I was really into the premise of this: a woman deeply involved with the history of one of the world's most famous bands (think Fleetwood Mac) decides to write a memoir, and taps a struggling ghostwriter for the job, just as another bandmate decides to write a memoir of his own.
This would have been a slam dunk for me if it wasn't so slow. I thought the pacing felt really uneven throughout. The middle dragged, but the last third picked up a lot and had an air of suspense at times.
For a book about a legendary band, I wanted more details on the music! This could have had some really strong Almost Famous-esque vibes and the details in other areas were strong, but the actual 70s band vibes were lacking.

Sarah Tomlinson, a music journalist and ghostwriter, has written her debut novel on a subject quite similar to herself - a ghostwriter profiling the primary former groupie of one of the most famous classic rock bands in the world - The Midnight Ramblers. Unfortunately, sometimes fact is less fascinating than fiction, as this book is lacking much of what makes a story vibrant and utterly compelling.

As a librarian and prolific reader, I can usually tell by the end of the very first page if a novel has “it” - that special something that is going to grab onto me and not let me go, absorbing me into the story. Sadly, when reading The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers, it was quickly and glaringly apparent that this novel was not going to be “it” for me. At the start of the novel, there is a massive character and backstory dump, where all of the band members are introduced. The novel then continues on as if the reader is supposed to remember and keep track of who is who. Because the characters were not introduced in a memorable way, I had difficulty throughout the entire novel keep tracking of the characters and distinguishing them from one another. This was frustrating because when I am reading fiction, I do not want to have to do additional homework just to stay in the story. Furthermore, groupie Anke’s telling of her history with the band is vague, disconnected, and off-putting. This was another instance in which I had to work hard to stay in the story and keep track of what was happening. When you get down to it, this book just wasn’t engaging.

Tomlinson has the bones for a commendable novel here, but unfortunately, the execution is stale and stilted, at least for this reader. When writing about rock stars, they should leap off the page, not fade into it. The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers needs some work to grab readers in the quickly over-saturating musical fiction genre.

For those who have been chasing the Taylor Jenkins Reid dragon since reading “Daisy Jones & the Six” and binging Amazon’s phenomenal screen adaptation, Sarah Tomlinson’s addicting new novel fills the rock documentary-style void with a perplexing twist.

Drawing from her own experience as a ghostwriter, Tomlinson weaves a compelling tale that follows Mari Hawthorn and the trials and tribulations she encounters as she takes on her most career-launching gig: the memoir of Anke Berben, a cunning ’60s icon who had close relations with many of the members of famous rock band The Midnight Ramblers. (But don’t you even think about calling her a groupie.)

Overshadowing Berben’s story, though, is the death of the band’s lead singer Mal. Did he take his own life, or was it something more sinister? As Hawthorn gets Berben to open up and reveal long-awaited secrets, a far more twisted story comes to light.

Quick and Dirty
-a contemporary novel with flashbacks
-it reads like a rock documentary
-trainwreck female MC
-focused on ghostwriting and the publishing industry

What Worked
I’m an 80s baby, so I grew up watching MTV/VH1 rock docs. Behind the Music will always be a forever favorite program (find the Fleetwood Mac episode if you can), and this book gives that vibe (like Daisy Jones). I found myself easily swept up into the band’s drama and the mystery of Mal’s death and Amie’s role in it. The behind-the-scenes music and publishing industry elements were sprinkled in liberally, which worked for me (nosey Rosie that I am). I loved the LA/Palm Springs/Vegas settings and the overall glitz Hollywood vibe of the book. While the mystery was great, I enjoyed the characters more than the mystery.

What Didn’t Work
My only issue with this book was the improbability of some of Mari’s actions/sheer luck. There were several times in the book when I found myself thinking “There’s no way that would have happened in real life, Hollywood or not.” Yet, the trainwreck was impossible to look away from (hello, schadenfreude) so I let it slide in favor of the overall experience.

Read This If
Anyone who enjoys a good messy drama will probably appreciate the dumpster fire relationships (both contemporary and flashback) that make this book work!

