The Mentor

by Angela Douglas

The book was fiction. The pain was real. The consequences are deadly.

Professor Karla Dobbs has everything: literary acclaim, a bestselling novel, and a film adaptation on the horizon. Until a former student accuses her of plagiarism.
Natalie Silva claims that the novel in question is based on a real tragedy and insists that the film be stopped, or there will be consequences. Certain that she has done nothing wrong, Karla dismisses her. At first.

But as the world slips into lockdown, the truth begins to unravel, and the people behind the real story emerge demanding answers. Threats and public scrutiny follow. And then come the submissions.

Through a desperate attempt to stay afloat, her online mentorship program, Karla receives work from an anonymous writer known only as The Protegé. Each excerpt is disturbingly personal. Intimate and predictive, with chilling precision.

Someone is watching her.

Someone is writing her.

And as people around her begin to die, Karla realizes the most dangerous story she’s never told… may be her own.

When you steal someone else’s trauma, it becomes yours.

A gripping psychological suspense novel about literary ambition, stolen trauma, obsession, and revenge that explores the stories we tell, the secrets we keep, and the price of turning someone else's tragedy into your own success.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller

268 pages, Paperback

Expected publication September 15, 2026

About the author

Angela Douglas is an award-winning Canadian author of psychological thrillers, based in the Okanagan. Her debut novel, EVERY FALL, has been recognized by the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, the Canadian Book Club Awards, the Pen Craft Awards, and the National Indie Excellence Awards. She is a member of International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers of Canada, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and Sisters in Crime. When she isn’t working or spending time with her family, she can be found in her studio writing. Her next novel, THE MENTOR, comes out in Fall 2026.

Sign up for her newsletter: angeladouglasbooks.com
Follow her @angeladouglasbooks (IG/FB/TT)

Reviews

[Celeste | bookrecs_by_celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

Thank you Thriller Book Lovers the Pulse and NetGalley for my arc of The Mentor by Angela Douglas. All opinions are my own.

I overall enjoyed this popcorn thriller! I thought it was a very interesting premise and the characters intrigued me. I saw the twist coming but was still throughly entertained. I can't wait to check out more from this author.

Professor Karla Dobbs has it all as a famous author until a former student of hers accuses her of plagiarism in her latest novel. Once called out Karla will have the fight of her life to defend her name, writing, and story. The trauma in this book was brutal and I thought the author did a great job conveying it. I felt the pain in the story Karla had written.

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

High-stakes suspense meets revenge thriller in Angela Douglas’s The Mentor, which follows an author whose bestselling novel is rooted in a devastating personal trauma. The problem? That trauma is not her own—and now that the book is blowing up, someone is out for blood. Led by a nuanced protagonist and set against the backdrop of the publishing world, this terror-filled tale is perfect for fans of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot and David Bell’s Kill All Your Darlings. The Mentor had me playing 'one more chapter’ half the night. A stunner.

[Jeanie ~ Fables.and.fur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Fall was a great thriller so I’m glad to see the author has a new book coming out. Karla is a middle aged English Professor that has a published book that was picked up to be a movie. When a former student accuses her of plagiarism, she stands to lose everything. Karla isn’t remotely likable, but she and her mother did make me laugh. To complicate Karla’s predicament, Covid has started and lockdowns are being forced. I loved the ending!

Thank you @eobpublishing and @angeladouglasbooks for an ARC of The Mentor.

[Christina Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to read an Advanced Readers Copy of The Mentor by Angela Douglas and I finished it last night!

The Mentor follows an author, Karla Dobbs, who is on a press tour for her new book when some accuses her of plagiarism! Karla is a professor as her full time job while also offering an online mentorship for her students. And the person accusing her of plagiarism? A former student! The former student, Natalie, wants the book pulled from shelves and the movie production of the book stopped completely! While threats of a lawsuit and other consequences hinder Karla’s judgment as she tries to keep people from finding out, a submission to her mentorship program that sounds an a lot like her current situation sets her paranoia even higher. Then start to add in COVID lockdowns happening everywhere, she starts really freaking out about everyone finding out and the consequences that will bring. But as more submissions come in from the anonymous “protege” Karla feels like she is not only being targeted for plagiarism, but she is being watched and followed. And when people around her start dying, Karla fears that when you take someone else’s trauma to profit on…the consequences are deadly!

