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Ghostwriter Mystery #2
Loose Lips
Knives Out meets high seas intrigue on a literary cruise to nowhere in this intelligent, wildly funny locked room mystery for fans of Richard Osman, Anthony Horowitz, Nita Prose, and Agatha Christie!
The USA Today bestselling host of the "All About Agatha" podcast injects the spark and fizz of a Golden Age murder mystery into the present-day, as the ghostwriter’s skills are put to the test aboard a bestselling author’s decidedly insalubrious cruise.
Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. So goes the adage, but sometimes, even a first-rate ghostwriter and successful mystery author needs to make a buck. Even if that means setting foot on a cruise ship, something she vowed she’d never do. To top it off, the “Get Lit Cruise” is being organized by Payton Garrett, a very popular, bestselling author—and the ghostwriter’s long-time frenemy from back in their MFA days.
Over the years, Payton has reinvented herself. She gained a wife while ditching her journalist husband—who is also on board. And she’s acquired a rabid following who eagerly snapped up the invitations sent to a select few of her newsletter subscribers. The guests, all female, will receive personalized instruction from experts in five different writing genres, while basking in Payton’s reflected glow.
Between mentoring guests, flirting with Payton’s ex, and taking bets on how long before someone performs a reenactment of Titanic’s “I’m flying!” scene (answer: not long enough), there’s plenty to keep a ghostwriter occupied. But there’s one activity nobody expected: solving a murder.
When an attendee is found dead under suspicious circumstances and several others suffer symptoms of poisoning, there are numerous motives and suspects to choose from. But could it be that the victim wasn’t even the intended target? As the body count rises along with onboard tensions, no one is safe—except, perhaps, for a killer whose scruples have long abandoned ship. And of course, like every well-plotted mystery, this one has an extra twist . . .
The USA Today bestselling host of the "All About Agatha" podcast injects the spark and fizz of a Golden Age murder mystery into the present-day, as the ghostwriter’s skills are put to the test aboard a bestselling author’s decidedly insalubrious cruise.
Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. So goes the adage, but sometimes, even a first-rate ghostwriter and successful mystery author needs to make a buck. Even if that means setting foot on a cruise ship, something she vowed she’d never do. To top it off, the “Get Lit Cruise” is being organized by Payton Garrett, a very popular, bestselling author—and the ghostwriter’s long-time frenemy from back in their MFA days.
Over the years, Payton has reinvented herself. She gained a wife while ditching her journalist husband—who is also on board. And she’s acquired a rabid following who eagerly snapped up the invitations sent to a select few of her newsletter subscribers. The guests, all female, will receive personalized instruction from experts in five different writing genres, while basking in Payton’s reflected glow.
Between mentoring guests, flirting with Payton’s ex, and taking bets on how long before someone performs a reenactment of Titanic’s “I’m flying!” scene (answer: not long enough), there’s plenty to keep a ghostwriter occupied. But there’s one activity nobody expected: solving a murder.
When an attendee is found dead under suspicious circumstances and several others suffer symptoms of poisoning, there are numerous motives and suspects to choose from. But could it be that the victim wasn’t even the intended target? As the body count rises along with onboard tensions, no one is safe—except, perhaps, for a killer whose scruples have long abandoned ship. And of course, like every well-plotted mystery, this one has an extra twist . . .
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 21, 2025
183 people are currently reading
24604 people want to read
About the author
Kemper Donovan
6 books461 followersKemper Donovan is a full-time writer who is currently publishing an ongoing mystery series via Kensington Books (The Busy Body is the first in this series). Previously, he published the standalone novel The Decent Proposal (HarperCollins). He is also the host of the podcast All About Agatha, dedicated to all things Agatha Christie, in which guise he has appeared on BBC TV and Radio New Zealand, and written for the official Agatha Christie website at agathachristie.com. Kemper attended Stanford University and Harvard Law School, and now lives in Southern California with his husband and two daughters. Learn more at www.kemperdonovan.com, @allaboutthedame on Twitter, @allaboutagatha on Instagram, and kemperdonovanbooks on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 351 reviews
October 21, 2024
Engaging and entertaining. A wink to Agatha Christie's style. The narration is easy to follow. This time the MC takes us on a cruise ship where she'll teach a group of women how to write. Cruise ship and classes!! Sing me up!!
A body is, of course, found, and the mystery begins!!
