I was provided with a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Ghostwriter tells the story of a woman who, after trying to leave her past completely behind her, is called back to her hometown to help write her fathers memoir about the deaths of his siblings.

Clark is always great at creating atmosphere and keeping me guessing. I felt that this book had a bit of a lull in the middle where it felt more confusing than puzzling. Once the book go to the « twist » wow oh wow. I really enjoyed how they crafted a satisfying result that felt very true to the characters. The ending was sublime - not dragging on or leaving anything missing, a fitting wrap up.

All in all I really enjoyed this book and will definitely recommend it.

This was SOO good!!! Such a well woven mystery! I lived all of the elements: the dual timelines, the plot of a daughter hired to write her father’s memoir and the truth of what happened when his siblings were murdered 50 years before. I loved Olivia’s journey to get to know her father again, and truly learn the secrets that formed her past. And every thread was tied up so well! Highly recommend!

Interesting concept but not my favorite execution. The middle really dragged and was repetitive. Felt like it could’ve been wrapped up a lot quicker. Main character was frustrating—she needed to communicate with her dad, boyfriend, agent much better.

Really good, really engaging story. I was hooked from start to finish. I'll read more from Julie Clark in the future.

5 stars in what might be my favorite "thriller" so far this year. I say "thriller" because this book includes so much more.

Synopsis:
Oliva Dumont is a ghostwriter. Her estranged father, Vincent Taylor, is an incredibly famous author. When her father requests Olivia specifically to ghostwrite his next novel, she realizes he's finally ready to tell the truth about what actually happened to his family, who he is suspected to have murdered. Delving back into her tumultuous childhood, Olivia begins realizing that the truth is out there...and she's not going to get it from her dad directly.

I have had Julie Clark's "The Lies I Tell" on my list to read for so long that when I saw her new book, I figured I would give it a true shot. Boy, did it hit the nail on the head. I think the part of the novel that resonated with me most was the sense of unease over what is actually the truth. Yes, characters lie but characters with lewy body dementia don't always know they're lying...

Let me just preface by saying the book is more of a slow-burn thriller, which worked well with the way Clark wrote this book- by separating chapters between times frames and also character perspectives from the past. Each chapter felt like a cliffhanger in its own right, which kept the suspense rolling right along.

Another excellent thriller this year, "The Ghostwriter" should be right on top of your TBR if you haven't picked it up yet.

Thank you for NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Olivia Dumont is the child of acclaimed horror novelist Vince Taylor. After she went to college and got married she buried her ties and connections to her father and went on to become a ghostwriter, who was essentially blacklisted for speaking publicly very poorly of a well known male colleague. One lawsuit later, Olivia is drowning in debt, unable to sell her house, and desperate for work, when she receives a call from her agent letting her know that Vince Taylor’s team has asked her to ghostwrite his memoir and keep the project strictly confidential.

The memoir is recounting the events leading up to the murder of his siblings, which many believe Vince to be guilty of. Olivia of course, has no choice but to take the job. Complicating matters is her father’s failing health and failing memory. So it’s up to her to untangle the mess and solve the murder once and for all.

This was a gripping story. The writing was solid. The pacing was great. It breaks the fourth wall a little because it’s about writers, so the author gives the reader the occasional wink wink nod nod about what writing should or should not do.

If you are one who likes realism in your thrillers/suspense stories, this is a great one to pick up. You have to suspend disbelief for a couple of moments, but overall I think the resolution was quite believable.

Here is a question that may or may not matter to you: Is it solvable? Ehhh. I think it’s purposefully convoluted, which is fine! But it wasn’t always cleanly executed. It jumps all over the place in time. There’s several narrators. Theres several scenes that sort of resemble each other (pay attention to them party scenes!)

Early on there’s a lot of confusion about what you can and cannot believe. There was a shortcut that could have been utilized to tell this story. Of course, then you wouldn’t have a story, but I sort of resent that it feels like exactly one person held all the keys.

I thought the characters were fairly complex and the strong feminist themes were great. Poppy was easy to love. Other characters you may start out loathing and then change your feelings towards later on which always impresses me.

Overall I had a good time with most of this story. I’d have given the first 90% a solid 4 stars. There was at least one plot twist I didn’t see coming.

