This suspenseful and twisty book captured my attention from the first line. Olivia Dumont, a “cancelled” professional ghostwriter, agrees to write a famous horror author’s final book. This author happens to be her estranged father’ who was once suspected of murdering his siblings. As Olivia delves into the project, she uncovers unsettling truths about her father's past and the night of the murders. This book was impossible to put down. Go read it now!

“The truth lives in people’s actions, their unguarded moments, not in the lies they tell.”

A daughter gets called home to ghostwrite a memoir for her dying yet long estranged author father. No biggie right? Wrong. Her father, whose teenaged sister and brother were murdered in the 1970’s, was suspected, but never charged, with the crime. Is he ready to tell the full truth now?

Holy shit! The cover of this book should be placed next to the definition of a “stay up past your bedtime” thriller read. Wow. I could not stop reading…and I didn’t. Until I finished.

This book was suspenseful, unpredictable, interesting, emotional, sad, and so very tragic. Ugh. So so so good.

I will for sure be buying a physical copy of this book for my shelves. 📖

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and the author for the complimentary ebook.

This book was a slowburn in the best way possible—thoughtful, intimate, and rich with emotional depth. I was immediately drawn into the unique premise: a daughter agrees to become the ghostwriter for her ailing father—a famous, well-respected author the world knows, but no one knows she's his daughter. Her mother left long ago, and she’s spent most of her life away, disconnected from both her father and his world.

Now, with time running out, he asks her to help him finally tell the truth about a tragedy that happened when he was a teenager—one that shaped the rest of his life and career. What begins as a simple writing project turns into a profound reckoning with the past, legacy, and the silence between them.

The dual timeline structure was masterfully handled. Narratives from the past were woven in through letters, recordings, and memories, each revealing different facets of the characters and their choices. These shifting forms of storytelling added depth and nuance, and I especially appreciated how the past narrators were so distinct—even when they proved to be unreliable. That ambiguity kept me reading, constantly re-evaluating what I thought I knew.

Despite the subtle pacing, the story held my attention from start to finish. I adored the emotional layers, the subtle revelations, and the way trust and forgiveness were portrayed—not in grand gestures, but in quiet moments of understanding.

Highly recommend if you enjoy character-driven stories, intricate family dynamics, and narratives that make you reflect long after you’ve turned the last page.

This is a fantastic mystery and perfect for summer reading!

I was not a huge fan of the authors book The Last Flight and haven’t read her second book yet but after seeing positive reviews for this one I’m so glad I got it.

I liked Olivia, she was such a real living and breathing character for me as were Vincent, Danny, and Poppy. I liked the POVs of the 3 characters and flipping back and forth in time from 2025 to 1975. I didn’t fully guess the ending (but I did part of it) but it still ended up surprising me a little.

If you’re a mystery and thriller fan who enjoys great characters and a page turning mystery then I highly recommend The Ghostwriter.

**Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of this book. I have been meaning to read Julie Clark for awhile now, and when I saw the premise of this one, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to give her writing a try. Wow, this one was so good! I was hooked from the beginning. The synopsis immediately made me want to read it, and it did not disappoint. The fast pace kept me entertained and wanting to find out what was going to happen next. This is the perfect summer thriller.

I loved Julie Clark’s other books and this one was another hit for me! The story is immersive and does an excellent job of drawing you in. I would recommend this book to others who love thrillers as it’ll hook you in. Thank you to Julie Clark and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A rare 5 stars from me! I can’t get over how well written this was. It truly kept me interested and guessing the whole time. Highly recommend!

