“Does [Alice] have some connection to Gerard’s
creepy, semi-insane mom? And to those Victorian horror tales that Gerard keeps
stumbling across? What’s she hiding, anyway? The answers are yes, yes, and wait
and see…It’s like A. S. Byatt’s Possession.
But without all that distracting poetry.”

“With all these literary revenants hovering
about, The Ghost Writer manages to evoke, as not enough
contemporary horror does, both the confident past and the more anguished
present of the genre, and even to suggest, slyly, that although the illustrious
tradition of the genteel British ghost story remains with us, we need to be
very, very careful about disturbing its rest.”

“Intricate and engrossing. Harwood raises the
ghost of the Victorian ghost story. One ghoulishly absorbing read.”

“The Ghost
Writer is a grand Victorian tale in which Gerard becomes increasingly
certain something wicked his way comes.”

“[Harwood’s] novel is an homage, a Victorian ghost
story that honors the likes of Dickens and Henry James…A smart, stylish, and
mesmerizing book.”

“You can’t help being dazzled by Harwood’s
inventiveness, especially his sure-footed mastery of prose style. [An]
entertainingly accomplished first novel.”

“An elegant homage to the Victorian ghost story
tradition. Like Dickens’ The Pickwick
Papers, Harwood makes your flesh creep.”

“Spooky and gripping, a chilling tale sure to
make your spine shiver on even the hottest summer day.”

“A rousing good ghost story, with many twists
and turns, rather like taking apart a Russian matryoshka nesting doll…Turn on
all the lights in the house when you settle down with this one, and plan to
spend a long time reading because you will be lost in the story immediately.”

“A compelling ghost story and an auspicious
debut.”

“The Ghost
Writer is a first-class creeper, a literary ghost story in the Victorian
tradition.”

“As a mystery, The Ghost Writer is irresistible, pushing all the genre’s gothic
buttons and casting a convincingly Dickensian pall.”

“A fabulous, very spooky ghost story in the
classic mode that will remind some people of A. S. Byatt’s Possession.”

“By the last page, all loose ends have been tied
up, but the uncanny still clings to everything.”

“An exceptionally inventive first novel.”

“Sly nods to spooky literary spinsters—James’
Miss Jessel, Dickens’ Miss Havisham—set the tone for this confident debut.”

“Harwood’s debut is a haunting literary gothic,
a slow-building suspense thriller…Lyrical, labyrinthine…An atmospheric
paranormal thriller with many surprises.”

“Compelling…Harwood’s well-drawn characters and
Gothic plot propel the reader toward the novel’s denouement. Including the text
of Viola’s stories adds to the surreal drama, as they serve as untrustworthy
flashbacks and help blur the line between fantasy and reality. Strongly
recommended.”

“Compulsively readable. A wonderful debut,
evoking a century’s worth of family history, by a multitalented and artistically
ambidextrous newcomer.”

“With The Ghost Writer, Harwood has
concocted a page-turning ghost story that has literary critics—rarely fans of
the supernatural genre—heaping accolades and sleeping with the lights on.
Harwood, a retired English professor, resides in Australia where he’s published
several books of literary history. Perhaps this accounts for his masterful
grasp of Victorian story-telling techniques.”