2.7 Stars 

No one expected Albert Franklynn to die in an accident. His wife Sylvie is shocked. However, nothing prepares her to find the truth of her husband’s life. When two other women come claiming to be his wives (unknown to each other), they can’t help but wonder how Albert managed to lead three lives separately. 

Soon, the police find out his death is likely a murder. Sylvie and her friend-cum-business partner, Liz, along with Albert’s other widow decide to get to the bottom of the issue. What else was Albert hiding? 

The story comes in the third-person POV. 

This is the first book in the series and is set in Monksworthy, a (fictional) village in Wye Valley, England. 

We are introduced to the main characters at the beginning through individual chapters. Then, the rest of the book has POVs jumping from one character to another. It’s a mix of omnipresent and limited third-person. 

After the first 15%, I realized I might enjoy this better if I increased the reading pace a bit. That helped. Something about the narration doesn’t make it as enjoyable as it should be. There’s a lot of tell (which doesn’t always bother me), making it hard to feel the vibe of the place and the characters. 

That said, the main characters are easy enough to distinguish from one another. A couple of things feel OTT. Not sure if it is for humor because I didn’t find them funny. 

Things take a turn midway through. A surprising development but it kinda makes sense. While the official police are supposed to do very little in cozy mysteries, they seem to do almost nothing here. 

The climax wasn’t well executed. For all the build-up we get until then, the actual scene is over in a page or so. After that, there’s just one mention of it. This is unsatisfying to a reader who wants to know more about the killer and their backstory (or at least a few other details). 

The title suits the book, though that aspect has also been underexplored. Most of the time, it’s the women trying to sleuth and being successful without any trouble. A bit too easy and a few coincidences dilute the feel. 

Nevertheless, the book ends with a detailed glossary of British words (for US readers) listed in alphabetical order. This is an extensive list! It could be useful elsewhere too. Save a copy of the glossary if you read this book. 

To summarize, Death of a Ghostwriter is the first book in a new cozy mystery series with an intriguing premise. The execution could have been a lot better, though. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Joffe Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

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