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THE GHOST by ROBERT HARRIS

Published by Random House

A change in pace for Robert Harris with The Ghost and a return to the modern world after his last two Roman set epics, our narrator is a ghost writer of some renown, especially when it comes to knocking the memoirs of former drug addled soap stars into shape, he is more than a little surprised to get a commission to rescue the memoirs of former prime minister Adam Lang, it looks to be the chance of a lifetime, especially as the pay cheque at the end promises to be a quarter of a million pounds; The only problem is that the previous ghost writer, political aide Mike McAra, has just been found dead in very mysterious circumstances.

Harris comes over all Robert Goddard in this tension filled, quick paced and enjoyable thriller. Adam Lang is clearly a thinly veiled take on a certainly recently departed UK prime minister and the narrator very quickly realises that Lang may not just be the man he claims to be, in fact he realises his very life might be in danger.

How much of an insiders view Harris still has I don't know but he was certainly around for the early years of the Blair administration and the inner workings of the Lang organisation certainly feels like it has the ring of truth o it. The Ghost is full of great plot twists and with some interesting things to say about the nature of celebrity, the real power behind the throne and how absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Stirling stuff.

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