Following the death of her co-writer, Em is fighting hard to progress her latest book. Teddy used to handle the interviews, a star in his own right, but Em is almost too nervous to proceed with the biography of a talented film director. Caroline, Teddy's widow, is clearly jealous, but she has expensive tastes and needs the advances and royalties. Struggling, Em leaves her reclusive office life and gets out to interview Malcolm, the awe-inspiring director. She does wonder why detectives are so interested in Teddy's single-vehicle crash on a rural road?THE PERFECT GHOST comes from the author of the lively Carlotta Carlyle PI series. From Bloomingales to Cape Cod, we are at first irritated by our protagonist and her neuroses as she stumbles through her travels, then we see her regain confidence when discussing 'Hamlet'. Interspersed we are shown 911 call logs, e-mails between detectives and other matters relating to the accident. The plot feels exactly like the film 'The Ghost', in which a ghostwriter picks up where a dead colleague left off a politician's memoirs, and the interviews similarly take place in a room with big views of the ocean. Not very helpfully, Em insists on having a dialogue with Teddy - 'I asked whether your car was badly damaged.'To anyone who is interested in the lives of film and theatre directors, this may come across as an interesting jigsaw of the public face and the guarded secrets. A local blogger claims to have the skinny but wants to share credit. Teddy had left esoteric codes instead of, let us suggest, talking to his co-writer, who laboriously unravels their possible meanings. A drunken, washed-up movie star and a cynical relative of famous Malcolm are the near neighbours.While I found THE PERFECT GHOST slow, there is no doubt that Linda Barnes has got thoroughly under the skin of her character, and it is always good to see a crime writer breaking away from familiar territory. If I had not seen 'The Ghost' I would have been more impressed, and Barnes's fans should give it a try. Hadn't read a Linda Barnes book in a while and found this one to be a surprise. The story arrives through a compelling point of view in which a rather reclusive writer reports to her dead coauthor her progress on their latest book. As the isolated writer leaves her seclusion, the book's secrets and intrigue revolve around a number elements, including land acquisition and protection, rich and famous actors, and hidden family secrets. Best of all, the book concludes with an unanticipated twist.
What do You think about The Perfect Ghost (2013)?
Very well-written; interesting structure; and a clever twist at the end.
—chrasky
Did not see the ending coming at all. Good read.
—Nadz
Started out well. Ending was a bit forced.
—VampLexi
