The Ghost Writer

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Alessandra Torre, herself, is a gifted writer. She reveals "the story" in a then and now format with Helena slowly filling in the blanks of her past. Her highly guarded persona and her refusal to allow anyone to come close is extremely significant to this storyline. She spits out insults and sinister retorts like a gumball machine loaded with pennies. Helena covets this process of dying as the final culimnation of her life's darkest secret. She must purge herself of it before she breathes her last. this was another stellar Traveling Sister read! All of us thoroughly enjoyed it, and we had a wonderful discussion as usual.... once again ladies thank you for adding so much to my reading experience!💕 Alessandra Torre has written many novels but this is the first I’ve read. You can be sure my “to be read list” has quite a few more titles on it now that I’ve read this novel. I loved it! It’s hard to pinpoint Helena’s redeeming qualities, especially when you first meet her. She comes off as cold and harsh, governed by endless amounts of self-imposed rules. Her grim outlook on life would never lead you to believe that she is in fact the author of fifteen love stories, earning her a prominent name in the industry. It’s a major blow that gets her to ditch her latest work-in-progress and starts the countdown—three short months to write the story of all stories . . . her truth. It’s Helena's one chance to come clean and bring to light an alternative version of the events that took place four years earlier—the day she lost everything. 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.

What a book! What a story! The book starts with writer Helena Ross. She has recently learned that she has terminal cancer and about 3 months to live. Before she passes away she wants to write her last novel and the most important story of her life. When you use platforms like Reedsy to reach out to ghostwriters, you can filter their profiles by genre, language, and area of expertise, and request quotes from five professionals simultaneously.If everything feels right, you’ve found your ghostwriter! Hopefully they’re as excited about working with you as you are with them. All there is left to do before starting work is to agree on a fee: to help decide that, you might want to take a look at our next post in the guide on the cost of hiring ghostwriters.

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. The Ghostwriter is a good read! It has a unique plot with one twist after another. It was hard to read some parts because their pain was real and gut wrenching. This story hits all the points required to warrant 5 stars. As Helena and the Ghostwriter begin writing the most important book of Helena's career, the reader is given glimpses into Helena's life, her past, why she lives the way she does and why this book is so important to her. Kate had already let herself in and was watching the news. Kate: I had forgotten she was coming over for the evening. She was my—? I never knew what to call her. To say she was my girlfriend was absurd; no one the wrong side of thirty has a girlfriend. Partner wasn’t right either, as we didn’t live under the same roof. Lover? How could one keep a straight face? Mistress? Do me a favor. Fiancée? Certainly not. I suppose I ought to have realized it was ominous that forty thousand years of human language had failed to produce a word for our relationship. (Kate wasn’t her real name, by the way, but I don’t see why she should be dragged into all this. In any case, it suits her better than the name she does have: she looks like a Kate, if you know what I mean—sensible but sassy, girlish but always willing to be one of the boys. She worked in television, but let’s not hold that against her.) I don't know why there is any discussion amongst readers about whether any parallels can be drawn between this fictional world and real world politics. The basis for the story is so blatantly obvious. Adam Lang is, beyond doubt, a parody of Tony Blair. Ruth is Cheri. And so on.An additional piece of advice? Consider reading rather than listening to it. Andrea Izzy Anthony narrated, and she did a decent job, but her interpretation of Helena was so emotionless and flat that it was hard to invest in her for awhile. It may work better for others! And since she doesn't have enough energy to write a book she would normally have a year for, in three months - she hires a ghostwriter. Who better than her archenemy - smut author Marka!

But it is a Robert Harris book and, as I've stated, I like his books. It didn't take long for me to start enjoying it. Oh sure, there was the usual cringe moments - this man cannot write a sex scene to save his life. In fact, he can't even write a "sexy" scene to save his life: I really can’t say much more than this... don’t want to spoil this for you.... you have such a wonderful journey in front of you.... along with how well developed Helena is... she also has quite the unlikely friendship with her Ghostwriter(Another character I adored)....

I have three months to write the last book of my life. Three months to confess the details of that day, and how it changed everything for me. No. I promise you. They need to do something radical—take a risk. It’s a great opportunity for you. And the money will be good. The kids won’t starve.” This is a book that I devoured, hungrily, yet a book in which I savoured every word. It is a book in which I became completely absorbed. It is intense. It is vivid. In its own way, it is scary. It is painful. It is wonderful! It is a story that is not going to leave me in a hurry, not just for its magnificent plot, but for the emotions it engendered.