What readers think of The Ending Writes Itself, plus links to write your own review.

The Ending Writes Itself is the first novel by author duo V E Schwab and Cat Clarke writing as Evelyn Clarke. When five authors, and one husband-and-wife writing duo, arrive at Arthur Fletch’s castle on Skelbrae, his island off the coast of Scotland, they believe they’re there for one of the best-selling crime thriller writer’s famous writing salons.

But after they’ve all signed NDAs, they are advised by his agent, and his editor, that Arthur has recently drowned, without finishing his two-years-late final novel. All but one are mid-list authors who aren’t setting the world on fire and are, in fact, facing some challenges. Each is being offered the opportunity to write the ending, with a lucrative fee and a three-book deal with Fletch’s publisher for the one chosen.

With their electronic devices locked away in a safe, each of these authors, whose genres vary between crime, romance, YA, horror and sci-fi, are given a typewriter and a supply of coloured paper, and a deadline of seventy-two hours to produce the required ten-thousand-word ending.

Living up to Arthur Fletch’s standard will be more difficult for some than others, and a few are puzzled as to why they have been included: talent? Or disposability? One dares to wonder if Fletch is really dead.

Naturally there are some frictions between authors competing for such a prize, but no one is expecting to find a dead body at the bottom of the stairs. More and more, as each character’s back story is revealed, it becomes apparent that many are not who or what they initially seem to be. And as much as anything, it’s a publishing industry exposé.

Is that first death accidental? Later ones clearly are not: there’s a murderer among them, in what takes on the qualities of a locked-room mystery. There’s a decent body count by the final pages. The astute reader may fix on a likely perpetrator, but that won’t mitigate the need to know the why and how in this fast-paced, very entertaining, thriller.

This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and HQ Fiction.

The Ending Writes Itself is another take on the locked room mystery conceit. It starts slow and the first ½ of the book is much more a character study of six authors brought to a remote island. In fact, the book is literally half over before the first death.
A famous author has died. His editor and publisher, in a desperate grab to finish his fourth book, bring together six lesser known authors on a secluded island to compete for who can come up with an ending worthy of the master.

They are promised a phenomenal sum of money and a three book deal for the one who actually does it. But they are only given 72 hours to write it. There is quite a bit of dry humor, especially as it pertains to authors and the publishing world. That’s one of the positives I can list. Each part is told from a different character. Clarke gives us each character’s backstory in an effort to make them sympathetic. But it didn’t work for me and I struggled to care about anyone.

The book doesn’t really cover any new ground. The second half tries to substitute action for intelligence and includes one unbelievable premise after another. It’s a book I’ll have forgotten by the time another month goes by. Fiona Hardingham does a good job as the narrator.