The Ending Writes Itself

Six authors, from a variety of genres (thriller, romance, YA, horror, and speculative fiction), are summoned by Arthur Fletch. Fletch is a publishing powerhouse. He is one of the best-selling authors in history, recent or otherwise. Reclusive, quirky, and brilliant, Fletch is known for his salon-like gatherings of elite personalities for weekends on his private island off the coast of Scotland.

The authors are excited and a bit baffled. How/why did Fletch invite them? Five of them are, even if they are loath to admit it, "mid-list" writers. While they have achieved a level of success and have fans, they are not yet "best-sellers." They don’t tour much, receive little marketing support, and are always fearful of their publisher deciding they will not publish their next novel. In fact, one of them has yet to publish anything at all.

When they arrive, they are informed that Arthur Fletch is dead. His death has been kept secret because, when he died, he was working on the final book in his latest and most successful series, and the manuscript is incomplete. Fletch’s publisher is concerned that his death may impact book sales and, as a result, is desperate for a complete manuscript so that the book can be marketed as his final work. So, they’re proposing a challenge: each of the authors present can write the final chapter and complete the manuscript over the course of the weekend. They will have to hand over any and all electronic devices, which will be locked in a safe for the duration of the weekend, so that they have no contact with the outside world. They will work on typewriters, Fletch’s chosen method for writing, and the participants will submit their work on a different colored paper, making the judging of their work blind. The writer who submits the best ending to Fletch’s novel will receive $1 million in cash and a three-book deal with the publisher that guarantees a healthy marketing budget for each title. All they have to do is finish the last manuscript of the most popular writer on the planet and be better than their competitors at doing it. What could possibly go wrong?

In The Ending Writes Itself, Evelyn Clark (a pseudonym for V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke in their first collaboration) tells a marvelous "locked-room" mystery, with a ticking clock to boot, where everyone has motives, everyone has secrets, and everyone has a bone to pick with the publishing industry. Clarke seems to delight in venting experiences, either their own or those of their friends/colleagues, through the writers competing for the "golden ticket" out of the "mid-list." They ALL want it, but how far are they willing to go to win it?

Clarke has created a marvelous cast of characters for this novel (possibly drawing inspiration again from their own experiences and those of their friends/colleagues). The assumptions and snide comments about their genres are traded, questions about the type of person who writes "those books" are asked, experiences with publishers, editors, and fans are shared, and their own feelings about writing, and the "imposter syndrome" that seems to permeate their profession, are closely guarded.

The Ending Writes Itself is a marvelous read. Clarke will keep readers guessing and reevaluating as information is revealed and the body count rises, right up to the very last page.