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After She Wrote Him
Sulari Gentill, author of the 1930s Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, jumps to the post-modern in Crossing the Lines.
A successful writer, Madeleine, creates a character, Edward, and begins to imagine his life. He, too, is an author. Edward is in love with a woman, Willow, who's married to a man Edward loathes, and who loathes him, but he and Willow stay close friends. She's an artist. As Madeleine develops the plot, Edward attends a gallery show where a scummy critic is flung down a flight of fire stairs...murdered. Madeleine, still stressed from her miscarriages and grieving her inability to have a child, grows more and more enamored of Edward, spending more and more time with him and the progress of the investigation and less with her physician husband, Hugh, who in turn may be developing secrets of his own.
As Madeline engages more with Edward, he begins to engage back. A crisis comes when Madeleine chooses the killer in Edward's story and Hugh begins to question her immersion in her novel. Yet Crossing the Lines is not about collecting clues and solving crimes. Rather it's about the process of creation, a gradual undermining of the authority of the author as the act of writing spirals away and merges with the story being told, a self-referring narrative crossing over boundaries leaving in question who to trust, and who and what is true.
A successful writer, Madeleine, creates a character, Edward, and begins to imagine his life. He, too, is an author. Edward is in love with a woman, Willow, who's married to a man Edward loathes, and who loathes him, but he and Willow stay close friends. She's an artist. As Madeleine develops the plot, Edward attends a gallery show where a scummy critic is flung down a flight of fire stairs...murdered. Madeleine, still stressed from her miscarriages and grieving her inability to have a child, grows more and more enamored of Edward, spending more and more time with him and the progress of the investigation and less with her physician husband, Hugh, who in turn may be developing secrets of his own.
As Madeline engages more with Edward, he begins to engage back. A crisis comes when Madeleine chooses the killer in Edward's story and Hugh begins to question her immersion in her novel. Yet Crossing the Lines is not about collecting clues and solving crimes. Rather it's about the process of creation, a gradual undermining of the authority of the author as the act of writing spirals away and merges with the story being told, a self-referring narrative crossing over boundaries leaving in question who to trust, and who and what is true.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2017
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10472 people want to read
About the author
Sulari Gentill
28 books1,745 followersOnce upon a time, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. That feeling did not go away until she began to write. And so Sulari became the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries: thus far, ten historical crime novels chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentleman artist, the Hero Trilogy, based on the myths and epics of the ancient world, and the Ned Kelly Award winning Crossing the Lines (published in the US as After She Wrote Hime). In 2014 she collaborated with National Gallery of Victoria to write a short story which was produced in audio to feature in the Fashion Detective Exhibition, and thereafter published by the NGV. IN 2019 Sulari was part of a 4-member delegation of Australian crime writers sponsored by the Australia Council to tour the US as ambassadors of Australian Crime Writing.
Sulari lives with her husband, Michael, and their boys, Edmund and Atticus, on a small farm in Batlow where she grows French Black Truffles and refers to her writing as “work” so that no one will suggest she get a real job.
THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY, Sulari’s latest novel will be released on 7 June 2022.
Sulari lives with her husband, Michael, and their boys, Edmund and Atticus, on a small farm in Batlow where she grows French Black Truffles and refers to her writing as “work” so that no one will suggest she get a real job.
THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY, Sulari’s latest novel will be released on 7 June 2022.
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April 11, 2020
EXCERPT: There was Black Forest cake in the refrigerator. Edward made coffee and served the cake onto plates with generous scoops of vanilla bean icecream.
Willow disappeared up the iron staircase to swap Edward's jacket for something more comfortable. She descended wearing one of his sweatshirts over her cocktail dress and took both plates to the couch, placing his on the glossy surface of the coffee table beside a small Matchbox Mercedes Benz.
'You're writing something new?' she accused, picking up the toy car.
He brought in two mugs of coffee, set them down, and took the car from her. 'Yes.'
She gazed up at him. 'So, tell me.'
Edward sat beside her on the couch and told her about Madeleine d'Leon, his crime writer.
Willow listened, eating cake as she concentrated on the picture he was building. 'And so the story is about...?'
'It's an exploration of an author's relationship with her protagonist, an examination of the tenuous line between belief and reality, imagination and self, and what happens when that line is crossed.'
Willow nodded gravely. 'I'm not sure what that means, but it does sound award winning.'
Edward laughed.
Willow's high-arched brow furrowed slightly. 'Isn't your heroine a little ordinary, Ned? Maybe you should jazz her up a bit, give her a dark past as, say, a stripper or a drug dealer.'
'She's a lawyer.'
'I suppose that's pretty close. But - I don't know - what about a bizarre hobby? She could be a taxidermist. Taxidermists are interesting.'
'She's a writer, Will.'
'But how are you going to make that sustain an entire book? Opening a laptop and typing isn't exactly an action scene.'
'The story is about what goes on in her head and how powerful that becomes.' He took a gulp of coffee as he tried to explain. 'She has to be outwardly normal. But, Will, her mind is extraordinary. It's exciting.'
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Madeleine d'Leon doesn't know where Edward came from. He is simply a character in her next book. But as she writes, he becomes all she can think about. His charm, his dark hair, his pen scratching out his latest literary novel . . .
Edward McGinnity can't get Madeleine out of his mind--softly smiling, infectiously enthusiastic, and perfectly damaged. She will be the ideal heroine for his next book.
But who is the author and who is the creation? And as the lines start to blur, who is affected when a killer finally takes flesh?
MY THOUGHTS: Awesome! Awesome! And absolutely brilliant!!!!!
After She Wrote Him will mess with your head. Who is real? Everyone? No one?
At one point during this read I wanted to jump up and dance about, whooping and hollering with excitement. It's THAT good.
After She Wrote Him (but did she write him? Or did he write her? Or were they writing each other?) starts out in a fairly ordinary manner, then gradually becomes more complex as the characters begin to interact. By the end of the book I had absolutely no idea who, if anyone, was the author, and who, if anyone, was the creation.
And that ending...totally unexpected and tragic. An ending that left me not only wanting to read more from this author, but craving a large portion of Black Forest Gateau with vanilla bean icecream. (There are a lot of descriptions of beautiful food in this book.)
🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂
#AfterSheWroteHim #NetGalley
'We writers, we're crafters of lies. We call them novels, or stories, or narratives but, in essence, they're a collection of lies, interesting, thrilling lies that make you laugh and cry but, in the end, still lies.'
'Real life is full of coincidences and scenarios too far-fetched for fiction. It's also full of liars. In fiction, the only liar is the author himself.'
THE AUTHOR: Not so long ago, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. That feeling did not go away until she began to write. And so Sulari became the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries: thus far, six historical crime novels chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentleman artist, and the Hero Trilogy, based on the myths and epics of the ancient world. In 2014 she collaborated with National Gallery of Victoria to write a short story which was produced in audio to feature in the Fashion Detective Exhibition, and thereafter published by the NGV.
Sulari lives with her husband, Michael, and their boys, Edmund and Atticus, on a small farm in Batlow where she grows French Black Truffles and refers to her writing as “work” so that no one will suggest she get a real job.
Sulari’s first novel was shortlisted for the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize – Best First Book. She won the 2012 Davitt Award for Crime Fiction, was shortlisted in 2013 Davitt Award, the NSW Genre Fiction Award, 2012 Boroondara Literary Award, and the 2013 Scarlett Stiletto Award. She was offered a Varuna Fellowship in 2010.
In the final stages of a new standalone manuscript, Sulari is also working on the seventh book of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, and playing with ideas for a new series or two… perhaps three.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of After She Wrote Him by Sulari Gentill for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage.
Willow disappeared up the iron staircase to swap Edward's jacket for something more comfortable. She descended wearing one of his sweatshirts over her cocktail dress and took both plates to the couch, placing his on the glossy surface of the coffee table beside a small Matchbox Mercedes Benz.
'You're writing something new?' she accused, picking up the toy car.
He brought in two mugs of coffee, set them down, and took the car from her. 'Yes.'
She gazed up at him. 'So, tell me.'
