Crime Writer by Dime Sheppard
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Thriller, Romcom
4.5 Stars
One Liner: Love it!
Evie Howland is working on the sixteenth book of her famous police procedural series. She is also trying to overcome writer’s block (shh! don’t even say that word aloud) and planning her wedding with a super-rich and handsome Daniel. She is used to seeing her characters in her house. But when the lead characters Carolyn and Jay become visible to just about everyone, Evie knows she is in trouble.
Things get worse when psychopath killers from her books are also out in the open and going on a killing spree. The only way Evie can control the situation is by facing her biggest fears and overcoming them. Unfortunately, escaping to the fictional world is no longer an option for her.
Can Evie do what it takes to save the day?
The story comes from Evie’s first-person POV and a chapter of her book in the third-person narration.
My Thoughts:
Well, this is a wonderful surprise. I kept pushing the book down my list because of the page count (440 pages!). This is one of those rare instances when I wondered why I didn’t pick it up sooner.
The book is a blend of genres and could pretty much be classified as contemporary/ urban magic realism (I created this subgenre), along with being a thriller and a rom-com. The idea is to go with the flow and enjoy where the author’s imagination takes you.
As a writer, this is even more delightful and a wee bit scary. Imagine writing monsters and Hulders killing people. I sure don’t want them to come alive (so glad that I set my stories in forests). At the same time, I also want to create my perfect guy and make him appear in reality. It’s too tempting!
Back to the book, the plot is whimsical, emotional (without being overwhelming), and action-intensive (especially in the second half). It is easy to visualize the scenes and would make a cool screen adaptation.
Evie’s character starts off as a nerdy writer (even a little annoying, at times), but we see her depth as the story progresses. Jay and Carolyn are my absolute favorites. I mean, how can you not fall in love with Jay Ryan?
Every book has a few clichés, and so does this one. Here, Evie straight out tells us that it is cliché, so it adds to the fun. Evie’s voice is fun to read. She can be dramatic, quirky, silly, stupid, and childish. It makes her a rather sweet and capable MC to carry the book on her fragile shoulders.
As a fan of HEA, I am delighted by the ending. It is just right without being too sweet or sugary. And it also has a piece of advice for writers who want to make their characters appear in real life and keep them there (if you haven’t figured it out already, I am taking this seriously).
My only grouse is that one important scene in the climax is (intentionally?) vague. It increases the anticipation to know what happens, but I had to read it twice to understand what was happening. Also, there are a few missed threads/ connections. I assumed the connections based on guesswork.
To summarize, Crime Writer is a wonderfully quirky book and is a tasty mixed vegetable curry (Indians, you know what I mean). The first 10% is slow. Hang in there, and it’ll pick up the pace.
Thank you, NetGalley and Ruby Books, for the eARC.
#NetGalley
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This was a buddy read (my first ever) with Rosh (Reviews), and we loved gushing about how hard it was to stop reading (and get back to reality). Of course, we also decided to manifest our own Jay Ryan(s), one each. Wish us luck, guys!
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