The Ending Writes Itself

Mystery novels featuring a group of people in enforced isolation in a remote setting are hardly new – the most famous being Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”, which has undergone several incarnations since it first appeared in the 1930s – so I approached this with some initial misgivings as to whether anything new could be scraped from the barrel. I needn’t have worried and was thoroughly absorbed right from the start. Evelyn Clarke, the author of this is, in fact, a collaboration between two fantasy/young adult fiction authors, V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke.
 
Here, we have seven individuals (including a couple who write as one), who are either struggling midlist or budding writers in various genres, including thrillers, science fiction, horror, young adult and romance. Each receives an email invitation to an expenses-paid weekend on the Scottish island hideaway of one of the world’s most famous writers, Arthur Fletch. None is sure why they have been invited but all are eager to accept. On arrival, they discover from his agent that Fletch has died (the world media not yet informed) and that he’s left his latest novel unfinished. Each of them has been selected to write the last chapter, with a million dollars-plus going to the successful candidate. Naturally, there’s a recipe here not just for competitiveness and a potential boost to sagging fortunes, but also reasons why someone may decide to resort to elimination of their rivals.
 
Written from several viewpoints, and with surprises and twists, this is a cracking good read that also pulls no punches about the dire state of the publishing world, how difficult it is to make a living as a writer and the neuroses of all those involved.
 
Most loose ends are tied up, but I did have some lingering questions over feasibility and practical aspects regarding those who survive the mayhem. And although we’re given reasons why the doomed individuals aren’t missed, I doubt so many people could disappear off the face of the earth without someone, somewhere, asking questions! 
 
Still, I can’t fault the plotting and its less-than subtle satirical look at publishing. A solid four-and-a-half star rating for such smooth readability and sheer entertainment value.
 
With many thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.
 
 
 
To be published in 2026. Book links to come.

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