Evelyn Clarke

[Ellmau]

I don't know if anyone has seen this bit of clever marketing, but it's intriguing anyway.

The pen name is that of a pair of writers and is going to be revealed at the opening night of Bloody Scotland (Friday 12 September 2025).

The writers are supposedly well known, have both been published for a decade, and one is more successful than the other. The book is comic/satirical crime (see Amazon blurb): The Ending Writes Itself: The buzzy locked room mystery crime thriller everyone is talking about for 2026 eBook : Clarke, Evelyn: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Deliberately unisex name makes me think one male, one female, but this may not necessarily be the case. It looks like at least one must be Scottish. Maybe one writes crime/thrillers and the other comedy?

Any ideas?

Ooh! Not seen this! What a great idea. Could be Chris Brookmyre and Val McDermid? Frankie Boyle and Irvine Welsh?

‘A pair of writers… One is more successful than the other.’

A whole other book, right there.

LOL, yes. The actual phrasing is "One is a New York Times bestseller many times over. The other… isn't."

They're clearly having fun with this.

Chris Brookmyre and his wife? She's a novelist but not nearly so successful

Oh, that's a good suggestion. But it looks as if she has only written with him (under another pseudonym), not individually at all, so I on;t think the clues quite fit.

I found a sample from the book. Does the writing style ring any bells for anyone?

Read an Exclusive Extract from The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke - HQ Stories

Quite short sentences. Present tense. Definitely Scottish, I think - but note US spelling of grey as gray. The NYT bestseller clue might suggest an American involvement maybe?

Some spec here: https://bethreadscrime.com/2025/08/08/the-ending-writes-itself-by-evelyn-clarke-review/

It appears they are the same sex.

Bit of a damp squib in the end, a couple of random Americans. https://www.stylist.co.uk/books/the-ending-writes-itself-authors-revealed/1010696 Disappointing. I might still read it if it’s in the library or a 99p kindle deal.