The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
Publishing date - 06/03/25
Rating (4.5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS Landmark & NetGalley for the copy of The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. This was such a fun read!!

Synopsis - We follow Olivia who is a ghostwriter for other authors. Her father, Vincent is a well known horror author who hires Olivia to ghostwrite his last novel, however it’s not a novel. It’s a memoir about his life and what happened the night his siblings were murdered.

Part thriller and suspense that jumps back and forth between time periods that had me hooked from the very beginning & kept me guessing to the very end. Highly recommend this one when it releases on June 3rd 2025.

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark is a masterclass in suspenseful storytelling. From the very first page, I was completely captivated by the intricate plot and the richly drawn characters. Clark's ability to create a world of secrets, lies, and betrayal is simply breathtaking.

The novel's pacing is impeccable, with each chapter building on the tension and suspense. The twists and turns are both surprising and satisfying, keeping me guessing until the very end. Clark's writing is both elegant and evocative, painting a vivid picture of the story's setting.

I couldn't put this book down. It's a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and a testament to Clark's incredible talent.

Olivia Dumont is a successful Ghostwriter. Her father wants her to tell his story, he has Lowey's body dementia. His story is about a past killing of his teenage siblings in the 70's. Most people would tell Olivia "Your dad killed his brother and sister. Murdered them in their own home."

Olivia is an only child and spent her entire professional life hiding the fact about her famous father, Vincent Taylor. He writes novels and was the prime suspect in the murder.

This is good family drama, thought- provoking, tragic events and a unique perspective. The character development is great and build up and ending is great! The father- daughter relationship is captivating.

Olivia visits her mother toward the end of the book, "I think of the mother I could have had if she'd been a different kind of person. A stronger person. One who had figured out how to get the help she needed without abandoning her daughter. Who'd be able to teach her daughter how to handle hard conservations instead of avoiding them."

Suspense, Emotional Depth and Clever! 3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 6/3/25

Up is down, left is right and green is blue in this taut thriller from the never disappointing Julie Clark. Full of family drama, unreliable narration, juicy secrets this atmospheric thriller was perfection.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy. It was my absolute pleasure to read it and review it and all opinions are my own.

Five bright, big stars for this cleverly written masterpiece!! I was truly riveted by this slow-burn mystery infused with dysfunctional family drama and hidden secrets. The author did a spectacular job dangling suspense throughout and feeding us unreliable stories mixed with past POVs of Poppy and Vincent, blurring the lines of reality. My mind was all over the place trying to figure out fact from fiction and what really happened on that summer night long ago. The characters were so well developed and their emotions just bled from the pages. I felt everything. Some parts were even painful for me to read. I think that this is Clark's best book yet. I loved every minute of this gripping story and devoured it within a day. Fans of Clark and the mystery genre are going to rave about this one! I consider it a must read and highly recommend!

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for granting me digital access via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

What a great story packed with the kind of family drama and secrets that I love! Julie Clark gets it right again. I really liked how this story played out. You got glimpses of the real story, but it was a delicious tease to try and figure out what was going on. I really liked the format of the book, the time jumps and different characters.
Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy.

4.5 stars - A story filled with clues, secrets, and murder. It is engaging and keeps you wondering what really happened.

5 stars

This is an amazing book. Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter who is going through hard times. She made some mistakes in the recent past and now her reputation is harmed. Her father is Vincent Taylor, a very famous author who is also the number one suspect in the murders of his sister and brother.

No one knows that Olivia is Vincent’s daughter. She prefers to keep it that way. Having been out of work for a year, Olivia is excited to receive a call from her agent with an offer to ghostwrite a book. The problem is that it is none other than Vincent Taylor who is requesting her talents.

Torn between reliving her hurtful past and desperately needing the money, Olivia decides to accept the job.

Olivia and her father have a difficult relationship. While Olivia has some happy memories, others, like the abandonment by her mother, and her father to some degree, are still very painful.

What follows is a remarkable story as Olivia learns that her father is very ill, but wants her to learn about her past. His illness makes obtaining the knowledge very difficult. She waffles between “knowing” that her father murdered his siblings, and not wanting to believe it.

