My bookshelf·Index No. 0471

The Ending Writes Itself

Evelyn Clarke·Harper·2026·352 pages
On My Shelf, Not Yet Read

A locked-room mystery published under the pseudonym Evelyn Clarke, which is V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke writing together. Arthur Fletch, a reclusive bestselling novelist, invites six struggling midlist authors β€” one each from thriller, romance, YA, sci-fi, horror β€” to his private Scottish island. They arrive to find he’s dead and his final book unfinished. His agent and editor make the offer: seventy-two hours to write an ending, and the winner gets a million dollars and a three-book deal. Then people start dying. Closed-circle Christie structure, with the publishing industry as the real target.

The Ending Writes Itself
By Evelyn Clarke. Harper, 2026. 352 pages.