Book Log 2008 #32: The Ghost by Robert Harris

This book's unnamed subject is a ghostwriter who takes an abrupt turn from the musicians and athletes he usually writes for when he is hired to complete the autobiography of the recently out of office Prime Minister of Britain, a Tony Blair-like figure. Turns out the previous "ghost," a former staffer for the PM, died under odd, but not suspicious, circumstances.

Or at least that's how it seems, with the doubt building in the writer the longer he's on the job, between the PM's frosty relationship with his wife and an existing manuscript that seems almost intentionally clunky. The writer turns from his hired job to trying to figure out the facts behind the death of the previous writer, and in doing so is exposed to much greater danger than he ever imagined.

Harris is better known from writing historical novels, and I think he may be better suited for them. This isn't a bad book, but it's not as good as his past ones. It's better than the average political thriller using the same plot would be, but I don't know if that's much of a compliment.