ghostwriter

Kemper Donovan: Loose Lips

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Ghostwriter #2

I really enjoy this quirky new series featuring a nameless ghostwriter as the main character.  In the first book, the writer trailed a Hilary Clinton-esque figure and wound up solving a crime with her.  In this follow up, she’s now an established professional after publishing an account of her previous adventure and is recruited for a private cruise for wannabe writers.  She’s the “mystery writer” instructor, along with a poet, a memoirist, and an ultra successful romance writer.  We eventually learn her pen name, Belle Currer, which certainly makes things simpler from a logistical point of view. read more

Kemper Donovan: The Busy Body

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This yummy book is centered on a ghostwriter (never named) who gets a dream assignment: she’s to collaborate with Dorothy Gibson, a Hilary Clinton-esque figure who has just lost a presidential election and has retreated to her home in Maine.  The ghostwriter informs the reader that meeting a subject has to involve some chemistry or it just won’t work, but she means to accept this assignment before she steps foot in the door, and the two women in fact hit it off.

This is a plot driven book that’s governed by character.  The author obviously has a love for golden age mysteries and makes frequent references to Poirot, Marple, and Inspector Alleyn, but it’s the budding friendship between the two women that powers the novel.  As the ghostwriter accompanies Dorothy around town, Dorothy is frequently met by voters/fans who don’t quite know how to react but want to make sure she knows they voted for her.  It’s poignant. The way Dorothy reacts is matter of fact and friendly, and you only see the cracks when she’s alone with the ghostwriter or her assistant. She also works nonstop, to the exhaustion of the writer, who cannot believe her energy. read more