I enjoyed this as a mystery novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of this. Gaynor Torrance was able to write a strong story and was invested in what was going on. I enjoyed the way the characters worked and left me wanting to read more in this series.

This book has Potential so im giving it 3 stars for a good plot and likeable characters.
It Needs some polishing up before going to print and could then Easily end up being 4 or 5 star. im sending my 'spoiler' notes to publisher, in the hope that somebody saves this book in time.
This could be the start of a very entertaining series.
Thank you to Joffe Books thru NetGalley for this ARC, this is my absolute Fave genre xox

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
A fairly pedestrian cozy murder mystery with some bright spots but overall for me lacking the sparkle of others that really exceed in its genre. I assume from the subtitle that this is setting up for a book series, and I’m sure it will attract readers nonetheless. I felt the ending was a touch rushed, but enjoyed some of the reveals which were unexpected.

Loving cozy mysteries, this one grabbed my interest quickly.
Albert Franklynn was leaving his home when he died in an accident, that later the police think that the accident was murder. Naturally, the shock is overwhelming for his wife, Sylvie. Grief pulls many emotions from a person; however, when two other women arrive, they say they are also Albert’s wives. None of the wives knew about each other, they all thought that they were the only ones. How did Albert have three wives without any of them getting suspicious? Sylvie, one of the other wives, and her friend Liz decide that they are going to get to the bottom of everything: his death, how he managed three separate lives, and then if he was hiding anything else.
So, this was the first of a new series and when I read the description, this one had so much promise and sounded intriguing. However, the pace of the story was slower, and I had to push through several chapters to get into the book. While this definitely was not the worst cozy mystery I have read, but its also not the best, but I still hold hope for the author and will look for the next book. I think that this series does have promise and I will check out the next installment, but this one was not my favorite. Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for the opportunity to read and review this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

2.5 ⭐ Rounded up.

The premise of this is promising, a man dies, his wife is informed, only to discover as she is identifying the body that he was also married to 2 other women and has been leading a triple life. What other secrets is he hiding? Were any of the wives involved in the murder?

The problem is in the execution. First and foremost, it takes a little bit to get going and feels quite slow-paced for how short it is. For how slow-paced it felt, a lot of page space was wasted on the wrong things, there was plenty of room to find out more about Albert's multiple lives, more of his secrets, and more of the actual mystery bits. I felt like far too much page space was spent telling us how amazing various pastries were as the women met for another meal to talk about what great friends they were. Like I loved the female friendship, I adore that shit for sure, but we don't need to reaffirm their friendship every 5 minutes.

For example, without spoiling too much there is a climactic meeting between the two families and a third party who is also linked to Albert, but this is only described to us in a few lines after it has happened. No, go into that more, give us a chapter on that. That's interesting. Tell us more about this side of Albert, and show us the interesting dynamic between these families.

Also, justice for Simon! On one hand the police in this case are hilariously bad, apparently none of the three wives are treated as suspects at all? This is super weird because really they should be the first suspects the police have. But I also felt like the women were way too hard on Simon, considering he repeatedly puts up with them meddling in an active investigation and tells them that he believes them and will pass the information on and thanks them for all their help, they get mad because he won't just act on information they get from dubious sources, what do you want him to do? Break into a millionaire's house and accuse his fiancee of being a murderer? I get being frustrated by the lack of progress from the police but why they are angry at Simon specifically as if he has done anything wrong is wild.

The premise is intriguing and I enjoy the concept of these widows coming together to solve mysteries but the execution was lacking.

Death of a Ghostwriter is a cosy mystery set in the fictional village of Monksworthy.

Sylvie is a happy wife and loves her job running the local tea room surrounded by the most scrumptious pastries day after day. When her husband, Albert, leaves on one of his working weeks, she kisses him goodbye and wishes him a safe trip. But Albert doesn’t make it to his destination. Not long after he leaves, he is involved in a fatal car accident. And when Sylvie arrives at the mortuary to identify the body, her world is thrown into turmoil when she finds out that two other women are claiming Albert as their husband. Then the police reveal that it looks as though Albert’s brakes were tampered with. The plot thickens!

