Great idea and concept for a book. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended. .

every ghostwriter wants to have their name listed on a cover, this is a story all about this. good characters and good writing

Not your typical mystery and you may be offended by the concept, however the book is a good read.

Jake O’Hara, a ghostwriter by profession, lives in Carnegie Hill with her mother. It’s a wonder that she still lives at home at her age, but it’s a combination of saving money, being single, and the comforts of living home. Jake attends weekly ghostwriters anonymous meetings where they go over the 12 steps to embracing the anonymity that comes with their profession. They all aspire to write their own works with their names credited on the book, but many only have ghost written.

Jake is given a contract opportunity with a very famous writer. The money she’ll make will hold her over for about a year, enough time to focus her efforts on writing her own novel. It seems as though ghostwriters are given a plot and basic manuscript, maybe say 20 pages, and then they write the rest of it. It makes me wonder how many famous authors actually use ghostwriters. Is is possible that the authors that publish 10 books or so a year actually do all the writing themselves? Hmm…

I love the irony of the book’s plot. The fact that the main character is a ghost writer of murder mystery and she’s managed to plop herself in the middle of one in real life. This was quite a literary murder mystery, which was entertaining. I won't give spoilers, but the murder weapon had me cracking up over the irony of it all. Entertaining cozy mystery read.

4/5 Stars

I received a complimentary review copy via NetGalley. All reviews 100% reflect my honest opinion.

This is the first book I have read by Noreen Wald and it is also the first book in her Jake O'Hara murder mystery series.

In the book, Jake O'Hara is a ghostwriter who is just finishing up her last gig. When she is invited to ghostwrite the next book by the renowned cozy murder mystery writer, she is shocked to find out the author has not written her own books while at the same time happy to be picking up such a lucrative deal.

In the midst of her happiness, disaster strikes when one of her fellow ghostwriters is found murdered. They were both part of a group that banded together as Ghostwriter Anonymous to learn how to deal with their anonymity.

She starts investigating the murder and the tale is off and running. There are murders and false trails a-plenty. I didn't figure out the whodunnit until near the end though there were certainly clues left in place.

The story bogged down a bit in the middle as the cast of characters was quite large. As with all first in series, a lot of time is spent introducing the characters and giving them their backgrounds, so I expect a little bit of slowness as this proceeds. The story picks up again and moves forward rapidly to the conclusion.

I will definitely be looking forward to more in the series in the future.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.