Similar Reads
Folks who enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six, Songs in Ursa Major, or Lady Sunshine will probably enjoy this if they are willing to suspend disbelief.

Full disclosure: I was given a free advance reader copy of this book by SparkPoint Studio and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lately, there has been an influx of fictional celebrity-based stories within the last 10 years. They usually tell the story of the subject in question through an interview. The most well-known books that follow this formula are "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" and "Daisy Jones & The Six" both by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Another novel "The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers" by Sarah Tomlinson, which got published recently, has a similar premise with a unique take, but it falls flat in key places.

"The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers" is about the complicated legacy of a legendary rock band and the ghostwriter telling their story. Mari Hawthorn just landed the biggest job of her ghostwriting career. Anke Berben – model and style icon – needs someone for her memoir. In the 1960s, Anke was in headline-grabbing romances with three different members of the influential rock band The Midnight Ramblers. They were known for their backstage antics as well as for their music. Outside of the members themselves, Anke is the only one who truly understands the relationships, betrayals, and suspicions that have elevated the band into mythological status. This isn’t more true than the enduring mystery around the death of Mal, the lead singer and Anke’s husband in 1969.

Decades later, rumors have still circulated about what happened. Was it a suicide or a homicide? Anke and the other members have kept that silent. As her ghostwriter, Mari must integrate herself into Anke’s world, coaxing stories out of her that will be worthy for the book. She developed the skill of navigating the fatal charms of the rich and famous due to her narcissistic, alcoholic dad. However, she soon stumbles upon far more revealing items than anything she couldn’t have imagined. It’s not just a celebrity tell-all; it’s about redemption.

Let’s start off with what works. I liked the ghostwriter aspect of the story. It’s unique since I don’t think this has been done in a novel like this. Every chapter begins with tips for how a ghostwriter should approach and interact with their subject, and they correlate with what Mari is trying to do with Anke. Sure, Mari’s backstory of dealing with an alcoholic father who gambled much of the family money is a bit belabored. However, this primarily enforces how she was able to develop her skills as a ghostwriter and her need for the job as she and her sister Vivienne scrape by. I felt invested in Mari’s journey to write Anke’s story as a result.

Now, let’s discuss the drawbacks. The first is a bit of nitpick. When the subject in question is a fictional version of something in real life, it’s best NOT to refer to the latter. It stirs up a lot of questions of how both could possibly exist in the same story. For example, even though the titular band in "Daisy Jones & The Six" is clearly paying homage to Fleetwood Mac, the novel doesn’t mention the latter band at all. As for the Amazon Prime show, it includes a song from the Rumors album that plays during a pivotal scene in the penultimate episode. Now, this would be crossing the line, but because it uses a deep cut from that LP, it narrowly gets away with it (unless one was looking at the sidebar which displayed which tune was playing at the moment that one could download from Amazon Music).

With "The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers," the band in question is supposed to be the Rolling Stones. They are a group that started in the 1960s and are still going after 55 years. The lead singer Mal Walker is the fictional version of Brian Jones – the original rhythm guitarist who ended up drowning in a pool under mysterious circumstances in 1969. Even Anke Berben is supposed to be Anita Pallenberg – an Italian-German model who had relations with both Jones and Keith Richards. However, Tomlinson makes the grave mistake of name checking the Rolling Stones in the first few pages. This took me out of the story since it led me to question how both bands could exist simultaneously in that novel.

My real complaint about the book is how readers don’t get a clear sense of why they should care about the Midnight Ramblers. We are told that they “were among the world’s biggest rock stars, having provided a soundtrack of bohemian flair for three generations..with hit singles, going back to 1964, including ‘Bought on the Never Never,’ a young anthem for generations” (p.9).