The Busy Body, the first book in the series, was great as well. I never guessed the murderer.
Recommended!!
A body is, of course, found, and the mystery begins!!
The Busy Body, the first book in the series, was great as well. I never guessed the murderer.
Recommended!!
December 22, 2024
The ending will knock your socks off!
August 29, 2024
To start off this review I will acknowledge that I am not the target demographic for this book. This was made clear by the author through the many 'anti-Gen-Z' jokes said by the narrator. However, I still believe every book is worth reading once and despite my opinion on this novel, it wasn't bad in itself.
Through the perspective of 'Belle Currer', a novelist and ghostwriter, a haunting mystery aboard a literary cruise unfolds. With quirky characters, witty banter, and humorous quips from Belle Loose Lips is a light-hearted murder mystery of a unique variety.
My main problem with this novel is the format in which it is written. Many times I often got confused and frustrated with the amount of side comments Belle makes. It took substance away from the story and drew me out of the text. I felt that the many quips and dialogues between the characters created an uncomfortable reading experience. For most of the novel I skimmed the pages and often skipped reading anything in a parentheses. In doing this, I still gathered the full effect of the story without having to read the redundant comments and conversations.
Overall, the book wasn't bad just not great for me. I recommend this to a more millennial audience and people who enjoy cosy-mysteries of an Agatha Christie vibe.
Through the perspective of 'Belle Currer', a novelist and ghostwriter, a haunting mystery aboard a literary cruise unfolds. With quirky characters, witty banter, and humorous quips from Belle Loose Lips is a light-hearted murder mystery of a unique variety.
My main problem with this novel is the format in which it is written. Many times I often got confused and frustrated with the amount of side comments Belle makes. It took substance away from the story and drew me out of the text. I felt that the many quips and dialogues between the characters created an uncomfortable reading experience. For most of the novel I skimmed the pages and often skipped reading anything in a parentheses. In doing this, I still gathered the full effect of the story without having to read the redundant comments and conversations.
Overall, the book wasn't bad just not great for me. I recommend this to a more millennial audience and people who enjoy cosy-mysteries of an Agatha Christie vibe.
February 10, 2025
So a male author is trying to pull off a first person narrative as a female. And apparently Kemper Donovan's used social media as a field of research to learn how women speak and what drives them.
Prepare yourselves because the result are characters that speaks in hashtags and pop media headlines. The main character is pretentious, shallow, extremely bitter and self important. She is apparently a "best selling author" who is notoriously jealous of her more successful colleague. Her lack of self-awareness and overall fakeness make it extremely difficult to get through the book. I also struggled to find a story underneath this disingenuous façade.
In short, the entire thing is quite insufferable.
Prepare yourselves because the result are characters that speaks in hashtags and pop media headlines. The main character is pretentious, shallow, extremely bitter and self important. She is apparently a "best selling author" who is notoriously jealous of her more successful colleague. Her lack of self-awareness and overall fakeness make it extremely difficult to get through the book. I also struggled to find a story underneath this disingenuous façade.
In short, the entire thing is quite insufferable.
February 18, 2025
This unexpected "who done it" kept me guessing the whole time. 🙈
Told from the perspective of the protagonist who just so happens to be a mystery writer 👀
I listened to an audio copy of the arc. 🙉
The voices were believable and engaging. 🙊
Thanks NetGalley.😊
Told from the perspective of the protagonist who just so happens to be a mystery writer 👀
I listened to an audio copy of the arc. 🙉
The voices were believable and engaging. 🙊
Thanks NetGalley.😊
July 29, 2024
DRC from Edelweiss and A John Scognamiglio Book / Penguin Random House
Fun mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.
Payton, a ghostwriter and author of mystery novels, agrees to teach a few writing classes aboard a cruise ship full of women. Along with herself, there are other authors of various genres and around 300 women looking to learn. The narrator uses foreshadowing to let us know that there are going to be bodies. We also learn that there is plenty of backstabbing, competition, and a few passengers put for revenge. Throw in a lack of police presence and you get plenty of motives, suspects, and some humor.
Fun mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.
Payton, a ghostwriter and author of mystery novels, agrees to teach a few writing classes aboard a cruise ship full of women. Along with herself, there are other authors of various genres and around 300 women looking to learn. The narrator uses foreshadowing to let us know that there are going to be bodies. We also learn that there is plenty of backstabbing, competition, and a few passengers put for revenge. Throw in a lack of police presence and you get plenty of motives, suspects, and some humor.