It was the ending that sort of ruined it for me. I don’t have triggers but there’s one specific type of content I avoid. While there was nothing overtly graphic here, the fact that it was in the book at all just really depressed me. I don’t even want to state the content because I think it would give away a lot of the plot. And because it came at the end it left sort of a sour taste in my mouth about the whole experience.

I would definitely read from this author again. Shoutout to the publisher for the hardcover design with the sprayed edges, it’s absolutely gorgeous.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the earc.

I love a twisty read that makes you think and is buried deep in family drama. Julie Clark hit this one out of the park. I have always found the concept of a ghostwriter intriguing, the why and the how? Not having your name on the cover, being a ghost in the background. I loved the Dual timelines, present day and fifty years ago in 1975. When two siblings are found murdered in their family home. There has always been the thought that the middle brother, Vincent, had something to do with their deaths. Is he ready to spill the details of what leadup to the deaths of his family?

Oliva fell into being a ghostwriter and she made a name for herself. Until the faithful day when she called out a male author and everything she built started to crumble. She cannot find a job, she must sell her house, and she has no family to speak of. Her manager calls her with a deal from horror author, Vincent Taylor. He wants Olivia to write his momoir, and she would ghostwrite it. What Olivia has been hiding is that Vincent is her father and she has not seen him since college. She cut him out of her life; she could not deal with the disappointment of wishing he would be there for her. Now she needs this job and heads back to her childhood home. To discover her dad is sick and is ready to talk about the murders. He left her notes and a rough draft that she must dig through. Trying to figure out what happened that horrible night and if her father had anything to do with their deaths.

The final twist left me with my jaw hanging open. There are so many secrets that these three siblings had from one another. Their deaths lead to Vincent being a drunk and to Olivia having a childhood with her father's secrets hanging over her head. The townspeople are always whispering about her and her father. The way in which Clark weaved this story left me riveted to my seat. This book needs to be added to your tbr.

I really loved the main character and her fraught relationship with her father, and loved the premise of how she ended up ghostwriting his book. I figured out what was going on well before the big reveal, but it was all still handled really well, and it was a solidly satisfying ending.

I read this in two sittings and it’s an easy five-star read for me. It’s not overly scary, but it keeps you guessing the entire time in the best way. If you enjoy Riley Sager, I think this one will hit the mark. The 1970s setting adds a subtle layer of atmosphere without distracting from the story.

Only one character was truly likable, which made me question everyone else’s perspective and motives throughout. That tension really worked. The plot unfolds at a satisfying pace, with each reveal giving you just enough to keep turning the pages. It’s part family drama, but mostly a tightly woven mystery that stays engaging from start to finish.

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

I really loved this. Julie Clark can truly craft a great thriller, and she does literary-ish thrillers where the characters are almost as important as the plot itself, and things go in very unexpected directions. There was one plot element that I really struggled with, which is why this is not a 5-star book for me, but other than that I flew through this and loved every minute of reading it.

What a ride! Clark has really captured the depth of her characters and an easily-flowing storyline as well. I really looked forward to each chapter. It could be considered a thriller type of story, without the jump scares and nail-biting. The premise of a ghostwriter picked because of her close relationship with the subject, but with the assured trainwreck on the horizon, appealed to me right away. I didn't find the pacing a turnoff at all...some stories aren't meant to be barreled through til you get an answer. I did figure out a few things toward the end, but rather than expecting a huge bombshell twist, it was really all about the journey to get there. Highly recommend this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC. All opinions are mine.

'The Ghostwriter' sounds like it could be a horror book, right? In the world of fiction a ghostwriter is an author who helps others write their stories. Meet Olivia Dumont, a ghostwriter who has spent her professional career hiding the fact that she is Vincent Taylor's daughter. Vincent is a well known horror author. He also happens to be the only surviving sibling of a double murder that happened in his family home when he was a teenager. Nobody knows what Vincent knows as he has never shared. Now, recently diagnosed with a crippling disease, he has requested that Olivia ghostwrite his last book. It seems Vincent is finally ready to share what happened to his siblings. Working with her father is frustrating and brings up long buried memories, for both of them. Will she be able to write his story? Will she be able to work within his set boundaries? This story is told in multiple POVs, in alternating past and present timelines. The double murders take place in 1975 and these chapters are very atmospheric, and while they are tragic, I loved all the historic details. Meanwhile, in the present, Olivia and Vincent butt heads and it's a guessing game whether the truth will be revealed, or even if the book will be finished. The closer I got to the end of the book the faster I read. I couldn't wait to see how it all played out. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the DRC in exchange for my honest review.

