Very unique read. I had a hard time connecting with the ghost writer. They didn’t have a name! It’s fine I guess tho. I wasn’t expecting the romance but it was an interesting sleuth type of story. Was fun but just kind of an ok read.

The storyline in this book was good. The pacing was pretty good. It had a lot of potential. The voices seemed off, however. The character development was lacking. Overall, it was kind of a let down for me. The idea wasn't bad, but the execution faltered.

A huge presidential election has just been held and to everyone's shock, the "odious" man has won, and the female candidate, Dorothy Gibson has retreated to her estate in Maine. A female ghostwriter is invited to move in with Dorothy in order to interview her and get ready to write an autobiography. Soon after arriving, the two women are at a local liquor store when they are accosted by a woman. This happens quite frequently, so Dorothy is happy to chat with the woman. It turns out she is living in a neighboring property and is a big supporter of Dorothy's political aspirations. Before leaving, she asks for a selfie, which Dorothy happily poses for. The next day, this neighbor, is found dead in her home. At first, it looks like a tragic accidental drowning in the bath, but when an employee of the dead woman's husband presses Dorothy to help speed up a cause of death, it soon transpires that the death was suspicious. With no political activities on the horizon and since she had a brief connection to the victim (which the national newspapers have picked up due to the selfie being posted online), Dorothy decides to find out what happened to the woman. She runs across an old-school, no-nonsense local cop who warns her repeatedly to stay out of the matter, but of course she takes no notice. As Dorothy goes around questioning possible suspects (and more often than not, having the ghostwriter tag along), it doesn't take long for another death to stir things up even more.

I liked the larger-than-life character of Dorothy, who was obviously based on a recent unsuccessful female presidential candidate (or so it seemed to me). She is confident and intelligent and doesn't let anything stop her search for the truth. I wasn't too excited for the ghostwriter who narrated the story. She seemed to have a murky past that I never felt was really explored. I enjoyed the narration and felt that the reader did a wonderful job of making the various characters distinct from one another.

A ghostwriter is hired to write a memoir for former senator Dorothy Gibson. This is a cosy mystery, which is not a genre I would normally read.

This ghostwriter was never given a name, so it was hard to connect with her. She’s a ghostwriter who doesn’t write! I found that interesting. She was snarky in a way that came across as obnoxious. I did not connect with Dorothy either. She’s a former senator turned wannabe detective. That aspect of the story seemed outlandish. While fans of Agatha Christie might enjoy this one, it sadly didn’t work for me. I could not connect at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Ok so I really did enjoy this book and the narrator was wonderful. I will admit that the self awareness of the narrator at the beginning and end where she's talking about writing her story wasn't my cup of tea but everything in between was great. I understood the concept of what was being made but I feel like this story is created perfectly to become a series of a ghost writer and ex politician team up and solve crime. That option however was taken away by the ending. Overall a fun read with a great narrator

This story is told by a ghostwriter who is hired to help with an autobiography of a failed presidential candidate and former senator. The female senator is a delightful character who will tackle any obstacle and not take "no" for an answer! I found myself wishing she were a real person who was actually running for president--I'd vote for her! While the ghostwriter is getting to know the senator by staying at her home, they become aware of the death of a neighbor, whom they'd just met the day before. The senator jumps in to investigate, with the ghostwriter as her sidekick.
Loved the senator character! The other characters were decent supporting ones, but not particularly of interest. But, the story line was definitely interesting enough to hold my interest. The narration was well done. I'd definitely recommend this mystery to anyone who wants a good listen! You'll enjoy it.

Thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for providing an advance review copy of this audiobook. My opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

The ghost writer for Former Senator Dorothy Gibson (a losing Presidential candidate) begin a mystery adventure when a neighbor they just met ends up dead.

Highly entertaining, I knocked one star off this excellent book merely because it is a bit crazy to believe that everyone would readily tell two strangers secrets they won't tell the police. It just pulls the threads of believability a bit too taut,

However I did enjoy the writing, and the audiobook narrator? A perfect choice for this book., truly excellent 👌!

Also, as a single person by choice, I also LOVED the RARE ending in so many ways.

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media & Kemper Donovan for an audio galley of The Busy Body in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be honest, I requested this book during a short-lived lull in my reading & I needed an audiobook to listen to. I am not familiar with the author, but the synopsis sounded right up my alley so I gave it a go.

