What if your whole life your family name had been associated with death and murder. Not just that your father was one of the most well-known writers of crime of all time, but also, he was suspected in playing a part in the death of his brother and sister. It is no wonder that Olivia has done everything she can to keep her name from being connected to her past. Yet circumstances have found her needing funds so when her father’s publisher reaches out to ask her to be the ghost writer for her father’s newest book, she can’t afford to turn it down. What she finds though is a world that is tangled up with two stories. The one that her father wants the world to know and what happened that fateful night years ago. Can Olivia uncover the truth? She gets some help from the most unlikely of witnesses her dead aunt. Through her journal and some home films Olivia is finally able to start putting together a narrative of what really happened to her aunt and uncle the night they died.
This book is beautifully written overall. I loved the different narratives. They flowed together seamlessly and allowed the reader to slide between the past and present to untangle what really happened that night.
Thank you to Sourcebook Landmark and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Author Julie Clark has hit it out of the park with this little gem. I have been a fan of Julie’s since I first met her at a book event in 2018 and have enjoyed each and every book she’s written since. The Last Flight was my favourite….until now. The Ghostwriter is hands down my favourite thriller of 2025. From the very beginning I was hooked by the story and I know people say they couldn’t book the book down, but I literally couldn’t book this book down. Julie has you thinking one way and then starts to introduce new thoughts and now your questioning everything. You guys it was so good!!!!! The Ghostwriter comes out June 3rd and believe me when I say you need to buy it ASAP!
Olivia is in deep financial trouble and about to lose her home. When she’s offered a deal to be a ghostwriter for her estranged father every part of her wants to say no, but financially she has no other option. Olivia discovers her father wants her to write his memoir telling the world about what happened the night his two siblings were murdered. He’s lived his whole life with people whispering he did it, did he? Olivia definitely thinks it’s a possibility but her father is sick and his memory is bad, she’ll need to find the facts on her own to prove him innocent or possibly guilty of murder. Olivia will learn the truth of what happened that night and try to move forward with the hard truth of what she learned. Sometimes the truth is hard to come by.

4⭐️

I really enjoyed this! I always love family dramas, especially when it might be a character's last chance to make amends. The tension between Olivia and her father was palpable and so understandable when you consider that he was the parent who stuck around. Vincent being this eclectic, famous author with a traumatic childhood makes his strained relationship with Olivia make sense. His illness causing him to slowly lose his memories and control of his body was heartbreaking and I can understand why he wanted his story told the way it was.

I liked how determined Olivia was to find the truth. Growing up with a notorious family had to have been daunting and the fact that her chance to learn the truth was coming to an end made the story more tense. Portions of the truth I was able to guess but my theories were constantly changing as more of the truth was revealed. While this was a bit of a slow burn, I enjoyed the way it still was able to dig so deeply into absent parents, sibling rivalry and how easily are preceptions of things can skew the truth.

Thanks Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this ARC to me!

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark is a heartbreaking novel about a successful ghostwriter named Olivia Dumont, and her family’s secret that has never been solved. When famed horror author, Vincent Taylor, is interested in publishing his memoir, and finally revealing what happened to his siblings decades before, his only requirement is that Olivia be his ghostwriter. What no one knows, except Vincent and Olivia, is that Olivia is also Vincent’s estranged daughter. Since Olivia doesn't have many other options for work at the moment, she reluctantly accepts the job to write about her father and try to finally close the chapter on what really happened to his siblings all those years ago.

This book is hauntingly good. It has all the feels of dysfunctional family drama, twisted secrets, and a shocking ending to the questions who killed 14 year old Poppy and 18 year old Danny back in 1975. Middle child Vincent found his murdered siblings, and with no answers to who is guilty of the crime, he seems to be the only suspect. Even with his alibi of being with his girlfriend, Lydia, also Olivia’s mother, and his neighbor school teacher, Mr Stewart, at the time of the murders.

This was such an emotional rollercoaster of a story. Although it was a little slow in the middle, the last half of the book will have reading it in one sitting. The truth unravels like a slow burn of suspense, and a twist no one will see coming.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark Publishing and Julie Clark for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was my first Julie Clark book, and it will definitely not be my last.

More atmospheric suspense than thriller, a woman agrees to ghostwrite her father's memoir, hoping he will finally reveal the truth of the day his brother and sister were killed, a crime everyone believes he was responsible for 
*
This was a really interesting take on the unreliable narrator trope--Olivia's father (and suspected murderer) is suffering from a type of dementia. He wants his memoir written while he still trusts his memories, but Olivia isn't sure if his memories are already warped, or he's deliberately lying about what happened. 
*
This story unfolds with Olivia interviewing her father and others connected to the crime, as well as flashbacks and references to diary entries and videos taken. It kept my attention and was entertaining but wasn't necessarily gripping. 
*
Biggest complaint was Olivia's partner Tom, who needs to realize that life isn't so black and white. 
*
I enjoyed this and would recommend!

