This was such an interesting story with unique characters. I went back and forth between reading and listening to this one. Anke’s story was fantastic and I couldn't help but be fascinated by her. I always love a celebrity mystery and this one delivered with the questions surrounding Mal’s death. Mari’s life was less formed out with the additions of his troubled sister and estranged dad - I see what Tomlinson was trying to do but it just didn’t land for me. The audiobook is so well done and has an original song at the beginning and end!

It is on the vibe of Daisy Jones and the Six, but holds its own very well. What we have here is a book about a ghost writer, Mari, that’s been hired to write the book of Anke. Anke is the widow of Mal and he was the leader of the Midnight Ramblers. While Mari is meeting with Anke, she starts to uncover the cause of Mal’s death and gets herself caught up in a world she never dreamed about.

I couldn’t put this book down!

"Perfect for fans of Daisy Jones & The Six and Almost Famous , a gripping debut about the complicated legacy of a legendary rock band and the ghostwriter telling their story" Although I adored Daisy Jones and the Six, this is not the great comparison I was hoping for .. it was good, not great. Felt like too much was attempted in this story.

Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers is an interesting look into the mind of a ghostwriter and the unique skills to gain the trust and draw out celebrities. This is a particularly tricky case, involving not one but two book proposals of people connected to a massive band. It's a bit weird how much focus is on decades-old mysteries and suspicions when there have surely been many more noteworthy items for a band to keep rocking over the years; but the unraveling plot and quirky characters make for a fun read. There definitely could have been fewer to get more focus but there had to be some red herrings to be sure. It could have been any highly visible profession, there isn't as much music as the comparisons to Daisy Jones would suggest, but some of the legacy is definitely befitting a rock act, and it was nice to have some songs to intro and outro the audiobook.
A fun, twisty, armchair psychology read.

With its lyrical prose, candid reflections, and timeless insights, "Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers" is a captivating homage to a pivotal moment in rock and roll history and a testament to the enduring legacy of artistic expression. It is a book that resonates long after the final page is turned, reminding us of the transformative power of love, friendship, and the pursuit of artistic truth.

Mari is an aspiring ghostwriter who finally gets her big break by landing a job to write the memoir of Anke, a famous “groupie” and wife of Mal, the founder of the rock group, the Midnight Ramblers. As Mari travels with and interviews Anke, she becomes determined to learn the truth about Mal’s mysterious death by drowning. Even as she becomes attached to Anke, she overzealously pushes her boundaries and is fired by Anke. However, unexpectedly, Mari is contacted by Dante, another band member who requests that she become his ghostwriter. Through both Anke and Dante as well as those in the band’s inner circle, Mari begins to uncover secrets that could lead to solving the mystery around Mal’s death but also put herself in danger.
The audio version of this book was done very well. The narrator did a great job with accents and voice inflections of all the characters, both male and female. I found the book crossing several genres - historical fiction, mystery and thriller. Initially, I thought the story had too much going on, especially with the thriller aspects and the main character being in danger. But as the mystery aspect unfolded, I found the book to be more entertaining. I enjoyed the emotional connection between Mari and Anke and how this seemed to endure even as they split professionally. The book is very different from anything I have read and I definitely enjoyed it. But while I love thrillers, I’m still not sure this aspect fit smoothly within the story.

If you fell in love with Daisy Jones and the Six, you'll love this book! Mari is hired as a ghostwriter to tell the illustrious story of the infamous Anke Berben. She's equal parts rock and style icon, with her own jewelry line, a famous rock legend husband who died under mysterious and illustrious circumstances, and an enigma in every right of the word. We follow Mari as she struggles to get Anke's powerful story right, to bring her life to the world, while we are taken on a wild ride of 60's-70's rock n' roll adventure. I highly recommend!

I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately found it lacking. The comparisons to TJR are fair and appropriate—this book feels like 1/3 Daisy Jones and the Six, 1/3 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and 1/3 whodunnit, but it does not really live up to the excellence of any of these thirds.

