What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

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Query abandoned by poster > ABANDONED. Mystery involving ghostwriter in a town with a "Little House"-esque fan convention

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message 1: by Andi (new)

Andi Looking for a book I read within the last few years - I think it would have been new-ish at the time (post-2010) though I'm not 100% sure it wasn't older.

A writer arrives in a small town (maybe in Wisconsin?) having been hired to help write/ghostwrite an old man's memoir. I believe she has a teenage kid who does not come along but may visit later in the book (there may have been some bitterness over a custody argument?). There is a fan convention happening in the town for a book series by an author that used to live there (sort of loosely similar to real-world Laura Ingalls Wilder/Little House fan events). The writer is staying in a cottage/guest house next to the old man's house, and the cottage has some connection to the famous local author/convention subject, so fans keep coming around pestering to come inside and look around, take pictures, etc.

I don't really remember anything of the plot, but I'm pretty sure it was a mystery (murder or otherwise, I don't know - if it was a murder, I've no idea who got killed). The solution may have involved some kind of letters/notes or other artifact discovered in the guest cottage or among the old man's papers, possibly related to the famous local author.

Sorry to be so vague - any ideas?


message 3: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (new)

Lobstergirl | 44924 comments Mod
Does the fictional author write books similar to the Little House books, or are you only using that example because the Little House books have fan events?


message 4: by Andi (new)

Andi I don't think it's the Miss Prim one, but thanks! iirc, the fictional books were a series similar to the Little House series - nostalgic Americana-type, originally aimed at kids but with a large adult fan base (I seem to remember there being a character making some remark about all the grown women obsessed with kids' books). And I want to say the fictional author may have had some kind of connection with the old man whose memoir is being written, or a relative of his. Or something. x_x


message 5: by Andi (new)

Andi Bump?


message 6: by Tab (new)

Tab (tabbrown) | 5084 comments Maybe, one of the "A Jersey Shore" mysteries?

https://www.goodreads.com/series/4173...

The main character is a ghostwriter.

Was this part of a series?
Anything about the cover?
Was the main character's occupation ghostwriter, journalists, something else?


message 8: by Andi (new)

Andi Doesn't look like any of those, but Death on the Prairie sounds interesting! I don't know if it was part of a series or anything from the cover, unfortunately. I *think* the MC was a writer or journalist, who was taking ghostwriting gigs on the side and was kind of uncomfortable/ashamed about it, but needed the money. I could be mixing that up with another book though...


message 9: by ``Laurie (new)

``Laurie (laurielynette) Death on the Prairie does sound good, I plan on reading it soon.


message 10: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (new)

Lobstergirl | 44924 comments Mod
Andrea left the group. Moving to Abandoned.


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