I gobbled this story up in a day, neglecting all responsibilities because I needed to prioritize this book. I was hooked from go and was desperate to know how it would unfold. Julie Clark expertly weaves a tragic story told through multiple POVs and different timelines seamlessly. There wasn’t one timeline or person that I felt lacking. I didn’t feel the need to rush through a certain POV because I favored someone else. Everyone was strong and everyone was a necessary part. Fine, I may have been partial to Poppy, but who wouldn’t be? I loved the strong female characters and the themes woven within seemed timely. I will have nightmares about that hamster though… If you’re looking for a fast paced book with thoughtful characters, strong dual timelines and POV with connections that will tug on your heartstrings AND an open murder investigation… look no further. I highly recommend this story and I met Julie once at a book event and she is funny and a delight, so thrilled to support her latest!

I was initially hesitant going into this one. It piqued my interest, but I felt like it was one of those that I would either love or hate. Thankfully, it turned out to be the former. This had so much going for it between the past and present timelines, a strained, bitter relationship between father and daughter, and pieces of a tragic past finding its way into the present. Everything worked in its favor, and I found myself hooked, grasping onto every hint thrown my way. While the present timeline with our protagonist Olivia held its own, the past perspectives were written so precisely that I felt myself watching every event unfold with my own eyes. The secrets revealed were unpredictable to even the most keen eye. This was an emotional one, focusing on not just the murder of two siblings but of familial relationships and love. Four stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark, for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of The Ghostwriter.
Olivia is on the brink of financial ruin when she is offered a deal to be a ghostwriter for her estranged father. Reluctant to do it she presses forward only to discover he doesn’t want her to write another one of his horror novels but the last word of a dying man of what really happened 50 years ago when his brother and sister were murdered.
I really don’t have anything bad to say about this book. It kept me turning page after page to see what happened. I really liked how Olivia’s father made the answers to what really happened into a treasure hunt. To find the real answers to what happened. If you were writing the truth to a secret would you really believe the answer out of a mouth of a person who had a medical condition resembling Alzheimers.
I was really skeptical about how the story was going to play out. Being that it was playing off that the father was just going to confess to him being the one that murdered his siblings. But it was so much more than that and I loved every minute of it! Last but not least I love how the author brought the more attention to a ghostwriter. A behind the scenes of what a ghostwriter is and does.

Julie Clark crafts a fantastic psychological thriller! This one in particular will have you staying up all night to finish it. Highly recommend!

Absolutely devoured this easy-to-binge-and-get-lost-in mystery thriller. This was my introduction to Julie Clark and I can't wait to check out her other work. Sometimes, multiple timelines and POVs can get a little confusing, but every character remained totally clear and concise throughout the entire journey of unveiling the tragedy, who did it, and the motives behind it all. I love high school flashbacks and this one served them up so well -- along with complicated family and moral dynamics. I have a feeling this will be one of my top thriller recommendations of the year.

This book gave me WHIPLASH trying to figure this one out! I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the direction of this story. I was gripped from the first page and simply couldn’t put it down. I loved this story and the connections and how everything came full circle. Couldn’t have asked for a better thriller!

I don’t know how I’ve never read one of Julie’s books before. This is one of those books I would have read in one day, if I could have. I was hooked from the start.

One minute, Vincent has his two siblings Poppy and Danny and the next minute they are gone. Who killed them? Could it have been Vincent? He spends his life being a horror writer. His daughter Olivia has spent her entire writing career hiding the fact that Vincent is her father. It’s been awhile since she’s been home but she decides to go home to help her father ghostwrite his book. Olivia is about to find out what happened that night in 1975.

I was stressed and shocked while reading this book. Each chapter had me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t know who to trust and each time I thought the story was going one way, it went another way. This was a really addicting thriller! I really enjoy Julie’s writing. I do wish there were trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. Definitely check those out before you read this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Julie and Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC!

Publication Date: June 3rd 2025
Rating: ✨✨✨✨

When Olivia Dumont's father was a teenager, his brother and sister were found dead in his home. He never quite lived down the whispers accusing him of killing them, but he did go on to become a successful horror writer. Now Olivia is also a writer - she ghostwrites and has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is her father's daughter.

