I have really enjoyed previous work by this author, so I was very excited to get the opportunity to read a (very) advanced copy of this book!

I took my time with this one and enjoyed slowly unraveling the mystery that was tangled up in this family. The dark and eerie atmosphere and the diary entries were my favorite two elements, but I think there was a lot to enjoy with this story.

I’m looking forward to hearing people’s thoughts on this one!

I’ve been a big fan of Julie Clark since reading The Last Flight and I significantly enjoyed this new novel as well. I found the premise and plot to be very compelling and I enjoyed how much everything came together at the end despite all the paths it took. Thanks again!

I genuinely loved this book. The prose was stunning, and the plot kept me invested the entire way through!

Oh how I loved this book! A brilliantly written book that works at solving a familial mystery with a main character who was really exceptional. I loved how Olivia worked with her estranged father to figure out who killed her aunt and uncle way back in the 70's and the multiple points of view were done so well. It was nice to hear from Poppy and even Vince in the time leading up to the murders and I was so engrossed, I was unable and unwilling to put this book down. Clark is great at making characters come alive on the pages and I can't recommend this one enough.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Olivia is a Ghostwriter who is struggling with reputation and money issues when she is offered the chance to go back home and work with her ailing and estranged father to write his memoir. His two siblings were killed when he was a teenager and many thought he was the murderer although he had an alibi. After accepting the job, she winds up digging into the past to try to find the truth about the murders.

Another winner from Julie Clark. I throughly enjoyed this one, as I have with the other books of hers that I have read. I love books that uncover family secrets from the past and this one kept me turning the pages. I look forward to her next novel.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

THIS!!! BOOK!!! I love any book that's about the literary world, but mixed with themes of suspense, family, and identity? Sign me up! I was hooked from the first page, and I loved the alternating timelines between chapters - I loved how it transitions between Olivia's conversations with her father quickly followed by the flashback or "ghostwritten" version of the past.

This was a book that kept me truly guessing and on the edge of my seat until the very end. It was difficult at first to determine what was real and what was wrapped up in Vincent's illness, but I love how it beautifully tied in their "treasure hunts" and dropped little clues along the way that came together in the end. Just when I had this figured out, the ending threw a masterful twist that left me slack-jawed. Easily one of my best reads of 2024. Thanks so much for the ARC!

I remember enjoying Julie Clark's "The Last Flight" and immediately requested this when it popped up on Netgalley. Thank you to NG and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Olivia is a ghostwriter who has hit hard times. She's given a last chance at a job, but the catch is that's it's a memoir for a famous thriller author, who happens to be her estranged father. In writing his memoir she's uncovering the truth about the murders of her aunt and uncle that occurred in 1975, and her father's involvement in the crime.

This was a book that I couldn't put down. I was so sure that I had it all figured out, but there were quite a few twists and turns at the end. It was a fast, well-plotted mystery with that dash of nostalgia. Highly recommend if you enjoyed Riley Sager's Middle of the Night, or Lisa Jewell.

Like, OMG, this book totally had me hooked right from the start! It's got all the juicy drama—family secrets, hidden pasts, and a mystery that made me, like, seriously second-guess everything. Picture this: a famous horror author, a tragic crime, and a daughter who just can’t seem to escape the shadow of her father’s creepy, complicated legacy. Yeah, it’s that kind of vibe. 👀

It’s not exactly fast-paced—it’s more like a slow simmer—but, honestly, it worked. The story kind of unfolds like peeling back layers of an onion, and while it takes its sweet time, you’re still like, "I need to know the truth!" The dual timelines, old diary entries, and little breadcrumb clues? Ugh, so good!

Now, did I figure out the big twist? Kinda. But it didn’t even matter because the journey there was chef’s kiss. The characters felt super real—messy, complicated, and, like, totally relatable in their dysfunction. And that ending? Wild. You’ll be thinking about it after you close the book, for sure. This was such a fun ride, and I’d 100% recommend it to anyone who loves a thriller with a side of family drama. ✨ Four stars, baby! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

There is so much about this story that had me in its grips. Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has had success but she's skuttled those successes thanks to things she said in public that has led to personal and career shunning and a financially devastating punishment. Her father is the famous horror writer, Vincent Taylor, a man that Olivia has erased from her life in every way. She's changed her name, fabricated a past, and can no longer bring herself to share the truth with anyone, even her fiancé who claims that lies in a relationship would bring a permanent end to a relationship.