Edward sat beside her on the couch and told her about Madeleine d'Leon, his crime writer.
Willow listened, eating cake as she concentrated on the picture he was building. 'And so the story is about...?'
'It's an exploration of an author's relationship with her protagonist, an examination of the tenuous line between belief and reality, imagination and self, and what happens when that line is crossed.'
Willow nodded gravely. 'I'm not sure what that means, but it does sound award winning.'
Edward laughed.
Willow's high-arched brow furrowed slightly. 'Isn't your heroine a little ordinary, Ned? Maybe you should jazz her up a bit, give her a dark past as, say, a stripper or a drug dealer.'
'She's a lawyer.'
'I suppose that's pretty close. But - I don't know - what about a bizarre hobby? She could be a taxidermist. Taxidermists are interesting.'
'She's a writer, Will.'
'But how are you going to make that sustain an entire book? Opening a laptop and typing isn't exactly an action scene.'
'The story is about what goes on in her head and how powerful that becomes.' He took a gulp of coffee as he tried to explain. 'She has to be outwardly normal. But, Will, her mind is extraordinary. It's exciting.'
ABOUT THIS BOOK: Madeleine d'Leon doesn't know where Edward came from. He is simply a character in her next book. But as she writes, he becomes all she can think about. His charm, his dark hair, his pen scratching out his latest literary novel . . .
Edward McGinnity can't get Madeleine out of his mind--softly smiling, infectiously enthusiastic, and perfectly damaged. She will be the ideal heroine for his next book.
But who is the author and who is the creation? And as the lines start to blur, who is affected when a killer finally takes flesh?
MY THOUGHTS: Awesome! Awesome! And absolutely brilliant!!!!!
After She Wrote Him will mess with your head. Who is real? Everyone? No one?
At one point during this read I wanted to jump up and dance about, whooping and hollering with excitement. It's THAT good.
After She Wrote Him (but did she write him? Or did he write her? Or were they writing each other?) starts out in a fairly ordinary manner, then gradually becomes more complex as the characters begin to interact. By the end of the book I had absolutely no idea who, if anyone, was the author, and who, if anyone, was the creation.
And that ending...totally unexpected and tragic. An ending that left me not only wanting to read more from this author, but craving a large portion of Black Forest Gateau with vanilla bean icecream. (There are a lot of descriptions of beautiful food in this book.)
🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂
#AfterSheWroteHim #NetGalley
'We writers, we're crafters of lies. We call them novels, or stories, or narratives but, in essence, they're a collection of lies, interesting, thrilling lies that make you laugh and cry but, in the end, still lies.'
'Real life is full of coincidences and scenarios too far-fetched for fiction. It's also full of liars. In fiction, the only liar is the author himself.'
THE AUTHOR: Not so long ago, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. That feeling did not go away until she began to write. And so Sulari became the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries: thus far, six historical crime novels chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentleman artist, and the Hero Trilogy, based on the myths and epics of the ancient world. In 2014 she collaborated with National Gallery of Victoria to write a short story which was produced in audio to feature in the Fashion Detective Exhibition, and thereafter published by the NGV.
Sulari lives with her husband, Michael, and their boys, Edmund and Atticus, on a small farm in Batlow where she grows French Black Truffles and refers to her writing as “work” so that no one will suggest she get a real job.
Sulari’s first novel was shortlisted for the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize – Best First Book. She won the 2012 Davitt Award for Crime Fiction, was shortlisted in 2013 Davitt Award, the NSW Genre Fiction Award, 2012 Boroondara Literary Award, and the 2013 Scarlett Stiletto Award. She was offered a Varuna Fellowship in 2010.
In the final stages of a new standalone manuscript, Sulari is also working on the seventh book of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, and playing with ideas for a new series or two… perhaps three.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of After She Wrote Him by Sulari Gentill for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage.
December 23, 2019
I went into this book with no idea what it was about apart from the fact that it was not one of the Rowland Sinclair series. It turned out to be an absolute gem.
Two writers, each writing a book in which the other is the main character. Who really is the author and who is the imaginary character? Gentill manages to have them both on the page simultaneously to the point where they appear to communicate verbally and eventually physically. To say it is cleverly done is an understatement.
I love the unusual in literature and this is definitely an unusual book. I made my mind up who was the real person and felt that the ending confirmed my choice. I still had to go back and reread bits to see how it was all possible. Don't read this book if you are feeling sleepy or you are in a hurry. It needs your full concentration.
Two writers, each writing a book in which the other is the main character. Who really is the author and who is the imaginary character? Gentill manages to have them both on the page simultaneously to the point where they appear to communicate verbally and eventually physically. To say it is cleverly done is an understatement.
I love the unusual in literature and this is definitely an unusual book. I made my mind up who was the real person and felt that the ending confirmed my choice. I still had to go back and reread bits to see how it was all possible. Don't read this book if you are feeling sleepy or you are in a hurry. It needs your full concentration.
October 25, 2021
“What if you wrote of someone writing of you? In the end, which of you would be real?”
Two books, two premises, and two protagonists. Which one is fiction and which one is the author?
Who is writing about whom?
Confused? Well, grab your best pair of pajamas and settle in for a wild ride!
What an original premise! I recently saw this book on a list of must read thrillers and was shocked that I had never heard of this author or her book. It is also the winner of the Ned Kelly Award for best crime fiction!
While After She Wrote Him is technically labeled a crime mystery, there are so many layers to this story that it easily falls into the psychological thriller genre. While the writing is confusing at first, it is intentional. It is a book within a book within a book, which is also somewhat conscious of itself (a literary category known as metafiction). I know that sounds confusing, but I was immediately intrigued and couldn’t wait to see where the plot was headed. It also has a sense of humor about it which adds yet another layer to its complexity.
I was absolutely engrossed in Madeline and Edward’s storylines. Both are uniquely captivating and had me rooting for them equally.
Overall, I loved Gentill’s writing style. After She Wrote Him is a completely innovative and original mystery that I devoured in less than two days.
This was a 5 star read for me all the way until the last page, as I was left with a few unfortunate lingering questions.
4.5/5 stars rounded down
Two books, two premises, and two protagonists. Which one is fiction and which one is the author?
Who is writing about whom?
Confused? Well, grab your best pair of pajamas and settle in for a wild ride!
What an original premise! I recently saw this book on a list of must read thrillers and was shocked that I had never heard of this author or her book. It is also the winner of the Ned Kelly Award for best crime fiction!
While After She Wrote Him is technically labeled a crime mystery, there are so many layers to this story that it easily falls into the psychological thriller genre. While the writing is confusing at first, it is intentional. It is a book within a book within a book, which is also somewhat conscious of itself (a literary category known as metafiction). I know that sounds confusing, but I was immediately intrigued and couldn’t wait to see where the plot was headed. It also has a sense of humor about it which adds yet another layer to its complexity.
I was absolutely engrossed in Madeline and Edward’s storylines. Both are uniquely captivating and had me rooting for them equally.
Overall, I loved Gentill’s writing style. After She Wrote Him is a completely innovative and original mystery that I devoured in less than two days.
This was a 5 star read for me all the way until the last page, as I was left with a few unfortunate lingering questions.
4.5/5 stars rounded down
March 6, 2020
This was a brilliant read! A very unusual novel where the act of writing the novel becomes the story and was perfectly carried out.
Madeleine d’Leon is the fictional author who is writing a novel about an author, Patrick McGinnity who becomes a suspect in a murder. She soon finds herself engrossed in Patrick, preferring to spend time with him than her distant husband Hugh. Patrick in turn is writing about a character called Madeleine d’Leon and also falling in love with her. Sounds confusing? It’s really not, as it’s so well written, but the lines do become blurred as you try to work out who is writing whom and it is best to keep a clear head when reading this.
Written with humour and intelligence, the relationship between Madeleine and Patrick starts to morph into something real and tangible as Patrick tries to solve the murder for which he is a suspect. At the same time Ms Gentill is also cleverly giving us an interesting insight into the writing process and an author’s relationship with her characters and the impact those characters can have on the story itself (and there are several obvious parallels between Ms Gentill’s popular crime series and her background and those of Madeleine, her fictional crime author).
