Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Enjoyable whodunit mystery with good narration. I enjoyed the first book in the series as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I sometimes find the second novel in the series is a bit of a sleeper, but I had nothing to worry about as Kemper Donovan took me back down the ghostwriter rabbithole in the best way. I really loved the setting and cast of characters. I was hooked from the beginning, and I had tons of laughs along the way. I am so looking forward to the next installment.

I received an ARC of the audiobook and I really enjoyed it! The narrator was great and the story was fast paced! This definitely felt like a Knives Out story mixed with a Murder Mystery Dinner & a Whodunnit on a Cruise Ship! I’d highly recommend listening to the audiobook if you can! I look forward to reading more books by this author, since this was my first, it definitely won’t be the last!

I liked the first book in this series, so I was very excited to get to read this second book. The narration is great, and the ending was so good. I need more to this story and more from this author. I will be sticking around for the next one whenever it comes out.

I hate DNFing books, I really try to trudge through and finish them, but Im afraid I had to with this one. I have to admit that I knew I wouldn't enjoy within the fist few minutes. I took me another 16% to finally relent and admit that this book just wasn't for me.

Loose lips is a mystery novel set on a cruise filled with millennial and older women, and that's who it is marketed towards. The tone, dialogue and writing are full of what I can only describe as millennial cliches, that had me rolling my eyes every couple minutes, my last straw was the Hogwarts houses joke. The Disney adult vibe, was too much for me, and although I'm sure I would have enjoyed it ten years ago, when this style was more popular and mainstream, in 2025 it feels dated, cringey, and a little out of touch. I cant even tell if this is genuine or a satirical criticism of the millenial cliches in storytelling, I didn't read enough to be able to tell, but I do know there are people that enjoy this style, its just not me.

I cant even talk about the plot itself because I didn't make it to any of the murders, at 16%, the story was still being set up, introducing characters and building tension. Focusing less on the story itself and more on the actual narration, I think Eva Kaminsky nails it and perfectly delivers the message the author intended.

Loose Lips is the second book in the Ghostwriter series. The book follows the writer as she sets sail on a writers cruise to teach a course on writing mysteries. I really enjoyed this follow up to the Ghostwriter series by Kemper Donovan. This was a fun and interesting locked room cozy mystery. I think the setting being a ship is always a fun addition since it add a level of drama. I did not see the end coming in the slightest. The narrator did a fantastic job with portraying the different characters.

This was my first time reading an audiobook through Netgalley and it was a good experience. Donovan’s mystery takes place on a cruise filled with aspiring writers in this sequel to The Busy Body (I did not know it was a sequel). Belle, a ghostwriter turned mystery author, is invited by a friend to join a literary cruise where authors share their expertise. But when a passenger is murdered and there’s no security on board, Belle steps in to solve the case.

Note one - Like I said before it is a sequel and I did not know that and I did not read the first book. It was frustrating when the first book was referenced and I had no clue what was going on. Despite that hiccup, you can still follow the story.

Belle was not my favorite character. I found her unlikeable but the voice actor did a great job. I think the story was geared toward a younger audience but I don't feel that old.... I was annoyed by the humor and the sarcasm. I wanted more but it left me feeling flat.

Ok so I loved the setting. Murder mystery on a literary cruise is so fun. I liked the new characters we were introduced to and seeing some from the previous book. It’s a fun murder mystery! However, I think sometimes it comes off a little as trying too hard to be funny which can kind of push a reader away at some parts in the book.

Thanks to RB Media & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I bought into the blurbs too much, I think: I thought that comparisons to Anthony Horowitz and Agatha Christie (and, of course, Knives Out) were truthful, but alas! (really I should have known that no one but Sophie Hannah can hope to approach Dame Agatha).

Eva Kaminsky is a pro voice actor and I have enjoyed her in the past. She has a dry delivery here that sort of works - she has a tendency to lower her voice on the final phrasing in a sentence that had me reaching for the volume button frequently. Her quick cadence had me at odds with my desire to listen to the book at 1.25 speed to get through it, because I was annoyed with the story and most of the characters. Anyway, Eva tries to do a lot with a little, and it's not always successful.

I think the biggest issue is Donovan's notion that he can write female characters, with which I disagree. I read in another review (but was unable to substantiate with a quick online search, so assess accordingly) that he used social media to learn how women speak, so many of his character dialogs reflect that sort of "women gossiping together over cosmopolitans" kind of flavor that one finds in sitcoms, kind of like "Sex & the City" without the sex, though there's a bit of that, too. Anyway, the girl talk fell flat for me, possibly because of my awareness of the author's gender. It's kind of ballsy (lol) to set your mystery on a female-only cruise run by a lesbian couple when you're a dude, so I guess points for fearlessness.