February 9, 2025
Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.
I did not like this book. When I requested it, I didn't realize that I had read and very much disliked the previous book, and if I had remembered I would have skipped this one. I really, really wish publishers would STOP SAYING BOOKS AND AUTHORS ARE LIKE AGATHA CHRISTIE!!!
This is NOT LIKE AGATHA CHRISTIE!! Do not insult Christie!!
Annoying MC ghost writer on a cruise. This MC is SOOO-OOO "wonderful' and "smart' and above everyone else, looking down, the criticisms never stop, so the reader cannot make a decision on their own of the character.
I'm sorry, but I really can't find anything positive to say about this book, series, or author. I didn't' even like the narration. I did finish it, because I had agreed to finish the book and write this review, and I tried to find something positive to say, but I just can't.
1 star = I hated it.
I did not like this book. When I requested it, I didn't realize that I had read and very much disliked the previous book, and if I had remembered I would have skipped this one. I really, really wish publishers would STOP SAYING BOOKS AND AUTHORS ARE LIKE AGATHA CHRISTIE!!!
This is NOT LIKE AGATHA CHRISTIE!! Do not insult Christie!!
Annoying MC ghost writer on a cruise. This MC is SOOO-OOO "wonderful' and "smart' and above everyone else, looking down, the criticisms never stop, so the reader cannot make a decision on their own of the character.
I'm sorry, but I really can't find anything positive to say about this book, series, or author. I didn't' even like the narration. I did finish it, because I had agreed to finish the book and write this review, and I tried to find something positive to say, but I just can't.
1 star = I hated it.
February 1, 2025
3.5 rounded up. This was better than the first book! It’s a fun locked room mystery aboard a cruise ship. The characters mental dialogue takes a little getting used to as there’s a lot of snide asides and pop culture references but I found myself warming to it over the course of the book.
Belle is a ghostwriter and has been asked by her friend Payton to teach a course aboard a cruise she’s organizing for aspiring female writers. However when someone dies after dinner, Belle finds herself in the middle of yet another murder scene
This is the second in the series but can completely be read as a standalone. It’s quick and fast but I was let down by the ending because the MC doesn’t actually solve anything herself. The big reveal and denouement comes from someone else which made me feel yanked around. It’s not too hard to guess the murderer but it’s still a fun reveal. I’ll be sticking around for more!
Belle is a ghostwriter and has been asked by her friend Payton to teach a course aboard a cruise she’s organizing for aspiring female writers. However when someone dies after dinner, Belle finds herself in the middle of yet another murder scene
This is the second in the series but can completely be read as a standalone. It’s quick and fast but I was let down by the ending because the MC doesn’t actually solve anything herself. The big reveal and denouement comes from someone else which made me feel yanked around. It’s not too hard to guess the murderer but it’s still a fun reveal. I’ll be sticking around for more!
February 11, 2025
A wry sense of humour and a lamentable tendency to keep people at a distance are two of the unnamed main character, whom I'll just call Nameless, as she's a successful ghostwriter, and now also a successful mystery writer, after the transformed her experience in book one into a novel.
This time, Nameless is on board a ship for a week as a writing instructor for the wealthy customers. A college friend named Payton Garrett, whom Nameless has been jealous of and fascinated by for years, has organized the cruise, and invited her and other writers to teach the customers.
Payton is enormously successful, and was the head of the small group of her, Nameless, and Flora while in college. Flora and Payton have been at loggerheads for years, while Nameless has watched Payton's success from afar, and been amazed and envious.
The cruise guests are less interested in writing than drinking, and Nameless thinks her attempts at teaching will be useless. Then, someone dies, and Nameless is soon poking her nose into the guests' lives, along with the ship's doctor, who has decided to investigate.
Nameless also begins an affair with Payton's ex, who is also on board to report on the cruise events.
Then someone else is killed, and Nameless begins looking much more closely at those around her.
This was an entertaining second instalment in this ghostwriter mystery series. There was so much jealousy, betrayal, backstabbing, and just general nastiness between various characters, making it easy to see why someone is angry enough to kill people on board.
