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A review by justinkhchen
The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
2.75
A bingeable mess, even though I was consistently engaged from start to finish, the lack of commitment to a specific theme/tone made The Mystery Writer sillier and more disjointed than what I was expecting coming from Sulari Gentill, whose past few novels often incorporated an intricate literary ‘gimmick’ (such as After She Wrote Him, with its 2 writer protagonists writing each other’s POVs). Same attempt was made here, but with less impactful outcome.
Other readers have highlighted their frustration towards the protagonist, and I can see where they’re coming from: her behavior throughout is widely inconsistent. Sometimes naive to a fault, at the same time we are meant to believe her as someone with a decent understanding of laws and attention to detail—she ends up being less of a fleshed-out character, but a puppet for plot convenience.
The fragmentation continues with its plot, which starts out like a lighthearted cozy mystery, only for its latter half turning into some kind of Mission Impossible extravaganza with huge action set pieces and grave consequences. The novel also features characters with very extreme worldview, but for reason unknown presenting it as funny ‘quirks’ (isn’t it hilarious Americans carry guns everywhere and have doomsday shelters?), yet at the same time drawing provocative parallel between conspiracy theory and the power of storytelling. I was left in the constant whiplash, not sure whether The Mystery Writer is going for surface level entertainment, or something more critical.
The audiobook is expertly done by the narrator, but with many POV switches happening mid-chapter, sometimes it can be easy to miss listening without seeing the proper formatting on page.
At no point did I find The Mystery Writer boring, thanks to its cast of colorful secondary characters (compensating for its weak protagonist), and the constant hijinks. But I was annoyed by the haziness of its intent; it’s almost like the author was trying for something like Yellowface, making a razor-sharp commentary about the publishing industry ‘weaponizing’ stories, but chickened out so decided to wrap it all in comedy instead. If you have not read from Sulari Gentill before, probably don’t start with this one.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
Other readers have highlighted their frustration towards the protagonist, and I can see where they’re coming from: her behavior throughout is widely inconsistent. Sometimes naive to a fault, at the same time we are meant to believe her as someone with a decent understanding of laws and attention to detail—she ends up being less of a fleshed-out character, but a puppet for plot convenience.
The fragmentation continues with its plot, which starts out like a lighthearted cozy mystery, only for its latter half turning into some kind of Mission Impossible extravaganza with huge action set pieces and grave consequences. The novel also features characters with very extreme worldview, but for reason unknown presenting it as funny ‘quirks’ (isn’t it hilarious Americans carry guns everywhere and have doomsday shelters?), yet at the same time drawing provocative parallel between conspiracy theory and the power of storytelling. I was left in the constant whiplash, not sure whether The Mystery Writer is going for surface level entertainment, or something more critical.
The audiobook is expertly done by the narrator, but with many POV switches happening mid-chapter, sometimes it can be easy to miss listening without seeing the proper formatting on page.
At no point did I find The Mystery Writer boring, thanks to its cast of colorful secondary characters (compensating for its weak protagonist), and the constant hijinks. But I was annoyed by the haziness of its intent; it’s almost like the author was trying for something like Yellowface, making a razor-sharp commentary about the publishing industry ‘weaponizing’ stories, but chickened out so decided to wrap it all in comedy instead. If you have not read from Sulari Gentill before, probably don’t start with this one.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**