June 1975. Two teen age siblings dead, one remains alive (and a suspect). What really happened that night?

I have been a fan of Julie Clark since getting my hands on her first book (The Last Flight) and The Ghostwriter did not disappoint. Time jumps, multiple points of view and family secrets - what's not to love? Wow. This was the un-put-downable thriller I've been waiting for all summer. The book that keeps you up late at night and finds you reading between fetching snacks for the kids and folding laundry.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The different POV's and the back-and-forth timeline really made this mystery that much more interesting. I did figure out half of what was going on but was still surprised at the end when we learned the whole truth of what happened. My first book by this author but won't be my last.

This book was absolutely amazing. Everyone I started guessing about the secrets and twists, there were more and I was shocked. I was hooked from the first page. Julie Clark is a classic thriller writer and her books never disappoint.

This was a thrill of a book! I thoroughly enjoyed this reading experience. The changes in time and perspective kept the narrative fresh and interesting. We had some cliff hanger chapters, some red herrings, and a truly satisfying ending. The ghostwriter deserves all the praise it's getting!

This book was fantastic! I was immediately drawn into the story and could not turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. This is the story of a ghostwriter who hides who her family truly is due to her father being long suspected of the murders of his siblings 50 years earlier. Her father insists that she ghostwrite his memoir since he's prepared to tell the truth of that night. As Olivia works through his memories and does some digging of her own she begins to piece together the story and finally learn the truth. I really loved all of the different perspectives and the flashbacks that helped shape the story. I highly recommend this book to everyone! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I find the idea of a ghostwriter to be fascinating and Clark’s novel did not disappoint. The family relationship makes the story even more fraught. A perfect summer thriller.
4.5 stars

Julie Clark is a writer like no other. The twists and turns, the character development and the plot reveals and twists kept me guessing throughout this book. The Ghostwriter takes place in Ojai and the location almost becomes a character, in my opinion. I can’t recommend this book highly enough!

This book was filled with suspense,twists and an unbelievable great ending.

I truly did not know where the writer was gonna take me in this journey but it was excellent. I felt for all the players in the suspense filled what happened book. I highly recommend this book if you want to be surprised and on the edge of your seat.

This was a great premise with a lot of narrative drive. Towards the end I had ir figured out but still found it a goos mystery.

This story pulled me in from the start. Olivia takes a ghostwriting job with her estranged father to tell the story of his siblings’ murders back in the '70s. The twist? He has worsening dementia, so the line between fact and fiction gets a little blurry. I really enjoyed how each clue slowly came together, and the story turned out to be way more layered and complicated than I expected—in a good way.

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

A Fresh Take on the Thriller Genre

"The Ghostwriter" follows a successful ghostwriter who, after a career-damaging public scandal, finds herself blacklisted from the publishing world. Desperate for work, she reluctantly agrees to ghostwrite a book for her estranged father—a decision that becomes more complicated when she discovers he wants her to write about what really happened the night his siblings were murdered decades ago.

I found this book to be a propulsive read that offers a fresh take on the thriller genre. Instead of yet another predictable domestic thriller, this book is set in the world of publishing. The ghostwriting angle added elements of interest and specificity to the novel.

However, a couple of plot points strained credibility. The legal loophole that allows the ghostwriter to interview other sources felt implausible—though I admit I may be holding this to an unfairly high standard as a practicing lawyer. More problematic was the premise of the protagonist's "cancellation" and blacklisting. In today's media landscape, I would think such a public meltdown would boost book sales.

That said, I understand Clark's need to create circumstances that would compel her protagonist to reunite with her estranged father. While certain plot points felt forced or contrived, they served the story's larger purpose, and kept me turning the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I rather enjoyed this original family drama. The story moved fast and the characters were likeable. I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and varying timeless. Ojai CA in the mid seventies was such a cool place.

Basically a ghostwriter in need of money accepts a job from her estranged father. The job is to write his memoir as his health and memory are failing. The interesting part is that Olivia is estranged from her father because it's believed that he murdered his brother and sister when he was younger. He finally breaks the silence with Olivia's help. When the closet door opens the skeletons come out.

Thank you @netgalley and @bookmarked for a copy of this gem. All my reviews are unbiased.

3.5 rounded up!

This was my first Julie Clark thriller in a REALLY long time and I enjoyed it! I love stories with multiple POV's and timelines so this was set up so perfectly for me. I sprinted through this in one sitting because I just needed to know what happened next. I love a complex family dynamic and this story did not disappoint there. I felt like the pacing was done well, and this definitely felt like a heavy, slowburn. While I thought elements of the story were fairly predictable, I still very much enjoyed this and highly recommend others pick this thriller up as well!

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. Olivia has not seen or spoken to her father in years as she always believed he murdered his siblings. She is asked by her father to be a ghostwriter of a memoir of what really happened. She decides to do most because she needs the money and answers and heads home. The secrets come out after her research and the storyline takes you from the past to the present. I felt like the story was easy to follow. I enjoyed this book and definitely the secrets.

