The Mystery Writer, a review by Joanna

Theo Benton has abandoned her law degree and fled Australia to visit her older brother Gus in America, in the hope that he will support her while she writes her first novel. She finds a local cafe in which to spend her days, where she meets Dan, a well-known older author who becomes her mentor. Things go well until she asks him to submit her manuscript to his publisher and he refuses, then is found dead – leaving Theo and Gus as the lead suspects, with paranoid conspiracy theorists closing in to avenge Dan’s death.

This had a good start – various POVs are introduced in the prologue, including that of one of the mad young people who believe that a secret organisation is resurrecting the dead, but then we settle into Theo’s story. Unfortunately she’s stupid, gullible, naive and easily led by whichever man happens to pay her attention – I found it hard to believe anyone let her into law school. I did like Gus and his loyal friend Mac, and there’s an amiable large dog called Horse who is mentioned a lot but doesn’t do anything. Mac’s gun-toting family are there as comic relief and to provide an Australian with the opportunity to ridicule certain aspects of American culture.

The plot takes a while to get going, as Theo and Dan talk a lot about books and fall in love – she’s so caught up in hero-worship that she fails to notice that he hasn’t told her anything about himself. Then the murder happens and you think things will get more interesting, but instead the main character disappears, and we awkwardly jump forward a few years to find Gus and Mac still picking up the pieces of their lives. The denouement and explanation of what’s been going on are preposterous, and I felt cheated by the inadequate ending. I’m sure some readers will enjoy this but I can’t recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and am posting this honest review voluntarily.