This is my first book by this author and I must say it actually sucked me in. I love mystery and thriller so I was very excited to get into this.
Here we have our FMC Olivia Dumont who was hired to ghostwrite her estranged father’s memoir, when she started there were lots of dark mysteries that she comes across. Which involves a crime that that in the 70s.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC. My review is my own.

the Taylor family is never the same after two siblings are found dead in their home. after 50 years of silence the only surviving son Vincent hires a ghost writer to tell his story of that night.

Mysterious and twisty. I was hooked from the very first page and couldn't put it down until the the very last page. The plot will just grab you by the throat and have you needing to flip pages until you get there are no more pages to flip! You'll think you have the mystery figures out...think again!

Unfortunately, I was not able to get into this book. I read the first 18% and decided to set it down. I hope others enjoy it!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

After loving Julie Clark's other books, I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Ghostwriter. I'm pleased to report that Clark again hit the mark and I loved the Ghostwriter. I loved the family dynamic between father and daughter and the exploration of their past. It was well paced, which kept me guessing until the very end.

Amazing. Julie Clark never fails me. She's one of those authors who I'll always, and I mean always, support her books. The mystery was intriguing from beginning to end, the pacing was fast and entertaining and the twists here and there were to die for. Perfect.

This is the third Julie Clark book I have read. It is cleverly written with two connected timelines. The ghostwriter uncovers family secrets while writing her father's memoir. I felt like I was reading an account of investigative journalism rather than a mystery/thriller. It was the back story, in Poppy's words, that kept me turning pages.

Thank you, Sourcebooks Landmark and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book. Although this was not my favorite Julie Clark book, I still look forward to reading her next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for sending me an ARC of The Ghostwriter in exchange for an honest review.

The NetGalley description of this book is nearly perfect—short, sweet, and completely accurate—so I’ll jump directly to my thoughts.

The Ghostwriter does a great job exploring the intersection of family trauma, secrets, memory, and how (to quote Ms. Clark herself) “the stories we tell ourselves are partly true and partly myth that we’ve created as a way to make sense of the world.” It alternates between the events in the present from Olivia’s perspective and the events of Spring of 1975, which are told sometimes from Vincent’s perspective and other times from Poppy’s. The shifting timelines and perspectives allow for a good amount of misdirection. I mean, I probably guessed 8 different people as the killer throughout the story. The revelations at the end of what actually happened walked an almost impossible line of being open to interpretation and yet still very satisfying.

The Ghostwriter is good. Really good. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Highly recommended.

Thank you to both #NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me an advance copy of Julie Clark's latest #mysterythriller, The Ghostwriter, in exchange for an honest review.

#TheGhostwriter is a slow burn, mystery-thriller that showcases the ripple effect a shared family trauma can wreak on generations thereafter. Set between alternating timelines of the present and 1970s past in Ojai, California, the story focuses on the dysfunctional Taylor family and the events leading up to, during, and after the murder of two out of three of the Taylor siblings; as recounted by the daughter of the surviving sibling when she is hired as a ghostwriter to pen his memoir.

Eponymous protagonist, Olivia Dumont, is a ghostwriter whose career and bank account both nosedive after making some scathing (albeit true), public remarks about a prominent author. Unemployed and on the verge of losing her house, Olivia has no choice, but to accept a ghostwriting job for a famous horror writer who, unbeknownst to her agent and publishing team, happens to be her estranged father, Vincent Taylor.

Olivia arrives at her childhood home only to discover her father has Lewy Body Disease and is dying. Although the two have not spoken in years, the news comes as no surprise to Olivia who had suspected as much when he asked to hire her specifically for the project. What does surprise Olivia, however, is that the project is not for a horror novel, but rather a memoir about the night his siblings were murdered as teens in 1975.

Saddled with a pressing deadline, contractual restraints, deceased witnesses, a fifty-year lapse, and a main subject who is afflicted with a fatal memory-eroding disease, Olivia is on a race against time to complete the novel or else lose her house, flailing career, and last chance to uncover who murdered her deceased aunt and uncle. Though Olivia wavers on whether she wants the whole truth to the latter.

The story is primarily narrated by Olivia, with snippets of the past intertwined from the perspectives of her father and Aunt Poppy. The competing timelines are well-executed and seamlessly blend together, providing readers with a satisfying conclusion. Well, almost. Not a huge fan of the new trend to include podcast mentions in virtually every popular fiction novel, but it was at least done tastefully in this instance.

While I docked a star for predictability, a few tertiary characters, and the jump-scare Zoom meetings (kidding about this final reason), Julie Clark knocked it out of the park overall. Other authors should take note on her methods of deftly incorporating crucial political issues without bashing the reader over the head with their views. Highly recommend for those who enjoy multi-character POVs, intriguing plots, and a fun twist where the audience knows more than the characters by the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

It's been a while since I've enjoyed a mystery this much. Julie Clark does a great job of balancing a slow burn with enough reveal to keep you reeled in. Just when you think you've figured out the answer there's just enough of a twist to make you second guess yourself.

I also appreciate the author's deeper exploration of character development to help us understand motivation. There is definitely a lot going on, with just enough red herrings thrown, not to mention several unreliable narrators, that kept me engaged until the very last page.

I enjoyed this book very much and am now interested in what else this author has written. Definitely recommend.

THE GHOSTWRITER by Julie Clark - 4.5
Vincent, the only surviving sibling of a horrendous night of his brother and sister being found dead in their home, was always thought of killing his sister and brother. Vincent becomes a legend of his own as he becomes a famous horror writer. Olivia, Vincent’s estranged ghostwriter daughter, who is having problems of her own years late,r is asked by Vincent, to ghostwrite his last book but finds out it is his memoir. Being a very substantial amount of money to perform this task, she has no choice but to accept since she has her own problems including being almost financially ruined. Now she finds out about the past.
This is one story you will not be able to put down., It is full of many questions, did he kill them; if not, who did? Why? Julie Clark is a new author to me and I will certainly be looking for more of her books. This one kept me on my toes and I did not want to miss a word. You will enjoy it too.

