Clark’s novels are gripping. Her novel The Last Flight is one of my all time favorites. This novel grabbed me the first page and I did not put it down until the last page way after my bedtime. Every line had me waiting for what was next!

The Ghostwriter is a page turning, twisty, psychological thriller. that makes a good read for summer. Olivia is asked to ghostwrite Vincent Taylor's last book. No one but the two them know she is his daughter. Vincent has lived the last 50 years with the suspicion that he murdered his brother and sister. Now he wants to tell his side of the story about what happened that summer night in June 1975.

This was a quick read. The author included lots of red herrings and it was hard to figure out what was a lie and what was faulty memories or assumptions from years ago. The story is told from 3 POV-- Olivia in the present and Vincent and his sister Poppy in 1975. Poppy ended up being my favorite character. I had a harder time connecting with Olivia and understanding some of her decisions. I liked the multiple POV.. I also enjoyed the 70's vibes in the story.

Pick this one up if you are looking for a fast paced, summer thriller. Thank you to the publisher for my ecopy.

Julie Clark has once again delivered a compelling narrative with her latest novel, The Ghostwriter. As a long-time fan of her work, I found this book to be a delightful addition to her repertoire, even though it took a slightly different approach compared to her previous novels.

The Ghostwriter is a slower burn, but this pacing allows for a deeper exploration of the characters and their intricate relationships. From the very beginning, I was thoroughly invested in the story and the lives of the characters. Clark's ability to create such vivid and relatable characters is truly remarkable.

The plot unfolds with a perfect blend of suspense and emotional depth, keeping the reader engaged throughout. The twists and turns are well-crafted, and the resolution is both satisfying and thought-provoking. Clark's writing style is as captivating as ever, drawing the reader into the world she has created and making it hard to put the book down.

Overall, The Ghostwriter is a testament to Julie Clark's talent as a storyteller. It may be a slower burn, but it is a rewarding read that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-written, character-driven story.

The Ghostwriter is twisty, addicting thriller that kept me up reading late into the night! Olivia, a struggling and desperate writer, must reunite with her estranged father if she wants to save her career. Her father, who has Lewy Body Dementia, wants to write a memoir telling about the brutal murders of his teenage siblings. The crime was never solved and the world always suspected him. ⁣
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⁣Words I’d use to describe this book- atmospheric, dark, compelling, smart, thought provoking and suspenseful. I especially enjoying the ending— which was both unexpected but also possible! Four stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of The Ghostwriter. It is available now!

Julie Clark’s THE GHOSTWRITER has hit the shelves —and I couldn’t put it down. If you love twisty psychological suspense with a deep emotional core, this is one to grab immediately.

Olivia Dumont has spent her entire life hiding one massive secret: she’s the daughter of horror legend Vincent Taylor, long suspected in the brutal 1975 murders of his teenage siblings. Now, her career in ruins and her finances dwindling, Olivia reluctantly agrees to ghostwrite her estranged father’s final book—a memoir that will finally reveal what happened that summer.

But there’s one problem: Vincent doesn’t actually remember what happened. And the more Olivia digs, the more she wonders if her father was more involved than anyone ever knew.

Told in shifting timelines and through unreliable perspectives, The Ghostwriter is packed with slow-burning tension, devastating truths, and a beautifully fraught father-daughter relationship at its heart. This is a story about the power of narrative—what we hide, what we protect, and what it costs to finally tell the truth.

📚 Clark’s writing is sharp, suspenseful, and emotionally resonant. It’s more than a mystery—it’s a masterclass in psychological depth and family drama.

This book is a cold case thriller with a broken family dynamic. The main character is Olivia Dumont, a ghostwriter who is estranged from her father, who is himself a famous author who is believed to have killed his brother and sister when he was a teenager. Olivia is tasked with being the ghostwriter on her father's memoir. Using the book as her last chance to get to the bottom of the murders, Olivia must deal with old ghosts and new revelations.

I enjoyed this book. It kept my attention and had several twists and turns. I didn't want to put it down. Overall, I would it 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy of this book!

I absolutely loved this book! Once I started reading it, I didn't wan to put it down. If you love a story with lots of twists, then this book is for you. Thank you #NetGalley, #JulieClark and #SourcebooksLandmark for the opportunity to read and review this book.

