I chose this because I have some other books by this author on my TBR and I thought the concept of a mystery about a mystery writer sounded fun. I found this very light, easy reading, but I didn't really connect with any of the characters. I would still like to read more by this author though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

The Mystery writer has a great premise and really does live up to it!

Very well written and entertaining, you will not be able to put this book down

Theo has dropped out of college with the ambition to become a writer. She pitches up in Kansas at the home of her brother and writes a manuscript. She also becomes close to a fellow coffee shop writer called Dan. Dan is older and a best-selling author, he recommends Theo to a publisher but then is murdered. The local police force and Dan's fans all think Theo, her brother and his friend Mac are involved but maybe there is a conspiracy at work.
The plot for this book is crazy - conspiracy theories, doomsday preppers, disgraced authors etc - but the whole is a complete joy to read. I read it as an amusing novel, not a thriller, and I hope that is the way it is supposed to be!

Theo decides to change her life and ends up on her brother's doorstep. She wants to write her novel and meets a fellow author full of advice. But when he is found dead, everything changes. She's a suspect and so is her brother but who is the killer and just how twisted can this get.

This was quite a thrill read. The plot starts off slowly but then it really ramps up in the second part. The story is mostly told from Theo's persepective but we also see moments from Gus and Mac, adding more depth. The ending is really well done and i loved how it all came together. The truth of everything is so clever and twisted. I found myself hooked from almost the start and was desperate to see how it would end. Theo is interesting as the lead but I liked learning about Mac and especially Gus he was awesome. A brilliant thriller.

A book with so much potential, but it lost its way once the murder investigation begin as it zigzagged through too many ludicrous situations, it never really recovered for me. The story just became too fanciful for it to seem credible. Theo was a difficult character to warm to, and some of her actions were eye-rolling. Each chapter felt like a chore, and it was a relief to get to the end.

Clearly there is a market for this book, as a lot of other reviewers found something positive within its pages, it just made the wrong impression on me.

This one wasn't a favourite unfortunately. The synopsis and beginning held do much promise, but I feel as if it dragged a bit in too many places which left me bored. It took me so long to read due to some chapters having not much happen in them.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

2.5/5

Unfortunately this wasn’t for me. I found the pacing inconsistent and I wasn’t gripped to want to keep reading. It picked up around 1/3 in and kept me til just under halfway but then lost me again. I expected more suspense and there were too many time jumps leaving the ending feeling rushed.

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that they’re not out to get you. On that basis, its best to go your own way, but be prepared for anything. Theodosia (Theo) Benton has gone her own way by giving up her Law degree in Australia and moving to Lawrence, Kansas, to become a writer, but hasn’t anticipated any problem, since her much older brother, Gus, is a Lawyer there so she has somewhere to stay and no heavy commitments. She establishes herself in a corner seat in “Benders”, a local café/bar and starts writing her novel. She is not unique in this, because other writers also come to the bar, in particular an older guy who turns out to be the famous Dan Murdoch. Over the weeks, they become friends and Dan become her unofficial mentor, guiding her through the techniques of plotting, voice, description etc. And eventually becoming her lover, although clearly this is more of an infatuation on her (naïve) part. Gus is concerned about the age difference (Theo has some history in this area) so Theo goes to Dan’s home to invite him to dinner. Unfortunately, he cannot accept the offer, on account of just having been brutally murdered. When another murder happens in quick succession, Theo becomes the main (actually the only) suspect. With Gus as her lawyer, and with the assistance of his PI colleague, Mac, things should easily get resolved. Instead, however, things rapidly descend into chaos, not least because Dan has been nurturing a zombie apocalypse conspiracy online (probably as a publicity stunt), and there are paranoid people out there who believe it’s true. And then Theo disappears, leaving a message confessing to the murders. Obviously, this is nonsense, so Gus and Mac determine to find her and resolve the mystery.
This is a murder-mystery, or perhaps it’s a thriller, or a puzzle, or an examination of the actions of conspiracy theorists/apocalypse preppers. It certainly has elements of all of these. On the other hand, the underlying plot is ludicrous and the style is droll so perhaps it is a satire on the business of being a writer. Whatever it is, it is an enjoyable read. In fact I was thinking of giving a score of 6 stars, which I have rounded down to 5 because that’s the way the system works!
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

I think like a lot of reviewers, I really enjoyed the majority of this book and the premise, but some of the developments took me out of it a little.

I did enjoy the writing style and the characters and the build up but it changed tack quite a bit and had big time jumps that, again, took you out of the story.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the way the story was going in the first half of the book. It seemed like a standard murder mystery, then it got interesting as the characters evolved. Not so sure of the direction of the ending but in all, a good read.

This was my first book by this author- I was drawn to the cover and I love how her other books all follow the same cover theme!

I will pick up more by Sulari, I enjoyed her style of writing, and I did find this book difficult to put down. I was taken aback around halfway as I wasn’t expecting- but hey - mystery books are full of surprises- that’s the point! And it all tied us fabulously at the end.