There is also humour, pathos, and some necessary humble pie eating, as well as maturing, by Nameless. I liked how Nameless decides to stop running away from every connection, and despite being wrong about who the killer is, till she finally figures things out, to her dismay, she gains the beginning of true friendship by the end. A welcome development, and a nice wrap up to this compelling story, which I listened to. I loved Eva Kaminsky's voicing of Nameless; she brings just the right tone to Nameless' dissecting of everyone and everything around her, as well as that sense of humour that she uses as a barrier between her and the rest of the world.
Thank you to Netgalley and to RBMedia for this ARC in exchange for my review.
This time, Nameless is on board a ship for a week as a writing instructor for the wealthy customers. A college friend named Payton Garrett, whom Nameless has been jealous of and fascinated by for years, has organized the cruise, and invited her and other writers to teach the customers.
Payton is enormously successful, and was the head of the small group of her, Nameless, and Flora while in college. Flora and Payton have been at loggerheads for years, while Nameless has watched Payton's success from afar, and been amazed and envious.
The cruise guests are less interested in writing than drinking, and Nameless thinks her attempts at teaching will be useless. Then, someone dies, and Nameless is soon poking her nose into the guests' lives, along with the ship's doctor, who has decided to investigate.
Nameless also begins an affair with Payton's ex, who is also on board to report on the cruise events.
Then someone else is killed, and Nameless begins looking much more closely at those around her.
This was an entertaining second instalment in this ghostwriter mystery series. There was so much jealousy, betrayal, backstabbing, and just general nastiness between various characters, making it easy to see why someone is angry enough to kill people on board.
There is also humour, pathos, and some necessary humble pie eating, as well as maturing, by Nameless. I liked how Nameless decides to stop running away from every connection, and despite being wrong about who the killer is, till she finally figures things out, to her dismay, she gains the beginning of true friendship by the end. A welcome development, and a nice wrap up to this compelling story, which I listened to. I loved Eva Kaminsky's voicing of Nameless; she brings just the right tone to Nameless' dissecting of everyone and everything around her, as well as that sense of humour that she uses as a barrier between her and the rest of the world.
Thank you to Netgalley and to RBMedia for this ARC in exchange for my review.
January 21, 2025
Hailed as 𝐾𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑂𝑢𝑡 meets the high sea 🌊, this is a murder mystery series that you won’t be able to put down.
There were so many laugh-out-loud moments along with the intrigue from the mystery of what-is-happening-here vibes. I love how the author just jumps right into the story off the bat and doesn’t have any of that slow-burn style I so detest.
The Get Lit Cruise was the perfect setting for this book. I was there for all the locked-room vibes.
I enjoyed this one and found it so fun to read. You can seriously just get totally lost in Donovan’s writing.
And while I haven’t had time to finish the second book, The Busy Body, which is actually the first book, it is just as enamoring as the second book. I have a pretty good sense it’ll finish off just as strongly.
𝐿𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝐿𝑖𝑝𝑠 releases tomorrow! So be sure to preorder your copy today!
𝙶𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜:
★The Busy Body / Released: Dec 24, 2024
★Loose Lips / Releases: Jan 21, 2025
☆𝒜𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇☆:
“Kemper Donovan is an acclaimed author and host of the “All About Agatha” podcast. A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, he worked at the literary management company Circle of Confusion for a decade before transitioning to writing full-time.”
There were so many laugh-out-loud moments along with the intrigue from the mystery of what-is-happening-here vibes. I love how the author just jumps right into the story off the bat and doesn’t have any of that slow-burn style I so detest.
The Get Lit Cruise was the perfect setting for this book. I was there for all the locked-room vibes.
I enjoyed this one and found it so fun to read. You can seriously just get totally lost in Donovan’s writing.
And while I haven’t had time to finish the second book, The Busy Body, which is actually the first book, it is just as enamoring as the second book. I have a pretty good sense it’ll finish off just as strongly.
𝐿𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝐿𝑖𝑝𝑠 releases tomorrow! So be sure to preorder your copy today!
𝙶𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚆𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜:
★The Busy Body / Released: Dec 24, 2024
★Loose Lips / Releases: Jan 21, 2025
☆𝒜𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇☆:
“Kemper Donovan is an acclaimed author and host of the “All About Agatha” podcast. A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, he worked at the literary management company Circle of Confusion for a decade before transitioning to writing full-time.”
January 31, 2025
First off thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of the audio in exchange for my honest review<3
I really enjoyed this book! If you’re a mystery loving book girlie in your 20s-30s you will absolutely love the narration! The only reason this book got 4 instead of 5 stars was that at times it did feel long and dragged out, but all in all a really fun mystery with a great twist!
