June 1975: Danny and Poppy Taylor are found murdered in their suburban home in Ojai, CA. The main suspect is their troubled brother Vincent. With little to no evidence, the case remains unsolved and Vincent goes on to further the mythology surrounding him by becoming a renowned horror author.

Now: Olivia Taylor has done everything she can to separate herself from her family and the tragedy that follows, even going so far as to change her name. Her job as a ghostwriter further pushes her into the shadows. Better there than having people suspect your father killed his brother and sister.

After a tumultuous year professionally, Olivia is barely getting by when she gets a call from her agent. Her father's team wants to hire Olivia to ghostwrite his next novel. However, Olivia is in for a surprise when it turns out it's not a novel she'll be working on, but her father's memoir. Specifically, all the events leading up to the murders. With Olivia still unsure how much she can trust her father, it'll take her digging through all the generational trauma to get to the truth of that day nearly 50 years ago.

This is not the first time reading a mystery/thriller that features the past informing the present. I feel like it's almost part and parcel for the genre. I mean what else makes for thrilling reads if something from the past is still haunting people however many years later? I think that Julie Clark handled the balance between past and present really well here. Setting up the various situations in the present then switching to the past perspective to fill in the blanks but then going further and creating more questions as we slowly fit all the pieces together.

I do feel like the story did start to drag a bit toward the end. There was so much feinting thinking that it had been figured out only for us to be shown that, no, we didn't quite get it yet. Once the ball got rolling on that big denouement, though, it was non-stop.

Of course something else that is part and parcel for these kinds of stories is the idea of memory and perception. This story goes so far as to add a loyalty aspect to it because if, at the end, Olivia does indeed find her father committed this crime, does she owe loyatly to the man who raised her (as best he was capable of) or to the aunt and uncle she never knew? What does she owe a father who was barely a father? With all the other people involved gone, who benefits from finding out these answers? Of course, there's a lot more to it than that, and I'm not giving anything away, but it is something that Olivia grapples with while she's trying to piece things together because it's her history too whether she wants it to be or not. She too suffered the whispers and stares when she was growing up from those with long memories.

One thing that becomes clear is that despite her father not being the best caregiver, he does love her. For all the Vincent is not a good person, you can feel the tragedy of everything he went through. I think he dealt with it the only way he knew how, for better or worse. Seeing the moments where he was really able to love Olivia were bittersweet.

So while this was did slow in pace a bit at times, I think it's a completely worth it read. One of the better true crime-style stories I've read that both keeps you interested yet really does build up to a satisfying ending.

Can I say that I love it when the meaning of the title or of the cover art suddenly becomes clear in a story? I love it; I think it adds and extra layer..

Julie Clark does a great job with this book, unfolding a story in pieces based on incredibly unreliable eye witnesses, stories told by someone losing their mind and posthumous perspective. Even though I thought I had it figured out at several points during the telling, the way the story comes together at the end surprised me and even leaves me questioning.

A really good read. Would make for an interesting book club pick.


Than you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing the eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.

What if THE GHOSTWRITER is your estranged daughter who you want to write what really happened the night your two siblings were murdered..

I really enjoyed this story and unique plot. The beginning solidified the MC and gave way for the story to unravel. The alternating POV/ timeline made the pages keep turning. I will say near the middle, I was turning them a little slower, but it picked back up. Part of the ending I did guess but I was also surprised in other ways! Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks and Julie Clark for my ecopy!

Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark | Sourcebooks Landmark for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book so much that I stayed up way past my bedtime just to finish this book. I had to know what was going to happen. I loved the storyline as well as all the characters. I thought they had great growth. I would definitely recommend this book!

Bravo, Julie Clark! Brilliant premise, masterful storytelling and gripping pace until the very end! I loved this one which kept me guessing from so many plausible endings. This family put the "D" in dysfunction with issues stemming from tragic events, heartrending decisions and family secrets. It's one of the best books I've read in the last year and I will be wholeheartedly recommending it. My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing a review copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

All the hype about this book made me read it. I had FOMO. Lol
My expectations were too high. This is a good book, but a little too slow for me. Plus, I wasn't a fan of the story format. The story of Danny and Poppy within Olivia's story.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A captivating story of trauma, truth and lies.