Five star review all around. The relationship between Olivia and her Father, you could feel the tension between the pages in the beginning. The fear and realization as Olivia comes to terms with her thoughts throughout the story, you feel them too and the triggers within the relationship with her father. That is how well written this story is. As the story develops, I could not put this down.
This mystery unravels while Olivia goes on a hunt for her family past. There is a dual timeline telling and this just adds more drama and fire to the fuel of the telling of this story. This is one where I wish I could read again for the first time.
Add this one to your to be read pile ASAP!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and to Julie Clark and Sourcebooks Landmark. All comments are my own.

This book is a spine-tingling psychological thriller that is filled with juicy lies and secrets. The author, Julie Clark, has done it again. She has created another tension filled story with an unexpected ending. I loved her 2022 book The Lies I Tell, as well as her 2020 novel The Last Flight. This story was well planned, and I found myself getting more and more pulled into both storylines, past and present, and I was excited to find out the truth as potential clues made their way to the surface.

Part family drama and part mystery thriller the suspense in this story was gripping. The ending was a little confusing, but overall, this was a successful and entertaining book. I am eager to see what this author writes next. I will definitely be recommending this book to my mystery loving friends.

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of legendary horror author Vincent Taylor, famous not only for his novels but for being the prime suspect in the brutal slaying of his siblings in the 1970s. On the brink of financial ruin, Olivia reluctantly agrees to ghostwrite her father's last book, not realising she will be forced to reckon with the ghosts that live at the center of her family.

Okay. I absolutely LOVED this book! This will most likely be one my top five books of the year! It had everything you want in a thriller/mystery! I loved the multiple POVs, especially with 2 of them being from a past timeline, the investigative/journalistic into the murders, the films, sweet sweet Poppy, and just the overall trying to figure out what happened all those years ago. I read this book in two sittings, I absolutely could not put it down. I will 100% be recommending this book to all my thriller loving people!

I enjoy novels written by Julie Clark. This one proves true to that. Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter whose career has suffered lately and she is being sued leaving her broke and heavily in debt. Then she gets an amazing offer to ghostwrite the memoir of a famous best selling author who happens to be her estranged father. When her father, Vince Taylor was 16 years old his two siblings were murdered. Although never accused or arrested for their murders, he was always suspected of the crime. Nearing the end of his life he is ready to tell his story. So the suspenseful mystery begins. One you want to keep reading as you can’t quite figure it out. Great read!

A ghostwriter with a waning career is hired to ghostwrite the memoir of her ailing estranged father. I wanted to like this one but I could not connect to Olivia. With that combined with the slower pace of the story, this one just didn’t work out for me. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

This started off very interesting but got a little tedious by the end. I like the author a lot but this one went off the rails a bit. Almost Colleen Hoover-eque. I was just hoping for more from the ending but still a satisfying read!

The Ghostwriter comes out next week on June 3, 2025 and you can purchase HERE.

"You can't erase the past by not thinking about it." My father gives a hollow laugh. "Believe me, I've tried.

This was a well-done, slower-paced mystery that kept me engaged the entire time even during the slower moments. I was immediately intrigued by Olivia’s backstory and her (very understandable) reluctance to return home after spending so long distancing herself from her dad and everything tied to his past. The story did a great job showing why Olivia would feel pressured to go back—not out of a desire for reconciliation, but because of obligation and circumstance. It made her decisions feel realistic.

I found myself constantly trying to piece things together as the story unfolded, and I really enjoyed the twists and reveals toward the end that brought everything together in a satisfying way. My only minor gripe is that we didn’t get much time with Olivia’s current life before she was pulled back into her past. Because of that, some references to what she was putting on hold felt a little disconnected—but it didn’t take away from the story in a big way.

Overall, it’s a really interesting mystery with strong emotional undercurrents. I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC of this book!

The Ghostwriter drew me in immediately and never let up until the final pages, including the conversation with the author section at the end. The suspense and tension from chapter to chapter was enthralling.

Olivia Dumont is an established ghostwriter who has come into some tough times which essentially forces her to take a job ghostwriting the memoir of her estranged father, a famous horror writer whose siblings were murdered 50 years previously, in an unsolved crime. The novel is told from multiple perspectives and with a dual timeline, which really works because as the reader, we are privy to information that Olivia and even her father doesn’t have. As we learn the truth about the murders, we also get a unique perspective on the characters. I loved how the story unfolded and how it all came together. Julie Clark is an excellent writer.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Anything Julie Clark writes is an absolute must read!

