Paper Ghosts was amazingly written. It was haunting and beautiul and I couldn't put this down for a second.

Finally. A thriller that COMPLETELY surprised me at the end! I had so many guesses, but I wasn't even close. I read this book in just two sittings. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and it was such a rollercoaster of emotions. I loved how the main character was basically a badass who was ready for absolutely anything this serial killer could think up to throw her off her game. This was definitely one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time.

I had a hard time getting into this book. I couldn't get into the main character, I just found her obsession so unrelatable. Since I did not finish the book, I do not intend to publish a review.

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I have not been reading thrillers lately because I was having an extremely difficult time finding ones that could give me that edge-of-your-seat feeling that I used to love to get from a good thriller. When I read this part of the description for Paper Ghosts though, I knew I had to take a chance:

"A gripping thriller about a man who may or may not have dementia—and who may or may not be a serial killer—from a master of twists and turns..." (Description from NetGalley)

There is nothing I like better from a thriller than a good guessing game. I love to be misled until the very end of the book, and that is exactly the experience I had with this book. Never at any point was I sure that I could trust my instincts regarding either Carl or the young woman who takes him on a road trip in search of answers.

Paper Ghosts was a pleasant surprise, and just what I needed to get me interested during a reading slump. This book is exciting and engaging, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a shot of excitement in their reading life.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am never compensated for my reviews.

Received an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review...

During my late teenage years and early twenties, I took on a job as a care giver at a facility which specifically handled Dementia and Alzheimer. After taking care of many people and guiding them on their end of life journey, I found the concept of this book rather interesting and intriguing. In all my time working with those beautiful old souls, I never knew who they were or used to be. And unfortunately, half the time, they never really knew either. When I read the synopsis this got my mind twirling with the possibilities.

This story follows Carl and our female protagonist, (who has no official name - until much later), on a road trip visiting sites where Carl may or may not have murdered some girls. Our protagonist is almost positive that Carl is the reason her sister disappeared. And this trip is supposed to jog his depleting memory into some sort of confession. However, it is a story and plans never goes as they should.

So we have two primary characters, where neither are very reliable or trustworthy. Our protagonist is obsessed with her sister's disappearance in a really unhealthy and borderline OCD manner. Which at times made me really question her actions and thinking process. She wants it to be Carl so entirely bad that it is hard to for a reader to truly trust her judgement or thought process. And then we have Carl, Carl is a little pistol. I truly enjoyed his character. He was an old, wise cracker with such a saucy side that had me cracking up at times. I almost forgot that he may or may not be a serial killer.

Mostly, I do not enjoy stories about road trips. In my opinion, they are predictable and over done. However, I didn't really get that feel with this story. The road trip had such a creepy and criminal intent to it that I really enjoyed. Overall, this story shed new light onto road trip stories for me. However, I feel like Heaberlin didn't quite nail Carl's disease. She presented many believable elements with Carl, but overall, I did not believe that she wrote the disease in a manner which was believable for how advanced his situation was supposed to be.

Overall, I found the story to be rather enjoyable. The banter between our characters, the murder theme, and the big mystery of did Carl kill Rachel or did he not?

I would suggest checking this story out.

Reading Paper Ghosts was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Each chapter is a piece of the picture, which doesn't become clear until the final chapters. The main character, whose real name isn't mentioned until late in the book, is trying to figure out what happened to her sister, who disappeared years earlier. She has been investigating various leads over the years but fixates on a man suspected in an abduction case who is now suffering from dementia. She visits him and pretends to be his daughter, eventually convincing him to take a trip with her to help him remember his past. The strength of this book is that the reader doesn't know who to trust- the main character or the man she suspects took her sister. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a book that keeps the reader guessing until the end.

This is a very well-written book. Though at times I felt bogged down by the detail, I would recommend it, and I would like to read more by Ms. Heaberlin.

I had trouble getting through this book. I loved the title and the plot description so couldn't wait to read it. While well written, still it seemed to drag. I lost interest in the characters rather quickly. Just wasn't for me I'm sad to say.

On the surface, Paper Ghosts is set up for a mind bending thriller. I was instantly drawn to the premise. I went into it expecting to be taken on a wild ride, filled with psychological twists. Instead, it was a grand tour of Texas as a nice clip. The pacing of the novel fell short for me, and I felt that the first half of the novel didn’t provide much depth to the multiple murders that were in question. I kept waiting, I kept reading, but the anticipated action never really came.

I appreciated how the novel ended, and I did enjoy the story. I think I went into it with one expectation and was given something different, which may be my own fault. This is one of those novels that it might serve you better to go into blindly and take it for what it is.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read Paper Ghosts. I rarely give 5 stars, but this book had me from beginning.
Julia Heaberlin takes the reader on a journey - a young woman's sister is killed when she is young. At least she thinks she was killed because her body has yet to be found. She also believes her sister was killed by a seasoned serial killer named Carl - she has done her research. She believes her sister's killer, Carl, is a man with dementia. This man, Carl, lives in a home that takes in rejects - including possible serial killers with dementia among others.
The young woman has a plan - she befriends Carl intentionally because SHE HAS A PLAN. And that plan includes a gun, and other weapons. This young woman is going to take Carl on a trip, and he may not be coming back...ever!
Suspenseful and gripping - this book will hold your attention till the end.
You won't be able to put this book down - loved it....RECOMMEND.