Originally published as Crossing the Lines in 2017, a revised edition is being released in March 2020 and is recommended as an original and entertaining read.
With thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for a digital ARC to read
Madeleine d’Leon is the fictional author who is writing a novel about an author, Patrick McGinnity who becomes a suspect in a murder. She soon finds herself engrossed in Patrick, preferring to spend time with him than her distant husband Hugh. Patrick in turn is writing about a character called Madeleine d’Leon and also falling in love with her. Sounds confusing? It’s really not, as it’s so well written, but the lines do become blurred as you try to work out who is writing whom and it is best to keep a clear head when reading this.
Written with humour and intelligence, the relationship between Madeleine and Patrick starts to morph into something real and tangible as Patrick tries to solve the murder for which he is a suspect. At the same time Ms Gentill is also cleverly giving us an interesting insight into the writing process and an author’s relationship with her characters and the impact those characters can have on the story itself (and there are several obvious parallels between Ms Gentill’s popular crime series and her background and those of Madeleine, her fictional crime author).
Originally published as Crossing the Lines in 2017, a revised edition is being released in March 2020 and is recommended as an original and entertaining read.
With thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for a digital ARC to read
November 25, 2019
Fascinating!
While writing this all I could think about was the Oscar Wilde quote: “life imitates art far more than art imitates life”...
In this case, the “art” is Madeleine d’Leon’s own crime novel. As her marriage deteriorates she pens her perfect man, in her protagonist, Edward McGinnity, called Ned by his friends.
Or is the “art” Ned’s book? His love for Willow is unrequited, so he settles for being her best friend. As she pulls further and further away from him, he begins to fall for the protagonist in the crime novel he is writing...Madeleine d’Leon.
Who is real?
Who is imagined?
An exploration of how a book, or a protagonist, takes on a life of its own as it is being created, and what happens when the lines of what is real and what is fiction, get crossed for the author...when they cannot bear to let go of their creation in the same way that we the reader, sometimes hate to say “goodbye” to characters that we have become attached to.
The “whodunnit” crime novels being penned by the characters felt timeless in style to me, yet trying to figure out which character existed and which was the creation, was a COMPLETELY UNIQUE concept, for today’s mystery reader, and I was captivated by it!
Sulari Gentill, an author living in South Wales, was the 2018 Winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction, with this book, first published August 1, 2017 under the original title, “Crossing the Lines”.
It will make its US debut, April 7, 2020 under this title.
Thank you to both Netgalley and Edelweiss, the author and the Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC I received in exchange for a candid review!
While writing this all I could think about was the Oscar Wilde quote: “life imitates art far more than art imitates life”...
In this case, the “art” is Madeleine d’Leon’s own crime novel. As her marriage deteriorates she pens her perfect man, in her protagonist, Edward McGinnity, called Ned by his friends.
Or is the “art” Ned’s book? His love for Willow is unrequited, so he settles for being her best friend. As she pulls further and further away from him, he begins to fall for the protagonist in the crime novel he is writing...Madeleine d’Leon.
Who is real?
Who is imagined?
An exploration of how a book, or a protagonist, takes on a life of its own as it is being created, and what happens when the lines of what is real and what is fiction, get crossed for the author...when they cannot bear to let go of their creation in the same way that we the reader, sometimes hate to say “goodbye” to characters that we have become attached to.
The “whodunnit” crime novels being penned by the characters felt timeless in style to me, yet trying to figure out which character existed and which was the creation, was a COMPLETELY UNIQUE concept, for today’s mystery reader, and I was captivated by it!
Sulari Gentill, an author living in South Wales, was the 2018 Winner of the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction, with this book, first published August 1, 2017 under the original title, “Crossing the Lines”.
It will make its US debut, April 7, 2020 under this title.
Thank you to both Netgalley and Edelweiss, the author and the Poisoned Pen Press for the digital ARC I received in exchange for a candid review!
October 23, 2025
5★
“What if you wrote of someone writing of you? In the end, which of you would be real?
In the beginning she was a thought so unformed that he was aware only of something which once was not… In time there were shapes in the clouds and there was her.”
What a deliciously intertwined pair of lives these characters have, crossing the lines between reality and imagination. This book has two titles, Crossing the Lines (which I’ve referred to) and After She Wrote Him. Or could it have been After He Wrote Her?
In the opening, Edward McGinnity is planning his novel. He writes literary fiction, but he wants a female protagonist who is a crime writer. She can write popular commercial crime, but he had begun writing poetry as an adolescent and aspired to greater things.
“Her work had achieved a modicum of success, though she was by no means a household name. He called her Madeleine d’Leon. Her husband would call her Maddie.”
Sounds like a plan. And then we meet Maddie.
“Madeleine d’Leon had an idea for a story, and the very first thought of him. The moment of genesis was strong, a cell of creativity that divided and multiplied until there was life. He had barely any substance at all… just a space in the narrative for a protagonist of some sort.
. . .
He was a writer. It was their connection. He would see the world as she did: in stories, or potential stories, in vignettes and themes.”
She is excited and tells her doctor husband about her plan.
“‘Edward writes literary novels, the kind of worthy incomprehensible stuff that wins awards.’ Madeleine paced with the phone, unable to physically contain her excitement. ‘That’s the irony, you see. The hero of my crime fiction wouldn’t lower himself to read, let alone write the stuff himself.’ ”
Edward loves his artist friend Willow, who married another artist who hates Edward (no wonder). When Edward and Willow attend her gallery showing, a much-loathed critic is found dead at the bottom of the fire stairs – murder, say the police! A proper whodunit.
Meanwhile, Maddie is suspicious of husband Hugh, “the” doctor in their small town, meaning he is always on call, always has late hours, and has a career that handles life and death decisions, not just simple whodunits. Obviously he is too important for her to question his motives or his absences.
Maddie’s 'KillWilly' crime series is so popular that her agent and publisher are begging for more, but she wants to write something important.
Hugh is a bit jealous of her addiction to her new novel (and her new hero), and even when he tries to be interested, he can’t help teasing.
“ ‘What’s so funny?’ Hugh asked, glancing at his wife as he opened his briefcase.
Madeleine looked up from the laptop.’“Willow… Edward McGinnity’s love interest. She’s hilarious.’
‘So what are they up to?’ He extracted the files he would review that night.
‘At the moment they’re driving her home after the murder’
‘In a police car?’
‘No… a Jag Mark II.’
‘Better write in a breakdown, then. It’ll be more realistic.’
Madeleine rolled her eyes”
Between different sections of the book there are heavy lines across the page, dividing Edward’s and Maddie’s stories. However, the stories begin to bump into each other.
There are a couple of medical symbols that come to mind when I think of how these characters seem to wrap around each other.
The Rod of Asclepius, or the physician's staff
and
The symbol for DNA
This is a complete, stand-alone novel, but the relationship between Edward and Willow and his fancy car may remind fans of Gentill’s Rowland and Edna in her Rowland Sinclair historical mystery series, which is a real favourite of mine.
But this is something else! Just as I’d get caught up in one plot (dead man at the art gallery), the focus would shift to Hugh coming home to interrupt Maddie’s writing, and in the background we could ‘overhear’ Edward deciding what he would have them do next. Meanwhile, Maddie’s anxious to get back to writing about Edward.
Confusing? Yes, but delightfully so, and Gentill is so clever that she pulls it all together – somehow. It’s not like anything else I can think of, although she wrote this before The Woman in the Library, which is also about a mystery within a mystery (within a mystery). But I dare say that’s more straightforward than this.
“What if you wrote of someone writing of you? In the end, which of you would be real?
In the beginning she was a thought so unformed that he was aware only of something which once was not… In time there were shapes in the clouds and there was her.”
What a deliciously intertwined pair of lives these characters have, crossing the lines between reality and imagination. This book has two titles, Crossing the Lines (which I’ve referred to) and After She Wrote Him. Or could it have been After He Wrote Her?
In the opening, Edward McGinnity is planning his novel. He writes literary fiction, but he wants a female protagonist who is a crime writer. She can write popular commercial crime, but he had begun writing poetry as an adolescent and aspired to greater things.
