Ghost Writer

by Rene Gutteridge

A man who has become estranged from his faith begins to question his life when he comes into possession of an anonymous manuscript entitle "The Story of My Life."

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Mystery, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller, Suspense

396 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Rene Gutteridge is the award-winning and best-selling author of more than eighteen novels, including the beloved Boo Series and Heart of the Country, her novelization release with director John Ward and Tyndale House Publishers. Her recent suspense titles include Listen, Possession and the award-winning Seven Hours project Escapement. She's been published by Bethany House, Tyndale House, WaterBrook Press, Thomas Nelson and B&H and novelized the successful motion picture The Ultimate Gift. She is teaming again with screenwriter Cheryl McKay for the romantic comedy Greetings from the Flipside from B&H and releasing her new suspense title, Misery Loves Company from Tyndale in 2013. Her romantic comedy Never the Bride won the 2010 Carol Award for Best Women’s Fiction. Her upcoming literary projects include the novelization of the motion picture Old Fashioned with Tyndale House Publishers and filmmaker Rik Swartzwelder.

Her adaptation of her novel My Life as a Doormat is in development with Kingdom Pictures and she is also a creative consultant for Boo, a film based on her best-selling novel, in development at Sodium Entertainment with Cory Edwards attached as director and Andrea Nasfell as screenwriter. She is also co-writer in a collaborative comedy project called Last Resort with screenwriters Torry Martin and Marshal Younger. Her screenplay Skid is currently in production and scheduled to begin filming in April of 2013. Find her on Facebook and Twitter or at her website, www.renegutteridge.com

Reviews

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an odd Christian book. There was no mention of faith until two thirds into the book and then only slightly.
An editor of fiction books received parts of an anonymous manuscript which told things about his life no one but he could know. This became more and more frightening. A writer and good friend gave him parts of a manuscript also which was not in his genre but was interesting.
This book is two stories in one and holds your interest to the very end.

[A.M. Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I Loved: How would you feel if your darkest secrets were written into a book? Jonathan Harper had to figure this out the hard way.
I was SO impressed with Ghost Writer. It was a page turner. I went to bed thinking about it and I couldn’t wait to pick it back up again. Gutteridge did an amazing job weaving together a suspenseful mystery together with a solid gospel presentation. The characters were well developed. The mysterious manuscript and its writer will keep you guessing.
Ghost Writer in one word: Excellent.

Rating and Recommendation: I highly recommend this 5-star novel to anyone who enjoys Christian Fiction. In fact, I insist you add it to your must-read list.

[Leonie de Lange · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jonathan Harper is een succesvolle uitgever. Zijn huwelijk is echter niet zo succesvol. Hij voelt niks meer voor zijn vrouw Kathy en is stiekem verliefd op zijn collega Sydney. Op een dag krijgt Jonathan een manuscript van een anonieme schrijver. Wanneer hij het leest komt hij erachter dat het verhaal zijn leven beschrijft. Wanneer de tijd daarna steeds nieuwe hoofdstukken opduiken, begint Jonathan toch wel bezorgd te worden...

Op de voorkant van dit boek staat 'thriller'. Ook de beschrijving op de achterkant klonk veelbelovend. Wat ik kan zeggen is dat dit boek niks heeft van een thriller: geen spanning en geen plottwists. Zelfs geen mysterie. Want ja, ik had al heel snel door wie het manuscript had geschreven.

Het verhaal heeft dan ook meer wel van een familieroman met wat meer drama. Er is nog een heel ander verhaal door het boek verweven (in de vorm van een laatste manuscript van Jonathans vriend Clyde), wat op zich wel spanning bevat. Dit verhaal heeft mooie elementen die zich op het laatst van het boek openbaren.

[Nancy DeValve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathon Harper is the editor at a publishing house that is desperate for a best seller. Jonathon's marriage is in trouble, and an attractive young colleague is a temptation to him. One day Jonathon receives a Manila envelope like dozens of others. This manuscript seems to be an autobiography of his life. It contains details nobody could know. These envelopes arrive in installments and with each one Jonathan becomes more and more unhinged. Who is sending these manuscripts and why? In the meantime a retired writer is sending him installments of a book he is writing creating even more confusion in Jonathon's life.

I enjoyed this book very much. The plot was very unique. Reading the book and two manuscripts being sent to Jonathan was like reading three books at once, which was one thing about the book that I didn't like as much.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was Rene Gutteridge's first book although I had read others of hers. This was by far the best of her books. I honestly didn't figure things out until the last chapter. I could hardly put this book down! A real page turner. It has everything... romance... a real mystery with a great who dun it!

[Gerda Jongsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spannend boek met een mooie boodschap. Lang wist ik niet precies hoe het in elkaar zat, dat was knap gedaan. Wel vond ik dat het einde wat uitgerekt werd, waardoor ik me door het laatste stuk heen aan het worstelen was. Maar zeker niet slecht voor een debuut!

[Lonna Kitchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly recommended to me, but I was not very impressed.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twisting, intriguing novel about a man who has a lot of guilt weighing on him.

[Dawn Traylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book! The story revolves around an editor so you also get to read a couple of books he is editing so it’s almost three books in one.

[Sharon Teagarden-king · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some fiction are good enough to read a second time....still found the suspense fullfilling

[Alisha Goll · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The book gripped my attention and I did enjoy it. I felt like the ending was rushed and not well developed, but that’s my opinion.

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Certainly ended with an unexpected twist.

[Nova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nee, maar Clyde’s verhaal had meer spanning dan dit hele boek 😭😭
Hoe werk je een redelijk sterke premise zo bleh uit

[R.J. Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books I’d love to pass out to people and say “Don’t read it for the plot. Read it for the message.” The author managed to squeeze three storylines into one book, three plots unraveling all at once, and do it well. But in the end, the outcome was predictable. Still, it’s a new illustration of an old message, and she did it well.

I noticed that there is some criticism amongst the reviews for being “predictable” at the end. What I have to point out is that, reading between the lines, there was more tension thinking what could have happened if his paranoia had played out and he ended up shooting somebody with that gun. Or a thousand other things. That’s something for readers to think upon when next they enter a crisis in their lives and have to ask themselves how they’re going to handle it. As I like to say, “Repentance is not the art of switching to decaf.” Sometimes you just have to go back to the way it worked in the first place.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read over some of these reviews and want to congratulate Ms. Gutteridge. A great book I absolutely loved. The one star reviews are mostly from folks disappointed in the "religious" aspects of the story. In my opinion that is a great accomplishment by the author. A spiritually enriching story with deep personal meaning is a criticism I would gladly embrace.

I have to admit that the ending was predictable. I wasn't in suspense too much about "who did it" because I thought I knew from the beginning and turned out to be right. But, I say this not to be critical but to reiterate how great this book was. Even though I guessed the outcome, I was still riveted the entire way through. I couldn't stop reading, always wanting to get to the next page, next chapter.

Read Ghost Writer and let it touch your heart. Take that spiritual journey with Jonathan. It will not be a wasted trip.

[Patty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is badly written and edited, including using words incorrectly. Redundant is one I remember. However, there is something about the premise that keeps me reading. Themes of middle-aged man falling out of love with his wife, not having time for his family, begin attracted to young co-worker who adores him...not interesting. However, there is a main plot involving a manuscript he receives which is pretty intriguing. I am also interested in the world of publishing, since I worked at a publishing house once. However, I do not recommend this book. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I don't think it was a good one.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting in how it was written, with three stories going on at once. If one is a Christian, it isn't hard to figure out what is being alluded to. This book felt somewhat disjointed, though. The character of Zippy annoyed me because he was such a dweeb and quite condescending, but then I was to "buy" that he would be the one who would speak words of Christian wisdom to Jonathan? Nope, not buying it!

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good solid book. Didn't realize right away that it was a spin off of a different book by Rene Gutteridge, I think that one's called Paperback Writer. Solid story, moves along pretty well. I have gotten overly used to spy thrillers so this felt slow compared to that. But that's also the reason I never finished Paperback Writer. But it's a solid, good way to spend some time.

[Andrea Ludwig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had expected something totally different when I read the description for this book. I had thought it was going to be about a famous author who had other people writing her books for her. Instead, it focused on a marriage relationship and the husband's preoccupation with his job. Quite insightful and not too far out there.

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave it two stars because I did have to finish it...I wanted to see what happened. However, like most books in which the author has a definitive message he or she wants to get across, the book comes across as sappy. Everything has to be too neatly arranged and explained. It just makes it feel fake and feel-goody.

[Leighann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting story, with good balance! The stories within the story angle was unique, but not overly confusing or hard to follow. There was tension between the characters, but not so much that I wanted to reach through the pages and slap them (although there were a few times I had to roll my eyes). I loved the Gospel allegory!

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 4 out of 5]

An editor suddenly receives a manuscript describing his own life. Who's writing this? Is he and his family in any danger? A brilliant book that keeps you guessing until the very end. I'd love to read more of his books.

[April Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book that I read Rene's. It had me hooked the whole time. I kept trying to figure out what was going on but it was a great twist. My copy has fallen a part. I have to track down another one so I read it again.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I didn't know what was going to happen next. The ending was a huge surprise that you don't see coming, but it is still good!!! Great book, definitely a must read.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book with an interesting plot line. Almost gave it a 4 star, but if I can figure out "who dunnit" early on and see how the end plays out, I can't give it a 4. But still a very good book to read! Great message too!

[Massanutten Regional Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheryl, Main patron, June 2015, 4 stars:

This book took me awhile to decide if I really wanted to stick with it. The reason being, it has three plots going at the same time, and they are all aimed at the same main male character. Interesting enough, but not my favorite.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical Christian fiction. Mystery was okay, gospel presentation good, but got a little long in the end where I was just wishing she would wrap it up and tell us who did it.

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a clever twist!

[Vikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

An editor in a publishing house life is going screwy. This story tells how he got back on track. There were three plots going at once in this book. It was good.

[Natalya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't care for this first foray into Gutteridge's work. Weak writing, weak plot progression, and disappointing conclusion.