They had Grammys and even an Oscar. However, it’s not clear what made them truly famous. What made them appealing to the bohemian crowd outside of their look? What was their music like? How did they perform? What about the chemistry between the band members? Why should we care about Mal’s death? What readers know about them is almost like a stereotypical mid-to-late 1960s British band with the sex, drugs, and backstage tensions. We get some lyrics, but not much. In "Daisy Jones & The Six," author Taylor Jenkins Reid paints a clear picture of why that group became famous. It was due to their bluesy-rock sound, Billy and Daisy’s lyrics, Daisy’s unique vocals, and their chemistry while they sang together. Meanwhile, Tomlinson – a ghostwriter herself – spent more time in the present with Mari than in the past with the Ramblers. This would leave readers wondering why we should care about that band in the first place if we don’t know why they were able to maintain their legacy for so long. If Tomlinson struck more of a balance, then the premise could’ve worked more.

"The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers" by Sarah Tomlinson is just another fictional celebrity-based novel. It tries to stand out with its ghostwriter angle, but the novel leaves what should’ve been the main focus – the band itself – left in the dust. I would only recommend it for those who love characters who are ghostwriters and want more than just a manual on how to become one. People will continue to love fictional famous people like Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six from their respective books, yet they will most likely not get any satisfaction from the Midnight Ramblers.

*2.25*

The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers by Sarah Tomlinson is a book I had very high expectations for, but sadly it felt really flat and my expectations weren't met.
This book, from the plot, should talk about a ghostwriter recounting the life of a famouse muse of the band "The Midnight Ramblers", years later, and while it does so, it's also just a minimal part of the story.

I was expecting to find a glamorized tale about a very famous band in the 70s, and while in the book it says they were on top of the world, I saw really close to nothing of the music they were playing, the lives they lived, and why they were so loved. The music factor is really non-existant.
I would go as far to say that the main plot of this book is the unsolved mystery of the death of the main singer, Mal, who obsesses Mari, the ghostwriter, in a way that's impossible to think about anything else... while the ending was just anticlimatic at best.

Mari, the main character, was just so unlikable in my opinion, she came off as someone who would do anything to reach her fame, and while she forms some connections, at the end I never found her motivations selfless. And her obsession with this death was too much for someone he didn't know, her motivations were just murky to me.

At the end, the thing I enjoyed the most about this novel was the dive into the ghostwriting world, something I'm not familiar with, and something I was very curios to get to know more. I would have liked to read more about it and how all of it works.

In the end, I think this book, in my personal opinion, wasn't the best I read on a subject like this, but if you like a bit of a thriller aspect with your fictional stories about fictional famous people, this is something you might enjoy.

Overview: Mari is a mid-level ghost writer who has stumbled into the chance of a lifetime to score a bestseller by writing the memoire of a woman greatly attached to famous 70s band the Ramblers. Desperate to score a career saving hit, Mari is focused on uncovering the secrets around one of the original band member's mysterious death in 1969. She's willing to sacrifice just about anything to get to the truth. Mari is immersed in the dark, twisted, weird, and sometimes dangerous world of celebrity where she finds surprising allies and dangerous adversaries along the way. Overall: 4

Characters: 4 A lot of what's difficult about this book is that Mari is our protagonist, but she spends all of her time trying to extract a different story and is focused on these rockstars. This leaves Mari in a weird spot in the narrative where we want to know about her as we navigate the world through her eyes, but the author seems worried about giving us too much of Mari and diverting the story away from the Ramblers. This ultimately leaves us in a somewhat confusing spot of disconnect with the main character. Mostly, we know that Mari is in a tough financial situation and that she didn't have a good childhood because her father had a gambling addiction. His addiction. she claims, informed her ability to work with the celebrities she ghost writes for in navigating their unpredictable moods. Unfortunately, we're just told about Mari's neglectful father over and over again without seeing anything in the present day or a flashback to really make the reader feel it or understand on a deeper level. The moments with her sister also seem awkwardly shoehorned in to try to provide her character a separate sense of being away from the Ramblers, but her relationship with V, though on the page, feels similarly cardboard to the troubles with her father. Mari and her world is pretty one note.

