Gideon
Russell Andrews
Warner Books
ISBN: 0751528900
©2000 Review of second edition
A struggling writer, Carl Granville, gets the opportunity of a lifetime. An editor offers to publish his books if he writes one special book for her. He has ghost written before and so (naturally) he accepts the project. There are stipulations and at first he finds them weird but gets used to them. He has a very limited time to get the book done. It’s time sensitive.
On the day he accepts, a new girl moved into the apartment above him and he helps her get a large seat into her apartment. They form a relationship.
Harry –one of the stipulations—watches him writing. He never speaks. He is there to ensure Carl works and that Carl copies none of the information handed to him in the form of a diary. He is allowed to make notes only.
He is part way through the book when the editor is killed.
Harry doesn’t show up at his apartment.
Carl’s laptop is stolen.
His new girlfriend is killed.
He is the suspect for both murders.
There is no proof of his assignment, no records.
He flees, determined to find out who is behind this and clear his name. The only person who can help him is his ex, a reporter for a major newspaper.
The book is a good and fast read. The many plots interweave into one hell of a story, though I feel it is a little over-written. Sometimes, there is too much detail and some clues he gets seem to be just plan lucky when they pan out.
I found I didn’t like Carl very much, nor his ex. Harry, I liked.
Overall, the story is good and entertaining. It is a thriller that ranks up there with thrillers of today and well worth the investment.
71%
