So a male author is trying to pull off a first person narrative as a female. And apparently Kemper Donovan's used social media as a field of research to learn how women speak and what drives them.

Prepare yourselves because the result are characters that speaks in hashtags and pop media headlines. The main character is pretentious, shallow, extremely bitter and self important. She is apparently a "best selling author" who is notoriously jealous of her more successful colleague. Her lack of self-awareness and overall fakeness make it extremely difficult to get through the book. I also struggled to find a story underneath this disingenuous façade.

In short, the entire thing is quite insufferable.

3.4 rounded down for this whodunnit at sea. The “Get Lit” literary cruise is sailing along nicely until a former college friend shows up with accusations that the famous organizer of the cruise stole her book idea. Their third friend from college days is our narrator, a published author of one book and ghostwriter for many, on the cruise as faculty. The problem is she tries too hard. To be likable, to be the peacemaker between her former friends, to solve the murder(s). And she doesn’t truly succeed in any of those roles. The audiobook narration is good. Sadly the writing lacks the snark and attitude of Ernest Cunningham (the writer character in Benjamin Stevenson’s “Everyone on This Train is a Suspect”) and I can’t help but feeling it would have been a more enjoyable outing in Mr. Stevenson’s hands.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for access to the audiobook of #LooseLips for review purposes.

I enjoyed this author's previous book featuring this book's main character (a ghostwriter turned mystery writer), The Busy Body, so I was looking forward to reading this latest adventure. Although the main character still remains somewhat of a mystery herself, I appreciate that we do at least have a name to call her by, even if it is her pen name, Belle Currer. The reader also gets more of her back story, including relationships with friends and family, so that is much appreciated. The story and murders take place on a cruise ship that is sailing with 300 passengers who are onboard to learn all things literary--The Get Lit Cruise, and Belle teaches the mystery class. I thoroughly enjoyed the wit, humor and banter amongst the characters, enhanced by the vivid descriptions that place the reader on the cruise and bring the colorful cast of characters to life. I also appreciate that this book details the looks, mannerisms and quirks of the women (and the handful of men) onboard, without vilifying or demeaning body-types or body parts, which the author made noticeable use of, to describe characters in the first book. The mystery portion of the story kept me guessing as to suspects, but the method was for me rather easily predictable (as I read many mysteries), so I wish it had been a bit more unconventional. I enjoyed the bits of slightly spicy romance, getting to know the women who were taking Belle's class (wish there had been a bit more interaction with them within the story, as well as more about the books some of the characters were writing) and the hints that maybe the hot body guard from the previous book might make an appearance in the next installment. I look forward to reading the next book!
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was excellent at giving each character a distinct voice, bringing life to the narration.

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.

I did not like this book. When I requested it, I didn't realize that I had read and very much disliked the previous book, and if I had remembered I would have skipped this one. I really, really wish publishers would STOP SAYING BOOKS AND AUTHORS ARE LIKE AGATHA CHRISTIE!!!

This is NOT LIKE AGATHA CHRISTIE!! Do not insult Christie!!

Annoying MC ghost writer on a cruise. This MC is SOOO-OOO "wonderful' and "smart' and above everyone else, looking down, the criticisms never stop, so the reader cannot make a decision on their own of the character.

I'm sorry, but I really can't find anything positive to say about this book, series, or author. I didn't' even like the narration. I did finish it, because I had agreed to finish the book and write this review, and I tried to find something positive to say, but I just can't.

1 star = I hated it.

Engaging and entertaining. A wink to Agatha Christie's style. The narration is easy to follow. The main character is a ghostwriter who wrote a book based on the events of the first book in this series, where she was involved in a real-life murder. Now, she is on a cruise for women who are paying big money to take courses on writing. And bodies start piling up.

As always, Donovan fills his book with fun dialogue, clues, and a lot of fun. It's a very enjoyable series.

In this second book of the series, the ghostwriter goes on a literary cruise that has 300 women attending. What looks to be a fun time soon turns deadly as a body is found. There are many characters and many suspects and the bodies start piling up as the ghostwriter tries to assist in solving the murders. Highly entertaining and loved the narrator.