How far would people go to find the truth.

Thia was a different story that kept you guessing as the main characters are all unreliable narrators to say the least.

Dual Timelines and multi POV only added to the story development.

The pacing was a bit off in the middle but overall a great story.

I love a book with unreliable narrators, but Olivia Dumont does not! That's the dilemma she faces when she's called upon to ghostwrite her estranged father's memoir. While he is in the throes of Lewy body dementia. So between the things he misremembers, the things he can't remember, and the falsehoods he intentionally tells, Olivia has her work cut out for her.

Told through three POVs, Clark takes us on a journey from the 1970s to the present. Woven throughout is the mystery of who killed Poppy and Danny - Olivia's would-be aunt and uncle, and her father's siblings. On a deeper level, it's about the myths we hold onto when we don't (or can't) face the truth. About the bonds of family. And how much you can depend on people's memories, or even visual evidence.

I love Clark's handling of the story within a story, the feeling that the reader is researching alongside the MC, The character development is rich and we get to know each family member from different perspectives. If you want a book that keeps you engrossed and maybe a little bit sad at times, read this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance reader's copy.

Olivia is a ghostwriter and is offered a job despite being recent cancelled after a feud with another writer. Since she owes him a huge settlement, she decides to take the job even though she doesn’t like what little her agent tells her about it. Soon she finds out it is an offer to write her father’s story, as he is a horror writer himself, but is now suffering from Lewey Body Dementia. But the story he wants her to write isn’t fiction, it’s about what happened when he was a teenager and his brother and sister were murdered leaving him the prime suspect.
The story is told in the present timeline and the 1975 timeline of Vincent, Poppy and Lydia. All are unreliable narrators and as such you don’t know what to believe. Despite that, I found myself skimming at times because I got bored and the twist of who the “villain” was was super predictable. While I did like it, I didn’t love it but I’m sure lots of people will

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks & the author for the arc!

This was good. Maybe not as good as the hype made it out to be … but still an entertaining read that held my interest to the end. It just kinda left a little something undone for me.

It’s a slow burn with multiple pov’s … although, to be honest, they confused me a little. Are they excerpts from the memoir, actual flashbacks to what happened? Fact? Fiction? Not sure.

And being a California native, I was excited to read more about Ojai and thought from the preface at the beginning that we would get that. Snapshots from home are always fun for me! But I never really saw where the town got its moment to shine. Also, there was a lot of “side stuff” that kinda junked up the story that I think I never would have missed if it were left out.

And lastly, I think the ending was a twisty one? But again, sort of confused on that, too … and not 100% sure I know what really happened to Danny & Poppy. Maybe I missed something? Maybe it’s supposed to leave us with a little bit of doubt? Insert shoulder shrug here.

Overall, this story didn’t send my heart racing & I was able to figure most of it out from the start … but it was still a good premise for a thriller-light and I can see why many people have given it all the stars!

I can always count on Julie Clark’s books to keep me entertained. The story is about a father and his adult daughter who has come home to be his ghostwriter. An author who has a terminal disease and needs his daughter to help him tell the truth of what really happened to his siblings. I enjoyed this story of a 1970’s family and the secrets we keep away from the ones we love the most. Alternating point of views, let’s the reader see the story take place through him and his siblings. I would definitely recommend if you’re in the markets for a thriller that will keep you on your toes. 4.5 stars!

Absolutely loved it! This was my first book by Julie Clark and I am so in love. I highly recommend this one!

Ghostwriter Olivia Taylor's father is suspected of murdering his siblings in the 70's and he's asked her to write his memoir, recounting the tragedy.

This book is as twisty and suspenseful as it gets. Little hints and pieces of information are discovered through the unreliable memory of a diseased man, old diaries and video tapes, and interviews recounting 50 year old events. I simply couldn't stop reading until all of the story was unfolded.

This was my first book by Julie Clark.
It started slow and fills readers in with lots of background and character development.

