Research

Set in the South of France, this fiendishly clever thriller delves into the back-stabbing literary world, brought to you by Philip Kerr, the bestselling author of the Bernie Gunther series of prize-winning historical novels.

Imagine Robert Harris's The Ghost merging with Patricia Highsmith's intricate plots. If you want to write a murder mystery, you have to do some research, or perhaps pay someone else to do it for you.

In a luxury flat in Monaco, the supermodel wife of John Houston lies in bed, a bullet in her skull. Houston, the world's most successful thriller writer, is the playboy head of a literary empire that churns out far more books than he could ever personally pen. Suddenly, the man who has crafted hundreds of bestselling fictional murders finds himself wanted for a real one, fleeing from the police, his life eerily mirroring one of his own stories.

Meanwhile, in London, the ghostwriter who truly crafts his novels has some pointed questions for him too...