“Her work had achieved a modicum of success, though she was by no means a household name. He called her Madeleine d’Leon. Her husband would call her Maddie.”
Sounds like a plan. And then we meet Maddie.
“Madeleine d’Leon had an idea for a story, and the very first thought of him. The moment of genesis was strong, a cell of creativity that divided and multiplied until there was life. He had barely any substance at all… just a space in the narrative for a protagonist of some sort.
. . .
He was a writer. It was their connection. He would see the world as she did: in stories, or potential stories, in vignettes and themes.”
She is excited and tells her doctor husband about her plan.
“‘Edward writes literary novels, the kind of worthy incomprehensible stuff that wins awards.’ Madeleine paced with the phone, unable to physically contain her excitement. ‘That’s the irony, you see. The hero of my crime fiction wouldn’t lower himself to read, let alone write the stuff himself.’ ”
Edward loves his artist friend Willow, who married another artist who hates Edward (no wonder). When Edward and Willow attend her gallery showing, a much-loathed critic is found dead at the bottom of the fire stairs – murder, say the police! A proper whodunit.
Meanwhile, Maddie is suspicious of husband Hugh, “the” doctor in their small town, meaning he is always on call, always has late hours, and has a career that handles life and death decisions, not just simple whodunits. Obviously he is too important for her to question his motives or his absences.
Maddie’s 'KillWilly' crime series is so popular that her agent and publisher are begging for more, but she wants to write something important.
Hugh is a bit jealous of her addiction to her new novel (and her new hero), and even when he tries to be interested, he can’t help teasing.
“ ‘What’s so funny?’ Hugh asked, glancing at his wife as he opened his briefcase.
Madeleine looked up from the laptop.’“Willow… Edward McGinnity’s love interest. She’s hilarious.’
‘So what are they up to?’ He extracted the files he would review that night.
‘At the moment they’re driving her home after the murder’
‘In a police car?’
‘No… a Jag Mark II.’
‘Better write in a breakdown, then. It’ll be more realistic.’
Madeleine rolled her eyes”
Between different sections of the book there are heavy lines across the page, dividing Edward’s and Maddie’s stories. However, the stories begin to bump into each other.
There are a couple of medical symbols that come to mind when I think of how these characters seem to wrap around each other.
The Rod of Asclepius, or the physician's staff
and
The symbol for DNA
This is a complete, stand-alone novel, but the relationship between Edward and Willow and his fancy car may remind fans of Gentill’s Rowland and Edna in her Rowland Sinclair historical mystery series, which is a real favourite of mine.
But this is something else! Just as I’d get caught up in one plot (dead man at the art gallery), the focus would shift to Hugh coming home to interrupt Maddie’s writing, and in the background we could ‘overhear’ Edward deciding what he would have them do next. Meanwhile, Maddie’s anxious to get back to writing about Edward.
Confusing? Yes, but delightfully so, and Gentill is so clever that she pulls it all together – somehow. It’s not like anything else I can think of, although she wrote this before The Woman in the Library, which is also about a mystery within a mystery (within a mystery). But I dare say that’s more straightforward than this.
April 17, 2022
Madeleine d’Leon was a crime fiction author, writing a story with the main character of Edward McGinnity, who was also an author, and the book he was writing had a main character named Madeleine d’Leon. When Edward (Ned) and his good friend Willow, who was married to Edward’s rival, went to the launch of Willow’s art, an art critic – a person no one particularly liked – fell down the stairs at the gallery. With the police having Edward in their sights as the murderer, they wouldn’t leave him alone.
Meanwhile, Edward’s story centred on Madeleine’s obsession with writing the story about him, and her marriage to Hugh, the miscarriages Madeleine had suffered, and her distancing from Hugh, the trust she no longer felt for her husband. How was Edward going to end Madeleine’s story – and how was she going to end Edward’s story?
Crossing the Lines is a book that needs full concentration, with the fiction and real-life blending and bleeding into each other so it could be difficult to know which was which. Madeleine was as confused as her readers, and Edward’s life was folding in on itself. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two thirds of the book, fascinated at how clever the author was in creating a story within a story. But then things started getting more unbelievable. Aussie author Sulari Gentill has written a fascinating novel which is nothing like her Rowland Sinclair series, and my suggestion to anyone who’d like to read it – don’t start it tired, don’t try to skim, have your best concentration level at hand and you’ll enjoy it.
Meanwhile, Edward’s story centred on Madeleine’s obsession with writing the story about him, and her marriage to Hugh, the miscarriages Madeleine had suffered, and her distancing from Hugh, the trust she no longer felt for her husband. How was Edward going to end Madeleine’s story – and how was she going to end Edward’s story?
Crossing the Lines is a book that needs full concentration, with the fiction and real-life blending and bleeding into each other so it could be difficult to know which was which. Madeleine was as confused as her readers, and Edward’s life was folding in on itself. I thoroughly enjoyed the first two thirds of the book, fascinated at how clever the author was in creating a story within a story. But then things started getting more unbelievable. Aussie author Sulari Gentill has written a fascinating novel which is nothing like her Rowland Sinclair series, and my suggestion to anyone who’d like to read it – don’t start it tired, don’t try to skim, have your best concentration level at hand and you’ll enjoy it.
November 3, 2017
Confusing, confusing, confusing. I’m still not totally sure who was the real writer and who was the character? The ending was more metaphysical and philosophical that I would’ve liked. Or, if that was the intent of the story, it didn’t go far enough into that direction, in my opinion. The book played on a tightrope, unsure of which side to fall on, and ultimately my enjoyment suffered because of it.
I liked both the characters and how their lives and writing were affecting each other, but ultimately, in the end, I was hoping for at least one of their story lines to have an actual ending. As it were, it felt like all of the sudden everything was screwed, no one got a happy ending, and then the book ended. I don’t need a happy ending, mind you, but I just didn’t really feel like there was much for my mind to grasp onto once the book ended for me to feel like it really made a solid impact on me. I felt like I was pushed to feel a certain way for these people, to then feel like none of it mattered in the first place.
Maybe one day I’ll read it again, now that I know where it goes, just to see if maybe a re-read would allow more understanding and depth on my end.
Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I liked both the characters and how their lives and writing were affecting each other, but ultimately, in the end, I was hoping for at least one of their story lines to have an actual ending. As it were, it felt like all of the sudden everything was screwed, no one got a happy ending, and then the book ended. I don’t need a happy ending, mind you, but I just didn’t really feel like there was much for my mind to grasp onto once the book ended for me to feel like it really made a solid impact on me. I felt like I was pushed to feel a certain way for these people, to then feel like none of it mattered in the first place.
Maybe one day I’ll read it again, now that I know where it goes, just to see if maybe a re-read would allow more understanding and depth on my end.
Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 5, 2020
What if you wrote of someone writing of you? In the end, which of you would be real?
After She Wrote Him is rather interesting book.
I liked its execution and the originality of the concept more than I liked its content, but I also recognize the fact that it was very different and probably quite unique in its genre.
The story is engaging and it requires all the reader's attention. It also gives you the chance to take a peak inside the fascinating world of book writing and I really liked seeing both Madeline and Edward's stories unravel before my eyes thanks to the other's narration.
One thing that kind of boggled me was how over the top the dialogues felt. I don't know if it was the author's purpose to accentuate the fact that this is a book inside a book inside a book (Lisa Simpson's voice: he's like a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a vest), but I wasn't a fan of it because it made the already absurd situation a little bit too fake.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this book.
The ending didn't satisfy me and it was kind of predictable, but I highly appreciated the author's effort of trying to give the thriller scene something new to talk and read about.
Oh, I also really really really loved the previous title better, although I can tell Crossing The Lines sounds more like a romance book title and not one about murders and mysteries.
September 29, 2023
Crossing the Lines has also been published under the alternate title After She Wrote Him.
Lawyer-turned-Crime Writer Madeleine d'Leon is starting a new murder mystery, a breakaway from her best-selling series - the parallels with author Sulari Gentill are evident - featuring a protagonist named Edward (Ned) McGinnity. Meanwhile, literary fiction author Edward McGinnity has commenced a novel exploring the life of a Southern Highlands (NSW) woman named Madeleine d'Leon...
