If you enjoy reading mysteries and you follow national politics with interest, The Busy Body will head your must-read list. It’s a roman à clef. Imagine being a fly on the wall of Hillary Clinton’s home after the 2016 election—the mind boggles. Meet Dorothy Gibson, the most revered and/or vilified woman in the United States, depending on your perspective. She ran as an Independent in the recent (fictional) presidential election and lost. Her loss paved the way for a leader very reminiscent of the 45th president. To call Gibson polarizing is to vastly underestimate her importance to the national conversation.

The narrator/protagonist of The Busy Body is an anonymous ghostwriter, or, as she prefers, collaborator. She has a good reputation within the genre.

I’ve always been nosy about other people, and I discovered in my late twenties that I have a knack for spinning tales about them, and for making these tales sing.



My job is to make the assholes likable. I nip and tuck their excesses, soften their hard edges, polish whatever I and an army of editors/publicists deem unsightly till it sparkles.

A careful reader will note that our unnamed collaborator, musing retrospectively about her most recent assignment, walks away from ghostwriting Dorothy Gibson’s memoir—even though by refusing, “I run the risk of ruining my reputation as a grade A professional bullshit artist.”

Somehow, I managed to get myself wrapped up in an honest-to-goodness murder mystery. And for once?



The story’s all mine. It started with a phone call.



This wasn’t the way things usually started. My agent Rhonda almost always emails me, knowing I prefer to keep my interactions limited to the written sphere whenever possible.

Our ghostwriter is rather solitary. When Rhonda texts Call me back ASAP she starts to freak out. Her knowledgeable agent quickly texts Good news, not bad.

“It’s Dorothy Gibson.”



If my life were a movie trailer, this is where the needle would have scratched the record.



Dorothy. Freaking. Gibson.

In the wake of the election, Dorothy Gibson has retreated to her isolated house in rural Maine: she insists the ghostwriter move in. Leila Mansour, Gibson’s personal aide, and “news fixture,” picks her up at Portland International Jetport. Mansour brings Hillary Clinton’s personal aide and “policy wonk” to mind— “She seemed to be wearing no makeup other than a pop of bright red lipstick, though I suspected she was simply good at applying makeup. Her parents had emigrated from Egypt, and though she’d been born and raised in New Jersey, her first language was Arabic.”

The writer’s first impression of Dorothy Gibson is to note how small and compact she is, “neither an inch above 5’3” nor a pound over 115.” It takes willpower for Gibson to be so consistent. And Dorothy Gibson is “an excellent listener,” something that will prove vital in the coming days.

Gibson’s house is home to Leila, 24/7 bodyguards, household staff, as well as frequent visitors like her son Peter. Peter nags his mother to take a break from her intense conversations with her collaborator: “I know this is a crazy idea, but maybe you could for once, y’know, not overdo it?” Fine. Would the ghostwriter like to go into town to Betty’s Liquor Mart with Dorothy and her bodyguard Officer Choi? Sure.

Being a politician means saying goodbye to anonymity, like when a fervid fan interrupts Dorothy’s perusal of Betty’s alcoholic offerings. Her name is Vivian Davis—she tells Dorothy that they’re neighbors: she and her husband are staying at The Crystal Palace near Dorothy’s house. Vivian wants to TALK to Dorothy, express her profound disappointment at the results of the recent election, and share her Kickstarter campaign.

“I thought we could all use a laugh so I did a Kickstarter? You know, the crowdfunding thing?”



“Sure, sure,” said Dorothy.



“For five bucks I’ll send a video of me yelling at our future President on my TV screen to go—well, you know. Eff himself.”

“Ah. I see,” said Dorothy.



How long was this nightmare of a woman going to stay here?

At last, the two women escape, but not before Vivian insists on a selfie. The Busy Body is ripe with obscure bits of Celebrity 101, like when Dorothy takes the phone out of Vivian’s hand, “a trick I knew from previous clients: when a selfie is inevitable, take control of the situation by holding the phone yourself, which makes you seem warm and generous but secretly ensures you take just one photo, at the angle and distance you prefer, and that it happens with zero delay.”

They say that no good deed goes unpunished. A few days later Leila interrupts the conversation that the ghostwriter and Dorothy are having. She holds up her iPad and asks if Dorothy remembers “taking a picture with this woman?” It’s Vivian. So, Dorothy snaps, why is Leila focused on this?

“Oh, nothing big,” said Leila airily. “Just that this woman is dead now.”



She took a step back, surveying the wreckage from the bomb she’d just dropped. Dorothy made her eyes big. “Real-ly?”