I really enjoyed this book! If you’re a mystery loving book girlie in your 20s-30s you will absolutely love the narration! The only reason this book got 4 instead of 5 stars was that at times it did feel long and dragged out, but all in all a really fun mystery with a great twist!
November 11, 2024
Another fabulous book. I have a thing for mysteries that happen on boats (and I have no idea why because I really don't like boats at all). I think it just adds another awesome layer to the locked-room mystery.... everyone is stuck together on a floating vessel with no where to run or hide or go about their normal lives. It really ramps up the tension and drama in the best ways. This book was extra fun and eccentric because it was full of female writers who are ready for drama and boy do they get it! This author writes incredible and vivid characters that you can't help but enjoy reading about. Everyone is flawed, even the narrator MC (who I adore) who acknowledges this and is trying to become less of a loner, someone afraid to make true connections in fear of being left behind, because this is just so relatable.
I was completely ensnared and did not want to put this book down. I also love the conversation about how romance books are sneered at by so many because they are something that are mostly loved by women. I feel this is very similar with cozy mysteries as well.
Because I am an extremely untrusting person, I had an idea about the reveal, mostly because I suspect literally everyone, but it definitely still shocked me when it all came out. I love the way this mystery was woven together by the author.
I already cannot wait for more!
Thanks to the publisher for a free ARC; my thoughts and my review are my own.
I was completely ensnared and did not want to put this book down. I also love the conversation about how romance books are sneered at by so many because they are something that are mostly loved by women. I feel this is very similar with cozy mysteries as well.
Because I am an extremely untrusting person, I had an idea about the reveal, mostly because I suspect literally everyone, but it definitely still shocked me when it all came out. I love the way this mystery was woven together by the author.
I already cannot wait for more!
Thanks to the publisher for a free ARC; my thoughts and my review are my own.
September 26, 2024
What a fun book~and I need more than just 5 stars to fully capture how
much fun it has been to spend time on this ill fated cruise ship. The cast
of characters is perfect~the Author has assembled quite a group of folks
with a broad brush of mild quirky & insanity driven writers and ‘Oh I sure
WANT to be a great writer, and this BookLit cruise will give me my dream.
This is really full of pretty convincing Brit humor, and the Author is just the
best ~he’s hilarious but I’d bet he does not have any idea how funny he is!
Remember I am writing about a book for of very unusual murder amongst
those who write, those who want to write, and…the others.
My sincere thanks to the nice folks at the John Scognamiglio Book group
Whose only suggestion is that I have a great time reading this book.
much fun it has been to spend time on this ill fated cruise ship. The cast
of characters is perfect~the Author has assembled quite a group of folks
with a broad brush of mild quirky & insanity driven writers and ‘Oh I sure
WANT to be a great writer, and this BookLit cruise will give me my dream.
This is really full of pretty convincing Brit humor, and the Author is just the
best ~he’s hilarious but I’d bet he does not have any idea how funny he is!
Remember I am writing about a book for of very unusual murder amongst
those who write, those who want to write, and…the others.
My sincere thanks to the nice folks at the John Scognamiglio Book group
Whose only suggestion is that I have a great time reading this book.
October 12, 2024
Author is very heavy-handed with pop culture references, lingo, and literary references. It made me feel like he thinks the reader should obviously immediately understand the literary references, and have read all the same books.
As a male author, he is trying too hard to write in a female voice. It comes across as disingenuous. Not really enjoyable.
As a male author, he is trying too hard to write in a female voice. It comes across as disingenuous. Not really enjoyable.
May 25, 2025
the narrator's side notes were so awful i thought it was an intentional gimmick 😩 also i will NEVER again read a man writing from a woman's view in first person
May 9, 2025
It was fine. A little fun, a little silly, but largely forgettable. The author really really wants this style of writing to be a cool hip thing, but there's not quite enough talent in the writing to make me want to read any more of the series. Poor editing meant that full sentences were repeated in different paragraphs and words were just missing from sentences in some places.
January 31, 2025
4.25 stars
Loose Lips is the fun follow-up to Donovan's excellent book, The Busy Body. This time, "the ghostwriter" has successfully written a mystery inspired by the events from the first book. She goes by her pen name of Belle Currer and will be one of the instructors on an exclusive literary cruise organized by an old college friend. Belle will need to use some of the mystery-solving clues she's learned from her writing to solve a real-life crime when one of the cruise attendees dies under suspicious circumstances.
