Gentill is a prolific writer: 10 books already in the ‘Rowland Sinclair’ series, plus the ‘Hero Trilogy’. And this is her third stand-alone crime novel. More important than output, however, is Gentill’s exceptional talent, which is on display in The Mystery Writer concerning a writer’s murder … which also manages a sly dig at excessive editorial control.
Theo Benton has dropped out of her law degree at ANU and flown to her brother’s home in Lawrence, Kansas, to become a writer. The brother, Gus, is a lawyer and gladly takes her in.
Theo finds a café/bar called Benders, where she writes. She meets Dan Murdoch, a successful but media-shy novelist. They discuss writing and are attracted to each other. When Murdoch is murdered, Theo is the prime suspect. Gus’s lawyerly skills are needed, and he calls in his investigator, Mac Etheridge, to help. Theo and Gus come from a family of Tasmanian ‘ferals’, while Mac’s family are ‘redneck preppers’ – a full spectrum of conspiracy theorists.
Mac’s brother, Caleb, believes Murdoch was the head of a secretive group exposing the ‘elite’. He links Theo to the murder, and she’s hounded by Murdoch fans and the police. Theo, Gus and Mac are all in danger and suspected of crimes.
Before his death, Murdoch introduced Theo to his agent, Veronica Cole, from the Day Delos agency. Mystifyingly, Theo disappears after ‘confessing’, and yet a novel released years later from a Chilean writer has all the hallmarks of the novel outline Theo had shown Mac. He and Gus investigate the agency and find it isn’t all it seems, and an already speedy narrative hits the accelerator.
Spectacularly good writing.
Reviewed by Bob Moore
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I still live on a Trufferie in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains. I now have 12 published novels under my belt with the 13th due for release in February 2019. My work is published in print in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada, and worldwide as audiobooks. The little boys I mentioned in my 2010 bio are now strapping young men. It has been a wild and glorious eight years filled with the competing madness of both my real and imaginary worlds. I have met many extraordinary people, made some wonderful friends, earned a readership and, I hope, honed my craft. I remain hopelessly in love with the art of writing.
I’m Australian. I was born in Sri Lanka, learned to speak English in Zambia and grew up in Brisbane. I went to University to study Astrophysics, graduated in Law and after years of corporate contracts, realized I just wanted to tell stories. Perhaps a legal career is a natural precursor to writing fiction.
0 Comments