Did I mention I wanted to like this? I did want to, but it frustrated me. Our unnamed MC, going by Belle Currer (apparently a nom de plume of Aussie crime writer Kel Robertson? If there's a joke there, I didn't get it), has a very dry wit and is a bit bristly. Occasionally, this comes out in snide asides like, "If you've never {insert GenX or earlier activity here}, then why are you even alive?" or words to that effect. It's off-putting, and it made me not like the character. It's tough for me to remain interested in a relatively frothy mystery without a likable MC to anchor me (if they're not likable, they better be damn compelling, and Belle just isn't).

If you like "clever" mysteries, you might go for this. Admittedly, I didn't see whodunnit coming, but I never do, lol. Ultimately, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze, and I almost rage quit several times, but somehow persevered.

2.5 stars rounded up

Murder mysteries on cruises are just too delicious, aren't they? This one was fun and different, with an small group of authors and mystery book fans and a whole table of sick passengers, ending in a few deaths. I had zero idea how the killer could have done that, and I kept jumping from suspect to suspect without having a clear idea of who dunnit. Light, enjoyable read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

In this 2nd book in the 'Ghostwriter' mystery series, there's murder and mayhem aboard a cruise ship. The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

Ghostwriter Belle Currer's first mystery book, based on murders she helped solve, was a big success. As a result, Belle is invited to teach a mystery writing course on the 'Get Lit' cruise aboard the Merman Rivera, a ship scheduled to navigate the North Atlantic for a week while 275 women - who paid $5,000 each - eat, drink, relax, and take classes in one of the following writing disciplines: personal essays; poetry, young adult fiction, romance, or mystery writing. The 'Get Lit' voyage is the brainchild of entrepreneur Payton Garrett, a successful author/podcaster, whom Belle has known since they got their MFA's together at an 'embarrassingly third-tier program in the backwoods of southern Illinois.'

Belle, Payton, and their friend Flora Fortescue attended graduate school together, and were pals until recently, when Flora accused Payton of plagiarizing her work. For years, Flora had been working on a book about Lord Byron's scandalous love affair with his half-sister Augusta Leigh. Then Payton published a novel about Byron and Leigh AFTER reading parts of Flora's work-in-progress. This led to lawsuits and an ugly battle all over social media. Flora claims Payton stole her work and sabotaged her writing career, and Flora wants a public admission of guilt, an apology, and compensation. Of course Payton denies she did anything wrong, and the conflict rages on.

As the story opens, Belle boards the Merman Rivera and meets some of the passengers and crew members. Everyone on the ship is female except for three men: Payton's assistant Jackson; the chef Pierre Gasçoigne; and Payton's ex-husband Gideon Pereira, a journalist who's writing an article about the cruise. Belle observes, 'Even the ship's captain is a woman, which is quite a feat. Did you know that only three percent of all sea captains are women? THREE PERCENT!....But I suppose some progress has been made. Women used to be banned ALTOGETHER from maritime vessels. We were deemed BAD LUCK on the open seas.'

In any case, the cruise gets underway, and the first evening's festivities are going well until the unthinkable happens: 'A woman appears on the edge of the crowd. A woman who has no business being there. A woman who has managed, somehow, to Trojan-horse her way aboard. The woman is Flora Fortescue - who's dressed to the nines!'

As you can imagine, much drama ensues. Worse yet, at dinner the next day, some of the guests, including Payton, get sick from (what appears to be) food poisoning. This is followed by not one; not two, but THREE suspicious deaths. Since there are no police on the boat, Belle and the ship's doctor, Joan Chen, investigate. Dr. Chen takes the lead, and Belle bemoans her second string position, lamenting she'd rather be Hercule Poirot than Captain Hastings.

After a good deal of drama, all the passengers are assembled and the culprit is exposed....just like Hercule Poirot would do.

I waffled a good bit about 'whodunnit' and I didn't get it right. 😊

Despite the homicides, this cozy mystery has a light feel, with Belle making jokes and sardonic comments throughout. My major criticism of the book is the large number of characters (passengers, crew members, writing teachers, etc), who tend to blend together a bit.

The novel is an entertaining locked room mystery, recommended to fans of the genre.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Eva Kaminksy, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kemper Donovan, and RBmedia for a copy of the book.

The narration was amazing, as per usual with Eva. While the book starts out slow it definitely picks up around the half way point. I will say, the killer wasn’t even someone on my radar, this never happens, I’m impressed. I think I enjoyed this one more than the first book. Definitely recommend.

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.😊

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

This series is so entertaining! Weaving in an author trying to write a book amidst murder and a plethora of motives and suspects and you have one wild ride. The style is very reminiscent of Anthony Horowitz and Benjamin Stevenson. A great series that I hope continues (and sooner rather than later).

Fun Twist!

Belle, the ghostwriter, has been invited on a cruise for a group of want-to-be writers. The cruise is organized by a well-known and extremely popular writer, Payton, who is considered to be a friend of Belle. Another point to keep in mind, this is an all-women cruise, not including Payton's ex-husband and her assistant. Of course with every mystery murder takes place and we have to figure out who did it.

I do have to say I did not like any of the characters. They all seem to annoy me and our main character isn't that much better. That being said they "fit the story".

