Braithwaite reads constantly and posts reviews obsessively, specializing in his fellow mystery writers but making border raids on every conceivable genre. Typically, he’ll begin a review with the phrase As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release and then find some way to make his resume seem relevant to matter at hand. Often this is easy: “As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I have been reading Robert Ludlum’s thrillers for (gasp!) decades.” But sometimes it is not easy: “As a California-based mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I have a great interest in other California-based artists in many diverse fields. Ansel Adams is one of the finest photographers to ever receive wide recognition.” And sometimes it’s impossible, as in Braithwaite’s tortured, five-star review of “The Beer Lover’s Guide to the USA: Brewpubs, Taverns, and Good Beer Bars”: “When I signed the publication contract for my first mystery novel, I suspected I may have some promotional journeys in store for me. I figured I’d be expected to travel to New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, San Francisco, and other places I knew fairly well. I never realized I’d also be appearing in Anchorage, Plano, Modesto, Yuma, Palm Springs and countless other terrific towns across the United States promoting my novel. Since my book’s publication, I’ve been doing all sorts of traveling, and”–OK, here comes the point–“this guide to watering holes has been a wonderful addition to my baggage.”
Customers who hated “The Wonderland Murders” suspect that customers who loved it either know the author personally–or are the author personally. This is a dangerous charge, impossible to prove, though I admit I was suspicious of the five-star homage titled “A FINE BOOK BY A FINE MAN.” The five-star review titled “‘WONDERLAND’ SMOKES,” by someone named “Mystery Cat” in Raleigh, North Carolina, seemed authentic to me. But then I clicked on the “See More About Me” link next to Mystery Cat’s name, read all Mystery Cat’s online reviews and started to wonder if maybe he/she didn’t have issues of his/her own: “‘FIRESTORM’ SMOKES…. ‘INNKEEPING’ SMOKES…. ‘BARBARIANS’ SMOKES….”
I think Braithwaite’s answers deserve more airtime than I can give them here–see sidebar for an excerpt of the interview–but he insists he never intended to launch a Conspiracy of Kent. “I began mentioning my being a mystery writer as a way of letting review readers know I might just know a little something about writing,” he says. “I did not intend the phrase to become a marketing gimmick.” Braithwaite also insists that the occasional sniping he’s received online doesn’t bother him. “Life is too short (I am too busy) to dwell on negatives,” he says. I wish that my work (and me, for that matter) would be loved by everyone but I realize that such is an impossible dream." Still, Braithwaite has begun inserting a defensive-sounding new passage into recent reviews–a clear response to the sayers of nay. “As a mystery author with my debut novel in its initial release,” he often writes, “I do my best to read widely to learn which books work and which books don’t. If a book doesn’t succeed, I won’t bother to review it. There are enough anonymous critics who get their kicks panning books while they keep themselves securely hidden namelessly in cyberspace.” Braithwaite is not a man to hide, and he certainly doesn’t want to remain nameless and anonymous. After all, he’s a mystery author with his debut novel in its initial release.