This was a quirky book. It is definitely not going to win any awards or be on any "Best of" lists, but it wasn't horrible. I've had some bad luck lately with horrible books and that may be why I'm not going to be as harsh on this one. Compared to some of the others I've read recently, this was a masterpiece!

The ghostwriter (can we get her name, please??!!!??!!) takes on the dream job writing for former Senator Dorothy Gibson who also just ran, and lost, the race of U.S. President. Dorothy was an extremely unique and quirky character. I feel like the author did a great job writing her character. She was 100% the star of the show. After a neighbor dies under questionable circumstances, Dorothy & the ghostwriter begin to investigate hoping they can figure out what really happened. The investigation that ensues had many LOL moments, particularly Dorothy's complete disregard for the local police and their adamant instructions that she stay out of the investigation. Obviously, once you get a feel for Dorothy's character, you know she isn't going to stay out of it.

This was a quick, light read. While it was a mystery, it didn't require much work on the brain muscles. I enjoyed it for a one-time read and may possibly pick up this author again in the future. Maybe.

My rating is 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 4 stars.

I was lucky to receive this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was such an entertaining novel, especially the audio version. The narrator is a ghost writer who is hired to write the memoir of former senator Dorothy Gibson. Gibson ran for the presidency, but was narrowly defeated in the election. When the narrator is offered the job, she gladly accepts and moves in with Dorothy. The two hit it off right away, and besides working on the novel, they find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. A neighbor is found dead in the bathtub and Dorothy is set on solving the case. (To the dismay of the local authorities) I love the banter between the characters, especially the narrator and Dorothy as well as the narrator and the bodyguard Denny. This story plays out in the same fashion as an Agatha Christie novel with a great deal of sleuthing and a huge final reveal with all the characters present. I’m really looking forward to the next novel in the “Ghostwriter” series.

"The Busy Body" by Kemper Donovan is a delightful blend of present-day mystery and Golden Age charm. As a ghostwriter collaborates with former Senator Dorothy Gibson on her memoir, the narrative unfolds into a murder investigation in rural Maine.

I rated this book 4 stars as Donovan injects the story with wit, clever plotting, and a nod to the classic Agatha Christie mysteries. The dynamic between the sharp-witted Dorothy and the astute ghostwriter adds layers of intrigue, and the Maine setting enhances the atmospheric charm. The novel seamlessly combines political intrigue, murder mystery, and a touch of romance, keeping readers engaged from start to finish. Donovan's writing is both smart and entertaining, making "The Busy Body" a captivating read for those who appreciate a modern twist on the classic whodunit genre.

Missed the mark.

I really wanted to like this book, especially because the premise differs from anything I've read.

The story begins with the introduction of a ghostwriter who has been offered the job of writing a memoir of presidential candidate, Dorothy Gibson. For context, Dorothy lost the election and lives in rural Maine. The Ghostwriter is invited to stay with Dorothy and her team to get to know her and write the memoir. Now it wouldn't be a mystery if someone didn't end up dead and that's what happened to a neighbour we meet when the ghostwriter arrives. Following the memorial service, Dorothy and the ghostwriter are suddenly in the middle of a murder mystery where they are both attempting to and succeding in finding out what happened.

Unfortunately, the story did fall flat, and I hated the "romance" that was thrown in all willy-nilly. The idea itself was great, and I'm interested to see what comes next for the author.

Thank You to Kemper Donovan and RB Media, Recorded Books, for the audio-digital ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

2.5 Honestly, I was expecting to like this book much more than I did. I loved Agatha Christie, and especially love the Miss Marple series, so the premise of the book really intrigued me. I have to say that I really did enjoy the Senator’s character a lot. I know there are definitely people out there that would enjoy it because the mystery part of it was good, but based on what didn't work for me, I really wasn’t the right person for this one.

Now onto the stuff I didn’t enjoy. Unfortunately, the MC just didn’t do it for me. They were slotted into the classic bumbling sidekick role, yet the entire time were constantly told that the MC is really smart and super into true crime, but the author doesn’t show us any ingenuity on their part at all.

