Deanna 's Reviews > The Ghostwriter

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Alessandra Torre has written many novels but this is the first I’ve read. You can be sure my “to be read list” has quite a few more titles on it now that I’ve read this novel. I loved it!

We are told right from the start that this isn’t a romance novel.

From the blurb: This book is not a romance. It is contemporary fiction, but very suspenseful in nature. It is about a famous romance author and a dark secret she keeps.

I realized early on that this book was going to break my heart. But it did it in the most incredible way. This is another book that is going to stay with me for a very long time.

"A perfect morning. A perfect husband. A perfect daughter. A perfect lie. "

Helena Ross is famous for telling stories. She has millions of fans and has sold over fifteen bestsellers. She’s a difficult woman to like. A woman with many secrets. A woman who rarely smiles. In her house with so little furniture and locked rooms. What happened in that big rambling house four years ago?

Helena receives some bleak news….But truthfully she had been waiting for something like this.

Now she will write just one more book. This news comes as a huge shock to her agent, Kate. Helena has had tight deadlines before, but this will be the tightest. The story would normally take years to write. Will she be able to do it? Is it possible? She's written fifteen novels but this is the novel that terrifies her.

"I fear that I'll tell everything, and still no one will understand"

It’s easy to dislike Helena at first. To say Helena can be hard to work with is like saying…..snow is cold. She has strict rules for her agent. Kate has been with Helena for thirteen years. Thirteen years of high maintenance and unpredictability.

"She'll rip your heart out, but she doesn't mean it"

Helena just wants the readers to understand how she felt, her emotions and why she made the decisions and mistakes that she made. She knows that many will judge her…but she hopes at least a few will understand. She spent four years trying her best to forget everything. So can she do it? Can she pick up the pen and write down what happened that day?

"Soon… My final story will come out, and everyone will know the truth."

The story is told in the present tense, mixed with flashbacks and memories. Told from multiple perspectives, we are pulled along, not really knowing what has happened or what is going to happen. But the whole ride is captivating.

"Sometimes, it only takes an instant to understand a person"

An excellent plot with fantastic characterization, this really was an incredible read. A well-written, well-paced novel about secrets, betrayal, guilt, lies, and confession. This is Alessandra Torre’s fourteenth book and she says it was the hardest to write.

Alessandra Torre says:

"I hope you felt the love, sweat, and emotions that went into each of these chapters"

I can say with complete honesty that I did.


I read this book with some of the Traveling Sisters. It was a pleasure reading together and hearing everyone's thoughts. Thank you, ladies.