I read another book by Sulari Gentill that didn’t work for me, but that doesn’t mean I write the author off…and I’m glad I gave her another chance with The Mystery Writer. I love a good conspiracy novel and the mystery grew the more I read. Books about books add another level of interest.

Theodosia Benton left her career path as an attorney behind and came to the United States, showing up on her brother’s doorstep. She wants to be a writer, but she never anticipated the path she would travel to become successful…and neither did I. I knew there was a conspiracy, but those behind it and the way it unraveled, took me by surprise.

The characters came from colorful backgrounds and I fell in love with Mac’s wacko family. Sure, they were off the charts, but when it comes to family, they have their backs.

“…genetic predispostion to lunacy…”

Theo’s instincts are correct when it comes to Veronica and Day Delos and Associates. To save her brother from being charged with murder, she takes drastic action. The pacing creates a tension that had me racing through the pages

I want to tell you so much, but I don’t want to spoil the twists and turns hinted at in the synopsis. I will tell you…if you love a conspiracy, a mystery that has you scratching your head, and some danger to keep the thrills coming, you might want to give The Mystery Writer by Suleri Gentill a read.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Mystery Writer: A Novel by Sulari Gentill. ( )

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! ( )

A good book that uses Lawrence KS as the focal point of all of the characters. The author has either done extensive research on the area or has lived her part of her life as the references are spot-on. The book is a little rough around the edges, especially as it appears not to have been very well proof-read. Lots of obvious errors that should have been caught if it had been read well. Goofs involving grammar and even phrases being repeated one after the other. A little off-putting.

Book Page: I tend to be skeptical of conspiracy theorists—wait, let me rephrase that: I think most conspiracy theorists are bat-guano-crazy, howl-at-the-moon wingnuts. So it was with some trepidation that I embarked on the reading of Sulari Gentill’s The Mystery Writer. One of the main characters is a dyed-in-the-wool conspiracy theorist caught up in an online matrix of resistance, revolution and heaven knows what else, who is led by a character named Primus, who for all we know may be a 42-year-old who still lives in his mom’s basement. Rent free. But let’s put that aside for a moment, and focus on the protagonist, Theodosia “Theo” Benton. Theo has made her way from Tasmania to her brother’s house in Kansas in hopes of becoming a writer. Against all odds, she befriends her literary idol in a local coffee shop, published author Dan Murdoch, whose presence in the corporeal world is, unbeknownst to him, racing toward a violent close. Oh, also, he may have been the aforementioned Primus. Or not. Conspiracy theories are notoriously flexible that way. But when Theo begins to look into the death of her friend/mentor, she will be forced to come to terms with the real-world consequences of internet rants. Gentill’s follow-up to The Woman in the Library is an original and entertaining read with likable characters (even some of the wingnuts), although it may put me off Kansas for a while.

KIRKUS:
The killing of a famous author turns a faithful protégé into a fanatic sleuth.

Australian college student Theodosia Benton has abruptly left her university in Sydney and moved to the United States with the intention of becoming a writer. When she shows up unannounced on the doorstep of her older brother, Gus, in Lawrence, Kansas, she interrupts a romantic moment he's having with a half-dressed woman named Pam, who beats a hasty retreat. Such rashness leads to the kind of sibling spats and banter that propel this story and make for a compellingly unpredictable protagonist. When she meets writer Dan Murdoch at a restaurant, Theo quickly manages to become his friend and avid writing student. Then Dan is murdered, and his agent, Veronica, hires Theo to find his killer, who also apparently snatched the manuscript of Dan’s latest novel. The tale presents two intertwined mysteries. First, who slew the renowned author? Second, who are all those people with quirky screen names who comment on the murder at the beginning of most chapters? This latter thread is introduced through Caleb, someone who vaguely touts the rise of something called The Shield and the revolutionary plans of its leader, Primus. Caleb’s quest to discover the identity of Primus proceeds in tandem with Theo’s. He comes to believe that Dan was Primus, but was he? Primus is just the tip of an identity iceberg that includes Space Monkey, Frodo 14, Patriot Warrior, and others. Fans will rejoice that the prolific Gentill, author of the Rowland Sinclair mysteries, maintains her record of packing stand-alone novels with devilish twists on genre conventions.

A fizzy whodunit with pace, panache, and surprises galore.

The Mystery Writer is another stand-alone mystery by Sulari Gentill whose freedom from the Rowland Sinclair series has led to wildly inventive, somewhat improbably story lie this one. It begins when Theidosia quits college and Australia, heading to the US and her lawyer brother. She wants to write a novel and her brother is supportive

She starts going to a coffeehouse/bar to write, sitting at a corner table typing away on her laptop. She meets Dan, another writer, one she admires, who goes to the same coffeehouse/bar. Soon they share a table daily and Theo feels like she if falling for him. But in an extraordinarily bad coincidence, once she sleeps with him, he is murdered. Of course she is the suspect.

Meanwhile, her book is coming along well. She may have a literary agent, the agent her murdered author lover said was unsuitable. Her brother’s private investigator friend is on the job, but because the police seem incapable of detecting the gaping opening of a paper bag, soon her brother, the detective, and she are variously and together suspected of the murder.

The Mystery Writer is one of Sulari Gentill’s best novels. She creates characters that are plausible and likeable. It was going great with moments of humor, but the last part leading to the resolution is improbable. The tone of the story is abruptly changed from a domestic cozy to a espionage thriller. It’s jarring and far too unlikely. I loved the three quarters of the book and my rating reflects that. The last quarter, well the least said, soonest forgotten.

I received an e-galley of The Mystery Writer from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Mystery Writer at Poisoned Pen Press | SourceBooks
Sulari Gentill author site

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2024/04/20/the-mystery-writer-by-sul... ( )

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill is a story that I found challenging to finish. I was not a fan of the weepy and whiny Theo. She frequently needs to be rescued (it gets tiresome) by her brother, Gus, and his friend (as well as associate), Mac. It is good that Theo and Gus are supportive siblings (they are there for each other and Theo really needs Gus). The first three quarters of the book is setting up the plot (which we basically know from the blurb) and the conspiracies (which were really not needed). The conspiracy theories were tedious, implausible, and repetitive. I did not enjoy the repetitive dialogue on Americans and their personalities. Their beliefs on gun violence began to grate on my nerves (they made it sound like every American carries a gun). I believe Mac’s family of preppers are supposed to be funny, but I found them scary. The political chat room discussions were tedious (and irritating). I did not enjoy the political undertones in the story (I can turn on the news for politics). The author exaggerated Christians and conservatives (while there are some overzealous individuals, the majority are not). Over exaggeration and implausibility applied to most components of the book. I found the story to be too long, and the first third moved at a snail’s pace (actually, that is an insult to snail’s). In the last third, the tale begins jumping forward in time (sometimes months, sometimes years). After the slow pace of the rest of the book, the ending is rushed with loose ends (I find unanswered questions frustrating). The Mystery Writer was an unenjoyable reading experience. ( )