I was excited for this one because I read and loved The Lies I Tell by the same author, and I wasn't disappointed! I enjoyed the flashbacks and dual POV's to try and figure out what happened. I did think it was a tiny bit slow overall and I feel like I was left with some questions still in the end, but it was still a solid thriller and I had a good time reading it!

Outstanding! This book has a woman signing up to ghost write a book by her estranged father, someone who the whole town believes killed his brother and sister years ago. It puts her in an uncomfortable position, because she doesn't necessarily believe what her father is telling her. She decides to try to find out the truth herself and things get complicated.

I really enjoyed this book. There were plenty of twists and turns and the dual timeline worked very well for telling the story.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the digital copy. All thoughts are my own.

Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter that ran into some controversy and ended up in deep debt, and a bad reputation making no one want to work with her. Until a famous horror author, Vincent Taylor asks Olivia to write his last book, a memoir about the murders of his siblings. Vincent is also Olivia's father who she has been estranged from for years. But with no other income sources on the horizon, Olivia accepts the job and goes back to her hometown of Ojai to face the ghosts of not only her past, but also her father's.

The story is told from the POV of Olivia (present), as well as Vincent (past) and his sister Poppy (past). This was a slow burn full of dysfunctional family drama. The characters were really brought to life through their unique perspectives. It's a thought-provoking psychological thriller that keeps you guessing about what really happened when Danny and Poppy were killed.

Everyone has family secrets they want to hide out of embarrassment, shame, or fear. For ghostwriter Olivia Dumont, her father, Vincent Taylor, is not just a horror writer but also a man suspected of killing his siblings, Poppy and Danny. Separated from him by choice, Olivia reluctantly agrees to ghostwrite his final book due to financial need. The book, a semi-autobiographical account, delves into Vincent's past through his memories, Poppy's diary, and her films. As Olivia pieces together their family's dark history, she uncovers secrets that led to tragedy and turmoil. This gripping story is so well-crafted it was hard to put down, and I highly recommend it. The narrative flow was seamless, highlighting how secrets can destroy our lives.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Netgalley and Sourcebooks/ Landmark for providing me with an advanced copy of this book for an honest review. Additionally, thank you Julie Clark for crafting such an excellent story.

Growing up, Olivia’s father loved giving her puzzles to follow, but the questions of his past caused her even more problems. As he became a famous author, her life at home became even more unstable, until she was sent to a boarding school overseas. When she returned years later, her name had changed, and she left everyone from her hometown behind. The story starts when she is offered a new job as a ghostwriter: much to her chagrin, the offer is to live with and write her father’s last story, which is the one of his past. Can she uncover the actual truth, or will her father lead her on another quest with no results? Will she be able to overcome the hurt from the past and her mom’s need to escape? The story alternated between the present and the months leading up to the events that changed her family forever.

Compulsively readable, mysterious until the end. When I had to put this book down for any length of time, I was thinking about it. It kept me guessing and interested from page one until the last page.

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark was ON FIRE! 🔥 📝

Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter and the daughter of legendary horror author Vincent Taylor, who was suspected of killing his siblings as a teenager. Olivia has found herself in some financial precariousness, and is forced to sign on to ghostwrite her father's final book. In no time at all, Olivia realizes that this "job" is going to be much more than the straightforward fiction tale that she was promised.

👏🏻 I was ENGROSSED in this book. I didn't want to put it down. The final chapters were absolutely epic and I don't know how Julie Clark was able to keep it all straight (which made me LOL in the author's note after that it was, in fact, difficult for her to do)! She crushed it! 💪🏻

This thriller was raw and the twists and turns just kept twisting and turning!! A true thriller in that you changed your theory every few pages! This was a slow burn in the best way. 🔥🙌🏻

*Adding all of Julie Clark's books to my TBR pile*

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The Ghostwriter releases June 3, 2025 and is going to be making a splash on so many people's summer reading lists!!

This book was a doozy. It has a bit of everything - suspense, tension, heartbreak, family drama and so much more. The mystery in this was very intriguing and kept me hooked. The multiple timelines were used well and allowed for Clark to reveal small plot points as Olivia was figuring out what really happened back in 1975. The ending was strong and I enjoyed how everything wrapped up nicely. And seriously, those sprayed edges (swipe to see!) might be my new favorite so definitely grab a copy.

I loved this one! Julie Clark hasn't had a novel in awhile, so I was excited to see her name. Great cover and interesting premise.

The Ghostwriter is a twisted mystery where the past comes to light in an author’s ghostwriting of a tell all novel. Olivia Dumont needs money quickly that is the only reason she agrees to be the ghostwriter for her father, the horror author Vincent Taylor. Everyone has always believed Vincent killed his siblings in 1975 and Olivia has finally escaped the stigma only to be pulled back. Vincent is suffering from a severe form of dementia and Olivia has a limited time to uncover the truth. Told in alternating timelines, the story twists and turns until the shocking truth is revealed and Olivia finally sees her father for who he is. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

This is a story about how secrets and misunderstandings can destroy a family. Julie Clark is a great storyteller, and I enjoyed watching this story unfold. The ending was a surprise and answered so many questions!