Loved the latest from Clark! And this cover is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for the early read!

Julie Clark’s The Ghostwriter grabs your attention with a wholly believable and sympathetic main character. Olivia’s a successful ghostwriter, content with writing autobiographies of the rich and famous: her recompense is money, not recognition, and she’s satisfied with her choice. She’s out of work and seriously strapped for cash after loosing a lawsuit brought by another ghostwriter. Olivia receives a mysterious and financially attractive ghostwriting offer, which brings her back into the childhood that she’d purposively left behind: back to her estranged father, back to the unhappy memories of her childhood classmates, and, most of all, back to the mysteries of her murdered aunt and uncle.

Clark writes with seeming ease. The Ghostwriter zips along without many hitches along the way to its conclusion. It’s an highly engaging novel, with a surprising and not wholly satisfying conclusion.

Four stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and to SourceBooks Landmark for providing an advanced reader’s copy.

Julie Clark is an auto read author for me and Ghostwriter only solidified that for me! This was another buddy read that we all devoured and loved! I really enjoy reading so many books with friends, talking about what we are reading makes the books even that much better! And I love hearing everyone’s guesses on what’s going to happen! Although, nobody was able to guess the ending of this, I think it will trick even the seasoned thriller readers! This one had some of my favorites in a thriller like multiple timelines, multiple POVs, family drama! This one was so twisty and the ending so shocking, I have found that most of Julie’s books are like that! I will say it is probably what most will consider a slow burn, but it is so good, it didn’t bother me one bit!

Olivia is pulled into a chilling family mystery when her estranged father, a bestselling author, asks her to ghostwrite his most personal story yet—the truth about the murder of his siblings. Long clouded in suspicion, he’s finally ready to reveal what really happened. As Olivia digs into the past, she unearths secrets that could forever change her understanding of her family.

I devoured this book in a single day—the twists were so compelling, I couldn’t put it down!

I have enjoyed author, Julie Clark’s last two books and The Ghostwriter, her third novel, does not disappoint! It kept me reading straight through until the end.

Olivia Dumont is hired by her ill father, famous horror writer, Vince Taylor, to write his final book, a personal memoir. Olivia has not seen her father is many years but travels to her hometown to take on the challenge of writing his memoir. Her father’s two siblings were murdered during their childhood, and although the killer was never prosecuted, for years it was Olivia’s father who was blamed for the murder. Now it is Olivia’s job to finally unveil the truth.

The Ghostwriter has multiple narrators and goes back and forth from the 1970’s to present time. Clark does a fabulous job with character development, and the mystery is intriguing.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

If you are looking for a good page turning thriller than The Ghostwriter by Julia Clark needs to be your next read. I found myself thinki ng about this story during work and even on my morning walk. Julie has a very interesting storytelling ability that makes you think and anticipate what is going to come next. I cannot wait to read more of her books.

This book starts in the present time, with Olivia - a ghostwriter, who recently was involved in a scandal with another ghostwriter - calling him out misogynistic tendencies in a very public way. Unfortunately - she lost. Between her legal bills, her house bills, and the kick to her career, she needs to accept whatever job comes her way next. After pitching her to a number of projects, Olivia gets a call from her agent Nicole - saying that Vincent Taylor wants to talk about what happened the night his brother and sister were killed, finally - many years later. The only issue is that Olivia also happens to be Vincent Taylor's estranged daughter.

After growing up with an inattentive, drunk, father who was constantly in the public eye because his brother and sister were killed in a public way - she decided she wasn't going back and started her own career in publishing, trying her hardest not to look back. She was never told what really happened that night, but will she finally find out? Will she have the courage to go back and do this ghostwriting for her dad?

I've read Julie Clark before but this book was just phenomenal. One of my very first five star reads for this year. The descriptions, flow, length, everything just kept me wondering and watching. I absolutely loved it, no criticisms. I can't even think of one negative thing to say about this book. One of the things I loved was the transition between past and present seemed so seamless. Occasionally with novels you can't tell, but this you had no issues.

This was excellent. A slow burn mystery suspense surrounding a 1975 murder told from present day with flashbacks/different POVs from 1975 in the months leading up to the double homicide. Olivia, a ghostwriter, is down on her luck. She’s estranged from her father, a famous horror author, and then an offer comes in to ghostwrite his latest novel and she can’t refuse. It’s dark and twisty without being over the top. I could not turn pages fast enough, waiting for the secrets to unfold and show us what actually happened that summer night.

I love a multiple POV and dual timeline and I was hooked from the first page. In addition to the mystery, the complicated relationship between father and daughter, their dysfunctional dynamic, and the peek at how Olivia approaches ghostwriting made for a very interesting, fleshed out story with great characters.

This is my first Julie Clark book and I can’t wait to read her earlier works.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

Julie Clark is one of my favorite authors and this is one of her best yet. This novel combines the suspense of a thriller and also tugs at your heart strings as a family endures trauma that carries on to the next generation. When Olivia is hired to be the Ghostwriter for her estranged father's memoir, the reader is thrust into a series of twists and turns that no one could see coming. This book kept me hooked as Olivia tries to navigate what is truth vs what is distorted memories as her father is suffering from moments of memory loss. I loved how the story would go back and forth from present time to the past and also shift stories from the character's perspective. The ending kept me guessing while breaking my heart at the same time.