The Ghostwriter

By Alessandra Torre

Potent mix of foreshadowing and secrets.

I couldn’t put this down. Adeptly told through three characters (writers Helena and Mark, agent Kate) author Torre sweeps the reader up in a potent mix of foreshadowing, secrets and regret. All backed up to a tense tickling clock of a terminal illness.

I loved how the initial details showing Helena’s eccentric rigidity—endless lists, others walking on eggshells around her, strange emails—sets the reader up to be suspicious of her. When she decides she must write a story—the truth about a cataclysmic event—its importance supersedes all else, including Helena’s own deeply-grooved personality traits. Here is a controlling character so hurt that she’s built up walls to hide her own emptiness. Her journey out is heartwarming and ultimately satisfying.

Author Torre writes with authority and pace. Loved it.