Mari’s character fell flat, and I found myself for interested in her sister’s story which dances on the periphery. Anke glimmered but by nature of the story in which Mari is trying to get to know Anke, I felt frustrated by not understanding her inner world (namely why she was attracted to and stayed with Mal in the first place). Mari felt whiny and I felt like I was being hit over the head with the allusions to “being a ghost.”

The inclusion of original music at the end of the audiobook was a cute touch.

Disclaimer: I received an audiobook ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. There are a lot of characters to keep straight and a lot going on in this story. It's not always cohesive and I found Mari to be too accommodating, even for a ghostwriter who is desperate. I did, however, enjoy the story.
Mari is a ghostwriter in need of her first "best seller" to cement her reputation in publishing. She sees her opportunity with Anke Berben, who was intimately involved with the band Midnight Ramblers at the height of their popularity. But things are not straight forward and Mari soon finds herself in the middle, trying to discern the truth from some unreliable characters.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

After reading the synopsis, I was excited to dive into this book. However, it really failed to execute.

This whole book was FINE. At one point the audio player wasn’t working and I just forgot to pick it back up for several days, never thinking of it once. The characters are all a little flat and left me incredibly uninterested in the story. The MC was obsessed with uncovering what “really” happened to a member of the Ramblers when hired to ghostwrite and I could not figure out why she cared. She was hired to write a memoir and it really didn’t matter. I ended up finding her insufferable.

It was probably about a 3 star read for me for the w majority of the book. Again, it was FINE. But then the last few chapters were just so silly I couldn’t in good conscience give it more than a 2.

I did like the narrator and thought she did what she could with a lackluster story.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc

In The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers, Mari, a ghostwriter looking for her big break, gets the opportunity to work on style icon Anke Berben's memoir. Back in the 1960s, Anke was best-known for her romantic entanglements with three members of the legendary rock band the Midnight Ramblers -- one of whom, Anke's husband Mal, drowned under suspicious circumstances in the summer of 1969, at the height of the band's fame. Now, in order to make a name for herself and write the bestseller such a legendary band deserves, Mari must coax the truth about that summer out of Anke -- no matter how resistant Anke is to telling her.

Readers who pick up The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers because of the comparisons to Daisy Jones & The Six are likely going to be disappointed. Unlike Daisy Jones, with its charismatic characters whose complicated relationships were so well-described and intimately felt, Midnight Ramblers feels a bit shallow in its execution. The mystery at the center of the book isn't compelling enough, and the characters are somewhat flat -- not surrounded by the mystique and glamour you'd expect from rock stars. Sarah Tomlinson never really made me feel like the Midnight Ramblers were a legendary rock band; the music aspect gets lost in Mari's single-minded pursuit of the truth about Mal's death. I wanted song lyrics, album titles, descriptions of heady, over-the-top concerts -- all of which were largely absent from the narrative.

What the novel does much more successfully is provide an intimate look at the process of ghostwriting. Tomlinson herself was a ghostwriter for many years, and her knowledge of the profession is illuminating and fascinating. This book is much more about Mari's career as a ghostwriter and about the complexities of spending your life telling someone else's stories than it is about the Midnight Ramblers themselves. Although I appreciate this aspect for the original perspective it provides, it did muddle the focus of the book.

The audiobook has a high production value; it's masterfully-narrated by Helen Laser (who totally nails the accents) and includes an original Midnight Ramblers song performed by Joshua Grange. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the early listening opportunity.

The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers is a fun audiobook. Going into it, the reader needs to know that it is less a book about rock and roll and more a book about writing. Mari is a ghostwriter and she was hired on to write the memoir of Anke, It Girl of the 1960s. Anke was considered a groupie of the band the Midnight Ramblers and she had been romantically linked to three of the bands members. This book follows Mari as she tries to untangle the threads of these relationships and discover the truth of the death of the band's front man, Mal, who died under mysterious circumstances. The narrator of this book did quite a good job with all of the voices, I thought. At times the books felt like it was stuck in a cycle with the same things happening over again, but ultimately the mystery and the history of the book kept the story engaging.

Very enjoyable audiobook. It felt a little like Daisy Jones & the Six with a whodunnit mystery thrown in. I thought that having the main character be a ghostwriter was quite clever and enjoyed that viewpoint. It was unique and thought provoking. There were some points that felt a little redundant but I believe it was just how the book had to read to feel authentic. I thought it was quite good and am glad I enjoyed it in audiobook form. The narration was quite good.

