Marianne’s Pick of the Week: The Ending Writes Itself

“He who holds the pen tells the truth.” Arthur Fletch

Epigraph: The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke

New writing duo, V.E. Schwab (Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil) and Cat Clarke team up as Evelyn Clarke to produce an original who-done-it in The Ending Writes Itself.

In this twisty tale six midlist authors of various genres are invited to a weekend on a private Scottish island.  The world’s bestselling mystery writer, Arthur Fletch, is well-known for his salons and for mentoring up and coming authors. When our six novelists (actually, seven people penning stories under six names) arrive they discover that Fletch is dead.

The group is informed by Fletch’s agent that they are now locked in competition to complete his unfinished manuscript. The winner will not receive credit for the finished book but will receive a publishing contract worth $1 million and a three book deal. However, the writers must complete the work in 72 hours.

In addition to signing a non-disclosure agreement, all the writers must surrender their electronic devices. This leads to a locked room, circle of suspects mystery. What starts out as “friendly” competition morphs into a cut-throat contest.

Readers get an insider’s view on the publishing industry including the frustrations our competitors have with the writing world. In addition to a twisty mystery this is a sharp satire of the book world’s hierarchy of genres. The YA writer thinks that she and the romance writer need to support each other against the other genres. The mystery writers question the sci-fi and horror authors’ abilities to write “real” stories.

The remote island and Fletch’s castle provide an eerie setting for the murderous happenings. The characters are alternately relatable and unlikeable but are fully fleshed out. The twists come often and are plentiful.

Readers of Anthony Horowitz, The Word is Murder or The Guest List by Lucy Foley will want to dig into this one.