The Ghostwriters by Mickey J. Corrigan.
A struggling writer living in Manhattan, Jacy McMasters is the first to admit she's a terrific liar and a screw-up. Then the ghost of the famous novelist JD Balinger asks her to "channel" a follow-up to his classic coming of age book, The Watcher in the Sky. Along with her new boyfriend, a bear of a man who has no patience for mind games, the ghost in Jacy's head forces her to confront a lifetime of secrets—dark secrets. Secrets she's been keeping from herself.
A good read. Slow but readable. 3*.

Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .

Okay, this one just drove me crazy. It is about a young, struggling writer with a substantial drinking problem who is haunted by the ghost of J.D. Salinger. Both characters drove me crazy - Jacy is self-aware enough to know she has some real substance abuse and self-esteem problems, but she just doesn't seem to care. The glib way in which Corrigan portrays her is just irritating. Similarly, Salinger is portrayed as a shallow, egotistical chauvinist. Neither character had enough depth or integrity to carry the story.

Thank you for the copy of this in exchange for a review!

This was such a fun read, as Jacy was such a hot mess! It was fun to be inside her head as the plot unfolded. I am going to find more books by this author in the near future!

Mickey J Corrigan has given us a fantastical adventure into her mind which I found sad,amusing,disturbing all at the same time.
Jacy McMasters is a struggling author and part-time waitress - waiting tables at weekends to finance her drinking and bar hopping on weeknights. On one such night she is picked up by an older but good looking man who turns out to be a famous author albeit recently deceased !!
Not really my idea of an enjoyable read but the writing style was good and there were some parts which were quite amusing..

Even if I am more a "cozy mystery" type I was fascinated by this book with all the complexities and twist.
Highly recommended if you want a well written book

I loved this entire book ! Channeling a famous writer who just happens to be dead, to help you wrote not only an amazing but bestselling book? Amazing and then with all the added twist of phycosis and all the death and depression Jacy struggles with a truly amazing piece of work that I hope many generations continue to read because the understory is there and wow a powerful message with it !

4 weirdly interesting stars🌟🌟🌟🌟”

you are an interesting chick. Weird, but very, very interesting.”

Perfect quote from this book... you could substitute the word chick with book and that would describe this book perfectly.....

Let me start this off by saying this is not a ghost story.... please do not let the blurb turn you off from this book.... this also is not a romance.... although there is a love interest (and he really is quite divine) that part of the book really takes a backseat to the true story.... The dark character study of Jacy...

Jacy is really a hot mess.... your first impression of the girl is that she is a spoiled brat who can’t seem to figure her life out so she is still living on mommy and daddy‘s dime.... but as the book goes on you find out that her life has been one epic tragedy.... and truth be told if I had lived her life I’d be a hot mess too!

Jacy is a likable, interesting, weird, and sarcastic character.... I truly liked her from the get go and as I learned her story I liked her even more and I definitely understood her better.....

Yes, she is ghostwriting a book for a ghost... yes, she makes some poor decisions when it comes to her personal life... yes, she has the mother from hell.... but sometimes things aren’t quite as they seem....

This was a really good book, kind of took me by surprise.... makes you wonder why some books are better received than others... this book is definitely as good if not better than some pretty high profile books I have read this year....

then why not five stars? Because this book took a little turn in the middle and it really took a lot away from the momentum of this book for me.....

I would definitely recommend this to people who enjoy character driven stories with quirky dark characters and a little bit of a slower pace.....

*** thank you too Net Galley for a copy of this book and exchange for my honest review***

Jacy McMasters is a struggling writer in Manhattan. She has had no luck so far with her writing, but she nevertheless keeps at it. She works part-time as a waitress and gets help from her trust fund baby mother with her expenses. When she is not writing, Jacy is drinking heavily in bars or looking for and taking part in one-night-stands. No, she does not think these are god hobbies, but it seems she cannot stop herself. In addition, her former boyfriend keeps hanging around Jacy for guess what, when his current love won’t put out. This is the crazy life to which the author introduces the reader. One night, Jacy meets up with the ghost of a popular author, who wants her to write a sequel to his now famous book, helping Jacy break into the publishing/author world. Jacy agrees and the work begins in earnest. After about one hundred pages, the writer ghost leaves, letting Jacy review and edit what has so far been written and then finish the rest of the book. About this time, Jacy meets up with a nice guy at a bar, and, for a change, he is interested in her, so they pursue a relationship. In the middle of all thin is Jacy’s wealthy mother, who, quite plainly, comes across as a real nutcase b***. Jacy barely gets along with her, but needs to stay friendly for the financial support her mother provides. The book continues in a haphazard way, with lots of strange events and occurrences that sometimes have a lot to do with the story or are, at other times, just there. Does the book Jacy is working on get written and published? If it does, is it a success? Can Jacy straighten her life out?

This was a rather strange book, with a rather strange story. I personally cannot understand why some reviewers thought it was so great, as I did not. I disliked Jacy’s character as well as that of her mother almost from the get-go. Jacy came across as a spoiled girl, who was irresponsible and not particularly mature. The two characters I did like were the author ghost and the great guy Jacy met. I am glad the book was short, since staying with it became harder and harder. The author’s writing style is okay, so, at least, I could stay with it easily. I found some confusion during the time in the story when Jacy went to visit her family for her brother’s birthday, and I thought that event could have been done better. The ending was predictable, though, in my opinion, not as realistic as I expected. I think this book will appeal to a particular type reader, but I am not sure how to explain which type. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

The interesting twist of an idea of a ghost author helping a real author in the synopsis drew me in. A gritty true feeling story to read that kept me guessing along the way. Wasn't disappointed at all.