Really liked this, I’ll happily pick up another book by this author.

My thanks to Netgalley and Ultimo Press (I hope they’re nicer than you know who…he he), for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this book but it kinda disappoints. I enjoyed the story but I don’t think that this book was for me. I read good reviews about ‘The Woman in the Library’ so maybe I’ll try to read that one first
Thank you Netgalley and Ultimo Press for this arc

Young aspiring author Theo has dropped out of law school in Australia and has turned up on her brother's doorstep in Kansas, hoping to keep her head down and write a novel. She chooses a local bar to write in and meets a fellow writer, Dan. Theo's friendship with Dan is going really well when she discovers him dead in his kitchen and becomes the chief suspect in his murder.

This is a fun romp and I really enjoyed the sweet fraternal relationship between Theo and her brother Gus. Only one star off for improbability. I'll look out for more books by this author.

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
Publication date: 18 April 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars
Thank you to Ultimo Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

When Theodosia Benton abandons her career path as an attorney and shows up on her brother's doorstep with two suitcases and an unfinished novel, she expects to face a few challenges. When her mentor, a highly successful author, is brutally murdered, Theo wants the killer to be found and justice to be served

I liked the first 75% of the book - the mystery was good, well set-up and I liked the inclusion of the conspiracy online forums. I was not particularly fond of our main character Theo, who ended up being frustrating to me, but I enjoyed some of the secondary characters, especially Mac and his bonkers, Doomsday preppers family, and Horse the dog.
However, the plot and the writing got so clunky in the last quarter of the book, which wasn't helped by huge time jumps in the story. It got ridiculously convoluted, and no amount of suspension of disbelief could save that denouement. I have the same criticism here as I did for Gentill's previous book, The Woman in the Library - a plot line in the book is gradually built up in such a way that you are really expecting an impactful reveal but then it just peters out to nothing and might as well have not been included in the first place. The premise was good, the delivery not so much, I'm afraid, but I'd still consider reading from this author in the future.

I had really high hopes for this book. It started off really good then a few things happened which were not very credible, then a few more and I started to not enjoy it. Maybe I'm just not the right reader for this style of book

I really enjoyed this, it had an entertaining plotline and i liked the characters. It was very readable, some of the twists were a bit unbelievable and i feel like it didnt fully tie everything together at the end but would still recommend

I went into this book thinking the story was completely different to what it was. I was pleasantly met by an interesting and mysterious tale.
I really liked all of the characters in the book and how the author was not afraid to go to darker places at times with backstory. I’m not always a huge fan of a conspiracy theory but it really worked in this storyline.
The bonds between the main characters were all nice to read, nothing you wouldn’t believe in terms of emotions and relationships.
I’ll probably find myself reading this author again down the line!

The Mystery Writer was a ride! I started off wondering how I'd manage to get through it as initial chapters didn't really grab me, but I'm glad I stuck with it as Sulari Gentill ramped up the action and pulled off a combination of whodunit, conspiracy thriller, and a very clever take on the publishing industry. I did feel at times that Gentill tried to cram too much in and that this resulted in some storylines feeling slightly rushed through, but it was an enjoyable read and I'll definitely be checking out her other novels.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review of the novel.

Theo has dropped out of Law School and moved to a small town in America where she knows her brother will support her dream to be a writer. Writing every day in a bar, she meets Dan Murdoch - already a best selling author. They bond over words and books, until Dan is murdered and Theo finds herself sinking further into a web she may never break free from. 

This was a really interesting twist on a classic murder mystery type story. That the main characters are writers gives a quite interesting dynamic from the start. This book certainly went in directions I was not expecting at all. 
When we meet Theo, she is an aspiring writer. She's really quite a relatable character, trying to follow her dreams and gradually growing in confidence. Dan Murdoch, an older, established writer, comes across as a genuine person, truly interested in helping Theo. 
Looking back on the story, there are so many little hints dropped throughout about what was going to happen. I guessed the main twist fairly early on, but that still played out in a way I didn't expect. There were many other twists I did not guess.  The story was woven together really well, so by the end you were kicking yourself for not putting it all together. Hints were dropped in such a way to make the reader feel vaguely uncomfortable and a little confused at the events, but not really know why. The tension was retained throughout. 
About two thirds of the way through, the perspective changes from Theo to Gus - her brother - and his friend, Mac. Both these guys were likeable enough characters, with their own quirks in the form of Gus's past and Mac's crazy family. I thought though that the story lost a little of its identity at this point. The voices of Mac and Gus were not as engaging as that of Theo. It also went a little action-hero in comparison to the previous tense murder mystery. I think this was so jarring for me in particular because I'd seen this one marketed as a 'cosy' mystery. I would have to disagree. It was tense and twisty and quite unique, but  I would not use cosy to describe this book. I would, however, recommend this to anyone looking for a murder mystery novel with a difference.