This is an amazing and suspenseful thriller! I devoured this book in a day and a half! I would have finished it sooner if I could have! I didn’t want to stop reading. The suspense level in this book was so intoxicating, I felt the fear Karla had when things got bad and her confusion around certain things that was happening. This book does contain a page of trigger warnings at the beginning, which I do suggest people read before starting. I can’t wait for this book to come out on September 15th and for everyone to read it!

#advancedreaderscopy #bookreview #suspensethriller

[Ashley Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karla Dobbs has built a career as a celebrated professor and best-selling author, with a blockbuster film adaptation of her novel just around the corner. But when a former student accuses her of plagiarizing a story rooted in a real life tragedy, everything she's worked for begins to unravel. As the COVID lockdown isolates the world the controversy surrounding Karla only grows. Desperate to rebuild her reputation she launches an online mentor program, only to receive eerie submissions from an anonymous writer known as The Protegé. Each piece contains unsettling details about her life and only serves to ramp up her paranoia. With secrets resurfacing and people around her dying, Karla must uncover who her Protegé is before fiction becomes fatal.

A plagiarism scandal, an isolated lockdown setting and anonymous writing submissions... I was hooked! The tension builds slowly but never lets up, layering psychological suspense with questions about ethics, ambition and who really owns a story. I loved how the paranoia seeped into every chapter. This is definitely a book where you want to check out the trigger warnings. Some sensitive topics include traumatic event involving a child death, murder, thoughts of suicide, grief and trauma, dog injury (not death), substance abuse and body shaming. Karla isn't the easiest character to root for but that's part of what made this so compelling. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, unreliable characters and stories about the consequences of secrets definitely check this one out on pub day!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Angela Douglas, and Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse for an early copy!

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow....The Mentor was a wild ride!! The pacing was great and had me flipping pages long past the time I should have been asleep. As far as main characters go, Karla was unlikeable but was written in a way that made it clear that that was the intention. Her self-centeredness is pretty much what kicked off the whole sequence of events anyway. Had she not helped herself to someone else's manuscript, things would have been a lot different.

This book did make me realize that I may still be a little traumatized by all the chaos of the pandemic because while I knew going in that Covid was a big part of the story, it got a bit overwhelming at times. That's just a personal preference though. There are also a list of other trigger warnings at the beginning so make sure you check those before diving in.

Now, the ending. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it. And I went back and read the last few chapters again, just to let it simmer. I'm still not entirely sure what I think. It left me a little frustrated, if I'm being honest but it is an ending that could definitely spark a conversation or two.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Nikki B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mentor is a pretty fast paced, psychological, revenge thriller.
Karla is a professor and has just released her newest best -seller which is turning into a film adaptation until former student Natalie confronts her, claiming that Karla stole her manuscript. What's more is that Natalie claims that she as proof of this, because the story was based on a real life tragedy. Karla believes that she changed enough things in the story for this claim to be untrue. This is all happening during the beginning stages of Covid and the world is just entering lockdown. As people around Karla begin to die in suspicious ways, the delays that came with covid is prolonging autopsies and causes of deaths. Also, the real people behind the tragedy in her story are emerging and demanding answers.
This story was thrilling. I really enjoy when a story is somewhat centered around covid, a tie when we were all losing our minds. being trapped in our houses and facing isolation. The suspense in this story really had me going. I really enjoyed the twist and thought the story was very well written and engaging. It definitely kept my interest!

[Kerri Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mentor is a tense and addictive psychological thriller that had me hooked from the very first chapter. When bestselling author and professor Karla Dobbs is accused of plagiarism by a former student, her carefully built life begins to unravel. As anonymous submissions to her mentorship program start mirroring her own circumstances, paranoia takes hold, leaving both Karla and the reader questioning who can be trusted.

The story unfolds during the COVID lockdowns, which made it feel especially immersive. As a nurse who worked through that period, the setting brought back vivid memories and added an extra layer of realism and unease to the story. Angela Douglas captures the isolation and uncertainty of that time brilliantly, making the tension feel even more palpable.

