Th Ghostwriter was a strong thriller that delivered exactly what I was looking for from the genre and its description. The story was gripping, and I stayed fully engaged in the world Clark created.

The overall feel of the book matched my expectations perfectly, balancing suspense and depth. Julie Clark’s writing style is impressive, and I’m excited to read more of her work. If you’re looking for a thriller that keeps you hooked, The Ghostwriter is a fantastic choice and I highly recommend adding it to your summer 2025 reading list!

Thank you to Sourcebooks for my free review copy.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @bookmarked for an early copy of The Ghostwriter by @julieclarkauthor. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Release date: June 3rd, 2025

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217506549-the-ghostwriter?ref=315

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

The Ghostwriter features Olivia Dumont, a ghostwriter on the brink of financial ruin. She has spent most of her adult life hiding the fact that she’s the daughter of famous writer Vincent Taylor, who’s the primary suspect in the murder of his siblings in 1975. Vincent hires Olivia to ghostwrite his memoir, after years of no contact with her. Unable to secure a writing job, Olivia reluctantly agrees and finds herself immersed in his father’s POV of the events prior to his siblings Danny and Poppy’s deaths and is filled with doubts about his retelling that she digs into the past herself for another perspective and discover what really happened then.

Though slow in pacing for the majority of the book, I appreciated how Clark plotted each clue and evidence for Olivia to find which held my attention. As a reader, I was initially led to believe that the present Vincent’s memories were unreliable due to his current condition, which added a lot of doubt that Olivia began digging more into the case. I enjoyed how she analyzed every detail, but not too much so that the reader would lose interest in the story. Though very dark and disturbing, the POVs of Vincent and Poppy from 1975 were also interesting and added a lot of insight to the overall story. The ending, though still very disturbing, was shocking and unexpected. The slow burn was definitely worth it!

This book is another masterpiece of Julie Clark’s and I highly recommend picking this up for a thrilling read. This is my first read of 2025 and it did not disappoint!

I’ll start with the positive that this pulled me right in.

However, the culmination of the story is so fast that it leaves a flat, anti-climactic feel to the rest of the story; so much is left but in ways that didn’t feel realistic. It affected my overall enjoyment of the story.


Other readers may love this but it wasn’t a favorite for me. *I will absolutely read more by the author however.



Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the DRC

The Ghostwriter
By: Julie Clark

5 📝 📝📝📝📝
Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont is about to get the assignment that will change her life. She has hidden her true identity to those closest to her, because her dad is a famous author with a past that she wants to forget. He was never really there for her.

She signs a contract to be a ghostwriter, because her bills are piling up. She has no idea that the contract is to ghostwrite her father’s last book. Her father Vincent was once accused of murdering his siblings.

All these years later and he wants to truth to come out about that night. One major problem is he is dealing with something that might not make that possible.

This novel grabbed me the first page and I did not put it down until the last page way after my bedtime. Every line had me waiting for what was next!

Clark’s novels are gripping. Her novel The Last Flight is one of my all time favorites. This novel comes out June 3 and I am preordering soon. Thank you Sourcebooks Lanark for this free e-ARC.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I love Julie Clark, so I requested this pretty much immediately. Weirdly, I ended up reading this and A Killing Cold back to back, and they’re remarkably similar - long-buried family secrets, protagonists hiding their past from their partners…I feel like I’m already starting to merge the plots in my brain!

Olivia is a ghostwriter, and a fairly successful one at that. She’s never written anything of her own, but she’s helped lots of writers publish their memoirs. But she ends up canceled when she makes the mistake of speaking out while on a panel with a bunch of other ghostwriters, implying one of the dudes is a misogynist (which…he is!). The furor may have died out, but Olivia decides to double down and write a long Twitter thread, and the guy sues her for defamation. So when a job offer comes in, she pretty much has to take it so she doesn’t lose her house.

The problem with the job - it’s ghostwriting a memoir for her own father. Of course, no one knows Vincent Taylor, the famous horror writer, is her father. Olivia went abroad at a young age, got quickie married (and quickie divorced) in France, and kept that married name professionally when she returned to the states. She’s remarried to a nice guy who knows absolutely nothing about her past. Her father was accused of murdering his own brother and sister when they were all teens. He had a pretty solid alibi, but there were never any other suspects, so the case remains unsolved, and public opinion pretty much convicted him anyway. This memoir is allegedly going to set the story straight once and for all. It’s pretty much the last thing Olivia wants to do, having been estranged from her father since her high school graduation (he shipped her off to boarding school as a freshman). But again - desperate.