As the storylines came to an intertwined climax, I'll admit that I was left reeling a little - . However, after a couple of weeks of reflection prior to setting this review down on paper (screen), I've come to appreciate the complexity of the enterprise Sulari Gentill has entered into with Crossing the Lines. It's a genre-defying masterpiece that pulls the reader in to a far more visceral level of engagement than we generally experience in this genre. It's a worthy winner of the 2018 Ned Kelly Award for best fiction.
Crossing the Lines is a bit of a mind-bending read, but I'd thoroughly recommend it to any fellow-reader who enjoys literary crime fiction or is seeking something a little different to spice up their reading experience.
"It's an exploration of an author's relationship with her protagonist, an examination of the tenuous line between belief and reality, imagination and self, and what happens when that line is crossed." (p.33)So author Edward McGinnity explains the concept of his new novel to his friend, artist Willow Merriwether, but it could just as well be a description of Sulari Gentill's standalone mystery-thriller Crossing the Lines.
Lawyer-turned-Crime Writer Madeleine d'Leon is starting a new murder mystery, a breakaway from her best-selling series - the parallels with author Sulari Gentill are evident - featuring a protagonist named Edward (Ned) McGinnity. Meanwhile, literary fiction author Edward McGinnity has commenced a novel exploring the life of a Southern Highlands (NSW) woman named Madeleine d'Leon...
"Not only would he know her, she would come to know him. And therein would be the danger and the essence of the story." (p.10)It's a fascinating plot premise, and keeps the reader guessing as to who is the real writer and who is the imaginary character, as the chapters unfold alternately from the perspectives of Ned and Madeleine. At first it's light and entrancing, as we get to know the cast of characters in both literary worlds, however, soon darker themes begin to emerge. Ned is haunted by the legacy of an accident in his past, while there are signs that Madeleine's world is crumbling around her.
As the storylines came to an intertwined climax, I'll admit that I was left reeling a little - . However, after a couple of weeks of reflection prior to setting this review down on paper (screen), I've come to appreciate the complexity of the enterprise Sulari Gentill has entered into with Crossing the Lines. It's a genre-defying masterpiece that pulls the reader in to a far more visceral level of engagement than we generally experience in this genre. It's a worthy winner of the 2018 Ned Kelly Award for best fiction.
Crossing the Lines is a bit of a mind-bending read, but I'd thoroughly recommend it to any fellow-reader who enjoys literary crime fiction or is seeking something a little different to spice up their reading experience.
March 28, 2024
After She Wrote Him (also titled Crossing The Lines) is a stand-alone novel by award-winning Australian author, Sulari Gentill. Madeleine d’Leon is a crime writer whose very successful cosy Veronica Killwilly series might even go to TV. But she is suddenly inspired to write something quite different: Edward McGinnity is a character who has popped into her head and she just has to write him. She’s tickled because he’s an author, the serious type of writer who would never read her genre, giving it an especially delicious irony.
Edward McGinnity writes literary fiction and is quite surprised when his muse sends him a crime writer as his next protagonist. And yet, he’s so enthusiastic to write about Madeleine d’Leon (crime writers are an interesting breed), he is even thinking about her as he attends the gallery opening for his beautiful friend, Willow Meriwether. The presence of published critic (and his one-time editor) Geoffrey Vogel at the show is not appreciated, but Edward is thoroughly shocked when Vogel is murdered, right there, at the gallery.
And there we are: as suspicions fall, first on Willow, then on Edward, it seems he may have some crime solving to do; meanwhile, all is not idyllic in Madeleine’s marriage, making her life just the intriguing sort of study that populates Edward’s novels.
As the two narratives smoothly mesh or dovetail neatly with each other, there is almost a sensation of looking into mirrors facing each other or, perhaps a more accurate representation is the MC Escher sketch of hands drawing each other. There are delightful little scenes where Madeleine is explaining to her husband what is happening to Edward, while Edward is explaining to Willow what is happening to Madeleine.
But then the waters begin to muddy: they begin appearing in one another’s stories, talking to each other, drawn to spend more time with each other. “How seductive the existential strain between writer and character —almost erotic. Edward was charged with the liminal intimacy of it. Not only would he know her, she would come to know him. And therein would be the danger and the essence of story.”
Gentill’s protagonists talk about themselves, but also discuss writing in general and the genres they inhabit. Some conclude: “Who knows what’s really going on in our poor beleaguered, broken-down intoxicated brains? I’m not sure it’s a good idea to look too closely into the mechanics of what we do; it might break the spell.”
Gentill’s highly original concept is truly entertaining, but also gives the reader insight into the author’s process: the development of characters and plot, how comments and questions from friend, spouse, colleague, editor and agent can affect the story, and how the characters sometimes surprise and stun with their thoughts, feelings and actions. But the author has ultimate control (don’t they?) Very clever!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.
Edward McGinnity writes literary fiction and is quite surprised when his muse sends him a crime writer as his next protagonist. And yet, he’s so enthusiastic to write about Madeleine d’Leon (crime writers are an interesting breed), he is even thinking about her as he attends the gallery opening for his beautiful friend, Willow Meriwether. The presence of published critic (and his one-time editor) Geoffrey Vogel at the show is not appreciated, but Edward is thoroughly shocked when Vogel is murdered, right there, at the gallery.
And there we are: as suspicions fall, first on Willow, then on Edward, it seems he may have some crime solving to do; meanwhile, all is not idyllic in Madeleine’s marriage, making her life just the intriguing sort of study that populates Edward’s novels.
As the two narratives smoothly mesh or dovetail neatly with each other, there is almost a sensation of looking into mirrors facing each other or, perhaps a more accurate representation is the MC Escher sketch of hands drawing each other. There are delightful little scenes where Madeleine is explaining to her husband what is happening to Edward, while Edward is explaining to Willow what is happening to Madeleine.
But then the waters begin to muddy: they begin appearing in one another’s stories, talking to each other, drawn to spend more time with each other. “How seductive the existential strain between writer and character —almost erotic. Edward was charged with the liminal intimacy of it. Not only would he know her, she would come to know him. And therein would be the danger and the essence of story.”
Gentill’s protagonists talk about themselves, but also discuss writing in general and the genres they inhabit. Some conclude: “Who knows what’s really going on in our poor beleaguered, broken-down intoxicated brains? I’m not sure it’s a good idea to look too closely into the mechanics of what we do; it might break the spell.”
Gentill’s highly original concept is truly entertaining, but also gives the reader insight into the author’s process: the development of characters and plot, how comments and questions from friend, spouse, colleague, editor and agent can affect the story, and how the characters sometimes surprise and stun with their thoughts, feelings and actions. But the author has ultimate control (don’t they?) Very clever!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press.
May 16, 2020
“What if you wrote of someone writing of you? In the end, which of you would be real?”
Maddie d’Leon is a lawyer turned mystery writer who is moving away from her successful series to write a new crime novel featuring the writer Edward McGinnity. Or maybe, Edward McGinnity is a writer who has started a new book featuring Maddie d’Leon. Each author writes their character into a precarious situation. Edward is implicated in the murder of an art critic. Maddie becomes obsessed with her writing, and Edward, to the point that her marriage is threatened. But wait, one of those situations must be real and not written, mustn’t it?
I won’t pretend that this book wasn’t confusing at times. Ultimately, it’s up to the reader to figure out which of these people is real and which is imagined. And of course they are both imagined by Sulari Gentill. All very meta and very unique and creative. It was fun reading this book and I would read more by this author, although it looks like this isn’t her usual style.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
Maddie d’Leon is a lawyer turned mystery writer who is moving away from her successful series to write a new crime novel featuring the writer Edward McGinnity. Or maybe, Edward McGinnity is a writer who has started a new book featuring Maddie d’Leon. Each author writes their character into a precarious situation. Edward is implicated in the murder of an art critic. Maddie becomes obsessed with her writing, and Edward, to the point that her marriage is threatened. But wait, one of those situations must be real and not written, mustn’t it?