With her finances heavily in the red, Olivia is offered the job of ghostwriting her father's last book. What she doesn't realize until signing on, though, is that this isn't another horror novel. After fifty years of silence, Olivia's father is finally ready to talk about what really happened the night his siblings died.

This story ebbs and flows with some sections I couldn't put down and others that felt a bit drawn out. Overall though, another excellent book from Julie Clark! I love the way she writes and will read everything she publishes.

Loved The Ghostwriter - the twists and turns, unreliable/differing memories, and well developed characters made this a very entertaining read. For me was a slow start, but then the book took off and I could not put it down.

4.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and the author Julie Clark for the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for honest review.

#The Ghostwriter #JulieClark #SourcebooksLandmark #mystery

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

In this novel Olivia, a ghostwriter, revisits a home she left behind decades ago, to write her famous (estranged) father's memoir. During this process, with meticulous precision, Olivia unveils what really happened in the tragic long ago crime that marred her family's history. Although he was never tried for the crime, most people assumed Olivia's moody father, Vincent, viciously murdered his brother and his young cousin.

Olivia's growth and path to acceptance (not only of her family, but of herself and her history) is a story well told by the extremely talented author Julie Clark. This is a captivating story that I read in one long sitting. I am a devoted fan of this author, she writes books that are timeless and relevant.

A resounding 5 stars from this reviewer for this refreshing tale that shows that you can make amends at any stage in life's journey.

Twisty✔️ Tortured✔️ Mind bending✔️ Unsettling✔️ This story within the story, this book with the book is clear proof that Julie Clark is a queen of psychological thrillers and knows how to craft a story that will at times leave you breathless and scared but always has you trying to solve the mystery.

Olivia Dumont is a famous ghostwriter, an author who pens books for other authors and but does not get the credit. When her father, celebrated horror author Vincent Taylor has his agent contact her to ghostwrite his memoir, Olivia accepts the job as she is in dire straits, facing financial ruin after a competing author has ruined her reputation. But Vincent Taylor’s own life is itself a horror story, having been the prime suspect as a teenager for the murders of his brother and sister fifty years ago. As Olivia attempts to rewrite and make sense of a manuscript that Vince has written while struggling with his diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia, she begins to uncover missing pieces and clues of that fateful night.

This story is filled with so many twists and turns that your mind will be spinning as you try to play armchair detective. The complexity of the characters will keep you fully engaged in the tension and suspense on every page.

Many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the opportunity to be an early reader of the digital book in exchange for my honest opinion.

So good! I loved the mystery and suspense. It was slow at first then tied up in the end. I would say pace out the novel

Excellent heartfelt family drama. Olivia is a successful ghostwriter with several books under her belt, but due to some legal troubles she is in a financial bind. When she is offered the job of ghostwriting a book with a famous author who has been under suspicion for murdering his siblings, she accepts the job without disclosing the fact that the author is her father. Fast paced emotional novel that is not to be missed. My favorite book of this authors so far.

This was full of twists and turns that left me wondering and guessing along with the main character. I will say that there are trigger warnings for animal abuse, molestation, sexual abuse, and elders with dementia. I was sucked into this world and could not wait fo the reveal. It was well done.

This started off well. I was initially very engaged but my interest began to wane a bit for a few reasons: the book was longer than it needed to be; the tendency to weave in red herrings and dangle a carrot before the reader, only to yank it away, became a bit tedious. Overall, the author is able to craft a story well when not overreaching. I think trying to invoke 70's normalcy to a teacher who drove kids to a concert out of town, took a student for an abortion, had student parties with kids drinking alcohol, doing drugs, and smoking was just too much. Having grown up in that time frame I know that life was not that loosey-goosey. Some intrigue is woven throughout although I did reach a point where I just wanted to be done with it all. I think trimming the story down would be beneficial. The author did demonstrate some writing skill and has a talent for storytelling but the edges really did get pushed. I would recommend the book. I did some skimming in the 25% even when the story ended, it didn't actually end.

