The Ghostwriter returns in another wildly funny and intriguing mystery, this time aboard a cruise ship filled with aspiring writers! Fresh off the celebrity bestowed on her by the book she wrote about the last time she got involved in a murder (Donovan’s previous book, The Busy Body), she agrees to teach a course on writing mysteries for a literary-themed cruise. The premise: 300 women, all fans of the writer who organizes this event, set sail—in January—for a cruise to nowhere. The women who sign up are mildly interested in writing and very interested in drinking, but after only one day at sea the page turns to murder. The Ghostwriter is, once again, self-deprecating and sarcastic, and her interactions with the other writers, the staff aboard the ship, and the aspiring creatives are compelling. This is a quality mystery, thoughtful and twisty, with a marvelous ending. Highly recommended! Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Thank you Kensington Publishing for my free e-copy via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Our anti-heroine ghostwriter/mystery writer has reluctantly agreed to facilitate workshops on her old friend Payton Garrett's literary cruise event in the north Atlantic. She expects the ship full of (almost) exclusively women, the day drinking, and the feelings of inadequacy. What she didn't expect was an old frenemy and a murder. And when one murder becomes more, can our writer unmask the murderer before it's too late for her too?

Can I just say how this book is written so well that it didn't even connect with me that we don't really know the narrator's name? She's living behind an image, because she hates herself and because it's how she makes her living. And we learn more about why she's so self-destructive, lonely, and unhappy, and why she wants to stay that way (the first book in the series explored "how" but not "why"). She orbits powerful women that she seems to be jealous of, and hates herself for that too. Also, the way that Kemper breaks the fourth wall is just as gracefully done as in Benjamin Stevenson's Ernest Cunningham series, but in a different kind of unique way. By reading from the first-person limited, we don't necessarily know much more about who that person really is inside than if we were reading about her from someone else's observations and that is tricky to pull off. It was a dark, foreboding book with lots of foreshadowing (both explicit and more subtle) and curious clues dropped along the way. I read this one hoping that it would be more redemptive than the first book, and I almost was disappointed. But in the end I wasn't, and I am now hoping there'll be a third..

Trigger warning: murder, violent death, drug abuse, suicide, blood

Belle -the ghostwriter- finds herself solving a real life murder on a cruise ship that's got a writing seminar promoted by her old pal Peyton who is surprised when Flora, who is suing her, shows up. Phew. It's a nicely paced locked ship cozy that while the second in a series can be read as a standalone. The characters are sometimes a bit over the top but the cattiness is also entertaining. Thanks to netgalley for the Arc. Light and fun.

This was such a great addition to the series-- love the ghostwriter and her complicated past, and loved the newest addition. Pacing was tight, characters were memorable, & as always loved the narration. Can't wait for more of these in the series-- reminds me a lot of the Benjamin Stevenson books.

What a charmer! LOOSE LIPS by Kemper Donovan is a locked room mystery on a cruise boat... that's full of writers and their fans. It's the second book in the Ghost Writers series, but – shh! – I haven't read the first one yet, and you don't have to either. This is a bottle episode type of series, so there are a few references to book one, but the mystery and plot stand alone. LOOSE LIPS is lighthearted, fun, and thoughtful with references to the pub industry and classic mysteries. I tore through LOOSE LIPS on a long plane ride and I think it makes a great vacation book – lots of fun, easy to pop in and out of, and a satisfying conclusion.

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.

The second in the Ghostwriter Mystery series, (the first being The Busy Body), our ghostwriter is back and this time she's going cruising! (Literally, she's on a cruise). Anyway, this is a locked room mystery with many suspects, motives and quite a few murders that seem to keep happening. The ghostwriter is on the Get Lit! cruise to teach the mystery course, but she can't seem to solve the mystery. This is a funny cozy mystery series for anyone who enjoys Richard Osman and Alan Bradley. Do yourself a favor and read The Busy Body first in order to get acquainted with the ghostwriter. You won't be disappointed.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this digital e-arc.*

Nice follow up to The Busy Body! Love the Death on the Nile type setting. I guessed the killer early on but enjoyed the lead up and the characters.

