The Ghost Writer

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An excellent plot with fantastic characterization, this really was an incredible read. A well-written, well-paced novel about secrets, betrayal, guilt, lies, and confession. This is Alessandra Torre’s fourteenth book and she says it was the hardest to write. As with most psychological thrillers, the journey and the whodunit are what keep the reader engaged which Torre parses in measured intervals and as we navigate Helena's past, she even succeeds in eliciting our empathy. Thank you so much to NetGalley, DCA, and Alessandra Torre for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review. The Ghostwriter must be experienced rather than just revealed. And Torre does an exceptional job with this. She is a wizard with portraying her characters with the focus of transparent light and the self-imposed barriers of one's own darkness. The dialogue is sharp, witty, and at times humorous. Believe me, this book will have you sitting in that pulled up chair lost in your own thoughts at the end. Speechless is about right....... The Ghost has everything a great thriller needs. There's the slightly-too-curious-for-his-own-good Everyman who stumbles onto something huge, there's the geeky technical delight in details (here, of ghostwriting), and there's the strong suspense and atmosphere of barely-restrained menace. There's even the obligatory and now outdated scene where the protagonist, badly shaken, does his research in an internet cafe, and the obligatory scene where a GPS is used to retroactively follow someone. If a political thriller with a lot of cynicism and a slow boil sounds good to you, you will enjoy The Ghost.

However, you usually have some rounds of structural edits included in your project fee. So at least you won’t have to pay for those. Once you receive the first draft, make sure to thoroughly review it, perhaps even asking friends and beta readers to do so, so that the final manuscript will only require a final proofing before publication. Will ghosts work for a share of the royalties? Polanski to sex up tale of 'Tony Blair's ghost' ". entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. (subscription required)When the ghost is hired to write the memoirs of the former British prime minister, he reluctantly agrees because the money is great. But as he works on the manuscript he uncovers details about his client, Adam Lang, that are best left unpublished. When pressured to come up with something good enough about Lang to increase public interest and generate sales, the ghost must decide if the money is good enough for him to put his life on the line and publish the goods, or leave for good. Overkill in the foreshadowing department. Too much foreshadowing, yet each tease didn’t really add much new info. It seemed like the same hint was being told over and over. The characters were definitely not the only strength of this book.... The pacing was perfect.... Miss Torre peeled those layers off at just the right speed to keep you completely engaged throughout the entire book.... Helena lives alone, though this was not always the case. She is a well known romance writer, and she has just had some terrible news. She has also had a horrible event in her life, with both things combined, she decides she needs to make her story known. Not sure she is capable of writing her story, doing it justice, she asks her agent to get her a ghostwriter.

The characters are well-drawn. Both Helena and the ghostwriter are complex, and you really feel like you know them. The ghostwriter is one cool person, someone I couldn’t get enough of. The relationship between Helena and the ghostwriter is complex and nuanced. Fabulous ending. I wanted a bit more about the Ruth of after. But then I might have had to learn our Ghost's name or had him not end it with those last comments. Hold on a minute,” I said. “You’re a fine one to talk. You’ve been trying to get an interview with him for months. What’s the difference?”Pierce Brosnan as Adam Lang and Ewan McGregor as the ghost writer - from the Roman Polanski film, The Ghost Writer - image from RogerEbert.com