From the Bookshelf of Suspenseful Clues and Thrilling Reviews …

The Ghostwriter

A.R. Torre

Start date: January 1, 2018

Finish date: January 31, 2018

Discussion leader: Sam (Clues and Reviews)

Why we're reading this: Congratulations; this was the most popular choice for our January Adult Fiction read. We are looking forw…more
[close] Congratulations; this was the most popular choice for our January Adult Fiction read. We are looking forward to discussing this twisty thriller with you all!

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What Members Thought

Aug 16, 2020 Christina rated it really liked it

I have so many emotions regarding this book! First, it’s one of those books I think might be better to read than to listen to on audiobook. The narrator of the audiobook was just fine, but somehow I wasn’t able to immediately connect with Helena (who often says some pretty awful things in a totally unfeeling voice, in this narrator’s interpretation) — I am thinking I might have been more able to see her defensiveness and vulnerability a bit more if I had read those words rather than listened to I have so many emotions regarding this book! First, it’s one of those books I think might be better to read than to listen to on audiobook. The narrator of the audiobook was just fine, but somehow I wasn’t able to immediately connect with Helena (who often says some pretty awful things in a totally unfeeling voice, in this narrator’s interpretation) — I am thinking I might have been more able to see her defensiveness and vulnerability a bit more if I had read those words rather than listened to this actress. Regardless, I really liked the book.

The book is about a popular romance writer with three months left to live who wants to tell her life story, including her most shameful secret. To do this, she hires an unlikely ghostwriter - her biggest competitor.

I LOVED the setup of this book, particularly when she met her ghostwriter for the first time. Just fantastic and surprising! Then there is a long stretch of Helena being mostly pretty horrible to her perfectly nice ghostwriter. This part was a bit hard for me to get through, and in the several hours it took on audio for the first half of the book, I almost noped out and DNF several times. Very glad I did not, because around halfway through things picked up again, right around the time the book within a book gets more serious and intimate while the duo is watching the birthing of a calf. (Seriously.)

I didn’t expect the “secret” to be at all what it was, and was pleasantly surprised with the drama of the reveal. I loved the relationship between Helena and her ghostwriter and also her agent. I think any person with a fondness for words will love the things this book has to say about writing and reading.

I agree with other reviewers that the missing element was a little romance. I would have liked to have seen Helena get that at the end of her life and was hoping the book was headed in that direction.

But regardless, this was a really well-written, emotional read with a fantastic ending. Maybe I will try reading it off audio in the future to see if that changes the experience in the middle at all. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ & ❤️ for the ending in particular. ...more

31 likes · Like · see review

Jan 26, 2018 Leslie added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-reads

**There’s some glitch on Goodreads showing I read this today. I read it four years ago. Anyone else having weird things like that happen? Also I have no memory of this book. 😂**

Wow I read this so fast I didn’t get to log I had started it. Review and rating to come.

20 likes · Like · see review

Apr 26, 2018 Jamie Rosenblit rated it really liked it

Not what I expected and OMG-this was good! I love when there are great finds offered on Kindle Unlimited!

No matter how many times you try to gather what this is about from reviews and synopsis, you won't. And don't try and risk getting spoiled. This is truly a case of read & see! ...more

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Mar 21, 2022 Kevin rated it really liked it

Shelves: ibook

This one is a bit difficult to categorize. I’ve never read anything like it. An author, dying of cancer, wants to tell a difficult story in her last three months. She hires a ghostwriter, her bitter rival, to help write it.
The last 100 pages grabbed me by the throat as I could not look away. Excellent!

8 likes · Like · see review

Sep 16, 2018 Janie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

What an emotional read! From start to finish, I was invested in the story and wanted to find out Helena’s story with her husband and daughter. I loved the friendship that formed between Mark and Helena. Have several tissues ready for the ending. This is a really good and fast read that deserves all the stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

7 likes · Like · see review

Dec 29, 2017 Callie rated it really liked it

Very good book. The story is not told in the traditional “who did it,” instead it is more of an winding tale of who Helena is, why she is the way she is. And yes, there is a mystery, a big one, and it was a complete surprise.

The book opens to a snapshot of life, a seemingly normal moment in a life. Not unlike all the curated moments shared on social media. Is this a lie? Is this manipulation or is this a true moment? As we unravel some of the story we wonder:
where and how did it go wrong?

This b ...more

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Dec 22, 2017 Rachel rated it liked it

I must admit, based on reviews of this book I wanted it to be a 5 Star so badly. However, it wasn’t for me. The book centers around Helena, an author who’s story you don’t know much of until you’re almost finished the entire thing. No matter how many times you read the synopsis you will never understand what the book is really about. When I reached the “meatier” portion of the book which is quite literally the end, the pace picked up. The twist is good but I feel like 2/3 of the book was wasted ...more

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Jan 08, 2018 Michelle rated it really liked it

This book started off a little slow for me but picked up speed when I started to figure out what had gone so wrong in the main character’s life. This was a unique way of telling a story and I can appreciate that!

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