The Ghost (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

Rarely these days does one come across a really good book that is also really well edited. "The Ghost" is just right: as in a good whodunnit there is almost nothing that is extraneous to the plot, but it is so page-turningly readable that you don't have time to put the pieces together before the last page hits you like a pick-axe. All you can do is sit dumbstruck and admire the writer's skill in taking you on such a ride.
The reviews of "The Ghost" seem to be split down the middle, with some readers sorely disappointed by Harris failing to live up to past efforts and other reviewers ecstatic at one of the best political thrillers in years. I'm firmly in the latter camp. I could hardly put it down, was riveted throughout and found the ending chilling. It's up there with John Le Carre's best, in my opinion.
But what really makes this story a masterpiece is the stylistic perfection that Harris has achieved. I cannot explain further without spoiling the book, so I will just say that this is an intelligent thriller that left me satisfied on several levels, and one of them was an appreciation for a piece of writing that really works. I do wonder if some of the disappointed reviewers didn't quite "get" the book.
I confess to having approached "The Ghost" rather warily. I'd heard that it was a thinly veiled attack on Tony Blair, who seemed a tediously easy target and in danger of becoming out of date. Also, I'd read two of Robert Harris' others (Fatherland and Archangel) and although I enjoyed them, I found the ending a tiny bit lame in both.
But "The Ghost" knocked my fears for six. It's true that the prime minister in this has some rather obvious similarities with Blair, who Harris apparently used to be pretty close to, but the book in no way relies on the Blair parallel for its success. And you certainly don't need to have a particular view of Blair to enjoy the story.
And my prejudice about Harris' ability to finish well was unjustified. This ties up the loose ends with a flourish and signs off with a touch of genius. It is surely the mark of a really top-notch thriller that you think you can sort of see how it will all fall into place but then the author pulls a rabbit from the hat at the very last moment.

you'll have the gist of the story from the other reviews so I won't bother too much with that and give you a brief asessment of the book as a novel . Its not the most exciting read you'll ever have although it is quite atmospheric in a sort of Shipping News type of way ( althoughy just as plodding ! ) . Its quite evocative of Marthas Vineyard in winter and how rough the weather can be with its portrayal of windswept and rainy beaches and hamlets .
I though the Adam Lang character portrayal of a former British Prime Minister was quite weak and unconvincing . The character didn't quite seem to fit the role , particularly when using the word " man " at the end of a sentence !
Not a particularly gripping novel by any means but was quite easy on the eye and the plot wasn't taxing either . Which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your individual point of view . I thought the ending wasn't particularly climatic either and one was left wondering " was that it ?? " when the last page was reached .
Not a page turning blockbuster by any means but one to peacefully pass the time . And then throw away .

I didn't expect to like this half as much as I did - I have long thought of Robert Harris as airport fodder. I'm sorry, I now see that was unfair.

This isn't exactly literature but it's well plotted, well paced and well written. Its fictionalisation is often wafer-thin -- even the revelatory photograph of former prime minister "Adam Lang" is very much like a well-known picture of Tony Blair during his university days.

It's curious that someone so well entrenched within mainstream journalism is prepared to write a book about CIA conspiracies against the British Labour Party - I would have thought this stuff wasn't widely believed beyond the far left. But well done to Harris for writing such a plausible thriller set in this sort of world.