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

It is hard to discover what another chooses to conceal

Olivia Taylor left her troubled home life behind her when she was 14, heading to Europe for school and later a starter marriage. When she returned to the US years later she did so as Olivia Dumont, furthering her studies as a writer and concealing from the world the fact that her father was Vincent Taylor, a celebrated and prolific writer of horror stories. Vincent's notoriety did not begin with his successful writing career, however....when he was a teenager in 1975 his older brother Danny and younger sister Poppy were murdered in the family's home. Vincent was away from the house with his girlfriend Lydia...it was a festival night in town...and a teacher was with him, but despite an apparently solid alibi the whispers around town that it was Vincent who killed his siblings began and never went away. Yet Vincent would continue to live there, and when he and Lydia married and had Olivia they stayed there. Lydia would ultimately leave them....Vincent was not an easy may with whom to live...leaving Vincent and Olivia to live in a community that kept them at a distance. That is the past which Olivia chose to leave behind when her father sent her away to school, and it explains why Olivia ultimately cut him out of her life. Now years later Olivia has an until-recently-successful career as a ghostwriter, which she derailed when she publicly went off on a male colleague for being willing to work with anyone, no matter how repulsive, for the right price (and make more as a man doing so than she and other women who were equally as talented could command). She now owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees as well as a court judgement against her for her diatribe, is considered completely toxic in the publishing world, and is on the verge of having to sell her house just to stay afloat a little longer. When her agent comes to her with a job offer to help an author finish his novel on deadline, something outside of her normal work parameters, she isn't sure she is in a position to refuse. Then she finds out that the author in question is Vincent, and he is asking for her specifically. She knows she should refuse....he must be playing with her for some reason...but practicality kicks in and she signs the contract. Soon she is back in the home where she grew up, with the man she has tried to keep out of her life. His health is failing both physically and mentally, and the novel she thinks she will be working on is actually his memoir of the period when his siblings were killed. She never truly believed that he was responsible for their deaths, but as she sifts through first his rough copy (which is a hot mess) and later talks to the people who knew Danny and Poppy best as well as views films recorded back in the day, she will uncover secrets about herself, her parents, and the family she never knew...secrets that some people want to stay hidden.
The Ghostwriter is a riveting thriller that also incorporates a family saga of trauma and tragedy, one that is passed from parent to sibling. The story is narrated alternately by Olivia, Vincent and Poppy, moving back and forth smoothly between the events of 1975 and the present. The characters, particularly Olivia and Poppy, are nicely developed, and the plot is fast-paced and layered, with plenty of twists and turns particularly towards the end of the book. The vibe of the 1975 setting is well executed, portraying a time when doors were left unlocked, kids wandered about and society was undergoing changes. I did pick up on some hints early on that foreshadowed some of the plot twists at the end, which consequently weren't as shocking to me as they might have been, but I still found it an enjoyable and engrossing read, ideal for fans of Megan Miranda, Riley Sager and Lisa Jewell. My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me access to this intriguing thriller in exchange for my honest review.

I love Julie Clark! It's truly incredible how different her books are. They all hold a completely different vibe, which I appreciate so much as a reader. I loved the premise of this book: a ghostwriter's daughter is "forced" to ghostwrite her estranged father's last book. There are so many secrets that are uncovered, stories that are weaved throughout, and characters (both in the past and present), but none of that feels like too much or overwhelming. Thank you, NetGalley!

The Ghostwriter



This is the first book I've read by Julie Clark and it certainly won't be the last! This was very well written and had me intrigued the entire time! Such a great mystery with some great twists! I loved all the 1970's references of music, tv shows, food, etc that had me reliving my own younger days in the 70's.

I want to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Julie Clark is an auto-buy author for me. She totally gets the thriller space and does it so well. In the author interview in the back of the book, she says one hard thing about writing this book is keeping up with who knew what and when. I love that. I always imagine author’s have these elaborate outlines hung up on their wall with strings connecting each character. Kind of like they are solving a murder.

The Ghostwriter is a good one. Olivia spent her entire childhood being made fun of because everyone suspected her dad murdered his sister and his brother when they were kids. He never spoke about it and she really never asked. She distanced herself from him and her hometown, as she grew up. Her past is coming back to haunt her, though. She works as a ghostwriter and her now estranged father is a popular horror writer. He has asked her to ghostwrite his memoir. He’s finally ready to tell the story of what happened to his siblings.

We get Olivia’s POV in present day and Poppy’s POV back in the 70s. Poppy is the sister that is murdered. The flashbacks to the 70s is kind of a fun twist. Poppy is a teenage feminist. She goes to protests and carries a video camera with her. A camera that catches so much of the story.

If you’ve read this author, then you know she always has a twist or two up her sleeve. I had my theories and I really enjoyed that I kept second guessing what I thought may happen. I couldn’t get through the pages fast enough in the last 20%.

It’s twisty page turner. A fabulous read for thriller lovers.

I couldn't put this book down! It was so interesting from the perspective of a ghostwriter and her unreliable father who's memoir she's writing. Multiple POVs and timelines help build the story. It kept me guessing, trying to figure things out but the twist still totally surprised me! So well done!!! Highly recommend!!!

thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks landmark for this arc! THE GHOSTWRITER publishes today, june 3!!