Unfortunately, when Olivia arrives at her father’s house, it seems like things won’t be quite so straightforward. Her father is in the early stages of Lewy Body Dementia, and while he’s sometimes perfectly fine and lucid, other times he’s confused and violent (and also somewhat unstuck in time - frequently confusing Olivia with her own mother, who was part of his alibi for the night of the murders, but who Olivia hasn’t seen since she was a small child). He’s written up a bunch of notes on legal pads, but once Olivia gets hold of them, they’re confused and fragmented, so it’s not a matter of just transcribing them and punching them up. And given that her father is frequently not all there, it’s very difficult to get him to clarify anything. He also refuses to let her do any outside research, like talk to the people mentioned in the notes (which is typically part of her process, just to confirm information).

This was super compelling, and I had a hard time putting it down - it reminded me how much I enjoy Julie Clark’s thrillers. Without giving too much away - It becomes clear as the story goes on that Olivia’s father isn’t being entirely truthful, but it’s hard to tell if that’s deliberate or a function of the disease. Is he obfuscating to conceal his role in what happened, or does he genuinely believe things went down the way he claims? Memory is so slippery anyway, and when you can’t trust your own brain it’s even worse. And it doesn’t help that Olivia’s father used to send her on treasure hunts as a kid, so there’s a chance that all of this misdirection IS deliberate on his part, to get her to ask the right questions (that part was a little grating - I felt like there were one too many layers of confusion - is he remembering wrong because of his disease? Is he telling her a lie to cover for himself? Is he telling her a *version* of the truth in the hopes that she’ll tease out the correct answer? It got sort of convoluted). The jumping around in time (we get chapters from Vincent’s perspective, as well as from Poppy, his younger sister who was murdered), but it wasn’t jarring, and thankfully wasn’t covering up a too-thin plot.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This might be a hot take, but I don’t think anyone is writing fast-paced, twisty thrillers like Julie Clark. All of her books have been 4 or 5 star reads for me, which is rare. I appreciate that the twists are never too outlandish and she takes her time to develop the characters, so they are not just caricatures. At this point, I will read whatever Clark writes.

This was a good story in the aspects of character development and mystery. However, it was so slow, going off on so many unnecessary tangents of unneeded information that did not forward the plot. If this was condensed and given a faster pave it would be an excellent thriller.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that Julie Clark cannot write a bad book (please don’t prove me wrong after this book-Lol 🤣). This is my third read by the author, and I’ve enjoyed each and every one of them. I wouldn’t say this book is super suspenseful or twisty, but it sure held my interest enough that I did not want to put this book down once I started reading it.

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont, who is struggling financially receives an offer to ghostwrite her father’s last book. Olivia has been estranged from her father for 20 years, and hasn’t been back to her childhood home in nearly 30 years. Her father, Vincent Taylor is a famous horror author ✍️. Not only is Vincent a famous horror author, but he is also accused of killing his two siblings 50 years prior…

Upon reconnecting, Olivia learns that her father’s health and memory is declining. So can Olivia really believe everything that her father is telling her? Olivia decides to go off on her own personal treasure hunt to try and put the pieces of her aunt and uncle’s 50 year old murder mystery together, and to finish her father’s final book.

This book held my attention as we got multiple POV’s from Olivia, Vincent, and Poppy. This book also went back to 1975 when the murders took place, and I feel that it was done perfectly (but what do I know, I was only two years old back then 🤷🏻‍♀️). My only gripe is that this book seemed to go in circles a little bit, or maybe drag on. Regardless, I still highly recommend reading this.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and the author for an ARC of this book which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.
Publication date: June 3, 2025 (my birthday 🎉)
Genre~ Women’s Fiction, General Fiction (adult), Mystery & Thrillers

I'm a huge fan of Julie Clark. What I think I like most about her books is her ability to deliver a solid mystery while always writing a very different book. Hers never feel like repeats. When Olivia Dumont is offered a ghostwriting job that will in many ways, save her life, she can't say no--but she learns soon enough its to write the autobiography of her own father, who she's estranged from and who is possibly a murderer. The clues are unveiled one by one in a particularly satisfying way. I would highly recommend!

This was a slow moving suspense for me. Told in dual timelines from multiple viewpoints, I was kept guessing throughout the book. Ghostwriter Olivia is hired to write a book for her father, famous author Vincent Taylor. She spent much of her life distancing herself from him, but now she must confront her past - and his - in the telling of the story. There are some twists and surprises along the way. While I don’t agree with some characters viewpoints, it was a decent weekend read. Be aware there is some heavier subject matter mentioned.

The Ghostwriter is a gut punch of emotions and family drama. The author creates an atmosphere of deep heartache through each character until you feel like you’re actually a part of the story and need to solve the mystery of what happened to Danny and Poppy. This story blends a unique mix of family drama, a horrendous tragedy and a mystery that needs to be solved.

