Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: March 19th, 2024
Pages: 400
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“There’s nothing easier to dismiss than a conspiracy theory―until it turns out to be true 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. Will her brother support her ambition or send her back to finish her degree? What will her parents say when they learn of her decision? Does she even have what it takes to be a successful writer? What Theo never expects is to be drawn into a hidden literary world in which identity is something that can be lost and remade for the sake of an audience. When her mentor, a highly successful author, is brutally murdered, Theo wants the killer to be found and justice to be served. Then the police begin looking at her brother, Gus, as their prime suspect, and Theo does the unthinkable in order to protect him. But the writer has left a trail, a thread out of the labyrinth in the form of a story. Gus finds that thread and follows it, and in his attempt to save his sister he inadvertently threatens the foundations of the labyrinth itself. To protect the carefully constructed narrative, Theo Benton, and everyone looking for her, will have to die. USA Today bestselling author Sulari Gentill takes readers on a rollercoaster ride in The Mystery Writer , a literary thriller that turns the world of books and authors upside down and where a writer’s voice is a thing to be controlled and weaponized, to the peril of everyone who loves a good story.”
My Review:
I have such mixed feelings about this one. While I did like the story in general (enough that I definitely wanted to finish it), I felt the pacing was a bit off sometimes. There were parts of the plot that I felt dragged for too long. And I’m not sure I ever felt deeply connected with the main character. Without giving away any spoilers, there is a development about 75% of the way through that kind of threw me and pulled me out of the story. I didn’t really find the direction that the story went to be all that believable or thrilling, which kind of left me feeling like the payoff wasn’t worth it in the end. I think my favorite parts of the story happened in the first half, with the themes of writing and publishing. Again, no spoilers, but some of the… tropes, I guess I’d call them… just came off a bit weird and strange to me. I’m a little confused to be honest, not about what happened, but about how I feel about it all. I waited to write this review to digest this story more, but I’m still unsure how I feel about it. It was a good three-star, quirky, murder-mystery. I’m also not sure who exactly I’d recommend this to, it is definitely a niche one. I also listened to the audio version for some of it, and I thought the narrator did a great job with the tone and voice of the book.
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Have you read this book? Planning to add it to your TBR?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
I love a good book discussion. 🙂
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