A suspenseful, twisty thriller that explores complex themes of generational dysfunction and tragic family drama.

Even though this book is a slower-burn style, Clark still finds a way to keep us on the edge of our seats throughout!

I loved the depth of characters and plot, the layers of building suspense, and an ending I absolutely did not predict!

Ghostwriter Olivia is offered a job: working with her estranged, ailing father to write his memoir. She attempts to reconnect with him while solving the murder of his siblings.

A lot is attempted in The Ghostwriter to varying degrees of success. Great, realistic characters. Although the ending is tidy and satisfying, the lead-up may frustrate the reader.

I have read a couple of Julie Clark’s books and really enjoyed them so I was excited to see that she had a new book releasing this year, The Ghostwriter. I can safely say it did not disappoint and is her best one yet. Told in multiple POV and timelines and the use of multimedia formats to help drive the story, creating a binge worthy, unputdownable experience. There was so much anticipation, tension, and crazy twists in this messy, complicated, dysfunctional family drama. I loved the irony of the FMC ghostwriting her estranged father’s memoir as she is also learning to come to grasps with the ghosts of her and her family’s past as the truth from a family tragedy is finally being brought to life. This is one that I will be purchasing for my shelf, the page edges are incredible, but I will also be grabbing an audio copy to listen to the story and see what I may have missed the first read.

Thank you @bookmarked, @julieclarkauthor, and @netgalley for the #gifted ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I just finished The Ghostwriter. Once I started it I couldn't stop! Julie Clark has a way of putting you directly in the story, which was amazing and intriguing as Olivia sifts through the lies and the stories to discover what really happened in the summer of 1975. Olivia Dumont is a successful ghostwriter living in California. She finds herself in extreme financial difficulty thanks to an unfortunate outburst regarding a misogynistic author who blacklists Olivia as well as suing her. At wits end, she is forced to take a job ghostwriting the memoir of Vince Taylor, a best-selling horror author thought to have murdered his older brother and younger sister years ago. Now Olivia is forced to confront the past she has been hiding for most of her life, that Vince Taylor is her father and it was her aunt and uncle that were murdered in the 70's in Ojai. Her father, the prime suspect but never convicted, has been diagnosed with Lewy Body disease, a deadly form of Alzheimer's robbing Vince of his memories, his ability to read, causing hallucinations among other symptoms. Olivia must reconcile with her father and write the memoir before the disease destroys his memories of the tragic events of his childhood. The book sounded interesting when I requested the ARC and as I read I was pulled into 70's Ojai as well as the present day battle Olivia has with reconciling her perceptions of her father and his past with the truth - a rare commodity of Vince Taylor's. Clark switches effortlessly between Olivia's point of view and sixteen-year-old Vince, and his young sister Poppy. The plot was intriguing and fast-paced. I will definitely look for Clarks other novels. The Ghostwriter would be a great beach read. Discussion questions and author interview are included making this an easy book club selection. Thanks very much for the ARC, I thoroughly enjoyed The Ghostwriter!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebook/Landmark for this ARC!

I love Julie Clark's other books and this one will also be added to my shelf. I loved the twists and turns. I read it on flight! It kept me and engaged throughout.

The Ghostwriter is a family mystery revolving around the murders of an author's siblings. The author's daughter, Olivia, returns to her hometown to ghostwrite the memoir of his father. She is determined to find out what happened in the past and if her father is guilty of the crime. I really enjoyed this book. It was not a fast paced thriller, but a mystery that was slowly unraveled. It was a perfect vacation read.

The Ghostwriter
By Julie Clark
Release Date: 6.3.2025

Thank you @bookmarked for an e-ARC of Julie Clark's latest novel, #TheGhostwriter!

We are introduced to Olivia Dumont, a Ghostwriter who has recently been struggling to find work for paying the bills when out of the blue Vincent Taylor, a horror author suspected of having murdered his siblings decades ago, requests her by name for ghostwriting his memoir. This seems odd to the book world seeing as they are unaware of the relationship that Vincent and Olivia share as being father and daughter. Olivia worked to recreate herself as someone other than Olivia Taylor in order to distance herself from the supposed murderer.

Olivia quickly learns about her father's recent diagnosis which causes memory loss, which makes telling his story more challenging. Is he remembering correctly? Is he lying? Olivia must decide if she owes her loyalty to her father, her diseased aunt and uncle, or her own career.

The Ghostwriter has a slow build up painting the picture of the past in present day with the storytelling by Vincent, interviews by others that had been there, and research. I liked how Clark integrated the diary and camera recordings as well as the dual timeline. I always love a good twist that has me reevaluating everything I thought I knew and Clark did just that!

For readers that enjoy dual timeline, reinvention, psychological manipulation, unreliable characters, twists, and fast-paced suspense.