Olivia is a ghostwriter who has been hired to write a memoir about her father, a famous horror writer, who now has dementia but needs his story told after decades of rumors and misinformation have surrounded him. Olivia must dig deep and trust her instincts if she’s to get the story right. She learns so much more about her family and how she became who she is through her father’s retelling of his childhood.

This book is evocative, breathtaking and addictive. It is written beautifully with high emotions that are told through multiple voices. I am so in love with this book and this author who has yet to let me down. Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the early copy of this 5-star read.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Olivia Dumont, a disgraced ghostwriter is on the verge of losing everything. Her one last shot at making comeback is taking on the a job from the famed horror novelist, Vincent Taylor. The Vincent Taylor who has been suspected of the murder of his siblings for the past 50 years. And the Vincent Taylor that just happens to be Olivia's estranged father.

Clark did a wonderful job of slowly unfolding the story, both in the past and present, written from multiple perspectives.

I could not put this down and loved every minute of it.

Truly gripping- pulls you in and does not let go! Julie Clark has created another masterpiece. The characters have depth and the story is layered without ever feeling forced or nonsensical. While I did guess the ending about halfway through, it did not diminish the story for me in any way. Move this to the top of your TBR list.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🎧Song Pairing: Only the Good Die Young - Billy Joel (had fun sifting through the best of 1975)

💭What I thought would happen:

It’s a Julie Clark. I’d beg, borrow, steal for the opportunity. Just a guess but the MC is a ghostwriter 😉

📖What actually happens:

🧐Whodunnit
🤦🏼‍♀️MC is a ghostwriter in need of $$
😱Murder of 2 siblings in 1975
✌🏻Dual timelines
⁉️Unreliable source
🤫Secrets on secrets

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

I shall continue to bleed/sweat/rock for Julie! What a queen of keeping a reader on the hook!

It doesn’t take a crystal ball or medium magic to know this book will be very popular in 2025. It’s a no brainer.

I couldn’t be certain how the ending was going to play out, I had to block out my boys to get the answers I craved. I could predict components but wasn’t able to assemble correctly (which I love)!

Grab this one. You won’t be sad, just deeply disturbed (don’t blame the reviewer✌🏻). This would so be a fantastic movie.

I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I have read and enjoyed other books by this author, so, of course, I jumped at the chance to read it. It was a very slow burn (which made it seem too long of a story at times) but once the answers started to become apparent, I was more engaged and anxious to find out the "who" and "why." I wasn't disappointed with the conclusion. 4 solid stars for this story!

Julie Clark spins an absolutely brilliant tale of relationships, past trauma meshing into present day, and the mysterious truth coming to light. I loved the different POV's especially Poppy's. Not only does the reader get to go behind the camera lense, but also behind the journal writings. Planting Easter eggs throughout in the form of treasure hunts, is brilliant! Excellent read!

I don't know what I expected with this book. But it was not what I thought but it was okay. I didn't hate it at all. thank you netgalley

Olivia is a ghostwriter who has spent years hiding the fact that she is the only daughter of the famous writer Vincent Taylor. Not only is he famous for his novels but he’s also believed to be the killer in the brutal murder of his siblings. He’s never been convicted and he’s summoned Olivia to write his memoir exposing the truth of what happened.

This book had such an atmospheric feel of the 70s. I could picture Vince and his family so clearly. This book really had me guessing until the very end. What actually happened that day? An unsolved crime that happened 50 years ago! A must read for 2025.

THE GHOSTWRITER is a very intriguing mystery where the reader, as well as the narrator, are continually questioning what’s true.
Olivia Dumont once earned a living as a successful writer of other people’s stories, but after being found liable in a lawsuit by a fellow ghostwriter, she is broke and on the verge of losing everything. So, she is forced to take the only ghostwriting job she doesn’t want— working for her estranged father,a world famous author who has long been suspected of murdering his siblings.

Olivia is determined to at last uncover the truth of what really happened to her aunt Poppy and uncle Danny. This task is made infinitely more difficult due to the fact that her father is dying from Lewy body dysmorphia, a condition similar to Alzheimer’s. The manuscript he has started is full of unintelligible ramblings and Olivia can’t tell if the stories he relates are actually true or the consequences of his illness.

As Olivia investigates, the novel switches between the past and the present, so the reader is also transported to the 1970s for the perspectives of the young people who were all part of these tragic events..

I really enjoyed Clark’s THE LAST FLIGHT, and this novel is similarly well paced and keeps you engaged and invested in these characters and their many secrets.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this ARC.

I loved this twisty turny book

This was everything I wanted and hoped it would be and so much more! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.