Fifty years ago there was a notorious unsolved double murder and rumors abound that it was Vincent who killed his sister and brother. Vincent has always refused to discuss what happened fifty years ago and Olivia is conflicted by her memories of a dad who was a mix of playfulness with his treasure hunt games but more often distant and emotionally neglectful of his daughter. As a teen, when Olivia is sent away, she vows to have nothing to do with her father ever again, wiping him from her history and trying to wipe him from her mind.

But now Vincent wants HER to ghostwrite his memoir, he's ready to tell what happened fifty years ago, and Olivia desperately needs the money. This story is told from various POVs, diary entries, old video recordings, and news articles and I enjoyed learning about the past through the various sources. The first half of the book had me so excited for what I'd learn in the second half of the book.

Overall I greatly enjoyed the story except I still don't quite understand what happened long ago. It's all there but I got lost in all the information, misinformation, and lies. This confusion is a part of the story, a part of what has me liking the story so much, although I'd really like to have a clearer picture of what actually happened that night. Julie Clark knows how to write stories that grab my attention and make me really think. Sometimes I just wish my thinking was up to her writing.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Ghostwriter is a masterfully plotted, slow burn thriller following Olivia Dumont, who has begrudgingly accepted her estranged father's request to ghostwrite his memoir.

Roughly five decades prior, Vincent Taylor's two siblings were brutally murdered in their home. As the only surviving sibling, he quickly fell under suspicion. Although he had an alibi, many people in his hometown of Ojai, California, felt sure that Vincent's volatile behavior and constant fights with his brother were proof that he was responsible for Danny and Poppy's deaths. Olivia, Vincent's only daughter, was just a child when she first caught wind of the rumors surrounding her father and his siblings, and she has spent the rest of her life trying to distance herself from their consequences.

When she finds herself in a financial bind, unlikely to find work after speaking out against a misogynistic fellow writer, she feels she has no choice but to go back to Ojai and work with her father. Upon her arrival, she learns Vincent has Lewy body dementia, which makes it difficult for her to distinguish which of her father's stories are true. As she delves into the work, she uncovers Poppy's diary and home videos, helping her piece together the reality—or at least something close to it—of that fateful night in 1975 that changed her family forever.

I had a great time with this book and found it extremely well-written. It was a slow burn but a quick read, impossible to put down and easily devoured in one day. Every time I thought I'd figured out the truth behind Danny and Poppy's murders, the next piece of uncovered information proved me wrong. As someone who notoriously always sees the twists before they come, I was delighted to be left questioning the "why" of this story until the very end. The flashbacks to the days leading up to the murders added a compelling nuance and perspective to the book by illuminating the dynamics and secrets hiding within the Taylor family.

The Ghostwriter was my first Julie Clark novel, but it certainly won't be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

(3.5 rounded down) My feelings about this one are mostly positive. A woman, estranged from her father, returns to her hometown to ghostwrite his memoir looking back at the murder of his siblings, for which he has long been suspected. I did like a lot about this. The pacing is great. Although it’s rather a slow burn story, it reads incredibly quickly, and Julie Clark is excellent at compelling writing. People who like true crime subplots in their fiction with also be happy with the true crime storyline. I found the characters to be engaging, if annoying at times (like real people!). The use of different perspectives, of diary entries, of home movies was also a good one that added to the storytelling. I personally am over the…trope? Story choice? Character choice?…of a main character, in dealing with trauma, hiding a lot of their past selves in their present relationships. The relationship between our main character and her partner, who is introduced with the note that he won’t tolerate lying in relationships, is built on a false version of who our main character is. I do think the author takes this in a more interesting direction, but I’m also just tired of that being a part of so many mystery/thrillers. Overall, I read this one quickly, and although I don’t think I’ll be thinking about it a year from now, I enjoyed my time with it.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont, is the only child of the famous horror author Vincent Taylor, a man known not only for his novels, but also for being the prime suspect in the brutal slaying of his siblings when he was just seventeen.

She once had a promising career but a faux pas has her in financial ruin and unable to secure a job until her father asks for her to ghostwrite his last book. Neither has ever revealed that they are related so their respective agents are quite surprised by his choice.

FACT OR FICTION?

After fifty years of silence, Vincent Taylor wants to publish a TELL ALL about what really happened on the night that his younger sister Poppy and his older brother, Danny died. But is he telling the truth?