In 1975, siblings Danny and Poppy Taylor were brutally murdered in their family home. Though their brother, Vincent Taylor, now a bestselling horror novelist, had a verified alibi, suspicion has shadowed him for decades. In the present day, Olivia Taylor returns to her estranged father with a dual purpose: to ghostwrite his memoir and finally uncover the truth of what happened on that fateful night.

This didn’t work for me, not one bit. Dialogue was painful, mystery was lame. Not my favorite Julie Clark, but thank you @netgalley for the advanced copy.

~~ Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a complimentary e-ARC in exchange for an honest review ~~



When I received the notification that I was approved for <i>The Ghostwriter</i> I was so excited and dove right in. All the buzz the book was getting, plus it being the new novel from Julie Clark - I was so ready for the journey I was about to go on... But then the journey ended up being an extremely slow burn that just really didn't hold my attention much and I can't express how sad I was. I was ready to DEVOUR the Taylor family's story and find out what really happened to Daniel and Poppy. The description had all the makings of a great thriller, an unreliable witness/suspect, a 50-year-old murder mystery, and present-day struggles, but it just fell flat for me.



The story does keep you guessing, which was a plus. But to me, it felt like the "big reveal" at the end just wasn't the payoff I was expecting. The book just didn't hit the same as the author's previous works. I would still recommend this one and look forward to future works from Julie Clark as I am sure she will have a comeback in the works.

This novel uses a familiar ghostwriter trope, which I've noticed has been very popular with thrillers lately, to explore a broken family relationship. Olivia shows up in Ojai for a job she desperately needs. Except it turns out her father, suffering from Lewy body dementia, wants her to help him write his memoir. What's the subject? The murders of his siblings in 1975, which he has long been suspected of committing. Olivia must decide whether to tell the story HE wants, or to explore what actually might've happened and uphold her reputation for getting to the bottom of difficult tales. Peppered in between present-moment action are sections from Poppy, his sister, who died, and young Vincent, the father, to show what was actually happening in the crucible of the family. These did add texture and interest, though most of the new information came from Poppy's videos, which she was obsessively recording as the situation between her brothers reached a boiling point. Vincent's girlfriend had recently gotten an abortion, and Poppy suspected the father was her running coach. Danny, the older brother, had been making moves on Lydia, the girlfriend, too. A lot of complicated threads came together, but I was personally disappointed that the motive for the murders was a gay panic. As it turns out, the running coach had been molesting girls and boys, and Danny was a victim. He couldn't stand that Poppy had discovered his gay secret and killed her. Yes, it was the 1970s. Yes, Danny had a hyper-masculine image to uphold. Yes, the running coach ended up going to jail, which puts a nice bow on his misdeeds. But I worry that in today's social culture, the idea that Danny would murder his own sister to keep any "gay" rumors from circulating (a big part of his motivation) goes back to an earlier conflict of being perceived as gay being so terrible that someone would resort to murder. For the purposes of the story, it all tracks, though Olivia's decision to go talk to her mom, who gives her the perfect evidence, after forty years of estrangement, seems to come on very suddenly. But the "gay scandal" at the heart of it gave me pause.

This is a new author for me and I absolutely loved this book. I loved the connection between Olivia and Vincent and that no one knew who they really were to each other as she started this job writing his memoir. I liked the way that the backstory was built in between the chapters, and I was guessing until the end as to what really had taken place.

Thanks so much for the gifted arc!

Horror author Vincent Taylor has been suspected of the murders of his brother and sister for 50 years. Now suffering from Lewy body dementia, he secretly hires his estranged daughter Olivia to ghostwrite his memoir. But as she tries to transcribe his ramblings, she uncovers more secrets than answers.

Alternating chapters from 1975 and the present keep you guessing till the last page.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Calling all fans of twisty crime/thrillers/mysteries. You are going to devour this book.

The ghostwriter in the story is actually daughter, Olivia, who has been estranged from her father, Vincent, for many years. Vincent has reached the status of an esteemed horror writer who is now slowly dying from aggressive Lewy Body Dementia disease. He thinks it's time to write his memoir, but he needs assistance to make sense of his notes. He has his publishing company reach out to his daughter who is a rising ghostwriter in her own right. Olivia only accepts the offer because she herself is in financial distress over a lawsuit with a male writer.