Leila nodded. “Suicide. Husband found her in the bathtub yesterday with an empty bottle of sleeping pills.”

Dorothy Gibson takes nothing at face value. She asks for the medical examiner’s reports and when it’s not immediately forthcoming, she makes some calls. Dorothy knows all about access and clout: they’re power tools and she doesn’t hesitate to use them. Surprise: the examiner’s report states it’s not a suicide but rather a murder. Dorothy is a dog on a scent and her collaborator, an addict of true crime podcasts, is her eager sidekick. You won’t be able to put down The Busy Body once you start reading. Kudos to Kemper Donovan for this surprising, and very much-of-the-moment mystery.

The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan kicks off the Ghostwriter series with a promising yet flawed start. The story follows an unnamed ghostwriter as she collaborates on a memoir with former Senator Dorothy Gibson in rural Maine. While the plot mixes a classic, Agatha Christie-esque mystery with a contemporary twist, it struggles with pacing and character development. The chemistry between the ghostwriter and Dorothy is enjoyable, and the glamorous, high-stakes political backdrop adds intrigue. However, the slow opening, excessive detail in some parts, and a lack of backstory for the narrator make the experience uneven. The constant name-dropping and repetitive references to the political campaign were also distracting. Despite these drawbacks, the mystery itself and the old-fashioned big reveal kept me engaged enough to appreciate the story’s charm. It’s a decent, light read for fans of cozy mysteries, though I’m not sure I’ll continue the series. Thank you to Kensington Books for the ARC.

A freelance ghostwriter finds herself in a complicated job with a high-profile politician in this stylish mystery. There are lots of intriguing characters, over-the-top settings, and surprising action with a twisty plot and snappy dialogue. If you're tired of plucky heroines, this one will be refreshing!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC! The Busy Body is out now - I loved the premise of this book but it ultimately didn't land for me. I’m sure many readers will feel differently!

Super late with this review but I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging mystery. Not until writing this review did I realize that the author is male. Fabulous job with the female characters. Definitely looking forward to the next installment!

For all lovers of mystery whether it's old school Agatha Christie, or modern day murder mysteries, you're really going to love this one. It's clever, it's fun and you'll be on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

The Busy Body is well written and entertaining enough. It didn’t quite hook me but the story was intriguing. I’m not a big political person so that aspect was too much for me and a little overwhelming.

Didn't finish this, was not at all what I expected from the synopsis. Certainly not bad, but not my favorite. A coworker read it and liked it, so we have a copy in our collection.

This was a quick and funky little story that was a mostly fun read but had an ending that fell a bit flat for me. The gimmicks were enjoyable, so I was disappointed at the ending even though the book's adherence to classic whodunit tropes was enjoyable.

A ghostwriter is asked to write Senator Dorothy Gibson's memoir and ends up investigating a murder with her. Even though they are supposed to work on the book, they find themselves trying to figure out what really happened to Dorothy's neighbor who they had met recently. Overall, a quick mystery of two women digging for the truth. An interesting start to the series and looking forward to another installment.

Witty, entertaining, gripping: a mix of comedy and political thriller. Well plotted, fleshed out characters, a fast paced and solid plot.
Highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher, all opinions are mine

This is a good start to a new cozy mystery series! I liked the main character, the mystery was engaging, and the pop-culture shout outs throughout were fun to read. Mr. Donovan creates a modern day "Golden Age" mystery, with plenty of clues for the reader to find, as well as red herrings to lead you down the wrong path.

I did find the romance to be a bit forced (it didn't add much to the story) and the main premise was a little distracting - the ghostwriter is writing a famous political figure's memoir - it felt like the author was hitting us over the head that Dorothy was modeled after Hillary Clinton. It just felt forced and distracting, I would have enjoyed the mystery more if Dorothy were just herself and not (seemingly) Hillary's fictional twin.

An interesting start to a new series. Told from the perspective of the ghostwriter, we never learn her name. I enjoyed following along on the sleuthing, and look forward to the next installment
Many thanks to Kensington, and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The busy body

Made it to part 2 with nothing of note happening. The writing style is a little meta, the narrarator frequently breaks the 4th wall. And there's just a lot if scenery descriptions.

I made it to 25% before DNF'ing. The writing feels like it's trying to immulate Gilmore Girls: lots of classic novels you may or may not have heard of are mentioned, popular TV shows are referenced, and there are plenty of jokes & descriptive fashion choices.