I really struggled with the tone/voice of the MC a lot because many of the character descriptions were fatphobic. For me it feels like lazy writing to make me dislike a person based on how nastily you describe their appearance. The way someone looks is morally neutral and doesn’t determine what kind of person they are.

This next part really hurts me to say since I am leftist and agree with the ideas the characters bring up, but something about the way it was written made it seem like the AUTHOR was trying so hard to show how progressive THEY the writer is, but instead it came off just a bit heavy handed and inauthentic/white-knighting for my tastes. I got the vibe that the author really needed the reader to know that they are “a good liberal.”

And the romance aspect felt out of place and over the top. The objectification of the body guard felt really out of left field.

Overall the whole thing was tedious and a bit smug.
***Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

An unnamed ghostwriter finds herself requested to write the memoir of presidential candidate, Dorothy Gibson. Dorothy lost the election and now resides in her personal residence in rural Maine. Ghostwriter is invited to stay at Dorothy's residence while writing the memoir. During a trip to town they meet an overly enthusiastic neighbor who winds up dead a couple of days later. After attending the memorial service where their suspicions are aroused, suddenly Dorothy and ghostwriter are in the middle of a murder mystery doing a better job sleuthing than any of the local police officers.

I struggled to find much comedy in the ghostwriter's snarky inner dialogue and comments. It wasn't for me. As a mystery, it did keep me guessing until the end and I do like a cozy mystery with a handful of suspects to choose from.

I did read via audio book and the narration kept my attention. I think I may have enjoyed this more without the audio.

Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted so much to enjoy this tale and in some ways I did, but in others it definitely fell flat for me. First and foremost I must say that I deeply enjoyed the narrator choosen for this audiobook. She reminded me of Rachel Hollis, who is someone I can listen to speak for hours. The way the main character is wrote on top of a wonderful voicing job made this tale sound as if I was truly listening to a friend talk. I think they nailed this job. Voicing aside, The Busy Body started off very strong. We meet our main character right before she is off to ghost write for a proud, sophisticated, powerful, almost female president. Upon arriving to her job our MC and friendly politician are quickly wound up into an unsuspected murder. This is where the story lost steam for me. The next 100+ pages are blurbs of random information that holds the suspense and mystery at an almost standstill. The conclusion of the novel is basically 4 chapters of the would have been president explaining to us how she figured out the killer. A plot twist us readers couldn't have possibly picked up on during our first read/listen. It makes the ending a long slosh of "I've already heard this" vs a genuine "AHA" moment. Forget the general pleasure of guessing the solution/being tricked by the authors quirky words, because up until the twist was announced all of the "clues" were lost in translation. This left a very big desire to move to my next book, instead of awarding me with a book hangover. I'd call this a cozy mystery, but it's a rather long read for such a minor payoff. Oh and I'd be lying if I didn't add that the interaction between our MC and the one guard was pitiful at best. Could have done without that entire plotline.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for gifting me this ARC of the audiobook to review.

I don't know how this book is marketed, but I would categorise it as a "cosy mystery". The murders are gruesome, but the narrator keeps her wit throughout. She's not very close to any of the characters so she's not emotionally involved with the case apart from curiosity.

I really liked the narrator. She is smart and empathetic, she's very good at reading people and applying her knowledge from previous books that she has worked on. Her thought processes are logical and clearly laid out for the reader. At the same time, she's a real person with some awkward mishaps, like falling asleep in the car and spreading out a bit too much, without seeming ditzy or annoying. She's also quite funny in her inner dialogue. She's a very 'adequate' character in the best way possible. We learn that she is not in touch with her family at the beginning of the book, but not much more about it is elaborated. This is a loose thread that should be picked up in the coming books of the series.

Dorothee is another character that is just pleasant to read about, she has her quirks, but she's a smart powerful woman who knows how to talk to people.

The pacing of this book is a bit slow at times, it feels like we're experiencing everything that happens in real-time with the characters. This adds to the cosy mystery vibe, but in no way takes away from the suspense. Things are happening all the time after all and I really wanted to know "who'd done it?". Some of the interviews with Dorothee and the narrator are also really funny to read, a bit like getting juicy gossip.

To add some romance, the main character does have a love interest, which was a nice little add-on, but it was not explored too much. I hope the love interest reoccurs in the coming books otherwise this part of the story would be a bit disappointing.