Filled with twists, escalating suspense, and an atmosphere of constant dread, The Mentor kept me second-guessing until the end. If you enjoy psychological thrillers with complex characters, high stakes, and a plot that keeps you guessing, this is one you’ll want on your TBR. ★★★★★

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karla just wanted to write a book better than her last one, which bombed after publication. So when she borrows a theme from a storyline that one of her students wrote many years ago, she thinks she has put enough of her own twist on it, that it's not an outright copy. The problem is, the main storyline is so recognizable that the student who wrote the original is incensed. Rabidly, morally, and vengefully incensed.

While I don't like to think back to that time, the COVID timeframe works as we see how isolated Karla is as she receives eerie submissions that mirror her life. It helps with the uncertainty of the deaths around her - are they COVID-related, or are they murders?

What started as a slow read for me quickly escalated into a fast-paced book that left me hoping that my ideas and words are truly my own and not some residual replay of something I read long ago!

Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers - The Pulse for the opportunity to post the cover reveal and go on the book tour of this ARC.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karla is an unpleasant and indifferent person to be around, even for (especially?) for her assistant, Tag. She does, however, have occasional moments of heart. She is a university writing professor who is also a literary fiction writer with an upcoming book to film adaptation. But before it can proceed, a former student accuses Karla of stealing her work based on real-life tragedy and passing it off as her own. Natalia threatens trouble if Karla doesn't halt the filming process. But that's just the beginning. Death enters the scene and the reader is left wondering whether it is COVID (a prominent focus in the story) or something else. Covid in stories is something I try to stay away from but here it is relevant. The ending may not work for everyone but it worked for me.

What I liked most was the pervasive delicious sense of dread and originality. Watching Karla spiral downward was emotive and convincing. Bright and clever prose is gorgeously written with thoughtfulness and heart.

Do be sure to read the content warnings.

[Mel Stokes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into The Mentor expecting a tense psychological thriller, but unfortunately it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

The biggest thing that took me out of the story was how often COVID was brought up. I understand why it was included, but it felt like it came up so frequently that it became distracting. Instead of adding to the atmosphere, I found myself wishing the focus would return to the mystery.

There were definitely parts that kept me reading, and I wanted to know how everything would come together, but I never felt completely invested in the characters or emotionally connected to what was happening. The pacing also felt a little slow in places, with a lot of dialogue before the suspense really picked up.

I'm glad I gave it a chance, and I can see it working better for readers who don't mind stories set firmly during the pandemic. For me, though, it was an okay read with an interesting premise that just didn't live up to what I'd hoped.

[Stacy40pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mentor by Angela Douglas. Thanks to thrillerbookloverspulse for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Professor Karla Dobbs seems to have it all; a successful career, best selling novel, and a film adaptation on the way. Until a former student accuses her of plagiarism and stealing a real life tragedy for her gain. As Covid hits and the world goes on lockdown, the truth starts to unravel.

I loved this twisty book about an author and accusations of plagiarism. There’s a lot more to it. I couldn’t put it down. I loved that the main character was a middle age woman and didn’t seem to have much going for her except her writing. It was dual perspective, but only for a few chapters which added some fun. The ending was completely shocking and left me thinking about it for a while.

“The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.”

The Mentor comes out 9/15.

[Rachel Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you, thriller book lovers/ The Pulse for an ARC of this book!

I have read many thrillers in my day now and I will admit I am picky. The storyline was gripping. I had a love-hate relationship with Karla, the main character in the book. Tag was one of my favorite characters and relatable!

The author brought us back to COVID times, and perhaps mentioned it a few more times than needed.

All in all I want to say up until the end, it is a really great book. I feel like the ending could’ve gone in a different direction which would make this a four or five star book. To be honest, I had to reread the ending twice and I’m still slightly confused. The ending can make or break a book for me and unfortunately the ending missed the mark.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could say I loved this book. The plot was good. The confusion around COVID-19 was real. The silence and aloneness during the lockdown was real. And the writer's block was real.

The contradictions got me though. Talking about a character and 'she was plain.' and then 'she was plain but beautiful'.
Plain and beautiful are miles apart. Plain means not ugly, not beautiful.

Karla isn't a likeable person. She seems conceited "Professor - not a teacher'. Her only real feeling was for Beth. She resented her mother, and then missed her when she was gone.

The ending was good. Quite the twist that was.

Like I say, I didn't love this book.

3/5 stars.

[ThrillersDoodles · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a strong, action-packed emotional start and I’m drawn in quickly.

