The Ghost of a Lie is the story of Doctor Joseph Murphy, a recently widowed middle-aged man who has come to the realization that he has lived his life as a lie. When a storm hits and damages his property Joseph meets Nathan, a ‘nae right’ bible quoting young man half his age. Their relationship goes against everything that Joseph had previously strived for, and challenges his own sense of self. As a medical doctor Joseph is also struggling to explain away the constant presence of his deceased wife in their home. Determined as she is to haunt him in death, much as she did in life.

This story is character lead, centered on realism and the flawed self. As the plot unfolds it tackles the interesting, complex, and timeless issues of class, age and gender and digs deep into the character’s own identity claims, questioning their notion of the public and private self. The story is told from the unique perspective of the characters, balanced with humor, and told in the natural Scottish dialect all set within the landscape of the Scottish Highlands.

Michelle Graham-Taylor was born in 1967 in Tidworth Hampshire. She works as a local social worker and lives with her family and an assortment of animals in the Highlands of Scotland overlooking Loch Ness. The Ghost of a Lie is her first novel.