Publication Date: 19th March 2024
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
2 Stars
One Liner: Eek… what happened!
Theodosia Benton drops out of law studies in Australia and travels to Lawrence in the US to stay with her older brother Gus (a lawyer). She wants to become a writer and aspires to publish a book. Gus encourages her to go ahead, and soon, Theo is not only writing her debut novel but also getting deeper into the literary world.
However, when a famous author is killed, Theo and Gus end up in a bigger mess. As more deaths occur and the police have no clue, the brother-sister duo, with some help, have to get to the bottom of things. This is easier said than done since those behind the screens will do anything to keep the secrets safe.
The story comes in Theo and Caleb’s third-person POV with snippets of online chat conversations at the beginning of each chapter and a few chapters from other third-person POVs.
My Thoughts:
An advantage of reading the book late is that I have no fear of being an outliner. In fact, I could start the book with zero expectations and knew it would be slow-paced.
• 0 to 33% - decent (even if I couldn’t ignore some things)
• 34 to 70% - umm okay (but it is spiraling out of control)
• 71 to 100% - a dinosaur could appear, and I wouldn’t blink an eye
Theo starts okay but soon ends up melodramatic. Though I felt sad that she could be so easily groomed, I couldn’t empathize with her as the story progressed. She went from being vulnerable to an idiot in quick time. Some of her actions and decisions were incredibly stupid. Dropping out of law school was one good thing she did. Imagine having someone like that to represent you! *shudder*
Thankfully, Gus and Mac were much better. I liked them a lot more and enjoyed their scenes. Gus is adorable and the kind of big brother anyone would want to have. Wish we got his POV, too. And oh, he has a dog named Horse, who is a big softy.
Mac’s family is eccentric and what you’d call the doomsday preppers. Still, I quite liked the mother and some brothers despite the limited presence.
Now, the blurb makes it clear that conspiracy theories play a vital role in the plot. That’s true. We get this track in snippets, which add to the intrigue (to an extent). I admit I was curious to see how it would come together. Well, let’s say it wasn’t worth it. Also, makes me wonder if the last section was rewritten after feedback to make it OTT. If yes, it’s the worst move ever. Think of Ekta Kapoor’s daily soaps to guess the mess (IYKYK).
I knew the last section of the book was the weakest, but didn’t expect it to go kaput to this extent. And to think Gus at one point said Theo wasn’t an idiot to make stupid decisions. Dude, you have no idea how much you underestimate her stupidity. Moreover, the patterns in Theo’s life are worrying.
Despite everything, I can see the potential in the original premise. If only it was properly structured!
To summarize, The Mystery Writer has too much going on with a weak main character and fails to bring it all together cohesively. It may work for readers who like ‘shocking’ twists, but I’d still recommend you to go with low expectations.
Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press, for the eARC.
#NetGalley #TheMysteryWriter
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TW: Mentions of sexual assault
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