Robert Harris "Ghost," political thriller

From the very first page, a very realistic and absorbing picture emerges. It‘s clear what the story is going to be about, while the added the mystery and the hurry surrounding the Ghost‘s manuscript planted the seeds of curiosity and left me wondering what will happen next.

Harris makes a good contact with the reader – the level of detail and impressions coming from the first person narrative make for a very personal touch. Dialogues are well distinguished, some rather emotional and sentimental, resembling those of everyday life and spoken by two rather principled individuals; vs the others, voiced by figures of prominence and leaving the impression of authority and ambition. Well done.

Some of the twists I could see from a mile away, while others were a total surprise. I must admit that when the anticipation of the ending started, with about 20% of the book left, I had rather grandiose expectations for it. I was very curious how a derailed and transformed agenda (great character arc) will find its resolution and although it wasnʼt quite spectacular, it worked rather well.

I also enjoyed a few innocent looking facts from the beginning of the book, nicely connected with the story at the very end. The only weakness that caught my eye was excessive use of figure of speech – much of it sounded rather unnatural and a somewhat forced.

I do realize this story sounded political (maybe even personal) back in the day, but now it‘s just entertaining.

Saul Prizer’s score. 4.2/5.0