4 out of 5 stars -Julie Clark has done it again!

Really enjoyed this book! Fast-paced suspense novel that I couldn't put down and kept me guessing! A perfect pool read for summer!

Thanks to Julie Clark, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advanced copy of THE GHOSTWRITED in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #TheGhostwriter

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark is a slow burn thriller that you'll be thinking about long after you finish it!. Olivia Dumont is a professional ghostwriter that helps people put their story into a book. Her latest project is to ghostwrite her estranged father's story. Olivia Dumont is really Olivia Taylor and her father is acclaimed horror author, Vincent Taylor. This isn't a horror novel that Vince wants her to write. It's his story about what happened one night in 1975 when his life was torn apart. In June of 1975 Vince's brother and sister were found murdered in their family home. Vince wasn't home and is the only surviving child of his parents. Rumors and talk around town had Vince as the bad guy who murdered his brother and sister, even though he had an alibi. He's had to live with this his entire life. He wants the real story to be told now while he can still remember it. Vince has been diagnosed with a disease that will soon take his mind and body.

Olivia isn't thrilled to be working with her father as he sent her away for school to get her out of his life. Olivia's mother left when she was in kindergarten and she was left alone with her father. She's still angry with him, but needs the money to avoid having to sell her house. Olivia's boyfriend, Tom, doesn't know that she's really Olivia Taylor as she's never shared anything about her family with him. She's told him that both of her parents are dead just to avoid the truth. When she leaves for this job, he has no idea what she's really doing. Will Olivia be able to get the real story out of Vince before he loses his memory for good? Will Olivia like what she finds out about her Dad or will she find that her Dad was indeed a monster who killed Danny and Poppy? Why did Olivia's mom leave and never come back? Was she afraid of Vince? Did she find out the truth and couldn't face it? The Ghostwriter is a gripping thriller that unfolds slowly through different timelines and perspectives. I rate the book 4 stars with a high recommendation. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy of The Ghostwriter in exchange for a fair review.
#TheGhostwriter

The Ghostwriter, by Julie Clarke, is a dark reflective novel of how the past is always with us. Olivia Dumont has reached a crisis in her career. She has lost a lawsuit to another ghostwriter, she is near to losing her home, and no one wants to hire her. Out of nowhere comes an offer to ghostwrite for the famous horror author, Vincent Taylor. The advance will save her home and help resurrect her career. There is one problem, Vincent Taylor is Olivia's father. Even worse, Vincent has decided to tell the story that he has buried for 50 years. He is finally going to tell the world, and Olivia, what he knows about the tragic murder of his older brother and younger sister when Vincent was 15. Will Olivia finally find out that her father is a murderer as everyone suspects? Olivia has spent her life trying to distance herself from him and his past. Now she will have to confront all of the ghosts from her family's past. The Ghostwriter is full of suspense, mystery and family drama. It will keep you guessing until the very end! #netgalley

Thank you so much for this ARC! I was so hyped to get started on this one. For me, it started so strong and then around 65% I really found myself losing interest and not wanting to pick the book up. It was such a slow burn, too slow for me that I was a goner. The concept was great and I did enjoy the different points of view but my interest was not sustained. Will continue to be excited about this author, even though this was a no from me this time.

Thank you to Netgalley & Sourcebooks for this advanced copy!

This is my second Julie Clark novel, and it has officially cemented her place on my auto-buy list for when I need a smart, slow-burn literary thriller. Her ability to blend emotional depth with page-turning suspense is truly something special.

The Ghostwriter is a perfect read for book lovers. At its heart, it offers a fascinating look into the world of ghostwriting—what it really means to help someone tell their story, and the delicate process of shaping a memoir from someone else's memories. That alone had me intrigued, but it’s the layered mystery at the center of the novel that made this such a compelling read.

The story weaves together the complexities of a father-daughter relationship, long-buried secrets, and the mystery surrounding a double murder from the past. It’s a “what happened and whodunnit” done in a way that’s both emotionally resonant and genuinely suspenseful. I found myself constantly drawn back to the book—telling myself I’d read just one more chapter… and then devouring five.

Now I’m kicking myself for not having picked up The Last Flight yet, which I’ve heard is one of Clark’s best—it’s been sitting on my shelf for far too long. If The Ghostwriter (and her previous novel, The Lies I Tell) is any indication, I’m in for another gripping, thoughtful, and incredibly satisfying read.

Highly recommend this one - I can’t wait to see what Julie Clark does next!

