You can definitely tell this book was written by an Agatha Christie fan and the book had good pacing and an entertaining unfolding. I found the similarities to actual political events distracting and the romance element felt a bit forced. These are personal preferences and I know a good number of people will like this book. Thank you to both NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for review.

wasn’t too sure about this book when I had first picked it up, but I’m happy to say I was pleasantly surprised.

I really adore our unnamed main character, the ghost writer. She’s cynical, methodical, a bit judgmental, and has air of carelessness about her. She’s not the most likable, which makes me love her even more. She’s completely absorbed in her work, seeing all of her relationships as transactional with no need for genuine ones. She’s confident and comfortable in what’s predictable, giving us a chance to see a more awkward and clumsy side of her when neck-deep in a murder mystery. I was surprised by her development (or lack thereof) by the end, but it fits quite perfectly with her character. Affectionately, she’s a mess. Relatable in ways you wished she wasn’t, and still quite mysterious even after spending so much time in her head.

The murder mystery was equally enjoyable. While the pacing did drag a little by the halfway point due to multiple page long alibis in a row, it was necessary and still interesting. The ending most certainly caught me by surprise, even though looking back now I’m a little concerned about how much I missed. At least me and the ghost writer don’t have to wallow in our own stupidity alone. It all felt a bit like a fever dream, the theatrics of the situation completely throwing me for a loop. Talk about a villain monologue. Again though, it makes sense within the characters. In fact I don’t think it could’ve been done any other way.

A very enjoyable gossipy plot. Great surprise ending!
Dorothy is a delightful character - wise, humble, strong and very in love with herself.
A talented ghost writer is hired to assist with Dorothy's memoir. After the murder of a neighboring socialite, their plans take a turn.
I enjoyed the humor immensely - dark, funny and very enjoyable.

Former Senator, Dorothy Gibson has just lost the US Presidential Election, standing as an Independent against a popular but unscrupulous man. After an exhausting campaign in which she came closer to winning than anyone expected, she’s has now retreated to her house in the Maine countryside to relax and regroup. She’s also hired a ghostwriter, to help her write her memoirs.

The ghostwriter (whose name we never learn) is a loner who keeps to herself, having cut herself off from her family and avoiding contact with others as much as possible. However, due to the location of Dorothy’s mansion, she has accepted her invitation to stay in the house (along with Dorothy’s personal aide, household staff and body guards) so that they can work on the book together. She soon finds that she and Dorothy work well together, with much in common, including a snarky sense of humour.

On an outing to buy wine, they meet a woman who is currently living in the house on the other side of Dorothy woodland, along with her surgeon husband and a family of house guests. Introducing herself as Vivian Davis, she is vivacious and friendly, commiserating with Dorothy over the election, even requesting a selfie with her. However, two days later Dorothy and the ghostwriter are shocked to hear that Vivian has committed suicide.

Dorothy is not convinced that the bubbly woman they met would kill herself and decides she and the ghostwriter need to do some sleuthing of their own. A devotee of true crime podcasts and documentaries, the ghostwriter is thrilled to have a real crime happen on her doorstep and is more than happy to follow in Dorothy’s formidable wake as she charges in seeking answers to questions about Vivian’s life and death.

Narrated by the ghostwriter, this is a fun and entertaining cosy mystery with delightful main characters. Dorothy is a very likeable and dynamic person, one who gets things done without too much fuss (a busy body in many ways). Even though she is a self-claimed loner, the ghostwriter also seems quite personable when she wants, attracting the eye of the hunky bodyguard and able to winkle information from chatting with people. She and Dorothy both enjoy witty banter and bouncing ideas off each other and together make a formidable team of sleuths.

The author, Kemper Donovan hosts a podcast, All About Agatha, and his novel is a homage to golden age mysteries. The plot starts slowly, introducing all the characters and then gradually building as questions are asked and clues gathered, with a few surprises along the way. Finally culminating in an Agatha Christie style dénouement with Dorothy gathering all those involved, including the two hapless detectives, into a room to expose the killer and their motive.

Promising to be the first in a series (I wonder if we’ll ever learn the Ghostwriter’s name?), this light and enjoyable cosy mystery should appeal to all those who will enjoy a classic golden age whodunnit with some additional modern touches.

