Ghost Writer

John Harwood’s first novel follows the classic model of a gothic Victorian ghost tale. There’s the odd family history, the abandoned house and the general tone of creepiness that have made the literary influence long outlive its time period. It’s a wonderful, thoroughly enjoyable book … until the end. Sadly, the end is utterly stupid. This is one of those rare books, though, in which that hardly matters. The rest of the book is clever, witty and gripping -- good enough to make up for the deficiencies of the closing pages without making the whole book feel like a waste of time.