Book Review: The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke

Official Synopsis: 'Secrets don't stay secret for long in publishing.'

Six authors.

One private island.

Seventy-two hours to write the ending that will change their lives.

‘This is a house of novelists, not murderers. You dream up crimes. You don’t commit them.’

‘But a writer has. And so, who better than a writer to catch them?’

World famous author Arthur Fletch is dead. His final novel, the most anticipated book in history, remains unfinished. But the ending won’t write itself.

Fletch’s publisher, Merriweather Press, has invited six authors to Fletch’s private island in Scotland. Authors whose books have never had the big marketing budgets or publicity opportunities. In other words, midlist. And they’re about to be presented with the opportunity of a lifetime.

Whoever writes a worthy ending will receive one million dollars, and a further one million dollars for a new three-book contract.

They have just seventy-two hours, with no access to the outside world, just a typewriter and a blank page. All they have to do is write…

Starting is often the hardest part. But getting to the end could be murder.

Eveyln Clarke is the penname forwhich my favorite author, V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke made to write this book under and my goodness am I obsessed. Rooted with mystery and an almost satrical way to look at the publishing industry as a whole, this book was a wild ride from start to finish. I also happened to listen to the audiobook and that narrator was top-tier.

When six authors are invited to the private island of the famous Arthur Fletch, they all assume it is for some type of author retreat, not to be forced into competition against each other to finish the last book of his bestselling novel. Why do they have to finish it? Because Arthur Fletch is dead, and they are now the only people outside of his agent and editor who know. When they are are told the stakes, they will only have a typewriter, colored paper and so many hours, to finish the book before submitting it anonymously and hoping to finally be pulled out of the midlist. Though they won't be credited with finishing his book, they will be offered a big publishing contract that could change the course of their careers.

But not every author who is invited writes the same genre as Fletch, surrounded by a young adult, romance, horror and sci-fi authors, no one is sure who will win. We get to meet the cast of characters through their limited POVs, concentrating a lot on the couple Sienna and Malcolm, who publish their crime novels under a penname, even though Sienna does most of the writing. As the couple, and the other authors, move through the motions of writing, or avoiding writing depending on the character, they also explore the large house that Fletch lived in. Finding hidden corridors, connections between the rooms and even an office that they can't find access to. Issues start to arise when the rumors of who has submitted their work, who is still writing and the strain in relationship effect the story.

But then people start dying, causing a plot twist no one could imagine. Now the authors are hoping to win a competition and stay alive in the process. All their connections to the outside world are locked up in a time sensitive safe, they are writing in an old house, and the island itself is far from civilization. As people keep dying, in ways that both look accidental and intentional, the authors start to wonder if this is all worth it.

I have to say, the second half of this book shook me. I thought I had the killer figured out then realized I was wrong on more than one occasion. (Which honestly really reminded me of Schwab's other books). Throughout the story we also get to see how the publisher is involved in this whole scheme and how they react to the death of the author's they've picked. Overall, we get to see how the story plays on different mystery/thriller tropes in a way that feels fun and refreshing at times.

Obviously I don't want to spoil any part of this book, which means this review will be short so I don't, but I have to say though it is not in my normal genre (or V.E. Schwabs to be honest) this book was really great and I really enjoyed it. Hearing Schwab and Clarke discuss how this went from a random idea one day in a kitchen to a full fledged co-authorship was really great. They discussed how they worked together, how their styles of writing helped them both and overall how the story came together when I got to see them in Minnesota. (I am also reading The Count of Monte Cristo because V.E. Schwab said too so there is that too.)

Also, the dedication of this book is top notch and had me laughing multiple times, and if you choose to read this book, message me about that epilogue, I need to talk to someone about it!

I rated this book 4.5 / 5 stars!

The Ending Writes Itself is out now!

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