This is a very heartfelt novel. It is filled with memories - good and bad, betrayal, lies, misconceptions and dastardly deeds. It gripped me from the start. I felt for Olivia, but sometimes, I didn’t like her very much. Vincent frustrated me, but I liked him. I strongly recommend this book to any mystery lovers, family relationship fans or anyone who just loves a great read.

I want to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark / Sourcebooks Landmark for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

“The Ghostwriter” by Julie Clark was a bit slower than the other books by this author but still had enough twists to keep me reading. The mystery is about a Ghostwriter who is hired to write the memoir of her estranged father. She is desperate for money and needs a big time boost in her career so she accepts the job even though she suspects her father is guilty of the brutal murders of his brother and sister. As she returns to her childhood home, she finds her father in late stage Lewy Body dementia and proceeds to weed through the years of wild stories, films and diaries leading her to the truth about her Aunt and Uncle’s deaths. She is forced to confront her mother who abandoned her as a young child and has to find a way to have her father tell the truth. The secrets are unsettling and the journey to unravel the mystery beautifully written. I did figure out a big piece of the plot but it didn’t stop me at all from racing to the finish line to know the whole outcome. A very enjoyable read!

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Julie Clark has crafted yet another enthralling suspense novel with her latest work, "The Ghostwriter." This intricately plotted thriller is filled with a wealth of family drama, intertwining themes of trauma and intrigue that keep readers on the edge of their seats. The story follows Olivia, who takes on the challenge of ghostwriting the memoir of her estranged father, a celebrated author. Notably, she has concealed their familial connection from the public, adding an extra layer of complexity to the narrative.

This secrecy is amplified by the dark cloud of suspicion that hangs over him, stemming from the tragic murders of his teenage siblings, an event that occurred during his own adolescence. As Olivia delves deeper into her father’s past, the narrative beautifully unfolds, revealing not only chilling truths but also helping her to unpack her own childhood experiences. The character development is compelling, and Olivia's journey of discovery is both poignant and thought-provoking. For enthusiasts of suspenseful literature, this gripping tale is an essential addition to your reading list!

After an expensive legal battle that ruined her wallet and reputation, a ghostwriter is forced to write a memoir for her estranged father for the period in his life when his brother and sister were brutally murdered. Her father, a successful novelist in his own right, has a form of dementia and is unable to write the memoir himself. But can she believe what her father is telling her or has the dementia taken hold. Desperate to uncover the truth, she sets out to write about what really happened so many years ago.

I really enjoyed The Ghostwriter! This book follows disgraced ghostwriter Olivia Dumont, who attempts to regain her reputation by ghostwriting the memoirs of famous mystery writer Vincent Taylor. Taylor’s memoir is sure to be the hit of the year, as he promises to finally tell his side of the infamous, unsolved murders of his family in the 1970s. What no one knows however is that this job is personal to Olivia-Vincent Taylor is her estranged father.

This book is atmospheric and includes some great twists and turns. I thought the main characters were well developed, and the past/present narration was engaging and easy to follow. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery!

#TheGhostwriter #NetGalley
Julie Clark’s The Ghostwriter is a haunting and deeply atmospheric exploration of family secrets, trauma, and the blurred line between fiction and reality. Through the lens of Olivia Dumont, the estranged daughter of a legendary horror author and alleged murderer, Clark delivers a tale as chilling as it is emotional.
What I liked:-
1 Compelling Premise: The concept of a daughter forced to confront her family’s dark history while ghostwriting her father’s final book is both unique and intriguing, immediately drawing readers in.
2 Complex Characters: Olivia is a nuanced protagonist, torn between resentment and obligation. Her father, Vincent Taylor, is an enigmatic figure whose charisma and chilling past make him equally fascinating and unsettling.
3 Emotional Depth: Beyond the horror and suspense, the novel delves into the psychological scars left by a family torn apart, exploring themes of forgiveness, identity, and the weight of inherited guilt.
4 Unpredictable Narrative: The layers of mystery surrounding Vincent’s siblings’ deaths unravel slowly, keeping readers guessing about whether he’s a misunderstood genius or a cold-blooded killer.
Overall :- The Ghostwriter is a gripping psychological thriller that masterfully intertwines familial dysfunction with a chilling mystery. Julie Clark expertly balances suspense with emotional resonance, crafting a story that lingers long after the final page. It’s a must-read for fans of dark, character-driven narratives.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The approach to writing this book was very unique! The main character is an author uncovering the truth of her past thay she has worked so hard to distance herself from. The truth behind the events slowly unravel as the chapters switch between the present and past. The story is told from the victims point of view and people from the present day (50 years later). This is a great read and I had a difficult time putting it down. I finished it in 2 days.

