Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
This is a thought provoking family drama that will draw you in and not let you rest!! You will want to set aside the weekend for this read! It is that good!!!!

I was very excited to receive a galley for this book as I have really enjoyed Julie Clark's other books. I found this one very slow - not a slow burn - just slow. For some reason, the writing didn't grab me and I felt like I was easily distracted and taken out of the story. The concept was really good - the unsolved murders, reconnecting with her dad and best friend - but the latter two weren't explored enough and Tom, the boyfriend, was just an extra character that added nothing to the story. At some point, I started to wonder if she actually had an imaginary boyfriend because he was so hollow. I did enjoy the book overall and will look forward to Clark's next book. This one was just a bit of a miss for me.

This was first book by this author! I absolutely loved it. I loved her writing style, the characters were very relatable and loved the build up of story. She kept me guessing right til the very end. I had some predictions early on but she basically blew them out of the water. I will definitely be checking out any other books by this author!

Thank you for letting me read this ARC! This clever thriller grabbed me from chapter one and didn’t let go. The twists hit perfectly, the dual perspectives kept me guessing, and Clark’s writing balances heart-pounding suspense with emotional depth.

I was rooting for both women, feeling their tension and hope as their paths converged. If you love smart, twisty reads that blend relationship drama with high-stakes intrigue, this one’s for you. Highly recommend—I finished it in just two days!

Reading this book made me think of the phrase "the ties that bind." Olivia Dumont is the daughter of a well-known horror writer but spent her life hiding that fact. After speaking out against another writer, Olivia was blacklisted. Facing financial ruin, she's offered a job to ghostwrite her dad's last book.
Although she thinks he wants to write his next horror novel, the project is about the deaths of his siblings. Olivia must navigate her relationship with her dad, the abandonment of her mother, and determine whether her dad is telling the truth.

The Ghostwriter is a excellent storytelling that navigates mystery, small town rumors, family dynamics, and the lies we tell ourselves. Mystery, family, and deciphering the unknown - this story brings both mystery and invites empathy and self-reflection in a well-written package.

Well, there is obviously something very wrong with me. I didn't enjoy this book. It was much too slow for me. The writing was thick (?), stilted and it felt like I had to read each chapter twice. I anticipated the twists and was not surprised by any of the revelations. I envy those readers, and there were many, that found this book to be highly enjoyable. I think I probably expected too much from this book. I had read another of the author's books and really enjoyed it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the complementary digital ARC. This review is my own honest opinion.

Talk about a page turner 👏🏼 this was such a hard one to put down! All of Julie Clark’s books have been 5⭐️ for me, and “The Ghostwriter” is just that!

Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter who has hidden the fact that she is Vincent Taylor’s daughter. The same Vincent Taylor who is also a well known author, but more importantly, Vincent Taylor, the brother of Poppy and Danny Taylor who were murdered in their own home, and who people believe is the killer, but could never be proven.

Down on her luck, Olivia gets offered the chance to return home and write her father’s memoir about what happened to the Taylor family that night in 1975.

The book is a thriller but somehow also made me feel all the feels?? I think it’s the complicated family aspect tied in that just gets you! I loved this one, had a great storyline, likeable characters and some amazing twists and turns along the way!! It always ties up all the loose ends, which I appreciate so much as a reader!

🥳The Ghostwriter is out NOW!! And you must check it out!!

Thank you so much @bookmarked and @julieclarkauthor for the advanced copy!!

my rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was so good, so intriguing, and wonderfully done. I am a Julie Clark fan for sure. Dare I say, the end made me a little emotional!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Masterpiece (I would give a miiliion stars if I could!)

From the first lines to the final, gut‑punch reveal, The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark grabbed me like a vice—and I find it impossible to stop thinking about. Clark, already a New York Times bestseller (author of The Last Flight and The Lies I Tell), outdoes herself here with a suspenseful, powerfully emotional thriller that lingers long after the last page.

📖 Plot & Structure
Present day / Olivia Dumont – A ghostwriter on the brink of financial ruin, forced to work for her estranged father, famed horror author Vincent Taylor. She’s about to ghostwrite what she believes is his final horror novel—only to find out it’s meant to be his memoir, revealing the truth about the murders of his teenage siblings in 1975.

Past, June 1975 (Ojai, California) – Dual POV chapters from Vincent and his sister Poppy allow the story to unfold in grainy, intimate detail. Their voices—in diary entries, home movies, and memories—immerse you in the setting and raise chilling questions about what really happened.

This split-timeline, multi-perspective structure is brilliant. Readers are taken back and forth between Olivia’s tense present and the terrifying past, which makes the final reveal hit even harder.

🌟 What I Loved
The suspense is relentless. I devoured this in just a couple of days. The gradual drip of details—Olivia's investigation, Vincent’s dementia (Lewy Body Dementia)—had me constantly guessing—is this his truth, or a hallucination?