Rachel's sister has made it her life goal to exact revenge on her killer. After extensive training and researching, she essentially breaks a suspected serial killer (Carl Feldman) out of a home and attempts to jog his aging memory-- and ultimately, a confession.
The best thing going for this book is the unique plot line. Keeping the reader in the dark about the narrator was absolutely brilliant-- it tied into the obsession that she finds herself in. I flew through this book because I was DYING to get into the mind of Carl. I wanted to know whether or not he killed. Who he killed. When he killed. How he killed.
I do agree with others readers that the end was a little.. messy. I didn't particularly like the epilogue, but the first 3/4 of the book more than made up for that.

A young woman has obsessed over and planned for this moment since she was twelve years old, ever since her nineteen year old sister disappeared without a trace. She’s researched, planned, and trained for every possible scenario. And, now, she’s almost certain that she’s figured out who kidnapped and murdered her sister. Carl Feldman is an aging documentary photographer, suffering from the early stages of dimentia. She claims to be Carl’s long lost daughter. He claims to have no memory of murdering girls across Texas, as he traveled taking pictures. Even though he doesn’t believe her, Carl agrees to a ten day road trip, just the two of them, to follow and examine cold cases that are associated with his photographs. Is he a liar or just a broken old man? Has she put herself into a dangerous situation with her sister’s murderer?

Paper Ghosts honestly keeps y’ guessing from page one. And I definitely didn’t see the twist at the end coming. Despite this, there were areas it dragged a little, for me, and I’d consider stopping but I couldn’t bring myself to quit without finding out what happened next. This isn’t my first book by Julia Heaberlin, and to be honest, I enjoyed “Black-eyes Susans” better. But, this was still definitely worth reading.

Received this advance copy from NetGalley.

For me, this was a struggle to get through. I had a hard time caring about the characters. The first third to half of the book was repetitive. And the mystery-solving ending suddenly threw in a couple of previously unknown characters. I guess that was to keep the reader from guessing the answer, but it seemed like a cop out.

DNF @ chapter 30 / 43%

I just can't read any further. I read Black-Eyed Susans by this author a few years back and really enjoyed it but this book is SOOOO confusing. Other reviewers seem to really like this one and it makes me feel like I'm reading a completely different book. I don't get it. I don't get any of it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was an awesome psychological thriller! The plot was interesting and drew me right in. The characters are all so fascinating as well. I definitely do not think that I would want to go on a road trip with a presumed serial killer, and that makes for a creepy yet suspenseful and riveting story with an ending that I did not see coming. Great pacing throughout the story and very scary, too! Well worth your time. I read Black-Eyes Susan from the same author and definitely will look for more from her. Thank you!!

Oh, man, what a disappointment!

I know, not an auspicious way to begin a review, but it was my most immediate take on the book when I finished it. It’s such an engaging story for the first 3/4th or so and then it kind of tangles up into random characters. The book blurb talks about twists that leave you gasping until the last page, but you can’t really call something a twist if it had nothing to do with the plot. Like, people who never once appeared on the page are all at once the key to the ending. That’s not a twist. That’s a cop-out. Of course we would never have guessed the end, because we had no idea those characters or that plot line existed!

I’m a sucker for serial killer stories, especially those in which the suspected serial killer get a slim chance at redemption. That’s what I thought this story was about, but we really get no sense of the truth. But not in a “life-is-not-black-and-white-but-gray” manner but in a “eh-I-don’t-really-know-if-he-did-something-heinous-or-not” way. It is not nearly as effective as the author thinks it is.

The urgency in the novel is well done, as are most of the characterizations, but it is not enough. The end is too disappointing for the reader. What was the point of the whole thing? There were so many wasted moments SPOILER like when they are at the cabin. That could have turned into a great scene between the two characters, but instead it introduces characters that we have only a vague memory of and that come out of nowhere.

Too bad, really, because it had the potential to be a great story.

This book gave me chills... in a good way! This could possibly be my favorite book of the year.

It took me a bit to get into this book but once it snagged me I couldn't put it down. I think it would've hooked me sooner but I was a bit read out.
The writing was marvelous and pulls you in. I love that it makes you stay guessing throughout the book and though it wraps up what you need it still keeps you wondering and stays with you. Overall I'm really happy I got to read this book through NetGalley.

Absolutely loved this story! Well written! Looking forward to reading more by this author!

Carl Feldman is a former documentary photographer, and a possible murderer. He also has dementia, and is about to serve time at a halfway house. A mysterious young woman (no name) offers to help with this transition, determined to make his stay as comfortable as possible. But she has an agenda. Her sister went missing years ago, never showed up at home after her babysitting job. Now this woman will get all the answers she needs. Does Carl even have dementia? Is he more sinister than he appears to be? She'll get her answers, but not the ones she thought she'd get.

Paper Ghosts is one of those layer-by-layer thrillers that keep you guessing and turning the pages all the way to the end. Comparisons to Gillian Flynn abound, and while this book reminds me of Sharp Objects and (a little like) Dark Places, Julia Heaberlin has a unique voice all her own. This is the book I want to find in my Kindle, and I hope there will be more like titles like this to come. In the meantime, I cannot recommend this novel enough. I give it four out of five cups of salted caramel hot chocolate. A great read for a cold day or two. Pick it up the second it reaches your local bookstore shelves! -- Café Girl Media