Sulari Gentill has dabbled in the literary thriller and fantasy genres with her various series. However, her past couple of stand-alone novels have earned well-deserved praise for the elevated mystery narratives she has created that are meant to keep even the most astute reader thinking right up until the dénouement.

Gentill’s latest effort, THE MYSTERY WRITER, is no exception. Theodosia Benton leaves her law school and home country of Australia behind and turns up on the doorstep of her older brother, Gus, an attorney in the United States. He happily takes her in and is supportive of her desire to try out fiction writing. His only request is that she does her writing outside of the house during working hours.

"Gentill has set up several possible scenarios in this captivating murder mystery, all of which makes for a well-paced and intriguing plot that does not disappoint."

This turns Theo on to Benders, which has a slight reputation for being a writer’s bar. Here, she meets up with bestselling author Dan Murdoch, who has a major impact on her life and sets the story fully in motion. At the same time, most chapters start out with a completely different narrative that initially is hard to make out. Gentill does this purposely as she slowly uncovers a storyline involving a series of online comments being traded back and forth that seem to be focused on Primus, who is some sort of an online god in the conspiracy theorist realm. Some of these bloggers fear that Primus may be in danger.

Theo begins to fall hard for Dan, who agrees to look at the transcript of her first novel and give his expert opinion. Gus is a protective older brother who gently warns Theo that American men are not to be as trusted as those they knew back in Australia. When Theo goes so far as to ask if Dan could show her work to his literary agent, Veronica, he gets surprisingly defensive and tells her that Day Delos and Associates would not be the right publisher for her style of writing.

When Dan doesn’t show up at Benders one day, Theo walks over to his house where she witnesses a strange man exiting the front door. To her horror, she sees Dan’s bloodied and lifeless body on the floor. It isn’t long before Theo and Gus are considered suspects. During this time, Veronica approaches Theo about her first draft, which Dan had indeed passed along. Theo is a bit surprised at how controlling and restrictive the writer’s contract would be with Day Delos and Associates, but she is just happy to be given consideration.

Gentill has set up several possible scenarios in this captivating murder mystery, all of which makes for a well-paced and intriguing plot that does not disappoint.