Emotionally rich and resonant. Olivia’s fractured relationship with her dad—built on abandonment, small-town whispers (“Did your dad kill his siblings?”), and her mother leaving—is raw and gut-wrenching.

Poppy’s voice is unforgettable. Her 1975 diary entries and Super 8 footage offer a poignant counterpoint; I fell in love with her character instantly.

Clever twists and fair play. Clark drops clues, red herrings, and reveals in a satisfying way. This feels like a Riley Sager-level mystery—keeping you guessing, twisting you round ‘til the jaw-drop finale.

🎭 In Summary
The Ghostwriter is:

Suspenseful & unputdownable – A slow burn with a pulse-pounding climax
Deeply emotional – Complex family bonds, betrayal, trauma, redemption.
Well-crafted & atmospheric – 1970s Poppy scenes are vivid and nostalgic .
Unreliable, haunting POV – Dementia fog, ghostwritten secrets, skewed memories.

If you’re a fan of twisty psychological thrillers with deep emotional stakes, this one’s for you. Julie Clark has proven herself masterful—turning a ghostwriter assignment into a haunting quest for truth.

💬 Final Verdict
Run, don’t walk to get The Ghostwriter. It’s thrilling, emotional, suspenseful, and unforgettable. Julie Clark just earned a lifelong fan with this one. 🙌

Acknowledgments
Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC; all the love and praise is totally genuine—and from this moment on, Julie Clark is an auto‑buy author for me!

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark begins with Olivia Dumont, a renowned ghostwriter facing a significant financial crisis. Broke and in a bind, Olivia mysteriously receives an unexpected lifeline: the opportunity to ghostwrite her own father's memoir. This isn't just any story; her father is finally ready to recount the harrowing tale from his childhood – the night his siblings died, an event that has long cast a shadow of suspicion over him. He aims to set the record straight, but as Olivia dives deeper, she uncovers far more than simple truths, revealing layers of secrets hidden beneath the surface.
Something I enjoyed about The Ghostwriter is the ambitious structure, which I found quite engaging. The narrative skillfully jumps between two distinct timelines: the pivotal events of 1975 and the present day. This dual-timeline approach, coupled with multiple character perspectives, adds a rich complexity to the storytelling, allowing the mystery to unfold gradually and from various angles. For readers who enjoy piecing together a puzzle across different eras, this will be a strong draw.
However keeping track of the interwoven timelines can, at times, be a bit challenging. There's a lot to absorb, and for me, this lead to moments of confusion as the story shifts back and forth. Despite this, the overall reading experience was positive.
Overall The Ghostwriter is a good read for those who appreciate a well-constructed mystery with a complex narrative. If you enjoy dual timelines and multiple perspectives, and a slow burn of a family's dark past, this book could be a great pick for your next reading adventure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This book was such a wild ride. I was thoroughly entertained until the end and after reading all of this authors books I have to say this one is my favorite. It also happened to be the launch of my current obsession with ghostwriters, both in the fictional book world as well as the real world. While the subject matter was difficult (definitely one to look content warning for) for many different reasons, this truly felt like a real and honest portrayal of life in may ways.


4.25⭐️

This was certainly a buzzy book that is living up to its hype! I thought this was an entertaining read. Disgraced famous ghostwriter Olivia is tapped to take on the memoir of one of the top horror writers of all time after suffering a scandal that left her struggling to get by. The only problem is, that writer is her estranged father and he is looking into his sordid past that includes the muder of his two siblings that many speculate that he had something to do with it. Not only that, he has also recently been diagnosed with dementia, and only has periods of lucidity. Olivia begins delving into the root of the story of her father, and tries to help uncover all the mystery surrounding the murder of her aunt and uncle.

I thought this book was certainly entertaining, and kept me reading because I wanted to figure out what had happened in the past. There were diary entries and old movies that helped to solve the mystery as well, which I appreciated because it set the scene of the past so well. I enjoyed my time reading this book and encourage anyone who loves a family drama with a side of murder to check this one out!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced reading copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

THE GHOSTWRITER
rating: 3.5/5
genre: mystery

The Ghostwriter is a great popcorn 'thriller' for when you are craving a quick and easy mystery. I really enjoyed the premise of the book - a ghostwriter who reconnects with her estranged father to help write his memoir 50 years after the murders of her aunt and uncle. The minute I read the synopsis I instantly added it to my 'to be read' shelf. It sounded very original and captivating. The mixed media use of Poppy's films, diary entries, and multiple POVs was a really great touch. For me, the pacing of the book was a bit off in the first half. It was more of a slow burn than I was expecting, but I still was intrigued enough that I did not want to put the book down. I wish there was more shock value when the twists were revealed, but for how many characters, timeframes, and plot points the author had to keep track of I felt the execution was still strong and well done. I would definitely read another book by this author.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Ghostwriter in exchange for my honest review.