Mari's narrative arc also struggles because, for so long, her main desire in the book doesn't make sense intuitively or in the context of the aims of job, and that mismatch isn't expressed well in the story, so when she ultimately sets aside that pursuit for the logical one, there isn't a ton of satisfaction to glean.

The cast of the Ramblers, on the other hand, are built out with more depth. Dante is an aged rocker that still has a huge heart. Anke is a guarded, mysterious, alluring soul who's been through a lot and still has many secrets to work through. Jack is a bit callous and hard. Singrid has been the band's fixer so long that she might have lost the plot. Even the assistants and very minor players in the Ramblers orbit are interesting. These people have compelling nuance and lots of layers. The book is really about the Ramblers, but that's sometimes difficult for it to fully put forward within the structure of this book.

There is a sweetness that develops between Mari, Anke, Dante, and their son Oddy. It's clear that Mari is given this absent dad to make these bonds ultimately sweeter, so I wish that her development as a character could've been stronger so this would had more of an impact.

Plot: 4 This ghostwriter archetype is also tricky because the life of a ghost is pretty monotonous. There's the interviews with the celebrity, tons of writing, which I know first hand isn't much to look at as someone puzzles through words on a computer screen for hours on end, and some bursts of spy movie level action. This book is so reminiscent of Daisy Jones and the Six that it's hard not to make a comparison. It seems they are even pulling inspiration from the same real life band. Daisy Jones managed a better flow and sense of urgency because it relied on transcriptions of interviews. It allowed the dramas of the band being uncovered in hindsight and with the sense of reflection that Ramblers attempt to capture to flow effortlessly. In this book, I wish they'd found a way to circumvent the monotony of being a ghostwriter more or leaned into it harder and made the book confidently about Mari the ghostwriter instead of about the Ramblers. There are many ways to write a compelling novel about a writer, and that just didn't happen here, mainly because the author seemed unsure how interested she was in that concept. The book often struggles between wanting to be about Mari and the experience she shares with the author of being a music writer turned ghost and wanting to just tell a twisted 70s rock and roll story, so it ends up not really doing either.

While the stories told through each interview scene were different, there were just so many scenes of Mari wanting, somewhat irrationally, to pry a ton of secrets out of an unwilling subject, and the celebrity not giving much. There are so many of the same scenes stacked on top of each other to pad the book between the few intriguing moments that by 60% I was losing motivation a bit.

There is enough forward motion to keep a casual reader going. The sense of mystery as well as the stakes rapidly escalate for the final 20% of the book as all the clues throughout finally triangulate, and Mari finds herself in a dangerous situation. There is something readable about the chapters even as they can get lengthy and repetitive as you're always wondering what the next small clue might lead to. So, while there are definite flaws in the construction, it can still be an enjoyable read.

Writing: 4 This is a good beach read. If you like Taylor Jenkins Reid books, it's definitely worth picking up. I had hoped that because the author was a music journalist and ghostwriter that there would've been more depth in the portrayal of these jobs. There wasn't a sense that real, intimate, insider knowledge went into these pages, which was a bit of a letdown for me as I love music journalism and I'm fascinated by the idea of ghostwriting. The prose is easy enough to read and on certain occasions skim through, which is always nice in a lighter, quick read. But the style is repetitive and some passages feel like an exercise in how many synonyms for weed the author can think of. But there are enough charming moments in there to counterbalance the awkward quirks. If you love reading novels about celebrities or the '70s music scene, it's definitely worth a read through. You might come away with some interesting tidbits.

For me, The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers was all chaos and vibe and not enough plot. The main character is hired, fired, and re-hired (twice) and all the competing narratives were giving me whiplash.

The book feels inspired by Anita Pallenberg, which I did like. But I wonder if too much of this book was memory and hearsay, given the fact that everything interesting happened in the past. Maybe it needed a journal element (like The Heiress or The Villa) or a past/present narrative?

For whatever reason, the structure didn't work for me. I was too exhausted in the chaos of the present to get invested in the mystery aspect in the past (who killed Mal and who was the father of Anke's baby). It all got too muddled in drama that had nothing to do with the interesting parts.