The plot gets juicy because in 1975, Vincent became an only child after his two teenage siblings, younger sister, Poppy, and older brother, Danny, were slain in their very own house the night of the summer carnival in their home town in California. The killer was never found, but many, many people pointed the finger at Vincent even though he was never indicted for the murders.

Things I loved about this book - the dual timeline of 1975 and present day; the dynamic secondary characters; the nostalgic references to the past setting around Ventura, CA; the twists and twists and twists.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark, for this enthralling ARC. Crime fans, grab this one that came out June 3rd.

This is a wonderfully engaging slow-burn thriller. It is told through dual timelines and POV's , with Vincent and his late sister in 1975 and Olivia in the present day. This format allows readers to slowly uncover the clues and piece things together along with Olivia. The twists were well done and keep the reader guessing. I don't recall reading any books by Clark in the past, but I look forward to future books.

Book Review: The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Rating: 4 Stars

I recently finished The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark, and it was a captivating read that kept me hooked from start to finish. The story begins in 1975 with the devastating tragedy of the Taylor family—two teenage siblings found dead under mysterious circumstances, leaving the only surviving sibling, Vincent, to bear the weight of suspicion for decades. Vincent grows into a successful horror writer, but the dark rumors surrounding that night never fade.

Enter Olivia Dumont, Vincent’s daughter and a ghostwriter grappling with her own financial struggles. When she’s offered the chance to ghostwrite her father’s final book, she thinks it’s just another novel. However, Vincent has other plans—he wants to finally reveal the truth behind that fateful night after fifty years of silence.

What I really enjoyed about this novel was how well-paced and tightly plotted it was. Julie Clark’s writing style is engaging without being overly complicated, making it an easy and enjoyable read. The characters felt real and multi-dimensional, especially Olivia and Vincent, whose complicated family dynamics added depth to the story.

And I can’t go without mentioning the book’s cover—it’s absolutely stunning and definitely caught my eye before I even started reading. All in all, The Ghostwriter was a solid read that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys suspenseful family dramas with a hint of mystery. I’m giving it four stars because while it was excellent and very entertaining, a couple of plot points could have been explored a bit more deeply. Still, a highly satisfying thriller!

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

4-Star Review: The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

What it’s about:
When Olivia Dumont is hired to ghostwrite a book for her estranged father, horror novelist Vincent Taylor, she thinks it’s just another job—until she learns he doesn’t want fiction. For the first time, he’s ready to reveal the truth about the night his teenage siblings were murdered in 1975. Long suspected but never charged, Vincent has spent decades in the shadow of that tragedy—building a career on horror while haunted by real-life horror of his own.

My thoughts:
Told in a dual timeline, this is a character-driven thriller with a strong emotional core. The dynamic between Olivia and her infamous father is tense and layered, and I liked how the story explored guilt and the murky line between truth and narrative.

That said, I did find the plot somewhat predictable, and a few twists landed softly. I also found the final chapter a bit underwhelming and had hoped it would land with more impact. Still, I appreciated the steady unraveling of the past and the way the story built momentum toward the end. It’s definitely less about shock value and more about reckoning.

Fans of stories about complicated legacies and long-buried secrets will find this one compelling.

Julie Clark did it again! Her third thriller was so well written. It gripped me from the first page and did not let go until the last! I loved this idea of a ghostwriter going back to finish her father’s memoir. Such a unique premise and so well done! Such a ride from start to finish and it definitely had an ending I was not expecting!

I'm on a huge thriller kick, apparently, and this one from Julie Clark definitely doesn't disappoint. Our main character is Poppy, a ghostwriter who is unexpectedly reunited with her father, a famous novelist with a tragic past from whom she is estranged. Together, they begin slowly unraveling the mystery of the brutal murder that took place in the Ojai Valley when Poppy's father was a teenager - a murder many believed that he was responsible for. Dark, twisty, and atmospheric.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I'm not sure how but this was my first Julie Clark novel.

I felt it was a slow start but did pick up for me in the second half. I love some good family secrets and this didn't miss the mark with family secrets.

An emotional story of a dysfunctional family along with a well done, intriguing murder mystery. Told in the past and present in a multigenerational format. Kind of slow going at times but gives the reader a chance to get to know the characters and have secrets slowly revealed. A good thriller, highly recommended.