The Ghost Manuscript

Carys Jones, a Boston rare-book authenticator and protagonist of Frieswick’s meticulously researched first novel, is hired by John Harper, the son of a longtime client who’s been committed to a psychiatric hospital, to appraise his father’s collection of rare British Dark Age manuscripts. John is eager to sell the collection, but when Carys examines the works, she finds one that isn’t in the catalogue. When it becomes clear that someone is prepared to kill for the mysterious manuscript, Carys goes to Wales, the home of her estranged father, to learn its origin. There, she reconnects with her father, hits it off with an attractive Welsh diver, and starts seeing visions of Lestinus, the sixth-century monk who wrote the manuscript. The settings—notably the scenes in Wales—are filled with well-placed details, while the character development, particularly of Carys, a damaged woman who prefers manuscripts to people, keeps the story moving, though a major coincidence late in the book that brings Carys back to Massachusetts strains plausibility. Still, fans of paranormal thrillers will be satisfied. Agent: Richard Abate, 3Arts. (Apr.)