I won’t pretend that this book wasn’t confusing at times. Ultimately, it’s up to the reader to figure out which of these people is real and which is imagined. And of course they are both imagined by Sulari Gentill. All very meta and very unique and creative. It was fun reading this book and I would read more by this author, although it looks like this isn’t her usual style.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
March 19, 2020
I really wanted to love this book... but it is so confusing. My brain cannot cope with it at the moment. I am struggling to keep up with who is who and who is realand who is fiction.
Thank you for the chance to read it but not for me
Thank you for the chance to read it but not for me
August 27, 2022
3.5 stars - While I didn't end up loving the mystery component of the plot, huge bonus points for the creativity of the meta textual element! I do really like Gentill's writing and I guess this means I need to read the Rowland Sinclair mysteries
April 2, 2020
‘This is my life, not just a story, …’
Madeleine D’Leon is a successful writer: her crime fiction series featuring Veronica Killwilly series is very successful. But Madeleine is drawn to a different story. She creates a new character, Edward McGinnity, a writer of literary fiction, and as she begins to imagine his life, becomes drawn into it.
Metafiction, or mystery? Or both …
Edward is in danger, but so is Madeleine. As she becomes caught up in Edward’s world, she retreats into it, spending less time with her husband Hugh. In Madeleine’s story about Edward, he is accused of murder. In Madeleine’s ‘real world’ her husband is increasingly concerned about her wellbeing.
‘Yes, it’s just imagination if you can stop. Delusion has a life of its own.’
First published in Australia as ‘Crossing the Lines’ in 2017, this novel is imaginative and intriguing. It’s also very different from Ms Gentill’s Rowland Sinclair series. I kept reading, wanting to know whether (and how) Ms Gentill would bring her characters under control. Was Edward guilty of murder? Could Madeleine break free from her creation or, had Edward been made real, free to walk off the pages and exert his own influence quite independent from Madeleine? Some characters are like that.
I enjoyed this novel. Be warned: you’ll need to concentrate, in order to keep track.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Madeleine D’Leon is a successful writer: her crime fiction series featuring Veronica Killwilly series is very successful. But Madeleine is drawn to a different story. She creates a new character, Edward McGinnity, a writer of literary fiction, and as she begins to imagine his life, becomes drawn into it.
Metafiction, or mystery? Or both …
Edward is in danger, but so is Madeleine. As she becomes caught up in Edward’s world, she retreats into it, spending less time with her husband Hugh. In Madeleine’s story about Edward, he is accused of murder. In Madeleine’s ‘real world’ her husband is increasingly concerned about her wellbeing.
‘Yes, it’s just imagination if you can stop. Delusion has a life of its own.’
First published in Australia as ‘Crossing the Lines’ in 2017, this novel is imaginative and intriguing. It’s also very different from Ms Gentill’s Rowland Sinclair series. I kept reading, wanting to know whether (and how) Ms Gentill would bring her characters under control. Was Edward guilty of murder? Could Madeleine break free from her creation or, had Edward been made real, free to walk off the pages and exert his own influence quite independent from Madeleine? Some characters are like that.
I enjoyed this novel. Be warned: you’ll need to concentrate, in order to keep track.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
March 24, 2020
Madeleine d'Leon is a corporate lawyer and the successful author of the Veronica Killwilly Investigates historical crime series. When the idea for a totally new story, with a new protagonist in Ned McGinnity, presents itself to her, she has a new enthusiasm for her craft and allows the reader to peek through the window at her writing process as the story germinates. She's not a plotter, she readily acknowledges, preferring to let the story flow through her fingertips with only the lightest of conscious nudges from her to adhere to the rules of crimewriting. Starting from just a spark, the character of Ned develops very quickly in Maddie's mind, and he's someone that she is keen to spend a lot of time with. They actually have a lot in common as Ned's a writer too, although his work is decidedly more literary. And here's the kicker - he's currently writing a book about a crimewriter named Madeleine d'Leon whose husband is gaslighting her.
At first Maddie's husband Hugh is very tolerant of her new creation, but as time passes and she becomes increasingly caught up in Ned's world, their relationship suffers and this sends her seeking solace from Ned. Meanwhile, Ned has a lot of problems of his own, under suspicion for the murder of a second-rate art critic and about to be the subject of an apprehended violence order against the husband of his best friend Willow. His life is suddenly so busy he barely has time to write...
The premise for this story was irresistible to me, and to a large extent it delivered. Previously published under the title Crossing the Lines, it does just that - the line is blurred very quickly until it is difficult to decide which of the authors is real and which is the creation. Although the two stories are intractably co-mingled, I always understood which one I was reading, and enjoyed the intellectual challenge of keeping track. The only reason I didn't rate it a little higher is that I would have preferred it to remain in the intellectual realm. A couple of times the story took on a supposedly physical dimension, and that was a stretch too far for me.
Nevertheless it was a really entertaining story, quick to read, and made me admire Sulari Gentill more than I already did as a new-ish reader of her Rowland Sinclair series.
With thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital copy to read and review.
At first Maddie's husband Hugh is very tolerant of her new creation, but as time passes and she becomes increasingly caught up in Ned's world, their relationship suffers and this sends her seeking solace from Ned. Meanwhile, Ned has a lot of problems of his own, under suspicion for the murder of a second-rate art critic and about to be the subject of an apprehended violence order against the husband of his best friend Willow. His life is suddenly so busy he barely has time to write...
The premise for this story was irresistible to me, and to a large extent it delivered. Previously published under the title Crossing the Lines, it does just that - the line is blurred very quickly until it is difficult to decide which of the authors is real and which is the creation. Although the two stories are intractably co-mingled, I always understood which one I was reading, and enjoyed the intellectual challenge of keeping track. The only reason I didn't rate it a little higher is that I would have preferred it to remain in the intellectual realm. A couple of times the story took on a supposedly physical dimension, and that was a stretch too far for me.
Nevertheless it was a really entertaining story, quick to read, and made me admire Sulari Gentill more than I already did as a new-ish reader of her Rowland Sinclair series.
With thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital copy to read and review.
July 28, 2024
2 Stars
Thank you to Poisened Pen Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this Thriller early.
I wasn’t quite sure how Gentill would pull this thriller off: writing about an author named Madeleine who writes a crime story about Edward, an author himself and whose next book is about an author, Madeleine. It was crazy but Gentill did great. From the very beginning, it was a smooth transition between Madeleine’s and Edward’s part of the story. It was so good, I didn’t even notice it anymore. I’m not sure if it was Gentill’s intend, but the lines between the stories started to really blur after a while. They seemed to become one and it was difficult to decipher if I was now reading Edward’s part of the story or Madeleine’s.
The revolving stories about Madeleine and Edward were interesting but not as exciting as the concept of After She Wrote Him. I was frustrated after the halfway point about the whole story. It felt like the stories weren’t progressing anymore or rather they didn’t progress towards anything. There were also zero plot twists or other twists and turns – to me at least. I may have missed them, though, because the more I read, there more bored I became and let my mind wander and think about other things. The ending left me with so many questions. The story seemed unfinished and I still don’t know what the point of the story was.
The concept was amazing and so refreshing. The outcome, however, was rather unsatisfying. I had hoped for something different.
**********
Disappointing...
Thank you to Poisened Pen Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this Thriller early.
I wasn’t quite sure how Gentill would pull this thriller off: writing about an author named Madeleine who writes a crime story about Edward, an author himself and whose next book is about an author, Madeleine. It was crazy but Gentill did great. From the very beginning, it was a smooth transition between Madeleine’s and Edward’s part of the story. It was so good, I didn’t even notice it anymore. I’m not sure if it was Gentill’s intend, but the lines between the stories started to really blur after a while. They seemed to become one and it was difficult to decipher if I was now reading Edward’s part of the story or Madeleine’s.
The revolving stories about Madeleine and Edward were interesting but not as exciting as the concept of After She Wrote Him. I was frustrated after the halfway point about the whole story. It felt like the stories weren’t progressing anymore or rather they didn’t progress towards anything. There were also zero plot twists or other twists and turns – to me at least. I may have missed them, though, because the more I read, there more bored I became and let my mind wander and think about other things. The ending left me with so many questions. The story seemed unfinished and I still don’t know what the point of the story was.
