The Busy Body is an excellent mystery thriller from Kemper Donovan. Great characters and brilliant twists make this a wonderful debut.

Sadly ,I've had to do a soft dnf for now and come back to the book in the future. I think the writing was very good. Based on what I've read so far I would still recommend this to people I know would love this type of story.

A ghostwriter gets their dream job, working with former Senator Dorothy Gibson, who is currently infamous. The ghostwriter arrives at Dorothy’s private home to start work, however things take an unexpected turn when a neighbour dies suspiciously. Dorothy enlists her team to help her investigate.

This was my first book by this author and I picked this up as it sounded like an interesting premise. I liked the idea of this being told by a ghostwriter and thought this would add an extra layer of mystery. I enjoyed some of dialogue between the characters and the locked room element. It ended up being a quick, easy read.

There were elements that I wasn’t such a fan of sadly. I didn’t feel that I connected to the ghostwriter or feel that I got to know them, most likely because they stay anonymous across the whole story. I would have liked to have had a name or more personal details to really build up a picture. I also felt that the personality we did see, did not come across as genuine. I also wasn’t a fan of the political aspect of this book or the romantic sideline. Finally, I found the pacing to be slow. I appreciate what the author was trying to do with this story but unfortunately it didn’t work for me this time. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

A ghostwriter is engaged to write the memoir of Dorothy Gibson, US senator who has recently lost the presidential race to an unpleasant Trump-like figure. She goes to stay in Dorothy's home, deep in the woods in rural Maine, but the pair quickly become distracted when a dead body is discovered next door.

Quite a fun read, although the reveals were unbelievable and I didn't like the way that the author commented on the physical attributes of the suspects. Recommended for lovers of cosy mysteries.

I found this book lacking in depth of characters and actually quite boring. I love murder mysteries with my early youth devouring every Agatha Christie book she wrote. This book however does not come near any of those books but has the feel of one in that we have two older ladies who get involved in a murder enquiry which occurred in the property next door. Therefore we’re looking at a closed room, police ineptitude scenario, which has been done many times before. Sorry not one for me 2.5 stars upgraded to 3.

Thank you for approving me for a copy of The Busy Body. I am unable to review this currently as the copy I downloaded is not working and only shows the front and back pages. So sorry, I did download this a few months ago but hadn't realised there was a problem. I will purchase a copy upon release and hopefully return with a review then.
Thanks

A quick read for me that I mostly enjoyed
A different approach to a ‘murder mystery’ and was full of intrigue
Worked well although did raise my eyebrows a few times at what was happening in the plot but thats ok as it’s fiction!
A worthwhile different read

Wry and amusing - interesting characters and a curious backstory. Overall, not sure what to make of this book - it's a novel (no pun intended) story (no link to The Ghost by Robert Harris - hope tghat's not a plot spoiler)

Only recommendation - don't read it in small bits - allow yourself to become immersed in the characters and be swept along on their journey

This was quite hard work, all disbelief must be suspended and you have to be prepared for the story to be quick and full of holes.

I think this is a really interesting take on murder mystery but it really is quite a struggle hanging on.

DNF @ 10%. Couldn't stand the writing style. If you build your mystery on 'this happened, then THIS happened, then I did this, then I did that' - I check out instantly. You're writing a murder mystery, make it interesting! Give me something to work with except for your main character telling me how great they are and all the cool stuff they did and how they're definitely 'not like other people'. So much potential that made me angry just reading it. If you like Agatha Christie - just go read Agatha Christie.

Didn't know what to expect coming but this was a very highly entertaining story which I couldn't get enough of. Highly recommend!

I Absolutely *loved* this!

The murder mystery is brilliant, the characters entertaining and engaging, the humour delightful and also snarky where required. I was so engrossed, the pages, and the time just flew by, I just did not want to stop reading. In fact I was a little sad when it was over.

Highly recommended!

I raced through this pacy mystery in two days and it was a wild ride. I had no idea where the author was taking me, but I knew I wanted to follow…..⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was definitely an excited read! The mystery was very compelling especially as the story unravels and the reader is fed information to keep the excitement alive.