My thanks to Net Galley and Kensington for allowing me this arc.

When a female mystery writer offers a writing class on a cruise ship, the fun begins! Catty women with issues and secrets from the past add to the ongoing fun. But when one of the characters is found dead, Payton, the writer teams up with ships doctor to solve whodunit.

I recommend this book but my one and only complaint, the murder investigation did not happen to almost half way thru the book. It took too much time in the beginning with the background of the other characters. Like a Desperate Housewives/Real Housewives plot, but did redeem.

I really enjoy this quirky new series that features a nameless ghostwriter as the main character. In the first book, the writer trails a Hilary Clinton-esque figure and they solve a crime together. In this second book, she’s now established after writing up her previous adventure, and she’s booked onto a private cruise for wanna be writers. She’s the “mystery writer” instructor, along with a poet, a memoirist, and an ultra successful romance writer. We learn her pen name, Belle Currer, which certainly makes things simpler from a logistical point of view.

The cruise has been set up by a former school friend of Belle’s, Payton, who since grad school has gone on to fame and glory. Both women are astonished when the third member of their grad school triumvirate, Flora, shows up, as she’s suing Payton for stealing the book concept she’d been working on for decades. She’s appeared on the cruise in an effort to make Payton miserable.

Donovan does a nice job setting the scene both in terms of the ship, the writing conference, and the tensions and rivalries between the characters who become central to the story. They include Joan Chen, who wants to be a writer but is serving as the ship’s doc (she and Belle meet when Belle has a bout of seasickness early on), Payton’s chic wife, Nicole; Payton’s bitchy assistant, Jackson, and various women attending the conference.

When things go south – a first death – Belle and Doctor Joan team up as a detective team. Belle willingly assumes the “Hastings” role as she did in the first book with Joan taking the lead. As they’re at sea with no visible security (everyone signed a waiver before signing up) the amateur detection seems perfectly reasonable. This is a classic setting, of course, and the ship provides a “closed circle” – i.e. someone on board has to be the guilty party. As more deaths occur Joan and Belle are hot on the trail.

Donovan is a witty and sometimes unexpected writer. He’s a sharp observer of human interaction and character, and he’s pretty funny. His freshness as a writer makes this very traditional mode of story telling fresh as well. With the set up he seems to be adopting – “Belle” the writer can go just about anywhere and work for just about anyone – he has lots of leeway in terms of Belle finding more murders to solve. The resolution here is quite ingenious, and as in all the best golden age style mysteries, the clues were present for the reader to discover. These are fun reads which also make you use your brain.

Cozy-ish Mystery which features a ghostwriter and successful mystery author mentoring guests onboard a literary cruise turns sleuth after a suspicious death and several poisonings.

4/5 stars: This is the second entry in Donovan's Ghostwriter series which is a Literary Cozy-ish Mystery that features an unnamed ghostwriter and successful mystery author as she reluctantly joins a week-long literary cruise to teach and mentor guests in mystery writing only to find herself turning sleuth after an attendee's found dead under suspicious circumstances and several others suffer symptoms of poisoning. With numerous motives and suspects to choose from and the body count rising, she'll have to navigate onboard tensions if she's going to catch a killer whose scruples have long abandoned ship. With plenty of twists and turns, Donovan has crafted a mystery that balances the suspects, clues and red herrings and will leave you pondering the whodunit until the final reveal. With biting wit, Donovan's writing and character work is great; the characters are well-rounded and complex while remaining incredibly likable. I love our unnamed protagonist, she's smart, snarky and takes no guff from anyone. It's great to catch up with her and I look forward to seeing where her next adventure takes her. Donovan touches on some sensitive topics; so take care and check the CWs. Additionally, while there are no OPS scenes, there is very frank talk of sex and body parts. While you could read this as a stand-alone, you'll gain so much more by reading the series from the beginning; so be sure to pick up book one, The Busy Body.

I received this eARC thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing | A John Scognamiglio Book in exchange for an honest review. Publishing dates are subject to change.

I have never really understood the whole cruise thing. Voluntarily imprisoning oneself on a slow-moving island with endless activities tailored to be “fun”, but more like a form a shared torture from my perspective. No thanks. Well, if I was looking to have my mind changed, this book had no hope of that!

Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Belle, our narrator, a writer, is flummoxed to find herself aboard the “Get Lit” cruise, where female booklovers have gathered to maybe learn a thing or two from the authors hosting classes. Between the underwhelming attendance to her talk, a flirtation with a fellow passenger born out of boredom and trying not to roll her eyes every time someone performs a reenactment of that scene from Titanic, Belle is hungry for some excitement.

When the bodies (yes, plural) start dropping she thinks, yes, I finally have an idea for my next book. Inappropriate? Maybe, but at least it’s not disingenuous. But first, she is going to have to get off this floating death trap.

As with this author’s first book, I loved the wry banter, the masterful grasp and dispensation of red herrings, the eccentric cast of characters.

The second novel following the Ghostwriter, now going by Belle Currer, takes place at sea, in the same vein as many Agatha Christie novels. Belle has been hired by a former grad school classmate to teach in a weeklong Get Lit cruise for women. Of course, someone is murdered. Overall, the mystery part of the novel was pretty well done, though the hints were a bit heavy handed. Belle’s first-person narration is overbearing most of the time, though, as if she (or the writer) feel the need to spell everything out for the reader.

"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..."

A locked room mystery on the high seas peopled who those who specialize in crime? Time for me to set sail!

I loved the first book in this series ("The Busy Body") so I was delighted to get early access to the latest installment. This time out, the ghostwriter is on an all-female cruise for writers and their ardent fans. There are old rivalries, new flirtations, a blossoming friendship, and…murder.
Thanks to @NetGalley and Kensington Publishing | A John Scognamiglio Book for the advance reader copy.

Murder on a writer's cruise. That sentence alone should get lots of readers for this murder mystery featuring a ghost writer and a cast of published and wannabe authors.

A group of aspiring writers go on a cruise ship and someone is murdered. A deliciously meta mystery ensues. These women (the trip is for females only) have read it all, so they keep adding their shared knowledge based on the tropes: “there can be only one murder but, when there are two bodies, a third one follows. Access is key to finding out whodunit.” Every quote, joke, banter and throwback to a classic or modern mystery is catnip to genre fans. The Ghostwriter is back and turns again into a self-aware Hastings. The cast of suspects is fantastic, over the top but somehow believable in this context. The author makes fun of writers and books, but in a kind way that shows a deep love of literature. The Main Character is so well written and her voice is so relatable and real that I forgot, again, that she is never named (other than her pen name, which is hilarious). The psychology of all these women is so accomplished that again I forgot that this was written by a man. And the plot? How did I not see this coming, it was so well built, so logical that I couldn’t believe that the author managed to fool me! I gasped and nervously laughed… “you call yourself a mystery reader?” The personal lives of these characters was also part of the fun. Most of them are exaggerated versions of real people, so it was fun to guess who each fictional author was supposed to be. Readers who secretly belong to Ravenclaw will enjoy this.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer.

As a huge fan of mysteries set on cruises, I couldn't wait to devour this one! Our main character, "Belle", an author and a ghostwriter is invited to teach a mystery course on her friend's literary cruise. Of course, it doesn't go to plan and soon murder is involved. I loved all the meta-ness and snarkiness of the main character. I did feel that the plot lagged a bit in the middle and thought some of the characters could have been rounded out more. However, it was such a fun read that it didn't detract from my enjoyment. Can't wait to read the next one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC!

I think I enjoyed this mystery about ghost writer turned sleuth introduced in The Busy Body more than the first entry in the series. As the novel starts, the ghostwriter is off to lead seminars for aspiring mystery writers., on a one week "Get-Lit" cruise, organized by the uber-successful author Payton Garett, a former friend from her days as a writing student. Soon Payton is publicly poisoned, as is her new wife, and then her assistant dies. As a body count mounts, The ghostwriter and the ships doctor assist the captain in trying to solve the murder-mystery before the ship, now turned around, returns to dock. I found it funny and sarcastic, and a fine read for fans of Agatha Christie, Anthony Horowitz or the Thursday Murder Club like novels.

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!