Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell

Release: July 6, 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: Suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N.

When a student disappears and is presumed dead, her professor passes off her manuscript as his own–only to find out it implicates him in an unsolved murder in this new thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of The Request.

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.

About the Author:

David Bell is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of eight novels from Berkley/Penguin: SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER, BRING HER HOME SINCE SHE WENT AWAY, SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW, THE FORGOTTEN GIRL, NEVER COME BACK, THE HIDING PLACE, and CEMETERY GIRL. He is an Associate Professor of English at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and can be reached through his website www.davidbellnovels.co.

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Kill All Your Darlings Review:

“Kill All Your Darlings” is the first book I am reading of David Bell’s, but it certainly won’t last. I loved reading the book and thought it was a gripping suspense thriller.

The author adds many twists and turns where you don’t know how the story will turn out. There are shocking murders, revelations, and secrets that I did not expect at all. Initially, the story revolves around Connor and Madeline, and you wonder what happened for her to disappear and reappear. But, it turns out that Connor’s storyline is just part of a bigger picture with many other characters involved. The author paces the story like fine wine, where the plot progresses gradually but very effectively. Some shocking moments include what Connor discovers at the cemetery and when someone comes into his house and starts attacking him till he is unconscious. This book had me glued to the pages, where the chapters end with cliffhangers, making you want to keep reading.

Moreover, the author made the characters complex, and I enjoyed Connor in the lead. In the beginning, you dislike him for how he plagiarized Madeline’s work. But as the story progresses, you begin to feel bad for him and immediately take his side. I wasn’t too fond of Bowman either, even though she was doing her job. There are quite a few other characters like Rebecca, who also add nicely to the tale.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed “Kill All Your Darlings” and can’t wait to read more of the author’s previous works.