The premise sounded great and the idea of the wives all finding out about each other and the possibility of murder made for a story I wanted to dive into. The subtle clues about the ending are only hinted at in the beginning, which is good. The story starts off quickly and straight away you want to find out why it happened and who these other women are. But the pace slacks off and you find yourself having to read for the sake of reading to get to the next book.

The style is very light but tended towards being too much in places. And by that I mean it felt forced and as though the scene was pushed at you rather than you being in the scene. Some conversations felt unnecessary and for sixty-something year olds they tended to speak a lot younger and a lot more energetically (if you can imagine a bunch of girls squealing and gushing over something). There was a lot of eating and drinking involved in this too for some reason.

Now, while I understand that a cosy mystery has the characters investigating, it seemed the police did very little in this and that the ladies were able to find out far too much by themselves. That they could get in touch with “all” the people of a certain money class seemed a stretch too. And since the title had ghostwriter in it, there was actually very little to do with this. It felt like a missed opportunity for a subplot. And then the ending. All of that and it was over so quickly? I don’t mind a build-up but to just have action, action, action and then “cut”? Left me wanting more.

It’s a good book but not enough that I’d read it again. If you need a rainy day afternoon read then this is for you.

While the premise of this story had promise and the characters were definitely enjoyable, this fell a bit flat for me. Personally, a mystery has to catch my attention right away, and I am a fan of the fast paced, thriller reads. This felt very stiff and dragged on, that it was hard for me to get through! That definitely took away from my enjoyment. Overall, a fun and cozy mystery that was still enjoyable, just didn't capture my attention as much.

I loved the idea of this plot. It's a typical mystery with a plot that the author tries to make their own. The author did a OK job on this. I would have liked a more elaborated blot and more hints dropped.

3 🌟

A short and sweet little novel with a very fun premise and adorable cast of characters. I found the book easy to breeze through and enjoyable to read. The dialogue was often stiff but it got the point across.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was my first time reading a book from the author but I am delighted to say I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more books from the writer in the future

2.7 Stars
One Liner: Hmm… okay!

No one expected Albert Franklynn to die in an accident. His wife Sylvie is shocked. However, nothing prepares her to find the truth of her husband’s life. When two other women come claiming to be his wives (unknown to each other), they can’t help but wonder how Albert managed to lead three lives separately.
Soon, the police find out his death is likely a murder. Sylvie and her friend-cum-business partner, Liz, along with Albert’s other widow decide to get to the bottom of the issue. What else was Albert hiding?
The story comes in the third-person POV.

My Thoughts:
This is the first book in the series and is set in Monksworthy, a (fictional) village in Wye Valley, England.
We are introduced to the main characters at the beginning through individual chapters. Then, the rest of the book has POVs jumping from one character to another. It’s a mix of omnipresent and limited third-person.
After the first 15%, I realized I might enjoy this better if I increased the reading pace a bit. That helped. Something about the narration doesn’t make it as enjoyable as it should be. There’s a lot of tell (which doesn’t always bother me), making it hard to feel the vibe of the place and the characters.
That said, the main characters are easy enough to distinguish from one another. A couple of things feel OTT. Not sure if it is for humor because I didn’t find them funny.
Things take a turn midway through. A surprising development but it kinda makes sense. While the official police are supposed to do very little in cozy mysteries, they seem to do almost nothing here.
The climax wasn’t well executed. For all the build-up we get until then, the actual scene is over in a page or so. After that, there’s just one mention of it. This is unsatisfying to a reader who wants to know more about the killer and their backstory (or at least a few other details).
The title suits the book, though that aspect has also been underexplored. Most of the time, it’s the women trying to sleuth and being successful without any trouble. A bit too easy and a few coincidences dilute the feel.
Nevertheless, the book ends with a detailed glossary of British words (for US readers) listed in alphabetical order. This is an extensive list! It could be useful elsewhere too. Save a copy of the glossary if you read this book.

To summarize, Death of a Ghostwriter is the first book in a new cozy mystery series with an intriguing premise. The execution could have been a lot better, though. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either.
Thank you, NetGalley and Joffe Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This book was really boring and the fact that its all about finding a murderer and then climax is a literally a page and then its over. Extremely let down. I will not be recommending this book to anyone.

I appreciate the ARC and thank you to the Netgalley and the publishers but unfortunately I did not like the book. I don't think it was done well.