Donovan has a unique and engaging way of telling a story, and this is a fun read. The cruise is filled with interesting characters, most of whom become suspects in the crime. After a while, I had an idea I might know who the killer was, but I still enjoyed finding out what would happen next and if my theory was correct. I loved the ending, which will be especially meaningful to those who have read the first book.
I received an advance copy of this ebook for review consideration from NetGalley and Kensington Books, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.
Loose Lips is the fun follow-up to Donovan's excellent book, The Busy Body. This time, "the ghostwriter" has successfully written a mystery inspired by the events from the first book. She goes by her pen name of Belle Currer and will be one of the instructors on an exclusive literary cruise organized by an old college friend. Belle will need to use some of the mystery-solving clues she's learned from her writing to solve a real-life crime when one of the cruise attendees dies under suspicious circumstances.
Donovan has a unique and engaging way of telling a story, and this is a fun read. The cruise is filled with interesting characters, most of whom become suspects in the crime. After a while, I had an idea I might know who the killer was, but I still enjoyed finding out what would happen next and if my theory was correct. I loved the ending, which will be especially meaningful to those who have read the first book.
I received an advance copy of this ebook for review consideration from NetGalley and Kensington Books, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.
May 19, 2025
I picked this up because of the GR travel challenge and I’m so thankful to that list because I’m not sure I ever world have seen this otherwise. I’m a sucker for a cruise ship mystery. Add in fun characters with humor, banter and references to other lit I love and this couldn’t have been more perfect. Oh! And I totally didn’t figure it out at all so that’s a bonus!
November 3, 2024
I haven’t read the first book in this series but it didn’t seem to matter. Belle is a writer who is invited to be a workshop leader on a literary cruise by Peyton, an old friend who is much more successful than she is, There are a number of murders and a closed number of suspects. For some reason, Belle and the ship’s doctor are allowed to wander the ship investigating, The number of people with motives is small enough to be to know them and I didn’t guess who was responsible. I wasn’t sure that the explanation quite matched the crimes but this was a fun read. 3.5 stars rounded down, Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.
July 15, 2025
Seeing as the author is a man, it now makes sense why this mostly all-female cast of characters were so irritating to read about. There was very little depth to any of them, unless you count being catty toward one another a personality trait. Looking past that, the explanation of who was behind the murders didn't make a whole lot of sense. One thing I like about reading mysteries is you're given context clues and red herrings that you use to piece together the puzzle. If an author can insert a twist, fantastic. In this case, you have a killer out of left field with a motive that doesn't quite make sense.
May 9, 2025
my first DNF in a long time. the writing style is absolutely unbearable. every other sentence is a run on, full of information that literally does not matter at all. the constant pop culture references, including right in the first chapter talking about how Twitter is now X, made me roll my eyes out of my head. don’t mention the parentheses on every page.
i don’t know if this book had a good plot or not. and i will never know. if you can deal with an insufferable main character that is very obviously written by a man who seemingly has never met a woman in real life, this book is for you!
i don’t know if this book had a good plot or not. and i will never know. if you can deal with an insufferable main character that is very obviously written by a man who seemingly has never met a woman in real life, this book is for you!
July 7, 2025
This was somehow predictable and convoluted all at once. There were so many layers and twists that didn't amount to anything and didn't make the conclusion any less obvious. Some of the characters have promise of fun but everything is underdeveloped. For me, the ending is mean-spirited and disappointing.
January 31, 2025
So over all I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the modern references and the plot was well thought out. The biggest issue that I had was that it was very clear that this was written by a male author trying too hard to sound like a woman .
Full disclosure I didn’t know the author going into this book and didn’t know his gender. But it was clear throughout the book that he was putting in things that a woman never would in describing a woman. He also seemed to want to off load facts for the sake of nothing except waxing poetic about his knowledge base. It is also filled with social media jargon, references and current hot button stances on certain issues. It’s way too much. But I wanted to rate this on the story underneath that all and how it was written which was a strong point.
I enjoyed the narrator Eva Kamimsky who did a good job. Although because of some of that cringy descriptions it sounded uncomfortable at times coming off a women’s lips. I’m not sure if this is the authors typical MO but I hope it was a one off and he learns from his mistakes.
