Wow! A smart psychological thriller with over-the-top characters that are somehow completely believable and relatable. Our unnamed narrator has trained for an unspecified plan that involves kidnapping the man she thinks abducted and murdered her sister. The more time we spend with her and the more we learn about her plans and training, the more we get involved with her story. Carl Louis Feldman, the man she's planning to entrap, may be a dangerous serial killer but he is slowly succumbing to dementia. Or he may be playing her. This is a tale of cat and mouse in which you don't know who is who. Carl was also a photographer, and his pictures may be clues to his killings or simply beautiful works of art. The complete story won't come together until the very end but the conclusion is simply fantastic. Carl is scary, a thief and a liar, but he is also kind enough to help strangers and rescue animals in need. Unless it's all part of a plan. The story is like a road movie across Texas and its visual language makes the images pop in the reader's minds.

Knocked it out of the ballpark this time!!!!!!!!! This book will be going to the top of my all-time best books read list!! Black Eyed Susans was already up there, this one tops it, hands down. I would give this book 10 stars, which would not be enough. As you can tell, I loved every minute.
The relationship between Carl and Grace (or whoever she is that day) was so awesome. I laughed so much when Carl or Grace would one-up each other, chuckled when I wasn’t reading just thinking about things that had happened, and yes, cried at the end. The writing is stellar, the storyline is excellent. I loved the way the story was told, you would be in the present and then the author takes you quickly back to things that had been done before and the preparation Grace had done years prior. And I always love when the book tidies everything up in the last chapter to let you know how it all worked out.
Julia Heaberlin, keep doing what you’re doing!! Producing great books. I am an avid reader and it will be a long, long time before I come across another gem like this one. Walt, George, Barfly and Baloney, nice added touches, priceless.
I thank Net Galley and Random House/Ballantine Books for allowing me the opportunity to read this book for my review.

This was a very unique take on a family member tracking down her sister’s murderer. Lots of twists and tension. I much preferred this book to the author’s earlier “black eyed Susans”

4.5 Stars
I fell in love with Julia's writing when I read Black-Eyed Susans so I was excited to see Paper Ghosts on netgalley.
I really enjoyed Paper Ghosts. The plot had me wondering throughout most the time I was reading. Then when Julia connected all the dots I was like WOW!!!!
I look forward to read more from Julia!

Dementia isn’t a pretty evening sky. It’s an ocean fog, an endless midnight beach run and a stalker you hear padding in the sand behind you. Keep running, or wade into the black waves. The correct veribification of dementia would be ‘Stephen Kinging.’

A story about a ‘could be’ serial killer suffering from dementia and the sister of one of his possible victims that just wants answers.

Have you ever had one of those books that has been sitting on your shelf for a few months and you finally decide to read it...then you power through the story because it’s so good! That was this book for me, I can’t believe I waited so long to read this story. A well written psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the end of the book.

I highly recommend this book!

I would like to thank the publisher Random House/Ballantine Books, Julie Heaberlin and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an intriguing, creepy book. The ultimate question is: did he do it, or not?

It is a book about obsession, about looking for resolution, and about how photography doesn't just show a picture--it reveals the subject.

It is a difficult book to pigeon hole, but it deals with serial killings, with an epic journey to find the truth, with a dog and a cat thrown in.

It ultimately answers the question of 'did he do it?'----kind of.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys mysteries, or books.

Paper Ghosts is a new mystery thriller soon to be released by Julia Heaberlin. The story revolves around Grace, a young woman who has dedicated her life to solving the disappearance of her big sister a decade earlier. Her search leads her to Carl, a famous photographer who revels in the illusions and mystery behind his subjects. Having been acquitted in the disappearance of another young woman, Carl is now living out his days in a care home for violent dementia patients. Ms. Heaberlin’s examination of the mind - whether in a serial killer, a dementia patient, and even the desperation of a wronged sister - is an intriguing slippery slope that often leads to even more questions. I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to my reader friends that are looking for mystery and some great plot twists. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A really well written and perfectly executed psychological suspense story! It was different and unique and I absolutely loved it!!

Thx to Netgalley, Ballantine Books and Julia Heaberlin for this ARC. Story is one of mystery and suspense. Characters are developed as the story continues to develop and surprise the reader. Loved this and it’s a great pick for a book club. So many interesting twists and turns.

Carl Feldman is a retired photographer who has been acquitted for murder, diagnosed with dementia and is currently residing in an assisted living facility.

Grace is a young woman, convinced that Carl is the killer of her older sister Rachel when Grace was just 12 years old. Grace, out for revenge, pretends to be his daughter so that he can be released into her safe keeping. The two set off on an eventful road trip revisiting all the missing girls Grace believes he has killed.

A fascinating story about the relationship which develops between the two and keeps you turning page after page to find out what comes next.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a preview copy.

This is my first read by this author but definitely won't be my last!