A failed female presidential candidate and Former Senator, Dorothy Gibson, teams with her memoir ghostwriter to solve a dangerous murder. Smart, hilarious, and perfect for lovers of contemporary mysteries with the gloss of Golden Age whodunits. Penned by the All About Agatha podcast host. My only nitpicky issue is that the narrator was not named and since this seems to be the beginning of a series (YAY!), I'd like her to be known as someone other than the ghostwriter. But otherwise, I loved this mystery and it will definitely keep you guessing.

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

The unnamed protagonist/narrator of this book is a ghostwriter. (It was when sitting down to write this that I realized she was never named. Kind of clever since a ghostwriter is a person who is meant to be anonymous when her work is published.) The job requires an ability to seamlessly fit into the subject’s life in an unobtrusive way. This time, the ghost has been asked to write the biography of Dorothy Gibson. Dorothy recently lost a presidential election. A bit like Hillary Clinton, it was felt that she had a low likeability rating. The biography is meant to give a new look at who she is.

The narrator quickly heads up to Maine where Dorothy lives in a gorgeous, somewhat isolated home. There she settles in and meets the staff including Dorothy’s personal assistant and various security personnel, at least one of whom is quite good looking.

Early in the book, Dorothy and our narrator go out to buy some wine. While at the store, they are accosted by a woman with a somewhat unique way of earning money. When she asks Dorothy for a selfie, Dorothy agrees. Most unfortunately soon after, Vivian dies. It emerges that her death was not suicide but…murder! (of course)

Dorothy and the narrator will be on the case. There will be a few twists before all becomes known.

The narrator of this book has her own unique, sometimes snarky spin on the world. She is most likely neurodiverse. She can be funny and seems to know a lot, perhaps from spending time learning so much about her subjects when ghostwriting. Readers will hope that she is a good detective too.

This book will be enjoyed by its readers. They will likely hope for a second book by the author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

This book was a fun, quick read--a spin on the golden age mansion mysteries of Agatha Christie with a strong narrative voice. The narrator is a ghost writer, hired to write for the recent failed presidential candidate while staying at her Maine home. When a murder occurs next door, however, both get wrapped up in trying to solve it. I mostly enjoyed reading this novel, though the narrator could be grating at times, dropping random facts and anecdotes for no reason. It also wasn't super clear why this politician was allowed to interfere with a murder case. But otherwise, a fun read.

An unnamed ghost biographer gets the “get” of a lifetime The wildly popular third-party presidential female nominee wants her to help ghost write her biography. Her name is Dorothy Gibson she was a senator for Main after her husband died, she took his seat in the Senate and did a great job. She even got a third of the vote in her run for the White House. Soon after flying in to Main she meets Dorothy her assistant Layla and her son and it isn’t long before she is fitting right in. She even takes a ride with Dorothy after a long day of been working together to go to the alcohol store Betty’s. This is where they meet Vivian Davis she’s a neighbor of Dorothy’s and supporter she even has a go fund me for different levels of payments she would do/say more and more severe rude things to the Dorothy‘s presidential opponents image she was a little strange but no stranger than the people Dorothy usually meets and so when she asked to take a selfie the senator agrees and then quickly forgets about her weird neighbor. That is until the next morning when Leila shows Dorothy and the Rider the selfie and when Dorothy ask why she soon learns the picture is trending because Vivian Davis committed suicide both ladies are shocked but they’re even more shocked when they go to her memorial in Seol the strange things happening. It seems they were staying at the crystal palace a grande hotel and event then you trying to get funding for Vivian husband Walters invention it doesn’t long before the ghost rider realizes she is now the sidekick to the presidential amateur salute I’m going to stop here and just say this book is so funny and OMG I found it so original. I am so happy to see I have been running into a lot of original new to me type stories and this one definitely is that it is a book I highly recommend if you love smart intellectual humorous dialogue with quirky characters an even crazier resolution then you’ll definitely love the busybody by Kemper Donovan I certainly did I found so much to love about Dorothy and the ghost rider who I want to say if she was given a name I missed it because I even went back and looked and cannot find anywhere she is named in the book but it didn’t matter I always knew if they were talking to her or scowling at her lol! It is easy to follow fun to read in a great way to pass in the afternoon a totally great story! I want to think the publisher and net galley for my free Arc copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review

An unnamed female ghostwriter is tapped to write a failed third-party Presidential candidate’s memoir. The candidate is a witty elder stateswoman who is soon investigating a murder with the ghostwriter’s help in this homage to golden age mysteries, The Busy Body.