Unfortunately the story is drowning in Covid talk (imo), rather than it just being a backdrop. As such, I found it hard to focus on the story.

The FMC is deplorable and I found myself actively rooting against her.

There was a twisted plot and some interesting takeaways but overall it just didn’t quite land for me.

What to expect:
- [x] Multi pov
- [x] Multi timeline
- [x] Twists
Topic(s): Covid, plagiarism, author

Flow and Pacing:
- [x] Slow
- [x] Bored

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the advance reading copy.

[Angie Paxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed The Mentor so much! Unlikeable MCs are kind of my thing and Karla Dobbs is a character that I loved to hate. That said, I did feel a tremendous amount of empathy for Karla which made this a more compelling read with a depth of characterization not often seen in thrillers. This was something the author also did well in her previous novel Every Fall which I also enjoyed. The plot of The Mentor kept me on the edge of my seat. The fact that most of it plays out at the beginning of the Covid pandemic lends an isolated, claustrophobic air to the atmosphere of the book which I found to be particularly effective for heightening the tension, fear and uncertainty. Overall, a five star read!

[agata reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Karla Dobbs is a successful university professor whose bestselling novel is being adapted into a movie. But she’s also quite unlikable and unhappy. When a former student accuses her of plagiarism, Karla dismisses the charge, insisting she did nothing wrong. But is that true? And will there be consequences for her actions?

The Mentor is a great thriller that kept me up late at night to find out whether Karla succeeds in rebuilding her reputation or is punished by the mysterious person stalking her.

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

[Christine M in Texas (stamperlady50) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mentor
By: Angela Douglas
Pub day: sept 15, 2026
Publisher: EOB Publishing
Tour: Thriller book Lovers THE PULSE

These authors debut Every Fall is one I still recommend for fellow readers.
This novel touches on many things including COVID, ambition, death, obsession and revenge.
Full of tension that kept me turning the pages. The cover grabs your attention with the blood drips matches the plot perfectly.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very twisted story.
Most of the characters particularly Karla were not likable at all.
Intellectual property and plagiarism are prevalent themes in the story.
Reading about Covid times was not pleasant for me but it fit the context of the story well.
The ultimate question every reader has to ask is what would you have done?
Thanks NetGalley, Eob Publishing and Book Lover Thriller the Pulse for the advance copy.

[Michelle Godard-Richer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a fan of storylines featuring writers, and this one had a fun premise. Karla isn’t the most likeable character, but she’s intriguing. She wrote about someone else’s trauma, and someone clearly isn’t happy about it. The plotting is entertaining with her being targeted, secrets emerging, and creepy messages from a character known only as ‘The Protege.’ This is a great book for fans of morally grey psychological thrillers.

[Anita I · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good book with realistic events embedded into the story line of the book. The story follows a struggling author who has stolen a story from her student and everything goes upside down in her life as she's exposed and Covid 19 hits the world.

If you enjoy thrillers and suspense you will enjoy this especially all the twists. Read this book once it releases and you wont regret it at all.

[Mark Nadon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun thrilling read that I flew through. Fantastic writing and a unique premise that made me think about what stories are ours to share and the impact the truth can have on people.

The main character Karla is fairly unlikeable by design, but you can feel every moment of her falling deeper into the mess she created, and it's an enjoyable journey to take with her.

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was wiiiiiiiiiiiild with an ending I NEVER EVER saw coming. The twists and turns were incredibly fast paced and I had no clue what was going to happen from one chapter to the next. An interesting premise with an unreliable and unlikeable FMC but you also couldn't help feel bad for. This deserves all the stars and more. I cannot wait to read what Angela has in store for us next. Bravo, Angela!

[Calista Andrechek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Angela Douglas and EOB publishing for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good fast paced novel where you love the hate the main character. It does feature Covid, but it helped the story along and lead to good twists. I would recommend.

[Ashley (adoseofthrills) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It’s not me you need to worry about; it’s her.”

As a nurse, this one brought back some serious COVID PTSD. 😮‍💨 But wow 🤯…what a read! This one had me completely hooked. It really makes you wonder: how far would you go to be successful? And what happens when karma finally comes knocking? This was intense, thought provoking, and impossible to put down! Add this one to your TBR so you don’t miss out!