After reading The Woman in the Library, by Sulari Gentil, it did not surprise me at all that The Mystery Writer was a rollercoaster of a read from start to finish. Every single time I thought I had a handle on what I was reading, something else would happen that left my mind spinning in an entirely new direction. The unexpectedness of the story and the progression of the story led to a unique reading experience that had me eating up page after page.
It was interesting to watch the development of the story unfold, thanks to the switching of POV’s every once in a while. There was just enough change that it had me doubting everything I thought I knew. While I thoroughly enjoyed the different POV’s it was jarring from time to time to be yanked out of one perspective and into another. The jarring nature of those changes emphasized the tension as the mystery unfolded, but again, could be a bit jarring.
The main character, Theodosia, was a rare character who started the story as an unlikable, difficult to understand protagonist, to a young woman who’s trauma developed throughout the story leaving her sympathetic and much more understandable to readers. Her relationship with her brother and his protective nature gave me something to root for. Their relationship became fully formed as the story went on and each character’s backstory became more fleshed out little by little. It was a little frustrating to get tiny little hints at the trauma that had unfolded in their lives, but took so long to get the full stories.
There are so many layers to this book and an seemingly unending number of conspiracies. It was such an interesting take on the world of publishing and the hidden influences within the world that it was very hard to put down. It was a crazy hole that the only way to find out the truth was to immerse myself fully until the end.
⅘ stars for this incredibly wild ride.
Please be aware of the heavy topics that this book deals with. Please check trigger warnings if necessary.
Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.
The Novel Llama 