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY ↡
📝 author main characters
👥 multiple POVs
⏪ past & present timelines

REVIEW ↡
i’m usually a big fan of julie clark’s work, but this one missed the mark for me. i didn’t feel very invested in the storyline or the MC’s experience ghostwriting her dad’s memoir. objectively a good book though and i think others will enjoy it!! i think it would make for an entertaining movie too!

Julie Clark has once again proven why she’s an auto-buy author for so many readers! She writes with equal parts intelligence and heart, giving us stories that feel both deeply personal and universally resonant. With Ghostwriter, she’s crafted a story that is as much about a haunting crime as it is about the things left unsaid between fathers and daughters.

What I loved most was the structure—told through shifting timelines and unreliable perspectives, the mystery unfolds slowly but deliberately, building suspense without sacrificing emotional weight.

Olivia and Vincent’s relationship is at the center of this book, and their fractured bond is painted with such nuance it hurt in the best possible way. It’s complicated, messy, and achingly real.

The murder mystery? Deliciously twisty. You’ll think you know what happened—and maybe you’ll even be right—but it won’t matter, because Clark is more interested in why it happened. And in the impact those events still have, decades later.

One thing that struck me: while the book is undeniably dark and introspective, it is never without reason. Every revelation feels earned, and every emotion, from shame to hope, rings true!

An excellently paced read that will definitely go over well with a large part of our demographic. Twisty thrillers are a big hit - already ordered for our shelves.

Title: The Ghostwriter
Author: Julie Clark
Pub Date: June 3, 2025 (TODAY!)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter. Her newest project is for Vincent Taylor, a horror writer and the sole surviving sibling of an unsolved 1975 murder of his two siblings, Poppy and Danny. Beyond that, Olivia is Vincent’s estranged daughter. This project is what brings her home to Ojai, California, after nearly three decades.

As Vincent battles Lewy body dementia with hallucinations and loss of memories day by day, it’s Olivia’s job to help recount the past and reveal the truth leading up to the murders—unravelling family secrets and finding clues to determine fact from fiction.

MY THOUGHTS:
This book. I loved every second of it! An unsolved murder mystery of the past and family secrets galore. You get multiple POVs from current day to 1975 flashbacks as Poppy and Vincent. The pacing was perfect, and I was hooked from the start. As soon as I thought I had an idea where things were going, there was a new piece to the puzzle. I highly recommend giving this one a read!

Thank you to the publisher (Sourcebooks Landmark) for the chance to read this eARC via Netgalley!

Julie Clark is one of my favorite authors and I was beyond thrilled when I received this ARC.

This book beautifully combined a twisty thriller, mystery, and dysfunctional family drama. I loved the suspense in exchanges between Olivia and her father, and was honestly surprised up until the end.

While I tend to prefer a bit of a fast-paced thriller, this one was more of a slow burn and this is genuinely what fit the storyline best.

Definitely recommend adding The Ghostwriter to your summer reading list 🔥

Thank you to bookmarked, Julie Clark, and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A little slow at first but then you get into snd don't want to put it down. Enough twists and turns to keep you interested but easy enough plot to follow.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

This was my first Julie Clark book and it certainly won’t be my last! I was so intrigued by this one from the very start.

This story follows dual timelines between the present and 1975 and is told in multiple points of view. We follow our main character, Olivia, who was contacted by her estranged father to ghostwrite his memoir about the murder of his two siblings. For years, he was the main suspect in the case, but there was never any proof. Olivia has to dive deep into the secrets that her dysfunctional family has held for decades in order to uncover the truth. With her father’s health and memory declining, she has to go through some extra lengths to get the answers she needs.

This was an excellent mystery that had so many twists and turns. I had so many theories as I was reading and I truly was not expecting that ending. Right when you think you have it figured out, you’re hit with another curve ball sending you in a completely different direction.

I loved the chapters that were told in Poppy’s point of view. I absolutely loved her character, but I also felt so sad for her and the life that she didn’t get to live out. Because of Poppy and her camera, Olivia was able to piece this tragic story together and find out what really happened to her aunt and uncle.

If you haven’t read this one, I highly recommend adding it to your TBR🖤

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.