more and more ridiculous, with major time jumps. It feels very rushed after so much slow burn.

The "conspiracy" is dumb, and the cherry on top is that <spoiler>Theo's favorite author of all time, whose book she carries like a security blanket, turns out to be the same writer dude that she falls in love with, and whose body she discovers after his evil talent agency has him killed</spoiler>.

The narrator was great. I just really couldn't get into the story. I had a hard time finding interest in the plot.

The narration was engaging but I just couldn’t keep going as I didn’t care about the plot and honestly was really bored by it and all the omg another person is dead plot.

I read The Woman in the Library and really enjoyed it. It was an entertaining read that kept me guessing the whole book - which is something I really appreciate in my mysteries. I was excited to see what the author would do next and was thrilled when I was approved for an ACL. Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for my copy in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start off by saying the narrator did a fantastic job on this book. She had differing voices for the characters and consistently was switching between an American and Australian accent. It was really well done.

Unfortunately, the actual story and I did not mesh. The main character, Theo, drove me absolutely batty. She was so naive and trusting while never truly doing anything to help her crazy situation. Let’s just say she couldn’t ever pass up making a horrible decision.

I wasn’t surprised by the mystery and felt irritated by all the drama that occurred. It just felt so over the top at times. When I finished the book I was relieved to step out of the conspiracy laden world it was set in. So while the narration was fabulous the story was not for me.

This book was a cozy mystery on steroids. This book was a full on surprise to me. I love cozy mysteries, but this was so much more. Just this side of a thriller, but still in the comfort zone of cozy. If you love cozy mysteries, but want one on steroids, this is it!