The fact that the murder doesn't occur till about 20% was a turn off for me. I like my mysteries a little more fast-paced.

This book was brilliant! BRILLIANT!!! The writing was WOOOOOWWW.

I laughed, I was engaged fully and I wasn't left wanting. I loved the characters and the storybuilding.

Like I said, BRILLIANT.

The Busy Body is the first book in a stylish classic modern mystery series by Kemper Donovan. Released 23rd Jan 2024 by Kensington, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a first person classic-pattern mystery with a protagonist who remains anonymous throughout. She's a ghost writer, with a new dream assignment to shadow a Hillary Clinton-esque independent candidate (Dorothy) who has split the vote enough that a dark horse outsider (he who shall not be named) has successfully gained the presidency. When Dorothy's neigbor dies in odd circumstances, they decide to investigate on their own, to the chagrin of the local constabulary.

Although it's an odd (too clever?) twist to have the ghost writer remain anonymous, the prose is well crafted and it won't be problematic for most readers. Mr. Donovan manages to convey a female voice reasonably well, and the fact that the character wasn't continually referred to by name never made it feel like she was genderless or masculine.

The story culminates in a Poirot-gets-the-suspects-together denouement, and although many readers will be expecting the big reveal, it was well written and entertaining. Definitely plans for future volumes given the epilogue. It's not at all derivative, but fans of modern intellectual classic mysteries like those by Anthony Horowitz, Nita Prowse, and Richard Osman will find a lot to like.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 10 hours 6 minutes and is capably narrated by Eva Kaminsky. She has a slightly earthy alto voice with a neutral accent (east coast American but not distinctively regional) and does a good job of delineating the various characters of both sexes and a range of ages. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Four stars for both print and audiobook formats.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I loved this one! Truly I could not put it down when I started; the characters are vibrant and especially the nameless ghost writer who has isolated herself other than her work. The narrator has secrets in her background that I hope we see more of in future books (🤞🏻). She was so much fun to follow and I loved the pieces of stream of concious and the pop culture references that brought a pop of humor to a serious murder mystery. I had an idea about the solution and I was partly right (woooo) and adored the Poirot-style reveal with the gathering of all the suspects.

Loved this very creative new mystery and hope that it becomes a series. It's about a ghostwriter who gets a plum assignment -- collaborate with a failed female presidential candidate (think Hillary Clinton-esque) to write her memoir, all while staying in her remote Maine mansion. There's a murder or two, and the ghostwriter and the candidate team up to solve it. This really kept me engaged from start to finish. The plot is great, but even better is the voice of the ghostwriter, who narrates -- very witty! I look forward to recommending this title.

The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan is a rollicking mystery packed with humour, dalliances and twists. The narrator is unnamed which really appeals to my sense of curiosity. She becomes ex-Senator Dorothy Gibson's live-in ghost writer and the unlikely yet complementary duo tracks down the person responsible for killing a neighbour they had recently met. They encounter all sorts of hijinks. The resolution is quite gratifying, some of it wonderfully surprising.

What drew me to this book initially was the hope of Agatha Christie-esque style but as a rabid Christie fan who has read each of her mysteries a minimum of three times, it did not remind me of her writing or manner. However, Donovan has his own unique writing style with wit, clever red herrings and interesting characterization. Unfortunately. I did not especially feel strongly enough about the characters to be riveted to my seat as I had hoped.

My sincere thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this novel.

“Frankly I think hate is an underrated motivation for lots of things.”

The host of the “All About Agatha” podcast injects the spark and fizz of a Golden Age murder mystery into the present-day, as a ghostwriter is chosen to collaborate on a presidential candidate’s memoir, only to discover just how much trouble a smart woman with time on her hands can get up to . . .

This was a page turning murder mystery with an old school Agatha Christie vibe to it. The Busy Body is book 1 in the new The Ghostwriter series and it’s a solid start! The mystery kept me guessing and I really loved the spunk and fire of presidential candidate Dorothy Gibson. The book does a quick about face early on, going from a setup for the ghostwriter to write a memoir about Dorothy in picturesque Maine to a straight up whodunit. Throw in a hot (and young) security guard and some questionable neighbors and you have yourself the start of a great new series.

The audiobook is narrated by Eva Kaminsky and boy did she do a great job with it. There are a lot of characters and a lot of moving parts and she gives each character their own distinct voice and accent, really helping to differentiate them all while listening. I highly recommend!

“There is nothing more dangerous than a woman who gets stuff done.” 👏🏻👏🏻

Thank you to Netgalley, RB Media, Kensington Books, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.