Then... buckle up!
Twists and turns and a dynamite ending!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Alright y’all, Julie Clark did it again and proved why she is an auto-buy author of mine! This was such a wild, twisty ride. It kept me guessing and reworking my theories the whole way through, and the final reveal completely blew me away (I was totally wrong).

The Ghostwriter is masterfully told in dual timelines that intertwine to perfectly play off of one another and add so much suspense. It is definitely a bit of a slow burn, but I was still on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I lost a lot of sleep over this one because I couldn’t put it down!

I was obsessed with the dysfunctional family drama interwoven into this small-town murder mystery. Each character is beautifully, and sometimes creepily flawed. They are inherently unreliable narrators as they reflect on past events, which only serves to give you jaw-dropping twists when new details are revealed.

The Ghostwriter is without a doubt the best thriller I’ve read in years, and it’s still replaying in my mind 2 weeks later. An easy 5 stars for me!

If you’re looking for your next twisty, wtf just happened thriller, this is it!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the gifted eARC!

Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter who has always kept it a secret that her father, Vincent Taylor, is a famous novelist who was once looked at as the possible murderer of his brother and sister when they were kids. Now, she has been contacted by her literary agent, Vincent Taylor is offering up a large sum of money for her to be the ghostwriter of his next book. Olivia can’t afford to turn down this opportunity since she has lots of debt so she relents and heads home to face her father and his past. While I did not enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed The Last Flight, and I felt that we spent a little more time than necessary in the past, this story did keep my interest throughout. I thank Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this book

The Ghostwriter is the first book I’ve read by Julie Clark, and it impressed the heck out of me. Oliva is a ghostwriter wand though she doesn’t advertise it, she is also the estranged daughter of a famous horror author, who is well known not for just his horror novels but because he was once considered the prime suspect in the murder of his siblings. Now facing major financial problems, her father, who is dealing health issues, offers a lifeline, contracting with her to help write a memoir of that explores that time in his life around the time of his siblings’ murders. I absolutely loved Clark’s writing style. It pulled me right and the way she weaved the mystery kept me completely hooked from start to finish. 5 stars all the way. As I said this was my first time reading any of Clark’s work, but after reading this I have every intention of checking out her back catalogue. I only hope they are all as good as this one. Thanks so much to Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me access to an ARC of The Ghostwriter.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ghostwriter-julie-clark/1146182029?ean=9781464221286&bvnotificationId=91f4ffe7-421e-11f0-8449-0affdd391731&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/348634714

I devoured the last 50% of this book in the last 24 hours. I could not put it down.

Clark has written another banger of a suspense/mystery novel with inherited trauma and familial relationships. Her inclusion of her father having a devastating disease with cognitive decline and confusion added to the unreliable narrator trope. The setting of 1975 Ojai, California and the addition of a character from that time period and a main character in the present both being strong women interested in women’s rights levelled up the interest.

I had some suspicions confirmed but others were quite surprising—this makes for a very engaging read for me.

I think readers will thoroughly enjoy The Ghostwriter and if you haven’t already read The Lies I Tell and The Last Flight, I encourage you to pick them up as they are winners.

Thank you to @bookmarked and @netgalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinions. The Ghostwriter published this week and is also a Book of the Month club pick.

I downloaded this widget right away after liking Clark’s earlier books. More of a slow burning mystery than suspenseful thriller, but still gripping. Multiple POVs slowly reveal most of the ‘truth’.
Poppy was the standout character; so full of life, while MC Olivia was smart, but unremarkable.
If you like a solid mystery that revolves around a devastating tragedy and long held secrets grab this now!

Vincent Taylor is the only surviving child when his siblings are murdered in their home. When a suspect in not apprehended, many believe Vincent may be responsible for the murders, but he was never charged. As an adult, Vincent is a prominent horror author with a daughter of his own. Olivia is Vincent's estranged daughter and a financially troubled ghostwriter. When Vincent decides to share the story of the night of his siblings' murders, he hires Olivia to write the book for him. An unpredictable, domestic thriller told in two timelines.