An intriguing mystery based on faltering memories, unreliable assumptions, and wasted opportunities.

It has long been assumed, though never proved, that Olivia Taylor’s father, Vince, murdered his older brother, Danny, and younger sister, Poppy, fifty years ago. Now that he is sinking into dementia he wants to correct the record and publish a memoir written by his daughter, a well-known ghostwriter. Olivia has had little contact with her father since her mother left them and Olivia left home to go to boarding school in France.

She is reluctant to take on this project but needs the money, so turns up at her fathers house in Ojai ready to get it over with. But his memories are shaky and sometimes demonstrably false and Olivia is not sure what she’s got herself into.

Over the course of the novel we get to see Ojai in 1975 from the perspective of Vince, through his notes and conversations with Olivia, and also through the diary and home movies of Poppy, an enthusiastic amateur film maker. Also, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this, we have sections from an actual ghost writer - Poppy - and a young Vince, filling in the holes in the narratives and giving often alternative perspectives.

Poppy shines through as the bright spark finding her own path while her older brothers are at war with each other. Though there are conflicting views on Vince and Danny, everyone loved and admired Poppy and it is her early death and unfulfilled potential that is the most obvious tragedy. But hidden under there are tragedies for both Danny and Vince that are not the obvious ones they initially appear to be. Olivia herself, now in her 40’s has also been emotionally crippled by what happened to her father and his siblings and is looking for liberation from that.

The author does a fine job of juggling often conflicting narratives with some presented as “fact” and others as shaky memories. Recommended if you’re in the mood for a twisty but downbeat mystery.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Want to start off my saying thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the advanced copy! I was super excited to get an arc of a Julie Clark book as I have read her others if I tell and the first flight. The ghost writer unfortunately fell flat for me. It was extremely boring and took me way too long to finish. I also absolutely hated the "twist" so predictable.

I’m the type of reader who always tries to guess the killer within the first few chapters—most of the time, I’m right. But this book? It completely fooled me and kept me guessing until the very end. It twisted my mind in the best possible way.

From the very first page, I was hooked and read it all in one sitting. Julie’s writing is phenomenal. Even with shifts in timelines and multiple POVs, the story flows so seamlessly that you’re never confused. In fact, the different perspectives add so much depth, helping you understand each character better and how they perceive one another.

If you love thrillers that keep you on your toes and make you second-guess everything you thought you knew, this one is a must-read. Gripping, layered, and so well-written! I couldn’t put it down.

The Ghostwriter blends family secrets long ago hidden away, unreliable memories and suspense. The main character is Olivia, whose job is to ghostwrite memoirs of famous people. Her editor then tells her that her next job will be working with Vincent Taylor, a famed horror writer. One problem - Olivia is actually the estranged daughter of Vincent. She decides to take the job anyway (so she won't lose her house) and returns to her family home. Vincent is suffering from dementia so many of his memories are no longer intact. Olivia realizes, however, that this book that Vincent wants her to write about his life, is actually his confession about the double murder of his sister and brother back in 1975 that tore apart their small town.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Julie Clark never misses! I recommend her books to everyone and this is no exception. :) This one hooked me from the start and was super easy to follow!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review (sorry I read it after pub date sorry!!!)

I absolutely loved this book. It was such a journey from start to finish. In the second half things really picked up in pace with a lot of action and really short chapters which I love. It was also really interesting to watch the characters’ history come out one page at a time.

What a killer premise—literally and figuratively. In The Ghostwriter, an estranged daughter is asked to ghostwrite the autobiography of her once-absent father, now a bestselling author. But there's a dark twist: he may have been involved in the decades-old, still-unsolved murder of his own siblings.

Dark, emotional, and full of twists, this is a slow-burn thriller you won't be able to put down.

This was a super fun, fast read! A ghostwriter's estranged father hires her to write his memoir about the murder of his brother & sister in 1975... but did he kill them? I love how this book delves into complex family dynamics that impact the central character in the current day, while still landing all of the fun twists and whodunit fun. Definitely recommend!!

I’m very picky about which thrillers I pick up, but this one had me with the pitch!

Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter and has found herself with a new potential client. His name is Vincent Taylor, a prolific fiction writer, but whispers still abound that he killed his brother and sister when they were all children. Oh and he’s Olivia’s estranged father… and he’s ready to write his memoir.

I mean c’mon! I was sold! And I’m so glad to say that I really enjoyed this story. This was a slower burn thriller which I much appreciated. Even though the plot and whodunit keeps the plot moving, I was still learning about the stories behind these characters and they weren’t just cardboard cutouts for the plot.

