Customer Reviews

Ghost Writer

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Although I tend to read mostly non-fiction, I've always liked a good mystery - and this was definately one of the best I've ever read!

I have to start out by saying that this book ultimately deals with religion - christianity to be exact. As a result, this particular mystery may not be right for everyone.

Ghostwriter is about an editor who starts receiving pieces of a manuscript that detail his life - both past & present. It includes things that no one he knows would have any knowledge of, and because it includes some things that he's not very proud of, it begins to scare the daylights out of him. Who's writing this & why? Do they intend to kill him &/or his family?

This book has more twists & turns than you could ever imagine. I was riveted to my seat from beginning to end. In fact, I read all of the nearly 400 pages of this book in a little over a day - I just could not put it down!!!

I would highly recommend Ghostwriter to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. It has a great plot, and the writer has done an excellent job with character development. Plus, the twists and turns throughout will keep you turning pages all night!!!

Ghostwriter is Gutteridge's first novel, an effort combining three stories into one. The conflict in this novel revolves around the struggling marriage of Jonathan and Kathy Harper. This type of conflict is rarely dealt with in novels (especially secular thrillers). Conflict in a marriage and possible affairs are a great subject matter because everybody can relate to marriage in one way or another.

Jonathan Harper is a fiction editor at a publishing house who devotes all his time to his work and is slowly drifting away from his family. The main cause of the drift is Sydney Kasdan, a beautiful co-worker. Jonathan is entranced by her and their are many times where if she offered, he would have had an affair instantly. One critic on Amazon complained that Jonathan's lust wasn't a sin since he never had an affair, but I disagree. Jonathan was at a point in his marriage where he was deliberately distant from Kathy and wanted to sleep with Sydney. (Perhaps, if they had shared a kiss in the course of their flirtation, the "sin" would have been more real).

Anyway, about that time, Jonathan begins receiving a story that is eerily similar to his own life, and it contains details no one else could possibly know. The story causes Jonathan to confront details in his life. The story covers his childhood all the way to his current marriage problems. At the same time Jonathan is reading another story about a serial killer written by his best friend and father figure Clyde.

The strongest part of the book was Jonathan's temptation to stray from his wife and sleep with Sydney and once that was resolved, the book seemed to go slow at times. Still, the book was interesting as Jonathan tries to find out who was sending him the story of his life and he tries to find out the meaning of Clyde's serial killer story.

The spiritual aspects of this novel are front and center, the full gospel is on display. I've read too few Christian novels to know the norm on this.

This was a good book touching on the subject of faith and family and how delicate a marriage can be.

This was witty, sharp, and hard hitting all in one setting! And it was the first book I'd taken in by Rene Gutteridge. Very impressive!

We join Jonathan Harper, a senior fiction editor. He receives an anonymous manuscript. But this is no ordinary piece of writing. It is about his life. And it is pretty accurate as well! On the other side of the table, he gets a draft from Clyde Baxter, his biggest author, who comes out of retirement, and takes a challenge by veering away from his westerns, to writing a thriller.

But Jonathan's life isn't all it seems to be. He has it all, but his life is a mess, and his own wife and kids have become a secondary importance to him. But what about God? Where does He fit into all this?

A great read with a chilling ending! I will definitely read more by Rene Gutteridge in the future! Great work!

Just when I thought things would start looking up for editor Jonathan Harper, some new would happy -- another twist, another turn, another suspenseful moment to keep me reading . . .

I just finished Ghost Writer, and I'd have to saw Wowie! What a great book! I got so into the story that everything around me seemed to disappear.

I'm looking foward to seeing something new by Rene Gutteridge. Until then, I'll pass my book on to friends knowing that they'll love it as much as I did.

This novel is a book lover's dream. Three novels in one! I'm incredibly impressed that she was able to weave two other novels into her novel without creating confusion, and that she could draw them all together so perfectly in the end. The suspense was wonderful. I found myself hoping that she could pull off a believable explanation for the unexplainable events that were occuring throughout the novel, and was thrilled that she did indeed pull it off seamlessly. This is an exciting novel you will not want to put down. I had to lock myself in the bathroom at the end because I didn't want to be disturbed by my three young children as the novel drew to its exciting climax and conclusion. This novel does not disappoint!

Ghost Writer is a remarkable book--three stories woven together into a tightly-written thriller that kept me reading WAY past my bedtime.

Jonathan Harper is a forty-something hotshot editor who's losing his touch. His last five books have crashed. His best author is retiring. His wife is mad as heck at him, and he can't figure out why.

Then things get worse. His retired author wants to make a comeback in a new genre--a weird psychological thriller about a psychopathic killer. The sweet young editorial assistant down the hall is starting to look a whole lot more appealing than wifey at home. And somebody is sending Jonathan an anonymous manuscript with long-buried details of his life.

Who's behind this sinister manuscript? Why are they sending it? How could anyone know these secrets? And what's going to happen when the storyline reaches the present? Jonathan buys a gun, but that's no defense when the other guy is playing with your mind . . .

The characters are well-developed and the storyline moves crisply from start to finish. Excellent job, Rene Gutteridge!

This is by far the best piece of Christian fiction to come out in the last year. First-time novelist Rene Gutteridge blends mystery and suspense through three interwoven stories that contain a message designed to hit you right where you live. This book's praises were sung at CBA in July, 2000, so I eagerly looked for its release in October. Both the district manager and I read the book in one sitting and loved it, so we encouraged the employees to promote it to all customers looking for a truly excellent read. I even bought seven copies for gifts at Christmas for friends and family! I sense this will be the beginning of an illustrious career for Rene and axiously await her next masterpiece.

I started this book two days ago and couldn't put it down. I skipped two of my favorite television programs and even skipped lunch to read. What could be better than a book about books?

I love mysteries, especially when they are Christian Fiction mysteries. The author weaved her tale in a way that was very descriptive without letting the descriptions take away from the heart of the story. Though I figured out the answer to the mystery before the end of the book, I was so intrigued by it that I wasn't disappointed when I was right. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

All I can say, is God used this author to remind me of my priorities. It's an awesome book, I recommend it to everyone.

Ghost Writer is a remarkable book -- three stories woven together into a tightly written thriller that kept me reading well into the night. Jonathan Harper is 42 years, something of a hotshot editor who is losing his touch. His last 5 books crashed and his best author is retiring. His wife is mad as heck at him, and he can not figure out why. Then things gets worse. His retired author wants to make a comback in a new genre. The sweet young asistant down the hall is starting to look good to Jonathan. And someboy is sending an anonymous manuscript to him with the manuscript... which seems to resembles his life. Jonathan wants to know who is writing this story at all cost. The answer builds all the way till the end.

Don't forget to come back next month for a sure winner for your reading pleasure. I recommend a Joseph Finder book for a good thriller. See YA.....

Tripp