I am thankful to have gotten the ALC for free from RB Media through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.
The book is out now.
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.
⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again
Full disclosure I didn’t know the author going into this book and didn’t know his gender. But it was clear throughout the book that he was putting in things that a woman never would in describing a woman. He also seemed to want to off load facts for the sake of nothing except waxing poetic about his knowledge base. It is also filled with social media jargon, references and current hot button stances on certain issues. It’s way too much. But I wanted to rate this on the story underneath that all and how it was written which was a strong point.
I enjoyed the narrator Eva Kamimsky who did a good job. Although because of some of that cringy descriptions it sounded uncomfortable at times coming off a women’s lips. I’m not sure if this is the authors typical MO but I hope it was a one off and he learns from his mistakes.
I am thankful to have gotten the ALC for free from RB Media through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.
The book is out now.
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.
⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again
June 27, 2025
Hmmm, mixed feelings about this. I really liked the setting, all of the characters were fleshed out and I think this was a pretty well-written mystery. I didn't predict the culprit but something about them did feel off the whole book so clearly my senses were telling me something. However, I found the main character absolutely INSUFFERABLE. It took me a while to pin down why exactly she annoyed me so much, besides feeling like the biggest Online Millennial stereotype (and not in a “I feel seen” way, as a millennial myself), but I just knew her POV was so exhausting and constantly snarky and superior. And then at some point I realized it's that she feels so, so Not Like Other Girls, which is dumb and outdated in YA, but so worse when it's a 40-something woman. (And realizing the author is a man, I wonder if that's part of it tbh.) I'm not sure if this is talked about in the previous book, but I didn't read, but the hints of her trauma dropped in at the end felt totally out of place as well.
I will say, it ended up taking me long enough to read this that it had been officially released, so I listened to the audiobook, which was well done. The narrator was great, although I wonder if I would've liked the main character more if she hadn't done such a good job and I hadn't had to hear all of her asides and snarky comments said aloud lol. I was glad to have also had the ebook copy to refer back to though, because that happened so frequently that I was constantly missing things and I had to check the ebook repeatedly.
Thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC, all opinions are my own.
I will say, it ended up taking me long enough to read this that it had been officially released, so I listened to the audiobook, which was well done. The narrator was great, although I wonder if I would've liked the main character more if she hadn't done such a good job and I hadn't had to hear all of her asides and snarky comments said aloud lol. I was glad to have also had the ebook copy to refer back to though, because that happened so frequently that I was constantly missing things and I had to check the ebook repeatedly.
Thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC, all opinions are my own.
April 11, 2025
I find this series so charming! I really want to be friends with "Belle" (or maybe just with Donovan?). Her chatty, literary-reference-aside-filled narration is absolutely my cup of tea.
There's some funny hand-wringing about being a genre writer, and while I guess we shouldn't always assume that narrators and authors are one and the same, it's hard not to wonder how much of it is fictionalized. I don't know, man! Embrace the genre! Tell a fun story and tell it well! What's wrong with that?!
The mystery itself was fun, but I'm actually not sure how I felt about the revelation... In the end, though, I made my peace with it.
I'm on the fence about the fact that the ending builds out her tragic backstory more...I kind of like her just being the aloof ghostwriter...but I'll also happily read a third, and will probably be anxious to learn more about said backstory when I get there.
There's some funny hand-wringing about being a genre writer, and while I guess we shouldn't always assume that narrators and authors are one and the same, it's hard not to wonder how much of it is fictionalized. I don't know, man! Embrace the genre! Tell a fun story and tell it well! What's wrong with that?!
The mystery itself was fun, but I'm actually not sure how I felt about the revelation... In the end, though, I made my peace with it.
I'm on the fence about the fact that the ending builds out her tragic backstory more...I kind of like her just being the aloof ghostwriter...but I'll also happily read a third, and will probably be anxious to learn more about said backstory when I get there.
January 31, 2025
I love a locked-room mystery, and a cruise ship is the perfect setting!
I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it, especially since the narrator was the same as book one. Even though this is the second book, it stands alone well—there’s no heavy exposition, so it’s easy to follow.
There are a lot of characters—authors, guests, and staff—which made it tricky to keep track of who was who. The pacing felt a bit slow at first, with plenty of description and dialogue, but once the murders started, things picked up.