Imagine you’re on a small cruise ship, filled with authors, as well as…wanna be authors.
Imagine your friend/frenemy Payton, the bigwig with the big purse strings is behind the huge gathering, as well as the ship, the phenomenal food, the open bars, etc…. She’s a huge author with lots of true followers! Her wife, AND her ex-husband are both on board…

And, in order to get on board, you had to pay BIG BUCKS for a ticket! AND, be on the very exclusive (small list of people), who got the gold ticket…(invite)

Now imagine that there’s another old friend on board too. One that wasn’t invited. One that no-one wants there… because she claims Payton stole her work as her own….

So now you’re out there, in the middle of nowhere…
And people are dropping like flies. Dead. And…being murdered!!
And there’s absolutely no-one there to help…

🛑🛑 That’s it! Stopping there! 🛑🛑
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, keep your eyes 👀 opened for it! It IS ON SHELVES NOW!

#LooseLips by #KemperDonovan and narrated nicely by #EvaKaminsky!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RecordedBooksMedia (#RBMedia) for an ARC of the audiobook. It was released 1.21.25!

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This is number two in a series. I started reading it without knowing that. There is nothing to require you to have read the first one that this story is relying on heavily for you to follow this story. The author does a good enough job of introducing the characters and touching on background lightly that you don't feel like you've missed anything if you were to just grab this to read. There is a couple of side characters that are very vulgar in their language. There's a pretty heavy feminist vibe to this book. I don't know if that's standard with this author because this is the first one I have read. This is an all female cast In this book save a couple make characters. Our protagonist is actually a fun character who's fairly introverted. She is a recently famous mystery writer previously a ghostwriter. What I found fascinating with this book is with many mysteries when you read them because we love to do the whodunit throughout. But the author has created a boat full of unlikely murderer characters. And then our mystery writer tries to place each of them into a situation in her mind where they could have committed the murders. So it was actually quite interesting. It takes place on a Cruise ship where the guests have paid exorbitant amounts to be on this writing Cruise with famous authors from a few of of the main book genres.

I was given this book to review on NetGalley. All opinions are my own

Alright, mystery lovers, Loose Lips is back with another round of literary mayhem! This is the second installment in the Ghostwriter Mystery Series, and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. Our favorite ghostwriter-turned-sleuth, Belle Currer, finds herself on a bougie writer’s cruise where the drama is high, the egos are massive, and—surprise, surprise—people start dropping dead.

Belle’s sharp wit and even sharper instincts make her the perfect reluctant detective as she navigates a sea of suspects (some of whom clearly take murder more seriously than writing deadlines). Kemper Donovan delivers all the things we love—twists, snark, and a murder mystery that keeps you guessing until the very last page. If you loved the first book, this one is a no-brainer. And if you haven’t read the first one yet, what are you waiting for? Go catch up!

The Get Lit Cruise is taking off! Cute and funny murder mystery - I agree with the connections to Agatha Christie style.

Payton has invited writers from multiple genres to come together and teach them more about the writing process - on a cruise... What they don't expect is to be solving a murder after someone is found dead on the ship.

The isolation leaves a lack of police - which adds the humor in to a bunch of women trying to figure out what has happened before more bodies turn up. I had a great time with this one!

I enjoyed this a lot, and it is a good, solid thing to almost everyone's liking. It doesn't get you overemotional or overwhelmed. The plot is well-structured, and it is easy to keep up and even solve the mystery if enough efforts are involved.

A cruise trip with the meaning of studying literature and writing gone horribly wrong. However, I can't say the very same about the main character: she got on the ship to teach writing mystery, and I'm happy to spoil the plot a little and tell you that she accomplished it with flying success (which was a delight after all that happened).

The only thing however that kept me from enjoying that novel fully was a big chunk of references that for me as a non-American didn't always make sense.

I listened to the audiobook of this novel.

Whilst this is the genre of books I read, I have found this hard to finish!
I listened to the audiobook and found the narration rather irritating. Sometimes it was as if the sentence was a rhyme and this just made if difficult to get into the story overall.

I think the story was aimed at maybe a younger audience, the humour the sarcasm from the main character just fell short for me.
Overall the story was just so far fetched but I stayed with it and actually thought the twists were good and well planned.

Murder and mayhem on the high seas on a women’s writing retreat on the high seas. I did not realize this was the second in the series so I think I lost some insight into our protagonist.

I was initially surprised to find out Kemper Donovan was a man. I found Belle an interesting and relatable character. She’s closed off from trauma but still a bit of a people pleaser. She’s smart but still makes stupid mistakes. She was well developed.