I knew from the very first chapters that I was going to enjoy this book. Grace was only 12 when her older sister went missing, presumed dead when no body turned up. So for years Grace's obsession was to find out what happened to Rachel and find her killer. Her obsession takes her to a man she believes is the killer, a renowned photographer, Carl. So she pretends to be Carl's daughter, because he is now living in a home where convicts with dementia live. This is where the story unfolds as Grace and Carl take a road trip so Grace can get some answers. This was another slow burn type of book. Not a lot happens but you get so invested in the story that you are just dying to know the end result. I enjoyed the stunning pictures that were throughout the book--added to that haunted feeling you get while reading. Another enjoyable read.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this suspenseful page-turner. Once they were on the road, I couldn't put it down! On the trail to find out what really happened to her missing sister, Grace manages to deceive many different types of individuals along her journey. I was a little confused about the map - maybe I am as disoriented as Grace, when it comes to reading maps of an unknown area. The little twists and turns throughout the book kept me guessing what was coming next. Is he a good guy? A bad guy? Is this a delusion? Will she ever find out the truth? Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to review this book!

I received this book as a galley copy from NetGalley - and I appreciate the opportunity to read Paper Ghosts. However, I didn't finish this book, as I was unable to suspend disbelief in the subject matter. A young woman sets out to avenge her sister's death and knows who the killer is. He is living in a half-way house and she contacts his group home leader and is able to remove him from the home to "refresh" his memory about his crimes. Difficult to believe.

This was a really atmospheric novel, with a gripping, creepy plot and engaging characters. I kept guessing until the end. Recommended!

Looks can be deceiving. The main character, who for the most part remains nameless as she assumes different identities to suit her needs, delves into the mystery of her missing sister.

After over a decade of research and countless hours spent planning, training and preparing, the reader embarks on a young woman's journey to determine if a potential serial killer with dementia was the person who abducted and murdered her sister.

Carl Louis Feldman is a published photographer with photos that seem to be related to the untimely demise of several young women. Carl now lives in a half-way house claiming he has dementia. As the story unfolds the truths or ghosts in his photos are revealed.

A truly haunting book that grips you until the end.

I had liked ‘Black-Eyed Susans’ by the same author well enough, and I thought I’d like this one as well, but unfortunately, it wasn’t the case. As evidenced by the time I needed to finish it, that wasn’t because I had too much work and no time to read, but because it kept falling from my hands and I’d reach something else to reach instead.

It started well enough, and I thought that the story would be a game of cat and mouse between the main character and the suspected killer. However, while I kept waiting for said character to reveal her hand—for instance, to show that she had made this or that mistake on purpose, in order to better turn the tables—such moments never happened. I think this is where it went wrong for me, and I believe the first-person narration wasn’t an asset in this case: with a third person POV, I could’ve been fooled into thinking the ‘heroine’ knew what she was doing, since I wouldn’t have been completely ‘in her head; but with first person, it’s more difficult to fool the reader...

So, well, I wasn’t fooled. In spite of all her alluding to her ‘trainer’ and to how she had taught herself to face various difficult situations, she wasn't really one step ahead. Perhaps in the very beginning, but this fell down the train as soon as Carl started coming up with new ‘conditions’ along the way, and she was totally taken aback, and... just relented, or protested weakly. That didn’t fit my idea of someone who had planned carefully, or whose plans were unravelling but who still had the savvy to bounce back.

Also, I wasn’t convinced at all by the twist at the end. Something you can’t see coming because there was never any hint of it throughout the story, is not what I call an actual twist, but cheating the reader. (Now, when I read something and I’m all ‘a-ha! So that’s why she did this in chapter2, and said that in chapter 6, and that character did that in chapter 14’, well, that’s a proper twist.)

Conclusion: 1.5 stars. Too bad.

This was another suspenseful book by Julia Heaberlin. Grace stalks Carl because she suspects him of killing her sister. She manages to take him out of his half-way house on the pretense that she is his daughter. They embark on a roadtrip where she tries to learn the truth about her sister and whether her suspicions of Carl being a serial killer are correct. I'm going to have to read it again and see if there are hidden clues that I missed in the solving of the disappearance and/or murder of the women who's picture Carl has taken.

The book is billed as a "gripping thriller about a man who may or may not have dementia—and who may or may not be a serial killer". I have loved Julia Heaberlin's three prior books, and feel this is her best yet. This suspense novel kept me guessing right up until the end. Thanks to the publishers, I received a copy of “Paper Ghosts” from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this book has had no effect on my review.”

Grace lost her older sister when she was 12 years old. Rachel left to babysit but never came home and was never found. Grace took it upon herself to discover the missing links to find her sister--a plan that unknowingly painted the trajectory for her life.

We walk into the story after Grace has put a plan into motion to get the man she believes may be her sister's killer to confess. The only problem is that man has been absolved of other murders in the past with his wit and is now suffering from dementia. But Grace doesn't believe it, there are too many tells that she has observed during her time pretending to be his daughter for him to really be losing his memory and mind. Can she pull the murderer out without being harmed herself?

Why not take him on a drive and see if she can pull his memories to the forefront?

Grace, the younger, obsessive, sister finally, in the end, finds what she is looking for-- but what will it cost her to get there?

This book was not at all what I expected. There are so many twists and turns in this story... the entire read I was waiting for Grace to break Carl or for Carl to jump out of his diagnosis and remember who he was. Some of both happen. But the story I thought throughout the entire book was not at all the conclusion. By way of plot twist, this is an excellent book.