Main character Belle and the ship’s head staff take on the role of amateur sleuths, questioning passengers while the ship sails back to land.
I liked that every new clue seemed to lead to more crimes—a burglary, more murders—it was tough keeping track of the victims and motives! But that just made me want to keep reading.
One of my favorite parts was the classic “gather the suspects” moment when everything is revealed. The denouement (a word I learned from this book!) was fantastic.
The ending left me smiling, especially when Belle reached out to someone from book one. I love when a mystery ties things together like that—it makes the story feel even more satisfying.
Thanks to Netgalley and RBmedia for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review
I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it, especially since the narrator was the same as book one. Even though this is the second book, it stands alone well—there’s no heavy exposition, so it’s easy to follow.
There are a lot of characters—authors, guests, and staff—which made it tricky to keep track of who was who. The pacing felt a bit slow at first, with plenty of description and dialogue, but once the murders started, things picked up.
Main character Belle and the ship’s head staff take on the role of amateur sleuths, questioning passengers while the ship sails back to land.
I liked that every new clue seemed to lead to more crimes—a burglary, more murders—it was tough keeping track of the victims and motives! But that just made me want to keep reading.
One of my favorite parts was the classic “gather the suspects” moment when everything is revealed. The denouement (a word I learned from this book!) was fantastic.
The ending left me smiling, especially when Belle reached out to someone from book one. I love when a mystery ties things together like that—it makes the story feel even more satisfying.
Thanks to Netgalley and RBmedia for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review
February 7, 2025
I enjoyed this a lot, and it is a good, solid thing to almost everyone's liking. It doesn't get you overemotional or overwhelmed. The plot is well-structured, and it is easy to keep up and even solve the mystery if enough efforts are involved.
A cruise trip with the meaning of studying literature and writing gone horribly wrong. However, I can't say the very same about the main character: she got on the ship to teach writing mystery, and I'm happy to spoil the plot a little and tell you that she accomplished it with flying success (which was a delight after all that happened).
The only thing however that kept me from enjoying that novel fully was a big chunk of references that for me as a non-American didn't always make sense.
Thank NetGalley, the publisher, the author and the audiobook narrator for providing me with arc
A cruise trip with the meaning of studying literature and writing gone horribly wrong. However, I can't say the very same about the main character: she got on the ship to teach writing mystery, and I'm happy to spoil the plot a little and tell you that she accomplished it with flying success (which was a delight after all that happened).
The only thing however that kept me from enjoying that novel fully was a big chunk of references that for me as a non-American didn't always make sense.
Thank NetGalley, the publisher, the author and the audiobook narrator for providing me with arc
February 10, 2025
I really loved the first book in this series and to be honest I was a little let down by this follow up. This is no means saying it’s a bad book, it’s just missing that spark that the first book had. The mystery elements are well thought out and it has a very interesting ending/twist. The humour and foreshadowing was all very well done, I think maybe I just preferred some of the side characters from book one. This is a really fun cruise ship mystery, I loved the locked room aspects and the development of the relationships with some unexpected characters. I also particularly enjoyed the nod to a certain bodyguard from book one. This one could almost be a standalone because it doesn’t actually give away the details from the first book, but I would still recommend reading in order.
Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for this ALC that I chose to listen to and review.
Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for this ALC that I chose to listen to and review.
April 23, 2025
Good mystery but don’t try to solve, clues not provided
My second in this series and my last.
Lots of sarcasm, that’s good but much of it seemed forced and some was just bad.
Maybe it’s the male author taking on an essentially all female plot.
I like sarcasm but having the main character admit they get disappointed when an approaching hurricane’s winds slow before hitting land dropping it, and its potential destruction, a category or two is off putting. Probably because I have survived a few direct hits myself and none of it was funny.
The resolution of the mystery relied heavily on information the reader was not given.
I picked this up because I wanted some lighter reading and some fun distraction. This book did not deliver.
My second in this series and my last.
Lots of sarcasm, that’s good but much of it seemed forced and some was just bad.
Maybe it’s the male author taking on an essentially all female plot.
I like sarcasm but having the main character admit they get disappointed when an approaching hurricane’s winds slow before hitting land dropping it, and its potential destruction, a category or two is off putting. Probably because I have survived a few direct hits myself and none of it was funny.
The resolution of the mystery relied heavily on information the reader was not given.
I picked this up because I wanted some lighter reading and some fun distraction. This book did not deliver.
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