A minor detail that annoyed me a little: There's a part where the FMC comments on the bodyguard's pants looking like they are from 2002. The bodyguard responds that he was 12 back then, which would make him 34 in 2024, yet the FMC deduces that he's in his late 20's. Following this section I looked up when the book was published. I thought maybe it was published a few years before the audiobook, but that doesn't seem to be the case. In addition, pants that are from 2002 are back right now, so the point of the conversation doesn't make any sense. I guess the book was originally written a while back and is only published now, but when things like this get overlooked it irks me.

Following my research I realised that the author was actually male. Listening to the audiobook (obviously narrated by a woman), it did not feel like a 'male' narration at all, so I think the author did an unexpectedly good job here. I can also really recommend the audio narration :)

I am looking forward to the next parts in this series :)

I had really high hopes for this book, and unfortunately they we're not met...in the slightest. I mean who wouldn't want to love an Agtha Christie inspired murder mystery, with a unnamed ghostwriter writing a memoir for a female Senator who failed to become President*hintHilaryClintonhint*.I trudged through this audiobook solely due to the narrator Eva Kaminsky performance of all the characters. I can see where the author wanted to go but the banter fell flat, the romance was null, the "twist" was seen miles away. There's potential but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBMedia for accepting my request to read and review.

This audiobook was just okay for me. While I enjoyed the narrator, I felt the momentum of the book was a bit meandering.

Dorothy Gibson, the most hated politician in country, is hiding out in her Maine home awaiting the dust to settle from an election she split as an independent candidate for president. We all know this story well and how it turned out, but this is a fictional retelling of what happened to the independent candidate after the election.

Dorothy hires a ghostwriter to assist her in creating a biography. The unnamed ghostwriter is our narrator and she's adept at peeling back the layers of ones life and asking the important questions. She travels to Maine to visit with Dorothy and promptly moves in with her, to work on the autobiography. The women, in need of provisions, go to the local liquor store where Dorothy bumps into her neighbor, Vivian, and a picture is taken. The next day the neighbor is found deceased under suspicious circumstances. Together, Dorothy and our narrator, will put their skills to use to solve this crime.

First, I liked the narrator, I felt like she did a good job of embodying her character, so that worked for me. What didn't work was the pacing of the novel and the amateur sleuthing that the story was based on with a lot of investigating but only a little action. I liked the characters and it was well done in some areas but it just wasn't fully my taste. Overall I'd rate it 3.5 🌟🌟🌟✨, rounding up to 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you #Netgalley for providing me with this ALC in exchange for my honest review.
#TheBusyBody

When former Senator, Dorothy Gibson, heads to her Maine home after losing her bid for president, she hires a ghostwriter to write her memoir. When the two meet an avid fan at the local liquor store, they have no idea how the meet and greet is about to change everything. When a body turns up, soon Dorothy and the unnamed ghostwriter go into full on sleuth mode. This book (on audio), a cozy Agatha Christie type mystery, was a fun listen from start to finish and I’m looking forward to the ghostwriter’s next assignment! Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for an ALC of this book.

Thank you RB Media, Recorded Books for accepting my request to read and review The Busy Body on NetGalley.

Stars: 2.5

From the first page to the last, I was bored and didn't connect. Staying focused was impossible. I'm bothered that at no point in the 300+ pages did I find a sliver of hope. There were times in the ten hour audiobook that I wondered if I had a rough draft. Time went on, I tried to engage hoping this was a writing style that would reveal itself later on; it didn't happen.

The review I'm submitting now would be the same if I threw in the towel at 30%. I did strongly consider turning the book back in. The synopsis stayed with me and I wanted the ghost writing trope to work for me.

As far as, Eva Kaminsky, she was okay. Her performance dragged unlike others where she was amazing. She can only read what is written and remains a notable favorite narrator of mine.

In the event this becomes a series, I will not be picking it up. I do suggest trying for yourself and considering a different format if one isn't working. I will ponder if dropping the audio and going physical or E-book would have made a difference.

I enjoyed listening to Eva Kaminsky reading this locked room murder mystery which I suspect is the first in a series featuring the nameless ghostwriter narrator. Some elements of the plot stretched my belief, but all told, this was an entertaining, easy listen. I would certainly read or listen to more in this series by Kemper Donovan, and will also look out for other books narrated by Kaminsky.