I love golden age mysteries. I still hope that a few lost early Agatha Christie novels will be found. While this book has some of their tropes, it lacks the pacing of those earlier, and much more concise, works of art. In other words, this plot is slow, creakingly slow, to begin. The narrator, the ghostwriter, has no backstory. She doesn’t even have a name, so it is hard to relate to her, or even picture her in my head. The mystery itself was fine, though not very challenging. For both of these reasons, The Busy Body is probably best read in small doses before bed. 3 stars.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

This debut novel by Kemper Donovan draws on his extensive knowledge of Agatha Christie classic crime fiction. The clever writing, expert clues and plot twists make this debut a must read for mystery readers.

Hiding at her home in Maine after an unsuccessful run for president, former Senator Dorothy Gibson begins writing her memoir with the help of a ghostwriter. When a neighbor’s suicide comes under question, the two find themselves involved in a murder investigation much to the displeasure of the local police.

The snarky tone of the narrator, references to pop culture and a touch of romance combine to create an entertaining read. Donovan has created a modern take on a classic whodunit with fully developed characters that jump off the page.

A former senator/failed presidential candidate and a ghost writer teem up to solve a murder mystery next door. Much to the displeasure of the local police. They interview witnesses and suspects, inspect the scene and even use their connections to get some inside information.

The author also hosts a podcast called "All About Agatha." His admiration of Agatha Christie comes across in the pages of this book. It has the feel of an old school whodunit, reminiscent of Christie's Hercule Poirot or Louise Penny's CI Armand Gamache. The unnamed narrator's dry wit and pop culture references kept the story entertaining and light. A quick, entertaining read that offers some relief from the psychological thrillers. I look forward to other books in this series.

Podcaster (All About Agatha) Kemper Donovan's THE BUSY BODY features a former senator and a no-name ghostwriter as they team up to solve a cozy murder mystery whodunit with a twisty mix of Dorothy Parker and Agatha Christie contemporary classic.

Set in a small town in Maine, the narrator is a ghostwriter (GW) and teams up with a former Senator, Dorothy Gibson (Hillary Clinton), who lost the Presidential election, to write her memoir.

She moves in, and shortly thereafter, when they go to a wine store, they run into a neighbor, Vivian, and a selfie is snapped.

The next day, the woman is dead in the bath (by suicide), or so it appears. The duo starts their sleuthing and investigation to solve the crime mystery.

We do not get any backstory of the nameless narrator, leaving readers in the dark, so you feel removed and distant from this character.

While THE BUSY BODY will appeal to a certain audience, it was not for me. I prefer less dialogue and more action and did not care for conversational style with the asides and the romance part.

I am not a big fan of cozy mysteries and would not be interested in the series. I will pass on this one—not worthy of the hype, in my opinion.

FORMATTING: I will have to concur with some of the other reviewers on the topic of the digital ARC provided. It had very bad formatting, making it very challenging to read, and I found this very distracting and unenjoyable. There were NO chapter breaks, words strung together, sentences ending in the middle of the page with large spaces after, and continued on the next line with no double-spaced paragraph breaks.

AUDIOBOOK: I attempted to switch to the audiobook, and the narrator was so boring I had to stop as it ground on my nerves. It was like some robotic voice reading line after in the same tone with no emotion narrated by Eva Kaminsky.

Thanks to Kensington Books (John Scognamiglio Book) and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

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JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 23, 2024
My Rating: 3 Stars

I have been listening to Kemper Donovan’s “All About Agatha” podcasts for some time now, and I’ve enjoyed listening to his discussions and critiques of Agatha Christie’s works so I was happy to get an advanced reading copy of “The Busy Body”.

The book is told in first person narration and the narrator remains nameless. As she is introduced in the early chapters, we learn she’s female, and she prefers to not have close friends or family ties. She discloses her occupation as a ghostwrite, and she's asked to write the memoir of Dorothy Gibson. She realizes this is a big deal. Gibson is a high profile female senator and a recent candidate in the presidential election but failed to get elected. Because Gibson ran as an Independent, she’s responsible for tipping the votes resulting in an unlikely and unfavorable candidate getting the presidency. Gibson has been a constant presence in the media both during her campaign and now afterwards because of the election outcome. Since the election, Gibson has retreated from the public eye to her home in Maine. She’s portrayed as a workaholic with a brilliant mind.