Olivia arrives to find the handwritten scribblings of a dying man which make little sense.

MEMORY OR MADNESS?

Fortunately, Poppy loved to document everything, through both film and a diary, which will help Olivia revisit the past through a second POV, as she works to learn the truth about what actually happened.

This book was more of a slow 🔥 burn, than the sizzling fast paced thrillers that we are used to from this author but I was still captivated by the FIRST HALF of the book.

The story stalled a bit for me in the SECOND HALF when we spend more time in the PAST with the dysfunctional teenaged siblings and their secrets, which never seems to hold MY interest for long even when penned by a favorite author!

I felt like the secrets could’ve been spilled sooner.

Julie Clark is an auto-buy author for me, so I moved this book straight to the top of the TBR list when I had the opportunity to read an early ARC- and I will continue to do so with future titles!

This book will be available on June 3, 2025.

Thank You to Sourcebooks Landmark for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

Wow what an amazing read! Thank you net galley for an early arc. This story follows Oliva a ghostwriter who moves back to her hometown where her newly sick father lives ,to write his memoir and finally share what happened to his siblings who were murdered back in the 70s. This was truly thrilling and even though I kind of guessed who the killer was I was still shocked by the reasons for the murders! Definitely a book I will be recommending when it releases!!!

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of this thriller by an author I have enjoyed in the past. Olivia is a writer but she is stalled in her writing. She gets an opportunity to become a ghostwriter for someone's memoir..but it's her father. Who she hasn't seen in years...and who she isn't sure if he is a killer or not of his brother and sister who were murdered years earlier. I liked how this story slowly reveals the secrets of the past, as Olivia starts digging into her father's past. Great character development and some good twists as well. Very well written. I think people will be talking about this book! 4.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Julie Clark is one of my favorite authors and this latest did not disappoint. Atmospheric with great character development for a great domestic suspense. Highly recommend.

I was drawn into this one immediately. It definitely kept a great pace and had me wanting to read it all immediately! This was a twisty, crazy story and I really liked it! So many lies and secrets and endless red herrings! I loved The Last Flight by this author and this one was another HIT!!!! Absolutely recommend for a binge-worthy thriller!!!

This book starts out with a bang! Olivia is a ghostwriter whose father wrote a book, and when he writes his second, her agent wants her to ghostwrite it for him. But they haven't spoken in 20 years as it's rumored he killed his brother and sister. And although she doesn't believe this, he now has Lewy body dementia so he drifts in and out of lucid thoughts. Vacillating in time between the present and 1975, the novel details her search through home movies, diary entries, and crazy theories that of course circulate through town. It's a crazy story with an ending I didn't see coming!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I’ve not read a Julie Clark book before but really enjoyed this mystery/thriller. Looking forward to reading her previous books now! Interesting use of flashbacks to tell the story from different points of view whilst still keeping everything moving nicely.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this complementary advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Olivia is the daughter of Vincent Taylor, the surviving sibling of a horrible crime. His brother and sister were killed almost 50 years ago and he's never spoken about that night. As typically happens, some people believe he was involved because he lived, even though he had a solid alibi. Olivia and her father never spoke about that night and don't speak at all anymore until she's contacted to ghostwrite a story for him. Initially wary, she decides she can't miss this opportunity, as she desperately needs the income and publicity that she needs.

There wouldn't be much of a story here if the events unfolded like everyone thought, so we know there are going to be surprises and twists, and we're not disappointed. Many characters make believable suspects and you may find yourself racing through the story to figure out what really happened and how. There's a great vintage and nostalgic feel to the story, as parts of it are told in the past leading up to the murders. By seeing through the eyes of the teenagers themselves, you get a glimpse into every part of their lives, hidden from their parents, and never known to outsiders of the family who couldn't believe such a terrible tragedy occurred. One aspect I enjoyed most was that it wasn't simply an unknown perpetrator that got away with it, but a more complex series of events that led to the murders.

The only thing that didn't sit well with me was the whole 'no more lies, the truth needs to be told' rhetoric that Olivia continually spouts but then ultimately ignores as she too doesn't illuminate the entire truth upon discovery. Wasn't that the whole point of what she was doing? She ends up telling just enough of the truth, choosing which parts to keep secret to protect her family.

Immediately after I finished the book, I looked up other works by this author to start reading. I can't wait for her next one as I explore more of her books - finding a new author to binge is the best!