I had many theories but the author did a good job of making me question myself and I kept switching what I thought happened and never felt 100% sure that I had everything figured out. Definitely recommend!! (Trigger warnings do abound for this one so look those up if concerned!)

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has spent her entire life trying to distance herself from her famous father who is suspected of killing his siblings. When she finds herself on the brink bankruptcy she is forced to accept an assignment to ghostwrite his last book. This was terrific. I was hooked from the beginning and it kept getting better. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

This book will be the hit of the summer! The multiple POVs and timelines were clear to follow, but also left you guessing as the story slowly unfolded over the course of decades. This is one book I could not put down!

The Ghostwriter delivers dark family secrets, tangled timelines, and a murder mystery that’s haunted everyone involved for decades.

Olivia Dumont has spent her career writing other people’s stories—while keeping quiet about her own. She’s the daughter of horror icon Vincent Taylor, who’s just as famous for being a murder suspect as he is for his books. Now, broke and out of options, Olivia agrees to ghostwrite his final project… only to find out it’s not fiction he wants her to write—it’s what really happened the night his siblings were killed in 1975.

But with Vincent’s health fading and his memories getting harder to trust, Olivia starts digging into the past herself. The story is told through Olivia in the present, Vincent’s shifting recollections, and his sister Poppy’s old diary entries—each adding another layer to the mystery. The pace starts slow but draws you in deep, building to a final act that completely caught me off guard.

This one has atmosphere, tension, and a steady stream of revelations that kept me locked in. If you’re into character-driven thrillers with long-buried secrets and complicated family history, you’ll want this in your stack.

Thank you @julieclarkauthor and @bookmarked for the #gifted Ebook ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a fabulous blend of family drama, filled with secrets, lies, and lost memories, and a tragic double murder that remained unsolved for fifty years.

Olivia is a ghostwriter who has kept a secret about her father, the famous horror novelist Vincent Taylor—the same man whose siblings were found murdered in their family home fifty years ago.

Now, Olivia’s father reaches out to her and asks her to ghostwrite a story. Not fiction horror, but his own story.

Julie Clark wove an incredibly heartbreaking yet engrossing story about Vincent and his siblings, Danny and Poppy. Each sibling plays a significant role. But to make it more complex, intricate, and slippery, Vincent is suffering from Lewy body dementia. So, what memories are correct? It forces Olivia to engage in some major sleuthing, and the deeper she digs, the darker things become.

Suspenseful, emotional, and propulsive - I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! With storytelling like this, Julie Clark is now one of my go-to thriller authors.

Thank you @bookmarked and @julieclarkauthor for this gifted book and ebook via #NetGalley

This book has a thrilling mystery that keeps you thinking the whole time, as well as interesting family dynamics and intergenerational trauma that tied mystery and the story itself together. I will definitely read more books from Julie Clark after this.

Takes the trope “unreliable narrator” to a whole new level!

Thanks NetGalley & Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC!

Trust me and dive in blindly into this one.

Ghostwriting is becoming a common theme in novels these days. But #TheGhostWriter is a class apart thanks to its ultimate plot construction, story building and suspense creation.

The other treat for us book lovers, is of course that the heart of the book is about a book, as you can guess from the title. But let me tell you, this is a book unlike no other, writing it is no joke for our main protagonist, the ghost writer Olivia Dumont. It involves digging up painful memories, facing dark and sinister truths that could be buried for decades, while her own world is shattering around her.

The storyline centres around some heavy subject matter - dysfunctional families, teenage behavior, sibling relationships and addiction. What I loved the most was how Clark brings out the emotional depth in her characterisation. The POVs from the past are thrown in at just the right junctures ratcheting up our curiosity, getting us completely invested in both the story and the protagonists.

I especially admired Olivia’s ability to transport herself to the horrific past in question, to the very location, seeing what the characters saw, feeling what they felt, dreaming their dreams, experiencing their passions, replaying their treasure hunts, imagining their actions - both good and bad.

Some of the threads were not hard to guess, but the way in which the narrative reaches the conclusion on every plot line - revealing every bitter truth and harsh reality towards the end just made the whole experience worthwhile.

This is a thriller that will make you put down the book and take a deep breath, thinking about what these characters go through, the cruel fate that played out in their lives and how different their lives could’ve been if their circumstances weren’t how they were for them.

#TheGhostWriter for me is an unforgettable thriller.