In The Ghostwriter, Julie Clark delivers a twisty and emotionally charged thriller centered around a struggling writer who takes a job ghostwriting the memoir of a notoriously private, reclusive author. As the protagonist digs deeper into the author’s story, she begins to uncover unsettling connections to her own family's past—secrets that were long buried and never meant to resurface. Told through dual timelines and shifting perspectives, the novel slowly unravels the truth behind both women’s lives, blurring the lines between fiction and reality, and exposing the consequences of silence and deception.
This was a fun thriller that stood out from others I’ve read. Julie Clark’s use of dual timelines and alternating points of view kept the narrative engaging and added depth to the mystery as it unfolded. I really enjoyed watching the main character piece together the secrets of her family’s past, and how each revelation added a new layer of emotional complexity. It wasn’t just about the twists (though there were plenty!); it was about how those secrets shaped identity, trust, and legacy. The Ghostwriter offered a fresh take on the psychological thriller genre, with enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages and enough substance to leave me thinking about it afterward.

I love Julie Clark's books and this one did not disappoint. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire book and I want to read it again and again.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark, Julie Clark and Netgalley for the ARC!

“Can’t you see You're everything I hoped for
You're everything I need
You are so beautiful to me…”

In 1975, two siblings were found dead in their family home. Vincent, the only survivor, never shakes the rumor that he was the one who killed them. Decades later, he uses it to his advantage as a horror writer. Now sick and approaching the end of his life, he wants to set the record straight but he can’t do it himself. Enter Olivia Dumont, a ghost writer facing financial ruin. She needs a project to get her back on track. Vincent knows this, because he singled Oliva out for a reason: she is his daughter. And she is the only one that Vincent is ready to tell the truth, even if it’s more horrifying than the fiction he has written.

I loved the premise of this book! Any time there is a ghost writer involved in the plot, it catches my attention. Most intriguing in this story is the fact that Olivia has distanced herself from her father because of his deadly reputation. Told over dual timelines and both Oliva and Vincent’s points of view, the past spills out slowly as Olivia finds herself more and more curious about just what her father is hiding. I also loved the “story within a story”, as Olivia is putting her father’s story on paper as he is telling it to her - sort of. No spoilers, but Vincent’s reasoning for never speaking about the past was equally heartwarming and heartbreaking. At the heart of this mystery was a story about families - broken and finding their way back to each other. Aside from writing the story of her career, Olivia learned about herself and what she held most important. Beautifully and bittersweet, don’t miss this one!

“The Ghostwriter” is out NOW! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

I loved this author's book THE LIES I TELL, and this one is even better. I devoured it.
This one had me guessing all the way through every time I thought I had it figured out something else happened and I WAS SO WRONG. I didn't know until the end. Or know as much as it allowed us to know.

Olivia is on the verge of losing everything. She was a successful writer who asked the wrong question at the wrong time. It was hard enough being a female in the writing world, but to call out a male for anything just ruined your career. He sued. She has to pay. She's broke.... Until she gets the call to ghostwrite a memoir. Not just any memoir either. Her father's memoir.

Back in 1975 two siblings were murdered in their family home. Their parents were out and the middle child, a brother, was with his girlfriend. Someone murdered Danny and Poppy Taylor and people have always believed it was Vincent. Olivia's father. A successful author himself. Did he do this heinous thing or was it a stranger? Could he have done it and if so why?

This story takes you back to the 1970s. The way kids were back then. Running free and being brave. Having bon fires. Living the good life. Until tragedy hits. You'll find throughout this story bits and pieces to make you have many guesses. You'll have enough to think you have solved the murders. Until the end when you find out what probably happened. Ok, you don't get a strong finality but you do get closure. At least I feel like I did. I loved the ending. It was very emotional. It was just the right kind of ending.

This book touches on rape and molestation. It was not strongly written about. Not where you should have a hard time reading it. Just know that it happened. Just enough and not too much.

I enjoyed reading this book so much. It is a page turner for sure. It had everything I love in a good thriller. Thrills of course. Some romance. Family. Drama. Oh boy the drama. And of course murder with a who done it twist. Also reunion of daughter and father. That was a good part for sure.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this multi POV exploration of family, love, secrets and how you are shaped by all of them. The characters are portrayed in a very realistic, believable manner. The setting in the 1970’s was very true to the time and as I grew up then I can relate. The way Julie Clark tied all the strands of this story together at the end is a tour de force!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark, and the author for this ebook to read. All opinions are my own.

The Ghostwriter is an engrossing psychological thriller and nuanced family saga. It excels in mood, structure, and emotional resonance, making it a standout in Julie Clark’s growing canon. If you enjoy layered mysteries with atmospheric tension, shifting perspectives, and reveal-driven storytelling, this is a terrific pick—just be ready for a patient, slow-building start before the story truly takes off.