As soon as I heard about this book & and saw the cover, I knew I had to read it, and I was not disappointed. I am a big fan of this author and love how consistently she delivers with her psychological thrillers. While this one is more of a slow-burn compared to the other two, it is equally as addicting a read and I found myself completely caught up in the story right from the start. ⁣
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I loved that this book explores a father-daughter relationship in such a unique yet totally powerful and emotional way. It’s a very complex, layered story, and one that I totally see myself rereading at some point just to make sure I caught everything. I mean, there is family dysfunction here for sure, but I loved the way it is unpacked!⁣
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This book is full of secrets and I loved how they were slowly discovered, leaving you questioning whether you have been told the truth or have been deceived by unreliable narrators all along. Between the cold case, the moving back and forth in time, the old house…this story really had a hold over me & as atmospheric and haunting as it was, I could not put it down.

One of the best thrillers I have ever read. This book was so well written. The story telling, the setting, the pacing and the characters. I could not put this book down the last half of the book.

Unforgettable. Chilling. Brilliantly layered. Narrated by the dead… and it might be one of the most alive books I’ve read this year.

From the moment I turned the first page of The Ghostwriter, I was all in. What started as a fictional story quietly and masterfully shifted into something that felt real. Like I’d stumbled onto a decades-old case file and couldn’t look away.

Julie Clark doesn’t just write a novel. She builds a full-blown experience one layered with unreliable narrators, missing memories, and the chilling echo of voices long gone. I live for a good unreliable narrator, and this book doesn’t give you just one it gives you a full cast of them. Everyone is holding something back, and trying to untangle truth from fiction felt like watching a Cold Case episode in real-time.

But what hit the hardest? The POVs narrated by the dead. Yes, you read that right. Danny and Poppy, two siblings who died under suspicious, still-unsolved circumstances, have a voice in this story, and it is haunting. Especially Poppy. Her final words gutted me. I had to put the book down and just breathe.

There’s a moment subtle but powerful when I realized I wasn’t just reading a novel anymore. It felt like I was watching a true crime documentary, based on a real family, real pain, real loss. That’s the brilliance of Clark’s writing: she makes fiction feel devastatingly possible.

The pacing is taut, the emotional stakes are high, and every chapter peels back another layer of the mystery until you’re left with the raw, unvarnished truth and it hurts. But it’s also beautiful. Because somehow, through grief and trauma and years of silence, this story becomes one of reckoning, connection, and the power of finally telling the truth.

If you’re drawn to emotionally intelligent thrillers, unreliable narrators, cold cases that won’t let go, and books that straddle the line between mystery and memoir, this one’s for you.

After years of ghostwriting bestsellers for strangers, Olivia is finally called to tell a story that’s personal — and devastating. Her estranged, dying father, once a celebrated true crime author, wants her to finish what may be his final work: a book about the brutal, unsolved murders of his own siblings nearly forty years ago.

Reluctantly, Olivia returns to the crumbling family estate — a house soaked in secrets, silence, and suspicion — where every creaking floorboard and hidden drawer threatens to expose truths long buried. But as Olivia digs into the past, aided only by fragmented memories and her father's failing mind, the lines between fact and fiction blur.

Old friends, forgotten enemies, and family members with motives all emerge from the shadows. And the deeper she goes, the more Olivia realizes: this isn’t just a story of murder — it’s the story of her family. And someone will do anything to keep the ending from being written.

Julie Clark comes through again with a fun mystery. This book alternates between 2 timelines-- present day when Olivia is asked to ghostwrite for famous author Vincent Taylor, who also happens to be her estranged father and who is suffering from Lewy body dementia. The other timeline is in 1975 when Vincent was a teenager and his siblings were murdered in their house. The mystery was good, as well as the family dynamics of present day. There were a few plot points that did not make a lot of sense however overall a solid, enjoyable thriller. I will continue to read Clark's novels. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy. 3.75 stars

This book!! I wasn't sure id be into it since it kept flashing back to the 70s but it was really good! I totally binged in one day!

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark weaves past and present together and tells a story of family trauma as well as its after effects. Vincent Taylor is the only surviving sibling of a horrific murder that took place in 1975..he's also the main suspect if you let the townspeople tell it. Decades later, he's a top selling horror author with a secret. Finally ready to discuss what happened that fateful night and who killed his siblings, Vincent reaches out to Olivia. Olivia is a well known ghostwriter but she also happens to be Vincent's estranged daughter.

The Ghostwriter was a multilayered read. It tackles family dysfunction, grief, suspense, and true crime. There were plenty of twists to go around. Some twists I figured out early on while others left me shocked. The characters in this book were well developed. Poppy is a character that will stick with me for many years to come.

I really enjoyed how the story wove through past and present with scenes from 1975 and present day. I also liked the dual POVs. I can really tell that Clark spent time researching and plotting every detail of this book. While it is a slow burn, I think that really adds to the atmosphere and story that is being told. Overall, I had a great time reading this story