The concept was amazing and so refreshing. The outcome, however, was rather unsatisfying. I had hoped for something different.
**********
Disappointing...
October 25, 2020
Wow! I've been reading so many unique, creative, thought provoking books; this is absolutely one of them! I think it's best to go into this blind.
While we're all familiar with the feeling after reading a great book, that even after turning the last page...we continue to think about the characters and the story even after reading another book. I don't read that many series books, so when it happens with a standalone, it's even more impressive.
After She Wrote Him, really has you deeply contemplating the actual process of how an author writing a fiction book creates a new and different world, with characters that live and breathe...oh the joys of reading. And knowing how we as the reader get so attached to characters and the lives they inhabit; really makes you wonder about the author's relationship with the very characters that are their creation and imagination.
If you get lost in a book, be sure you can find your way back...
Quote from one of the characters...
"It’s an exploration of an author’s relationship with her protagonist, an examination of the tenuous line between belief and reality, imagination and self, and what happens when that line is crossed. "
So impressed with Sulari Gentill's seamless intertwining of stories, such an introspective read, couldn't put it down. This is my first book I've read of hers and really looking forward to reading more!
Possible Spoiler
Hmmm, the ending...that's all I'll say. Don't even want to say if I liked it or not.
While we're all familiar with the feeling after reading a great book, that even after turning the last page...we continue to think about the characters and the story even after reading another book. I don't read that many series books, so when it happens with a standalone, it's even more impressive.
After She Wrote Him, really has you deeply contemplating the actual process of how an author writing a fiction book creates a new and different world, with characters that live and breathe...oh the joys of reading. And knowing how we as the reader get so attached to characters and the lives they inhabit; really makes you wonder about the author's relationship with the very characters that are their creation and imagination.
If you get lost in a book, be sure you can find your way back...
Quote from one of the characters...
"It’s an exploration of an author’s relationship with her protagonist, an examination of the tenuous line between belief and reality, imagination and self, and what happens when that line is crossed. "
So impressed with Sulari Gentill's seamless intertwining of stories, such an introspective read, couldn't put it down. This is my first book I've read of hers and really looking forward to reading more!
Possible Spoiler
Hmmm, the ending...that's all I'll say. Don't even want to say if I liked it or not.
June 23, 2020
After She Wrote Him is one of the most unique novels I have ever read. The story is about mystery author Madeline and literary author Edward writing stories about each other. The question is, who is the real author and who is the character?
The plot was complex and very well written. The characters were fully developed and felt real. There are two points of view, each told in the third person and each POV change was seamless. I enjoyed the glimpse into the writing process as both authors were writing the other's story. Some may not like the ending, but I had no qualms with it.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, author Sulari Gentill, and NetGalley for gifting me an e-copy in exchange for my honest review.
The plot was complex and very well written. The characters were fully developed and felt real. There are two points of view, each told in the third person and each POV change was seamless. I enjoyed the glimpse into the writing process as both authors were writing the other's story. Some may not like the ending, but I had no qualms with it.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, author Sulari Gentill, and NetGalley for gifting me an e-copy in exchange for my honest review.
January 26, 2020
After She Wrote him started out really well and coherent, but the story slowly spirals into confusion even for the reader. While the book is ambitious, the execution is is messy. I read it because the premise is interesting. After all, some stores are character based. But as the story continues, I wonder if the real author had lost track of her inital aim or just lost control of story, making it more and more like an uncontrollable train wreck that isn't going to end well.
The ending was as expected: disappointment in my case.
The ending was as expected: disappointment in my case.
January 2, 2018
Known for her Rowland Sinclair historical crime series and her YA Hero trilogy, Sulari Gentill delivers something very different with this new novel. Full review at Newtown Review of Books
October 1, 2018
I couldn’t put this down! I was so interesting, the twists the turns. Maddie battling with herself, Edward as well.
I didn’t exactly love the ending but it was an expected outcome. Brilliantly told story with suspense and mystery surrounding it!
3 1/2 stars. 🌟🌟🌟
I didn’t exactly love the ending but it was an expected outcome. Brilliantly told story with suspense and mystery surrounding it!
3 1/2 stars. 🌟🌟🌟
April 4, 2020
“It’s an exploration of an author’s relationship with her protagonist, an examination of the tenous line between belief and reality, imagination and self, and what happens when that line is crossed.”
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read the Advance Reader’s Copy. This does not, in any way, affect my review of the book.
I was blown away by how engrossing and complex After She Wrote Him is! It explores this meticulously crafted meta fiction world of two characters, Maddie and Edward, whose lives are completely entangled by their written creations.
Imagine: a story about an author, Maddie, writing a book that centers around this character, Edward, who is also an author and decided to write a crime story about a character a.k.a. Maddie. They are aware of the existence of each other and it had this Sense8* thing going on where they “see” and “feel” each other. Don’t get me wrong, it does sound interesting and confusing when you think about it based on that premise alone. But wow, the concept of this psychological thriller is so SO fascinating! The execution? Unflinching!
Sulari Gentill did a fantastic job of writing the different narratives and perspectives that it made me question the difference between imagination and delusion and figure out who really is the author and the creation.
It didn’t just make me question the things that these two did, it also made me doubt the people around them. Are Maddie and Edward telling and seeing the truth or are they simple such unreliable and untrustworthy narrators?
After She Wrote Him comes out this coming April 7! Please check it out, friends!
“Her art was to torture this man, her instinct to protect him.”
*Sense8 is my ultimate favorite show on Earth and I highly recommend you watch it. It’s about 8 people from different parts of the world who can see, hear, feel, each other without being physically together.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read the Advance Reader’s Copy. This does not, in any way, affect my review of the book.
I was blown away by how engrossing and complex After She Wrote Him is! It explores this meticulously crafted meta fiction world of two characters, Maddie and Edward, whose lives are completely entangled by their written creations.
Imagine: a story about an author, Maddie, writing a book that centers around this character, Edward, who is also an author and decided to write a crime story about a character a.k.a. Maddie. They are aware of the existence of each other and it had this Sense8* thing going on where they “see” and “feel” each other. Don’t get me wrong, it does sound interesting and confusing when you think about it based on that premise alone. But wow, the concept of this psychological thriller is so SO fascinating! The execution? Unflinching!
Sulari Gentill did a fantastic job of writing the different narratives and perspectives that it made me question the difference between imagination and delusion and figure out who really is the author and the creation.
It didn’t just make me question the things that these two did, it also made me doubt the people around them. Are Maddie and Edward telling and seeing the truth or are they simple such unreliable and untrustworthy narrators?
After She Wrote Him comes out this coming April 7! Please check it out, friends!
“Her art was to torture this man, her instinct to protect him.”
*Sense8 is my ultimate favorite show on Earth and I highly recommend you watch it. It’s about 8 people from different parts of the world who can see, hear, feel, each other without being physically together.
July 13, 2019
This was a tough book to score, I loved reading it and would have given it a 4.5. The characters had great depth, the books pace was great and the story was intriguing and unique. However I just hated the ending, I don’t need a happy ending necessarily, I just felt that it was a very quick and confusing ending to an otherwise entirely enjoyable book.
April 3, 2020
It took me a few days upon finishing Sulari Gentill’s After She Wrote Him to even begin writing this review. Before I go into why let me tell you a little bit about this unique book.
Madeline d’Leon is a crime writer with a burgeoning career who pens a series that is gaining in popularity when suddenly she has an idea for a stand alone novel, possibly her best one to date. Enter her protagonist Edward McGinnity a young, handsome and wealthy literary fiction writer who has found a bit of success. Now Edward is setting out to write his most ambitious novel yet, a novel about a crime writer named Madeline d’Leon.
After She Wrote Him began brilliantly. The way Sulari Gentill seamlessly wove together the stories of Madeline and Edward was pure genius, it gave me chills and I couldn’t get enough. I wanted to scream to everyone I knew ”READ THIS BOOK!!!” but this is also the kind of book where you cannot easily predict the outcome and I knew that I needed to finish before I began singing its praises, because it could go either way.