Olivia has wondered about what happened to her Aunt and Uncle back in 1975. She has been hiding from the past and now will have to face it head on and hope that it doesn’t destroy everything she worked so hard to run from. Being a Ghostwriter for her famous book author father, Vincent Taylor. Olivia will finally be able to get some answers to her past. But will she be able to keep that secrets her father has been hiding for fifty years?

Loved this book! You will be step by step thinking the same as Olivia. I went back and forth on if Vincent, Danny, or the unknown person did it. In the end you will be shocked!

I highly recommend!!!! And will be adding Julie Clark to my list of favorite authors.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Julie Clark for this advance reader.

Family secrets, uncomfortable family dynamics, and a cold case? Yes please! Julie Clark's books are always a hit with me and her newest, The Ghostwriter, was no different. I loved the changing perspectives & the ending was satisfying. I'm already looking forward to see what Julie comes up with next!

I have read and loved two of Julie Clark's previous books, so I was thrilled when my request for an ARC of her upcoming novel The Ghostwriter was approved. And while it was a bit slower paced than her earlier works, it was never boring, and had the same great writing and characterization I've come to expect from Clark.

Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter who has fallen from grace in the publishing world and is set to lose her home if she can't find work, and soon. She is stunned when her estranged father, the horror novelist Vincent Taylor, has his people reach out to her agent and offer her the chance to come live on his estate and write his tell all memoir. He is ready to reveal all the secrets of his past, mainly regarding the murders of his siblings when they were teens - an unsolved crime that has always haunted him as most people believe HE was the murderer and he has never spoken of it to set the record straight. Vincent is in poor health and is unable to write the book himself, and he's insistent that only Olivia can do this job of ghostwriting for him, though no one knows she is his daughter. Olivia reluctantly agrees, as she is desperate for money and for the answers she hopes he will give her at last.

As with her earlier books, Clark has some chapters set in the past, from the perspective of teenage Vincent and his little sister, Poppy (my favorite character), and this worked perfectly to move the story along. Everything was revealed bit by bit, and the pacing was spot on to keep me turning the pages. I thought I had things figured out early on, but was pleased to discover that I was mostly wrong. It took all the way to the end of the book to truly learn everything and see it all resolve, and I found the ending very satisfying. 4 stars for a great read, and this cements Julie Clark's spot on my go-to author list. A huge thank to you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Olivia Dumont is a ghost writer. She has reinvented herself to try and escape her family name and her fathers past. Now, Vincent Taylor famous horror writer and her father has asked her to be his ghost writer. Everyone thought he had murdered his siblings and got away with it.

Now, she wants to go back and discover what really happened that night. She follows many clues and unravels the mystery of what happened that night. She has to come to terms with the truth and how she will move forward with it.

A slow burn with so many secrets and filled with family drama.

this was really interesting. it starts off slow, but around 25% in i was hooked. there are alternating timelines in this story, as it follows olivia's journey attempting to ghost write her estranged father's memoir. this is the first time her father has ever spoken publicly about the deaths of his siblings, for which he remains a widely speculated suspect. while the story is primarily told from olivia's pov, we do get a few chapters that take place in 1975 told from the perspectives of numerous characters relating to the murders. these chapters were the most interesting to me - they felt very tense and the atmosphere was perfectly crafted. the premise of the flashbacks was enough to hold it's own as a thriller. the current day chapters complicate things because there is no longer any risk. it's interesting getting to know olivia as a narrator and see how her family's trauma and her relationship with her father has formed the person she became, but it also serves as a constant reminder to the reader that the suspense is decades overdue. while olivia's father is certainly unreliable and potentially dangerous, it never feels as though olivia is in any danger. this takes away from the urgency and desperation that makes reading a thriller so addictive. this reads more as a who-dunnit with meditations on generational trauma, so it might not resonate with the standard thriller audience. overall, i did enjoy it although i wish olivia's life was either delved into deeper or left out of the plot all together. 4⭐️

i received an ARC in exchange for an honest review