Loose Lips - Kemper Donovan

Mystery

Rating: 9/10

I have never really understood the whole cruise thing. Voluntarily imprisoning oneself on a slow-moving island with endless activities tailored to be “fun”, but more like a form a shared torture from my perspective. No thanks. Well, if I was looking to have my mind changed, this book had no hope of that!

Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Belle, our narrator, a writer, is flummoxed to find herself aboard the “Get Lit” cruise, where female booklovers have gathered to maybe learn a thing or two from the authors hosting classes. Between the underwhelming attendance to her talk, a flirtation with a fellow passenger born out of boredom and trying not to roll her eyes every time someone performs a reenactment of that scene from Titanic, Belle is hungry for some excitement.

When the bodies (yes, plural) start dropping she thinks, yes, I finally have an idea for my next book. Inappropriate? Maybe, but at least it’s not disingenuous. But first, she is going to have to get off this floating death trap.

As with this author’s first book, I loved the wry banter, the masterful grasp and dispensation of red herrings, the eccentric cast of characters.

My thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and the author for an advanced readers copy.

Book Pairing(s): The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan, Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson, The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose