Jacy McMasters is a struggling writer living in Manhattan who wastes her time on cheap booze and toxic men. Then the ghost of JD Balinger arrives asking her to "channel" a follow-up to his classic coming of age book, The Watcher in the Sky. As they work together, the ghost forces her to confront the dark secrets she has done her best to conceal and hide from.
I'll be honest: if I had written a first chapter review of this novel, my thoughts would have been very different back then than they are now. I'm not sure I would have continued. I'm not a fan of toxic relationships, self-destructive people, or books filled with the F-word. The Ghostwriters has all three. I'm truly glad I stuck with it, however, because once I was engaged, I was fully engaged until the very end.
The Ghostwriters delves deep into the mind of a young woman being destroyed by a lifetime of secrets she has done her best to shut out. It's rough ground that she treads, and the reader treads it right along with Jacy in all its ugliness. The psychology of childhood relationships, parent/child relationships, and true hardship is in the forefront of this novel.
Corrigan's strength lies in her ability to create complex characters. Even Firth, who is a real sweetheart, has his horrible temper to deal with. No one is perfect.
This is stated to be a thriller--which if judging by the sheer pace of the novel, it qualifies--but I truly see it as a drama because of the depth into which we explore Jacy's mind and how these secrets have nearly destroyed her. For the reader, there is a mystery about Jacy's reality.
Despite the fact that I figured out where the plot was headed before it was revealed, I still needed to know all the gritty details. I hung in and found a satisfying ending. I would definitely read more of this author's work.
Paperback: 194 pages
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc. (September 2, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1509209255
ISBN-13: 978-1509209255
I received a free paperback copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.
I read this book for the following challenge:
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1 comment:
Thank you for hanging in with a story that felt uncomfortable to you. I write stories about troubled people with lives that are neither Hollywood nor fantasy. I appreciate your willingness to go along on the journey.
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