Olivia has grown up with an infamous father; a horror writer but has long been suspected of murdering his siblings when he was a teenager. While she spends her childhood resenting her father for being a absent parent, Olivia has forged her own path as a ghostwriter under a different identity. When her career takes an unexpected turn putting it on the verge of collapse, Olivia has no choice but to take the job to ghostwrite her fathers memoir. Her father, who would create scavenger hunts when Olivia was a child, has one more game for her to play while she slowing unveils the truth about not only what happened that night but if her father is the man shes known all along.

I enjoyed this thriller; however, I think this didn't need to be a slow burn. Told from multiple POVs, we never know who's lying and who's telling the truth. Some characters were a bit forgettable and didn't add anything to the story. Without getting into spoilers, a character is talked about consistently but makes no appearance until the end. This takes all the suspense out it it and would have been more impactful if they were present throughout. This is my first Julie Clark book and I look forward to reading more from her.

The Ghostwriter is a can’t miss murder mystery by my new favorite, Julie Clark. I haven’t read her other books, but if they are half as good as this one, I’m in!

This story centers around a writer in LA tasked with ghostwriting her estranged father’s memoir. However, her father is the ultimate unreliable narrator as he is suffering from a form of dementia and isn’t sure the memories he has are real or his own. Oh, plus, he might have murdered his brother and sister in the 70’s…

I was hooked immediately and put everything on hold until I could figure out what happened. I wasn’t really rooting for any character as they’re all unlikeable in their own ways, but I was surprised by the conclusion and happy that I didn’t see it coming.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved Julie Clark’s The Last Flight, so as soon as I received this ARC, I opened it up and dove right in.
The Ghostwriter is a slow burn. This one took me a while to get into it. I wasn’t hooked. But the last half definitely piked up and I had to finish the last 100 pages in one night! The story is great and the mystery runs deep. I knew who the killer was but didn’t know the context. I also guessed one of the motives, but missed the mark on many others. Lots of twists and turns so when you think you’ve got it down, another curveball comes along and changes everything! There was a so much to think about and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
One side side character that I found unnecessary was Tom. I didn’t like him at all or his actions. I didn’t know him at all because there wasn’t much time spent. I just thought that should have been cut out. It just distracted from the real story.
I would definitely recommend this one! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and be sure to look for it next June!

The Ghostwriter pulled me in right away. Olivia has tried to distance herself from her father, but she is suddenly hired to be his ghostwriter and is pulled back home. I was drawn in right away to the mystery of who killed her aunt and uncle(her father’s siblings) when they were younger. Many people suspect it was her father. The book has dual timelines and dual points of view. The reader gets Olivia‘s current point of view, as well as jumping back in time with her father‘s point of view and one of the victims, Poppy.

If you have read The Last Flight, or The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark, you’ll find that this book is a much slower pace. Just a personal preference, but I’m not a big fan of a slow burn. My ADD just wants to get to the point a lot of times! I think Clark does a good job telling the story and keeping the reader engaged as the mystery unravels.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the copy of The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. Wow, what a dynamite read! I loved The Last Flight and The Lies I Tell, and this one was even better! Get ready for a long reading session because you won’t want to stop reading until you know what happened. I was engaged from the beginning and Olivia was a great main character. Maybe I’m just a softie for a story about a daughter’s troubled relationship with her father, but this one really got to me. What secrets was her father hiding? I loved the multiple POVs and how they all coalesced in the end. If you want a well-written book with multiple shocking reveals this is the book for you! 5 stars

This was such a suspenseful story, the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. I will say this is more of a slow burn which normally is not for me, but Julie Clark had me hooked once again. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the E-ARC.