Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

For every woman who’s ever fallen for a bad man comes a hilarious and eviscerating tale of love, loss, and deadlines.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

January 2026; Harper; 978-0063448087
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); psychological thriller

It's snowing in my part of North Carolina right now, but I don't care — I am so wrapped up in Murder Your Darlings that I can't put it down.  This is a book about the creative process that authors go through when writing a book.  It's about the actual writing, plus the book events and press functions, it's about the book editors and the book companies who are always looking for that next great book.  It's also a suspense novel and a romance novel with lots of scary actions, a few good laughs, and lots of romance.

Simone “Sam” Vetiver is a novelist who is finishing up a so-so book tour.  Her first novel was a big seller, but her books since then have been pretty mediocre, and she needs to write a great book next -- but she is totally blocked and can't come up with a good idea, and her deadline is getting closer. When she receives fan mail from William Corwyn, a very successful novelist, she is intrigued and goes to one of his book events.  The sparks quickly fly between them, and they both feel that they've finally met the perfect person.  But are they really meant for a happily ever after, or are there red flags in their relationship?  William has stalkers, and one stalker, whom he calls the Rabbit, is very persistent. Soon, the Rabbit is also stalking Sam.   Despite falling in love with him, Sam begins to have questions about who he really is and how real his feelings are for her.  

The story is told from three points of view:  Sam, William, and the Rabbit from very different perspectives.  They are all obsessive in their own way, and my opinion on who was the 'bad guy' changed several times during the story.  I really didn't see the ending coming until I was almost there, and the conclusion perfectly wrapped up the story lines.

This was a fantastic story - a lot of suspense, a lot of romance (and sex), a few laughs and a look at authors as they try to write that next best seller.

Murder Your Darlings is a wickedly witty look at today’s literary landscape and down-the-rabbit-hole tale of how far people will go for love.

Buy Murder Your Darlings at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

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