The Ending Writes Itself

"The Ending Writes Itself," by Evelyn Clarke (the writing team of V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke), is set on Skelbrae, a remote Scottish island owned by Arthur Fletch, a fabulously successful and reclusive author. Three men and four women have been invited to Skelbrae to compete for a fortune of money and a book deal. Their assignment is to complete the novel that Fletch failed to finish before he died. All of the participants must sign non-disclosure agreements, agree to lock their phones and laptops in a safe, and type their entries on old-fashioned typewriters. They have seventy-two-hours to hand in their submissions.

This story is reminiscent of Rube Goldberg's convoluted contraptions that brought a smile to people's faces back in the show more early 1900s. Goldberg was a cartoonist who drew complex machines that were designed to perform simple tasks in a comically overly-complicated manner. Similarly, Clarke's novel is weighed down by a host of extraneous and implausible plot elements. It is talky, protracted, and lacks logic or realism. The invitees, who have limited time to waste, spend hours drinking and eating to excess, whining about their woes, and squabbling with one another. Few of them take the contest seriously enough to buckle down and think up a suitable ending that could earn them a fortune.

One of Evelyn Clarke's themes is that the dog-eat-dog world of publishing is not for the faint-of-heart. There is no way to predict who will become a bestselling author and whose career is doomed to fail. The dialogue, descriptive writing, and thinly-drawn characters never coalesce into a satisfying work of fiction. Perhaps Clarke was aiming for satire, since this tale lacks the suspense and excitement of a crackling thriller. "The Ending Writes Itself" is dreary, muddled, filled with cartoonish violence, and concludes with a preposterous finale. show less

When an internationally renowned crime writer dies with his last novel unfinished, his editor and agent agree to try an experiment: they will bring a group of mid-list authors to the man’s private island and have them compete to finish the book; the winner will receive a lot of money and a three-book publishing deal from the prestigious publisher of the dead man. They recruit a mixed bag of writers - a science-fiction dude, a horror writer, a couple who together write crime novels, a young YA author, a romance writer and a youngster who has not even yet been published. Everyone is excited and anticipates a truly memorable weekend - until the killing begins, that is…. This novel has a great premise, and the two authors who show more collaborated on it under the name Evelyn Clarke have a lot of fun with it. The characters are sharply drawn, they all have interesting back stories (and most are not all that they seem) and the authors get to satirize the publishing industry and the rather neurotic processes of various writers. In short, it’s a lot of fun to read and I hope the two authors (V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke) collaborate again; recommended. show less

Arthur Fletch, world-renowned mystery writer, has just died, leaving his last book unfinished. His publisher brings six writers to Fletch’s isolated island home for a competition to write the ending, but instead, the writers begin dying. The first novel by the writing combo of Cat Clarke and V.E. Schwab (calling themselves Evelyn Clarke), The Ending Writes Itself is a classically styled closed-door mystery with a cast of quirky characters, some red herrings, and plenty of jabs at the publishing industry. It’s not the best mystery, but it is an entertaining book about writers and writing, with enough intrigue to keep the pages turning.

The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke is a locked-room mystery set on a remote island with a compelling and intriguing premise. I really enjoyed the initial setup and the way the story begins to unfold, pulling you into its isolated atmosphere. However, the narrative feels quite flat for the first half, requiring patience before anything truly gripping happens. The pace only picks up later, bringing in some much-needed tension. Unfortunately, the climax feels rushed and somewhat patched together, lacking the impact it could have delivered. The story overall could have benefited from more intensity and refinement. Still, if you enjoy locked-room mysteries and are curious about the inner workings of the publishing industry, it’s show more worth giving a try. show less

Famous mystery author Arthur Fletch has invited 6 authors to a private island. That sentence alone should remind you of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. The similarities don't end there. One by one, these authors meet an untimely death. When they arrive on the island, they are told that the author Arthur Fletch is dead. He left an unfinished novel, and each of the authors has 72 hours to come up with an ending to the novel for a prize of $2 million. These authors are looking for a big success for their careers, but they don't expect to be in danger. Secret passages, secret messages, and secret identities all play a part in this mystery. The ending is a unique way to wrap this one! Enjoyable and quick read.

I really enjoyed this, and felt like I flew through it.
Fun characters. A well worn setting (castle on a craggy island with no communication). Plenty of cliches - but signposted with a knowing smile. And a satisfying ending.
Definitely worth picking up.

I found this book slow and not much action. It does pick up at the end but it just felt disjointed to me. It's more talk than action but not in a good way. I enjoyed the ambiance (an old castle/house, on a remote island, and the premise. It's not unique, but it still seemed fun. But the execution just didn't work for me.

[contains spoilers] Six mid-authors are invited to Arthur Fletcher's house. He's a big time author. The house is an old mansion on a remote island. When they get there, they find out Arthur Fletcher is dead and he never finished his last novel. They will all have the opportunity to finish it. They can all write their own ending and the person who wins will be the ghostwriter, but also get their own book deal. I want to show more say that nothing truly happens in the book until about 3/4 of the way through. It's just a lot of their interactions between the different authors. There are some flashbacks. But here are the characters:
Priscilla who is actually Ana, Arthur Fletcher's agent who helped put this weekend together. She's pretending to be a romance author so she can hang out with the authors to see who is best to work with as that will factor into who wins.
Malcolm and Sienna both wrote as Penn Teller. We find out she's really more of the writer and he's an ass and she has left him but they came together just for this since Malcolm is a huge Arthur fan.
Millie, a young YA author. She's kinda loud and annoying.
Jaxon an ass who wrote three sci-fi type books.
Kenso (I think) horror writer and crime scene investigator
Cate very young and newly signed with Arthur's agent.

It's basically a whole lot of interaction between these people. There also seems to be sightings of Arthur on the island. And then people start dying. Sienna falls down the stairs with her typewriter and she's dead. Malcolm slips and falls over the Cliff's edge. He gown. Millie thinks it's Jackson who did it, so they lock him in his room. And then he's dead.

I was confused at page 274 because Millie has an interaction with Priscilla which makes no sense. She sees her leaving the editors cottage, and causes Priscilla of trying to seduce him. but the editor, (who is actually Priscilla's assistant) has already left the island. I thought maybe she was having a bit of a flashback but nope. Unless I'm missing something. This made no sense.

After Jackson dies, then Millie is killed in front of Priscilla (Ana) by Cate. Cate was not actually an author and the writing she had was done by AI to make it sound like Fletcher. She was mad because her mom tried to be an author and risked a lot in her life to try and the publishing world didn't treat her nicely. I kind of saw something like that coming when she mentioned her mom wanted to be a writer and left jobs/lived poorly to try to get published and it never happened for her. We find out after, that even though Cate tried to kill Kenso, he did end up surviving and wrote a book about it, leaving out the major things.

Priscilla (Ana) got away in a boat. Cate got knocked off and never came back up (or so we think). Not sure if this was left open to write another one? But I wouldn't read it.

I haven't read all of V.E. Schwab's books, but the ones I have, I've loved. I'm very sad this one didn't hit for me. show less