I was so engrossed in the magic that is Sulari Gentill’s writing that it took me until the 73% mark to realize that she really needed to pick up the pace because there wasn’t a whole lot happening beyond her magical writing. I wasn’t too worried about that though because things were just beginning to gain steam and at that point, After She Wrote Him was still hands down a 5 star read for me. However, I knew I still needed to finish before coming to any final conclusions seeing as I still hadn’t a clue how this novel was going to end.
And then it ended...and I couldn’t figure out if this was now a 3 star read for me or still 5. Was the ending genius or a let down? I couldn’t and still haven’t decided. I do feel as though, whether genius or let down, the end was a bit rushed. I rarely call for a book to be longer but if this one had just had about 50 pages more to flesh it out, to not make me feel as if everything in the climax happened at a breakneck pace I would probably have leaned more toward genius.
I realize that this book isn’t going to be for everyone but I do still highly recommend it for the beautifully crafted story and even for the ending which, love it or hate it, will absolutely have your wheels turning long after you’ve read the final page.
**Thank you to Netgalley for proving an ARC in exchange for an honest review**
Madeline d’Leon is a crime writer with a burgeoning career who pens a series that is gaining in popularity when suddenly she has an idea for a stand alone novel, possibly her best one to date. Enter her protagonist Edward McGinnity a young, handsome and wealthy literary fiction writer who has found a bit of success. Now Edward is setting out to write his most ambitious novel yet, a novel about a crime writer named Madeline d’Leon.
After She Wrote Him began brilliantly. The way Sulari Gentill seamlessly wove together the stories of Madeline and Edward was pure genius, it gave me chills and I couldn’t get enough. I wanted to scream to everyone I knew ”READ THIS BOOK!!!” but this is also the kind of book where you cannot easily predict the outcome and I knew that I needed to finish before I began singing its praises, because it could go either way.
I was so engrossed in the magic that is Sulari Gentill’s writing that it took me until the 73% mark to realize that she really needed to pick up the pace because there wasn’t a whole lot happening beyond her magical writing. I wasn’t too worried about that though because things were just beginning to gain steam and at that point, After She Wrote Him was still hands down a 5 star read for me. However, I knew I still needed to finish before coming to any final conclusions seeing as I still hadn’t a clue how this novel was going to end.
And then it ended...and I couldn’t figure out if this was now a 3 star read for me or still 5. Was the ending genius or a let down? I couldn’t and still haven’t decided. I do feel as though, whether genius or let down, the end was a bit rushed. I rarely call for a book to be longer but if this one had just had about 50 pages more to flesh it out, to not make me feel as if everything in the climax happened at a breakneck pace I would probably have leaned more toward genius.
I realize that this book isn’t going to be for everyone but I do still highly recommend it for the beautifully crafted story and even for the ending which, love it or hate it, will absolutely have your wheels turning long after you’ve read the final page.
**Thank you to Netgalley for proving an ARC in exchange for an honest review**
November 20, 2022
4.5 stars
I absolutely love the Escherian gimmick in After She Wrote Him—A crime fiction author writes about a literary fiction writer unwittingly being involved in a murder, while the literary fiction writer is writing about the same crime fiction author's personal demons and life struggles. The novel collides reality with fabricated fantasy, creating a stream of consciousness sensibility without feeling messy (the perspectives often switch between paragraphs), and the examination of the cryptic process of writing where made-up characters seemingly 'taking control' of the plot is effortlessly played out here.
My one major criticism is the ending, or the lack of one. The way the book abruptly ends definitely caught me off-guard, as well as its bleak overtone, being vastly different from the more lighthearted, 'cozy mystery' atmosphere prior. It also leaves major plot developments unresolved—it could be a intentional choice, symbolizing individual cannot escape the harsh reality, no matter how 'real' the fictional world feels. Even if that's the case, the resolution still comes across as if Sulari Gentill simply didn't know how to wrap up her complex puzzle, so she just left it as-is.
Still, After She Wrote Him remains one-of-a-kind, at least for me I have not yet read a novel where writing fiction is explore in such a meta, nuanced way. I would highly recommend checking this out.
I absolutely love the Escherian gimmick in After She Wrote Him—A crime fiction author writes about a literary fiction writer unwittingly being involved in a murder, while the literary fiction writer is writing about the same crime fiction author's personal demons and life struggles. The novel collides reality with fabricated fantasy, creating a stream of consciousness sensibility without feeling messy (the perspectives often switch between paragraphs), and the examination of the cryptic process of writing where made-up characters seemingly 'taking control' of the plot is effortlessly played out here.
My one major criticism is the ending, or the lack of one. The way the book abruptly ends definitely caught me off-guard, as well as its bleak overtone, being vastly different from the more lighthearted, 'cozy mystery' atmosphere prior. It also leaves major plot developments unresolved—it could be a intentional choice, symbolizing individual cannot escape the harsh reality, no matter how 'real' the fictional world feels. Even if that's the case, the resolution still comes across as if Sulari Gentill simply didn't know how to wrap up her complex puzzle, so she just left it as-is.
Still, After She Wrote Him remains one-of-a-kind, at least for me I have not yet read a novel where writing fiction is explore in such a meta, nuanced way. I would highly recommend checking this out.
February 19, 2022
Had such high hopes and it started very promising, but it quickly became convoluted. I could tell half way through the book that both characters were spiraling, and we weren’t going to get a happy end for either. Willow as the killer felt left field and a bit of a cop out. Committing Maddie to a psych ward for mental health issues related to post parfum depression after a miscarriage was never flushed out enough for me to care or find believable. so much time was spent trying to mesh the two stories together but not enough time was spent making sure the two stories could stand alone on their own. I didn’t find Edward or Maddie compelling, interesting, or believable. I didn’t care what happened to them and I didn’t care who was real or fake. I just felt compelled to read because I hate not finishing books. I thought the best character was Hough tbh. I couldn’t tell if he was the villain or hero or both and I almost solely pushed through this in hopes for an answer (which I never really got). idk this one just fell incredibly flat for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2019
Wow! I just loved this book! It was like a classic mystery, mixed with literary fiction, mixed with a psychological thriller.
Madeleine and Edward are both authors and they are writing about each other. Madeleine is a murder mystery writer and Edward is an author of literary fiction. This book explores their writing process - which was a lot of fun! Edward is at an art gallery when a man he despises is murdered. He begins investigating to clear his own and his friend's name. Madeleine is a successful writer with a marriage that's on the rocks.
This book was so original and interesting! It was a page-turner, but I was highly-invested in the characters. It keeps you guessing about what is real and what isn't, which I love! I loved everything about this book - highly recommend!
5 inside-the-writer's-head stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Madeleine and Edward are both authors and they are writing about each other. Madeleine is a murder mystery writer and Edward is an author of literary fiction. This book explores their writing process - which was a lot of fun! Edward is at an art gallery when a man he despises is murdered. He begins investigating to clear his own and his friend's name. Madeleine is a successful writer with a marriage that's on the rocks.
This book was so original and interesting! It was a page-turner, but I was highly-invested in the characters. It keeps you guessing about what is real and what isn't, which I love! I loved everything about this book - highly recommend!
5 inside-the-writer's-head stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
February 5, 2022
I applaud the author's attempt, but I can't say that I truly enjoyed it. We're kept guessing at who is the author and who the protagonist, or if there even was one or the other. Perhaps they are both authors; perhaps they are both characters. In either case, I didn't find either story truly compelling or even very interesting. It could have been because I didn't see any depth to either story. And I didn't appreciate how it ended; it seemed like perhaps the author had gone as far as she could and then needed to wrap it up.
I will, however, keep reading the author's Rowland Sinclair series, which I really like.
I will, however, keep reading the author's Rowland Sinclair series, which I really like.
March 9, 2020
DNF. The premise of this sounded intriguing, but it just could not hold my attention for more than a few minutes at a time. Ended up being way more convoluted than I was in the mood for right now, and I haven't been able to motivate myself to push through it. Most of the reviews are great, so I think a lot of others will love it!
*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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