Ghostwriters Anonymous by Noreen Wald
Published: March 2016
Book Blurb: With her books sporting other people’s names, ghostwriter Jake O’Hara works behind the scenes. But she never expected a seance at a New York apartment to be part of her job. Jake had signed on as a ghostwriter, secretly writing for a grande dame of mystery fiction whose talent died before she did. The author’s East Side residence was impressive. But her entourage-from a Mrs. Danvers-like housekeeper to a lurking hypnotherapist-was creepy. Still, it was all in a day’s work, until a killer started going after ghostwriters, and Jake suspected she was chillingly close to the culprit. Attending a seance and asking the dead for spiritual help was one option. Some brilliant sleuthing was another-before Jake’s next deadline turns out to be her own funeral.
Book Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads
My Review
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.
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