On an afternoon outing to purchase wine, Gibson and the narrator are approached by a unknown neighbor. They chat briefly about the election results and Gibson agrees to a selfie photo with neighbor. Soon after, the neighbor is discovered dead in her bathtub from an apparent overdose. Gibson and our narrator both agree the neighbor’s suspected suicide is out of character from the vivacious woman they met and chatted with in the wine shop. Suspecting foul play they and set out to investigate and solve the mystery.

The mystery was well plotted and should keep readers guessing. However, I did not find the main character/narrator all that likable. She was not fully developed (lacked a back story). She was constantly sharing critical remarks via internal monologues about other characters. Despite that, the book is well written, and the mystery was neatly wrapped up in the style of Hercule Poirot and/or Death in Paradise (TV Series).

Thank you NetGalley and (John Scognamiglio publisher) for the Advanced Reading Copy.

A funny mystery! I liked this, it kept my attention and tied everything up in a nice bow. It wasn't something I want to invest in reading a sequel to. It was good. Not great.

Set during the winter in Maine, an unnamed narrator is hired to ghost write the memoir of a recent presidential character and stumbles into investigating a murder.

Having the narrator write the book and observing the mystery is a very interesting choice. The fact she is never given a name, however we do learn a lot about her throughout the book is a bold choice. The true star of the book is Dorthy. Having just lost out in the latest political election, Dorthy gets wrapped up in a mystery when a neighbor poses with her for a photo and then ends up mysteriously dead. Since her name is being associated with the dead woman, she asks her ghost writer to join her in solving what truly happened. While the investigation personally was slow at times, the reveal makes up for it. There are delightful characters that are encountered along the way from a dramatic southern sister to an ex-wife whose son leaves something to desire. There are so many people who could have done it yet who truly did?
Readers will enjoy the cast of characters. The mystery itself is filled with twists and turns. This will be a fun book to recommend real soon.
Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Let’s begin at the end shall we. Hands down the cleverest denouement I’ve read in a long time. Dramatic, snarky, and deliciously gossipy, it was an absolute delight!

An old-fashioned murder mystery with a touch of glitz and glamour with a cast of the rich and infamous. Dorothy has got time on her hands after losing the bid for presidential candidate, so she decides to hire a ghostwriter to help her with her memoir. When a neighbour turns up dead under highly suspicious circumstances, they are soon swept up in solving the mystery.

The characters in this book were so vivid that they popped off the page fully formed; from our unnamed ghostwriter who gives new meaning to an Irish exit, to the detective that boils over with anger at Dorothy’s interference, to our numerous shady and ridiculous suspects; none disappoint.

A perfect read!

A whodunnit with a punchy character and intriguing set up: a ghost writer travels to a secluded (read, rich) community to put together a well known politician's biography when they stumble into a murder and very quickly decide to do some sleuthing of their own.

The novel has a very unique personal voice, being written entirely in first person POV from a character who warns the reader from the start she is not putting words to paper to be liked or even come across as likeable. An endeavour she most definitely succeeds at in the first half of the book where I did a few eye rolls when our storyteller sometimes comes across as a sheltered teenager who's watched/read too many action flicks and speaks in punch lines.
The short chapters make reading through feel quite quick, giving a sense of the short time the events are taking place over, and also successfully conveying the sense of urgency they all feel to find the murderer.
One thing I immensely appreciated is that the author is clearly one for character studies. For every character we come across there is a host of impressions and details, which can either be reiterated to fully press the point of who they are and how they fit into the story, or add new dimension to these people as we get to know them.
Something I will note is that I suppose it helps the person leading the amateur investigation is a well known politician, so it makes a little more sense for people to want to talk to the investigative duo (politician and ghost writer - aka the narrator) even though they don't hold any legislative power or have any experience. I'm maybe used to reading whodunnits with established PIs as lead, so my suspension of disbelief struggled a little at points where it seemed unlikely the suspects would want to go over their alibis and backstories twice (once with the police and once with the duo).

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was great. I really enjoyed it and looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you netgalley.

A ghostwriter gets a dream job writing a memoir of a presidential candidate. The two team up to solve a murder.

I liked the team up here but the writing style wasn’t my favorite. It felt very stream of consciousness which isn’t really for me.