About the Book
After years of struggling to write following the deaths of his wife and son, English professor Connor Nye publishes his first novel, a thriller about the murder of a young woman.
There’s just one problem: Connor didn’t write the book. His missing student did. And then she appears on his doorstep, alive and well, threatening to expose him.
Connor’s problems escalate when the police insist details in the novel implicate him in an unsolved murder from two years ago. Soon Connor discovers the crime is part of a disturbing scandal on campus and faces an impossible dilemma—admit he didn’t write the book and lose his job or keep up the lie and risk everything. When another murder occurs, Connor must clear his name by unraveling the horrifying secrets buried in his student’s manuscript.
This is a suspenseful, provocative novel about the sexual harassment that still runs rampant in academia—and the lengths those in power will go to cover it up.
My Review
I read quite a bit from David Bell and was curious when I saw the synopsis for Kill All Your Darlings. While I wouldn’t chalk this up as a favorite from him, I did end up finishing the book and was curious how the ending would come together. The beginning pulled me in but around the halfway point my interest started to become weaker, as the character development didn’t seem to … develop as we continued on. The premise of stealing a novel from someone presumed dead was an intriguing take to me, but the suspense moments weren’t quite as heightened as I’ve come to expect from Bell. An interesting concept, but not a home run.
3.5 stars