This book felt like such a fresh thriller to me. I love how the author really gets the feeling of the 70s content-- when I was reading I actually felt like I was watching Poppy's home movies. I also liked how the element of the treasure hunts was present throughout the book in meaningful ways, oftentimes there before you even realized it. The threads were all connected so nicely, and the characters were all really well developed. I loved this book!!

A ghostwriter is assigned to write a book about her father, who was accused of murdering his siblings decades earlier. Julie Clark is a master of psychological suspense and hits the ball out of the park with this one.
Multiple time periods and unreliable narrators create an abundance of suspense and will keep readers guessing as to the outcome and motives. This is a highly entertaining page-turner with a twisty, unpredictable ending.

Returning to a decades-old crime has become a bit of a trope, but The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark makes it feel fresh.

Olivia Dumont had a lucrative career as a ghostwriter until a literary controversy makes her a pariah and devastates her financially. About to lose her house, she contemplates an unusual offer: Ghostwrite the memoir of Vincent Taylor, a best-selling horror writer.

There are a few reasons to say no. Ever since his two siblings were murdered in the 1970s, Vincent Taylor has lived under a cloud of suspicion. And he's Olivia's father, a fact she's successfully concealed throughout her writing career.

Reluctant but also broke and curious, Olivia takes the job, which is complicated by her estranged father's advancing dementia. Is he confused? Deliberately misleading her? What's the real story of those long-ago murders?

Clark's novel provides a realistic snapshot of teenage life in the 1970s. Even if you think you've spotted the killer, the why and how will still surprise you.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early review copy.

This book is amazing.You have so many different turns and plots in it.And I like how went back and forth in time. Olivia went to her father's house to help him write a book because she was a ghostwriter. He requested her to Help him write this book. As you read.
This book in modern times and then it goes back to 1975.When they had a tragedy when two of us siblings were murdered in the house. Danny and vincent do not get along very well. I like when she did the chapter on poppy.Who was the sister?And how's she was really important part of the story because she would be filming the reactions between her two brothers. Olivia had to do a lot of research to find out why niece and nephew were murdered. The author does a really good story because how she weaves together. And as you find out about this family, it's pretty amazing. The gym teacher plays a very important part of the story too.And you'll find out how you somehow involved. Her mother was also involved too, and she had a lot of problems and left her daughter when she was very young.

A thriller and a dysfunctional family drama. This is a slow burn of a story, but an interesting one. Wanting to know the truth about what was happening, I was engaged with the story. Another great book from a fantastic author.

Ok this book was simply amazing! It hooked me from the start all the way to end. It’s quite possibly one of the best books I have read in a long time. So many things that kept you guessing and in the end things answered, but assumed & lingering. With a heartfelt feeling wrapping it all up. Kudos to the author!

Another winner from Julie Clark! Her books are always fantastic and this was no exception. Intriguing plot, unique and dynamic characters, and plenty of mystery. The ending wasn't my favorite but I think that will be a matter of reader's preference! It wasn't bad or disappointing, just not the ending for me.

Absolutely loved this novel! Just like her previous novels, it’s a page turner that keeps you interested throughout!

Olivia is a ghostwriter but, her career has taken a downward spiral, until she gets a job offer that requires a lot more than most people know. It’s to help her dementia diagnosed estranged father write his final story. Except this story revolves around the mystery surrounding the death of his brother and sister. A death that most thought he could be responsible for.

This story had drama, mystery and suspense. If school hadn’t of been crazy for me, I truly could have finished it a lot sooner than I did. The story had twists and turns that I didn’t expect and I am here for it! I enjoyed the multi points of view, especially from her father’s dead sister. Going back to the past to the present helped shape the story into something that turned into a really great read! 4️⃣⭐️ read❗️