It gives me mixed feelings about some of the observations about male entitlement and attitudes. Yes, Donovan is queer and has daughters but it’s still different from experiencing it first hand. His insights felt accurate but how much is him guessing versus seeing it? Despite my weirdness on this, I thought he did a good job.

I did not see that ending coming. I think the breadcrumbs are there so the twist works. It’s unsettling and unexpected.

Since my copy was an audiobook, I think the narrator did a great job. I’d give the audio experience a 4.5 and the book overall a 4/5

I listened to the audiobook thanks to NetGalley and this was an enjoyable fun listen. This was a fun mystery with a diverse cast of characters and a great twist. I definitely recommend if you are a mystery fan.

This was a nice cozy murder mystery set on a cruise ship. The main character was a bit quirky and snarky to me. This was a pretty slow pace which I did not mine. This book is entertaining and you will want to listen to the end. 3.5 stars.

This is a "closed-door" or "closed-boat" mystery. This main character is snarky and quick-witted. The personality is going to be loved or hated. I personally loved it. The audio is amazing and really expresses the personality. I really enjoyed the book. I wouldn't call it a cozy mystery but definitely doesn't feel high anxiety.

I highly recommend it and will definitely pick up the next book by this author.

A murder mystery on a literary cruise... yes please. Even though it is listed as the second in a series, you can certainly read it without having read the first one. It is only referenced at a few points, but I do not think much is missing and a reader won't be left wondering about previous events unless they want to go back and explore that mystery as well.

I was thrilled to receive this audiobook, as I truly enjoy a good "Who-du-it" mystery which encapsulates the feeling of reading a classic. Though this one is funny and witty, I did not find it to be along the same vein as Agatha Christie nor Knives Out. I think stating it is reminiscent of the Golden Age mystery, kind of sets a standard it didn't quite live up to.

I do not want to make it sound like I did not enjoy this book, because I did. But it is more fun, funny, light hearted, rather than watching your back since everyone is a suspect. I think I was a bit disappointed the first "murder" doesn't happen until about halfway into the novel. For the first half of the book, it is a book about books and about a literary cruise with lots of personal drama.

When I take it as it's own novel and don't compare it to others, it is an enjoyable story and easy to read. The story flows well and the characters are enjoyable to get to know. I enjoy a book about books and I think I would want to go on a literary cruise where writers help other writers hone their craft..

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loose Lips by Kemper Donovan is an absolute delight for mystery lovers! Picture Knives Out with a splash of literary drama set aboard a high-stakes “Get Lit Cruise” — the perfect recipe for chaos and intrigue. Donovan’s witty and intelligent storytelling shines, blending clever humor with a suspenseful locked-room mystery. The cast of quirky, sharply drawn characters kept me guessing until the final twist. Eva Kaminsky’s vibrant narration added even more charm and energy to the listening experience. A must-read (or listen) for fans of Agatha Christie-inspired whodunits with a modern, hilarious twist!

3.5 rounded up. A light hearted murder mystery set on a chaotic cruise, following a celebrity ghost writer turned amateur sleuth and mystery writer. Simply a recipe for a good time!

I loved the setting and the atmosphere of a literary cruise. I thought the book did a really good job at poking fun at different genres of books without being mean or hateful. I also genuinely enjoyed the mystery plot. It had a good amount of twists and turns without being overly convoluted.

I do think that the mystery genre is a little saturated at the moment with mystery writers who happen upon murders and become amateur detectives who then write about their experiences as a mystery book, which then becomes a bestseller and rinse and repeat. And while this one was definitely not the worst of this sort, I have read better of versions of the formula. This is a personal preference though, and I think I am just a little over this trope at the moment.

Overall, a great fast paced, light hearted mystery with a great setting and a fun cast of characters!

What an absolutely delightful find this series is! I requested Busy Body (#1) last year when it was on here, but was declined and rather forgot about the book. Then I saw this one pop up, remembered, and requested again. This time I got the audiobook approval, so turned to my local library for the first book also in audio format. I am so glad I did - this is a fantastically fun series, populated with hilarity, shenanigans (of the best possible variety), and really strong characterization. There is more than a little snark, and the mysteries and revelations are intricate and well-planned - which isn't something I often find in books that are also genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. Donovan has a hit on his hands, and I am already eager to see what delicious (mis)adventures he confronts our intrepid Ghostwriter with next!