I am so glad I stuck with this series. I did not enjoy the first book, but "Loose Lips" was a redemption. I'm looking forward to the next adventure.

Thank You to Kemper Donovan, RBmedia and NetGalley for the audio-digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Because I read a lot of mysteries, I'm a tough audience -- many characters and plots can seem trite and overdone to me.



But Kemper Donovan consistently knocks it out of the park with a perfect blend of plot, characters, and social commentary.



Review copy provided by publisher.

🎧
The “Get Lit” cruise is a week of ladies diving into literature workshops on a cruise in the Atlantic. However, with dead bodies piling up, how will they find and capture the murderer before they get safely to shore?

This is the second installment of the Ghostwriter Mystery series, but I didn’t feel left out from the plot by missing the first book in the series. Our ghostwriter main character is invited to teach a class on mystery writing by her undergrad frenemy Payton Garrett.

After a mass poisoning event and deaths under suspicious circumstances, our ghostwriter mystery expert, Payton, Peyton’s wife, Peyton’s ex, the captain, and the cruise’s doctor set out together to gather evidence and try to deduce the motive, means, and opportunity. There are 300 women plus staff on the boat and anyone could’ve done the unthinkable.

I was hooked into this story and there didn’t need to be a dead body on the first page to secure that interest. I found the premise believable, the cast of characters to be unique and interesting, and the main character’s narration to be witty and clever.

This story was a love letter to the mystery genre in a fun way. There were so many twists, shocking dynamics between characters, and surprises. I definitely didn’t have a clue on how the book would end, but the end has a satisfying conclusion that ties so many unexplained events into a cohesive story.

I appreciated that there was a diverse amount of characters from across age, nationality, race, and sexuality.

There was depth to the story, but I felt that while this is a convention of the genre celebrated, sometimes the concept of multiple dead bodies was romanticized. I didn’t read the first book, but I find that the narrator didn’t fully process the losses she encounters. Post climax, I felt like the narrator was very matter of fact about what came next.

Overall, I enjoyed the tale and it wouldn’t take much convincing for me to go back and read the first book in the series.

I read this in audiobook format, so I really appreciated how the narrator could make such a large cast of characters sound unique during the dialogue. That is no easy task. I was gifted a copy of the audiobook from RBMedia in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia!

Come along to a writers retreat on a cruise ship! Sounds great until people start dying. So welcome to a locked room mystery with an Agatha Christie vibe.

When I started this book I didn’t realize it was book 2 in a series. 🤦🏻‍♀️ but you don’t really need to read the first one to understand this. The overall story and mystery is decent. My problem was all the man bashing comments throughout the entire book! It was getting to the point that I almost didn’t finish it. I found it very odd from a male author. It felt like he really feels this way about his own gender or he’s trying to appease a certain demographic of readers. So with the male bashing, he also bashes Christianity a little bit. And a good amount of language. I would have rated this book higher but I couldn’t get past the authors personal feelings about things that he interjects unnecessarily into the story.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC audiobook.

Loose Lips
By Kemper Donovan
Ghostwriter Mystery #2

What an absolute delight of a sequel to The Busy Body! Kemper Donovan, an avid Agatha Christie fan (and one of my favorite podcasters), seamlessly weaves a charming homage to Death on the Nile while delivering another brilliant mystery.

This time, our beloved ghostwriter (writing under the pen name Belle) embarks on an almost entirely female cruise, where she’s not only teaching writing workshops but also mingling with authors of various genres. The witty banter and engaging personalities on board had me laughing out loud more times than I could count.

A huge shoutout to Eva Kaminsky, the audiobook narrator, whose performance is pitch-perfect. I was thrilled to hear her return from the first book—she really brings the story to life with her dynamic voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBMedia for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Loose Lips by Kemper Donovan

Loose Lips is billed as “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!” — no lies detected!

This book is the second installment in the Ghostwriter Mystery Series, A fact I was unaware of before I started reading. Not having read the first book did not hamper my enjoyment. I’ve already added Book 1 to my TBR pile.

Bella, a crime writer (and ghostwriter), is invited on the “Get Lit Cruise” by her frenemy and bestselling author, Payton Garrett. Bella will be teaching the cruise’s crime writing class. Invitations to join the cruise were extended to only a select few of Payton’s newsletter subscribers. And the all-female passengers get to attend classes with five writers during the cruise.

Between mentoring the guests, flirting with Payton’s ex, and betting on how long it will take before someone reenacts the iconic “I’m flying!” scene from Titanic, Bella has plenty to keep her occupied. However, there’s one unexpected activity not on the class schedule: solving a murder (or two!). Like any well-crafted mystery, this one features an extra twist!

I really loved it. Loose Lips is a classic locked-room (or should I say locked-ship?) murder mystery. It’s packed with twists and turns and has a great sense of humor. Altogether, it was an excellent read! And the cover art is *chefs kiss*

Big Thumbsup 👍.

Go read a book!

Body count: 3

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