3.75. An intriguing story, if a little sluggish at points. The end was worth it. Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this mystery. Olivia is a ghostwriter, and the daughter of horror author Vincent Taylor. Rumors have long circulated that he murdered his own siblings, and now, suffering from dementia, he asks Olivia to help him write his memoir about the murders.

There are a lot of family secrets and the characters are flawed, layered, and compelling. I haven’t read anything by Julie Clark before, but after this, I definitely want to read more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Thank you for the ARC! Julie Clark is definitely an auto read for me. This book kept me guessing the entire time. Even though it was a slow burn, I was invested until the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed Poppy’s chapters/POV. Such a great character! I feel like Tom threw me off. He read as is there was going to be a major twist with him but there wasn’t.

I loved the characters, especially Poppy as we looked back. There were some slow moments and I had a hard time staying interested all the way through. I will still try the author's next read!

Thank you to the publisher for this early release copy of The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. I read a lot of thrillers but they typically don't score 5 stars for me but Julie Clark now has 2 thrillers that have hit that milestone for me. I was so engrossed with this book from the very beginning. The story really had some twists and turns and kept me guessing until the end. I have to go and read Clark's backlist because nobody does it quite like she does! Highly recommend!

Complex Story of Generational Trauma. This is one of those tales that reads a touch slow - so be prepared for that - but which ultimately succeeds in having quite an emotional impact due to just how much force it lands with. When, to bring a bit of physics into the equation here, Force is mass multiplied by acceleration, a slow acceleration of a sufficiently sized mass can hit with the same impact as a much faster, yet smaller, object. This book's ultimate mass, all that has happened to each of these characters and all they have gone through as a result of these events, is truly rather substantial. In the end, you're going to see clearly just how these characters became all that they did... even as you may not quite get all the answers you may want as a reader, or perhaps things ultimately play out a touch differently here than you may want in "real life". Regardless, this book stays true to its story as Clark chooses to craft it, and she truly did a particularly great job yet again.

Yes, there is praise for both AOC and Kamala Harris within this text, so there will be some who love it for that alone and others who wish to defenestrate it for that alone, but I can also state that other than one character actively praising an event that is current for that character, the AOC/ Kamala lines in particular are one-offs and not truly central to the story.

Of at least slightly more concern, perhaps still not enough to deduct a star, yet enough to note in the review, is that this *is* yet another book where most straight males are written as antagonists and vile and evil - and yes, combined with the AOC/ Kamala line... again, could be divisive. But while annoying, it also works within the context of this tale as told, and is actually at least used well to enhance the impact of the overall story. Along these lines, there *is* also a gay married couple present, so do with that as you will. Again, I know some will love this and others will want to defenestrate the book over it, so you do you. I for one thought these characters were, again, worked into the story quite well and didn't seem as forced as I've seen these types of characters be in other tales by other authors, so it was neither here nor there for me.

Ultimately there is enough in this tale that various people won't like it for various side reasons. Read the book anyway for the actual main storyline... and maybe be prepared for the room to get quite dusty at a couple of points in particular.

Very much recommended.

A gripping mystery that kept my interest and kept be guessing. Olivia was such a relatable character for me so I connected almost instantly to her and was excited to see what family secrets would be revealed as she went home to write for her estranged father. Moving between the 70’s and present day uncovered so many suspenseful moments and portrayed each time period well. I think knowing how complicated their relationship was early on was helpful especially with as many questions her father’s illness brought about for me as we got deeper into what happened to his siblings. I really enjoyed the twist and had fun chasing my theories as the story unfolded. It was an enjoyable quick read with the perfect amount of suspense that has me eager to read her other novels.

My interest never wavered while reading this suspenseful novel about a ghostwriter who is asked to write her dying father's memoir. Estranged but needing the advance to pay off her house, the daughter takes the assignment and goes home. This story centers around the mystery of the murder of her aunt and uncle as teenagers where her father was a suspect. Relationships and murder are explored culminating in a somewhat predictable effect satisfying ending

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

Thank you Netgalley for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. This book was so written beautifully. It follows Olivia who has shed her old self and has worked hard to separate herself from her famous father. When she is called back to her hometown to be the ghostwriter for her father's memoir--she finds herself finally getting the answers to the questions surrounding the unaliving of her aunt and uncle when they were teenagers. But how much is her father telling the truth or is he trying to change the narrative to look innocent?

I flew through this book and was going back and forth on who to believe. Definitely will be recommending this book.