Thank you to NetGalley for this early listening copy.

This is a story about the trials and triumphs that come with telling someone else's story. There's some drama mixed in, some of it furthers the plot and some doesn't. This book is very slow with quite a bit of unnecessary filler. The characters are a bit flat and lacking in personality.

If you're looking for a book that doesn't require a lot of attention, this one is good for you. It's pretty light throughout, with touches of family drama a cold-case murder mystery.

A ghost writer in need of a big break and a celebrity in need of a best selling tell-all that will set the record straight regarding her love affairs with three members of the rock band, The Midnight Ramblers, find each other in this fantastic new book perfect for fans of Daisy Jones and the six or The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo. This fiction debut was also great on audio narrated by Helen Laser. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Title: The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers
Author: Sarah Tomlinson
Narrator: Helen Laser
Overall: 3 stars
Story: 3
Performance: 4

"The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers" had a captivating title, intriguing cover art, and an enticing description that immediately caught my attention. However, the story did not live up to my expectations of an epic and gripping tale. Instead, the focus seemed to be more on the dynamics and skills of a ghostwriter, which was not what I anticipated.

While the premise of the book was great, the plot unfolded at a slow pace, and it lacked a substantial message. I found it difficult to understand where the story was heading and why I should care about the characters. Moreover, I struggled to keep track of the numerous smaller characters, often mixing them up.

On a positive note, the performance by narrator Helen Laser was commendable, earning a rating of 4 stars. Her delivery added depth and emotion to the story, enhancing the overall listening experience.

In summary, "The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers" is a book that may appeal to fans of Daisy Jones & The Six and Almost Famous. However, it fell short of my expectations, with a slow-paced plot and a lack of character development. Despite its flaws, the excellent narration by Helen Laser made the audiobook more enjoyable.

Sex, secrets, drugs, murder in the 1960/1970's rock and roll scene - you get all this and more in The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers. This is a dishy dive into the band and the ghostwriter trying to write a memoir through interviews with members of the band. A quick and fun read for those who enjoyed Almost Famous, Daisy Jones, and books that center around bands and the music industry. I loved the narrator and the music in between sets/chapters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC.

Wanted to love it but it fell short. I understood Mari’s initial motivation, the financial and professional drive to get the project done, ghostwrite these musical memoirs, but then she somehow becomes obsessed with uncovering a (possible) murder, as if she’s a hardcore journalist/detective. The author doesn’t explore how this could actually derail her entire career and blow any chance of the book(s) being published.

There becomes such an insane focus on this one point that the greater scope of the characters, band, music, and years suffers. There is no build for any of it, especially the music and many other decades of this fictional band. It’s a huge missed opportunity.

Mari’s neurotic brain got old fast. And her decision making tended toward stupid for the sake of the plot. Even still, I might have given it three stars, but those final chapters killed it for me. I just wasn’t on board.

As for the audiobook, it was okay, considering I wasn’t liking the story as a whole. But I wasn’t sure why one German character got the accent but the other didn’t. It was a choice that didn’t make sense.

Overall, it wasn’t a winner.

While this one is touted as one for fans of Daisy Jones, it really struck me as more similar to Evelyn Hugo.. with that, it is about rock band from the 60’s and the spiral that ensued after the lead singers death. The way the book was written, with a writer acquiring information from a celebrity source, though, that served big Evelyn Hugo vibes.

I really liked how this one centered on Mari, the ghost writer of the memoirs that two key players plan to publish as their legacy and redemption from the fallout. Mari is a determined hot-mess of a writer. I liked how the author really shed insight at the beginning of each chapter about how to be a ghostwriter, referencing how Mari really needed to get into the heads of her subjects and “be” them and shedding light on why Mari did/asked certain things.

It was an easy listen and I found myself more and more invested as the story continued. Dante is a true gem and was the star of this one for me!

I really wanted to love this book but I didn't. There was a wall between the characters and I and I never made it over it to connect with them.