In recent years, Amazon has shifted its focus to the publishing realm and one of the cooler things is its Amazon Originals stories. Usually around the holidays, Amazon will release a collection of short stories.
Around the Halloween/Spooky Season, Amazon released 6 original stories with the series being called Busybodies. The series featured authors of incredibly popular series along with some who are new to the genre.
Regardless of what you're looking for, you'll probably enjoy at least one of the six offerings Amazon released. For those curious about the authors, Amazon decided to go with Elle Cosimano, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Emma Rosenblum, Nita Prose, Kellye Garrett, and Alicia Thompson.
No matter if you're craving some of those dark vibes during the fall season or want to try out one or all of these authors, the Busybodies series is a good place to start.
Let's rank Amazon's Busybodies series from worst to best.
As with my other rankings, this is just my opinion and which stories I've enjoyed the most and the least. In full transparency, I've only read 2 of these authors before so I had pretty low expectations going into this series. In addition, I listened to all of these on audio as the books were available with Kindle Unlimited as Read & Listen titles.
6. The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose
Starting things off at the bottom is The Nosy Neighbor by Nita Prose. I haven't read from Nita Prose before so I was excited to dive into this one. However, this book just felt too over-the-top which is why I didn't love it. Plus for it being such a short read, it ended up being oddly paced so it just wasn't for me.
However, if you're looking for a story about two elderly women who don't mind a little meddling in each other lives, this might be for you.
5. One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett
Moving to my #5 pick, we're talking about One Lucky Subscriber by Kellye Garrett. This short story follows a Mr. Beast-style challenge where contestants must play hide and seek as a way to win $50,000 but they'll only win if Kid doesn't find them. However, things go awry when Kid starts to get a bit unhinged.
While I did enjoy this short story, it was just okay. Nothing about it wowed me despite it being an incredibly timely read. It does make me curious about what else Kellye Garrett has published, though.
4. Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum
Coming in at the #4 spot is Crime of Fashion by Emma Rosenblum. This story follows an assistant who is accused of stealing an incredibly expensive necklace. To try to clear her name and keep her job, she decides to figure out who did it. Honestly, this one was pretty fun but once again, suffered due to its pacing. However, I would give Emma Rosenblum another try as I adored her writing.
3. A Classic Case by Alicia Thompson
At the #3 spot, we have none other than one of my favorite romance authors, Alicia Thompson. In typical Alicia Thompson fashion, she weaves this plot together so well while making things slightly absurd. A Classic Case follows a woman who rents old movies at a local store and is shocked to find a man she sees every week isn't there.
From that point, she decides to take matters into her own hands and try to look for him at his house. Maybe there's a little breaking and entering, but she doesn't let that stop her from getting the truth. It also has a dash of romance so of course, I was here for it. While I loved it, it wasn't as good as the next two on my list.
2. The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto
At the #2 spot is The Reunion Dinner by Jesse Q. Sutanto. I've read a bunch of books by Jesse Q. Sutanto and I've always enjoyed her writing. With that being said, she is able to tell such a concise and pretty dramatic story in such a short amount of pages. The way she wove all of those storylines together was just brilliant. Honestly, this made me an even bigger fan of Jesse Q. Sutanto and it made me crave more short-form fiction from her.
1. Staged by Elle Cosimano
Coming in at the #1 spot on the list is none other than Staged by Elle Cosimano. I haven't read anything from this author before but this has me excited. This story follows two real estate agents who team up to try to figure out what happened to their landscaper who is now dead. This was one I read while doing other things but it kept my attention the whole time and I had no idea what was going to happen by the end.