Julie Clark has only published amazing books and the Ghostwriter is no different. We’re following Olivia as she ghostwrites her father’s memoir from when his brother and sister were murdered. But could he be guilty of those murders?

I love the writing and the depth of the characters. The story is original and sucked me in right away. I couldn’t stop reading once I started. I also enjoyed the glimpses into the past through the murdered sister’s eyes. It was like the reader was in on the secrets.

I’ll never not read a new book by this author. The Lies I Tell was my favorite book of 2022. This one is definitely a contender for this year.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

Secrets hidden and tossed in an abyss deepening from the past.

Julie Clark creates another tightly wound and engaging novel in The Ghostwriter. I enjoyed her other novels: The Last Flight (2020) and The Lies I Tell (2022). Clark folds up the corners precisely and never lets dangling threads of unnecessary plot points mar her work. Guaranteed and received.

The Ghostwriter takes us to the unsettled life of Olivia Dumont. As pages turn, we'll soon find that Olivia has put her house up for sale and is in massive debt. She's outspoken and it cost her. There's a $500,000 lawsuit settlement that she's having to pay along with attorney fees. Expressing herself came at a cost.

Olivia is that ghostwriter from the title. Her agent, Nicole, contacts her with an offer that she can't honestly refuse at this point in her life. She's to ghostwrite a memoir from a famous horror writer. Turns out the famous author is her estranged father, Vincent Taylor. At any other time, Olivia would have run the other way. But being desperate for cash, she accepts.

And herein lies the secrecy. Olivia signs a contract stipulating that she cannot divulge her identity or speak to anyone about the upcoming book. The weight of the book circles around the deaths of Vincent's brother and sister back in 1975. Vincent has always been looked upon as their murderer. There was never enough evidence to support that......but people talk......and talk.

The Ghost writer showcases Julie Clark's ability to only spoonfeed small amounts of details tiny bites at a time. Olivia's stomach clenches as she wrestles with unpacking boxes of long ago memories. Add to this the fact that Vincent has been recently diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disease with no cure. It's up to Olivia to sort through the darkening secrets from the past in order to find the truth......even if it proves her father guilty. The Ghostwriter is chock full of gripping details. It'll hook ya. So prepare to be hooked.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and to the talented Julie Clark for the opportunity.

What a great family mystery! The author does an amazing job slowly revealing secrets as Olivia uncovers more and more about her father’s past. The twists were a little predictable but the way they emerged was very well done and satisfying. I loved how it all came together and how my perspective of each of the characters shifted over time along with Olivia’s. I really liked her character and Poppy’s. At times they overlapped a bit in my head but it was for a good reason. Highly recommend this book to any mystery lovers!

Once upon a time, two children were murdered in their home. Siblings. Leaving one brother, not home at the time, alive. No one was ever convicted. This tragedy is the foundation Olivia's life is built upon.

The surviving sibling is Olivia's father, Vincent. He's become a global sensation for his horror novels, but before that, he was sensational for being the lead suspect in his siblings' murders. Olivia and her father had a falling out years ago, and she separated herself from him as much as she could. She even married a man she didn't love in order to change her last name. Blood runs thick though, and she ended up in the same industry as her father, ghostwriting books for other famous authors. Now, on the edge of financial ruin after a big scandal, the only job available is from Vincent Taylor, and he said she's the only one he'll work with. It's the first time returning home for Olivia, and she wants to get back out as soon as possible, but when she gets there, she realizes she might be able to finally learn the truth. Is her father a killer? Or was he always telling the truth about that night?

What a compelling psychological thriller! The backstory of this novel is so rich and murky at the same time. Enough details to create that dark misty tone for the past, but not enough to give away the store.

I always love the devices authors use to add doubt to the information the reader receives, so we don't know what's real and what may be a lie. In this case, Olivia's father has a disease that affects his mind, and we all know human memory is fallible anyway. I love that feeling when reading a book like this that you never really know what the reality is, and what is fabricated. It leaves a lot of room in your mind to sort through evidence and form new theories up until the very end.

In this story there are quite a few scenarios that seem likely as Olivia learns more about her family history. It's the story of one family's darkest hour, and it has been shrouded in mystery and doubt all these years.

The characters are believable and well formed, the writing is clear and atmospheric, the plot is complex and interesting, and just look at that stunning cover!

I'm very happy to have received this book for early review via the publisher through netgalley, and I'm excited to have another author's backlist to add to my TBR!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A compelling, dark puzzle that's fresh and electrifying. The suspenseful, slow-burning plot that kept my interest and kept me reading.

This book was a mixture of genres - full of mystery and intrigue, history, suspense and family drama. Would not put this in the thriller genre because it was more of a slow burn than your usual fast pace but it had me hooked from the start! Olivia was such an interesting character and I really liked the character development and the authors writing style. The relationship between Olivia and her father was intriguing and the reader can’t tell what’s the truth and what’s not. There are twists and turns all throughout and when I thought I had it figured out I was taken aback with how wrong I was. I was second guessing everything and I really enjoyed the pace and how engaged I was the entire time. I highly recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

Another exceptional book by Julie Clark. Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont finds herself ostracized because of her negative comments about another writer and her career takes a downward turn. Then she receives a phone call from her agent telling her that famous author Vincent Taylor wants Olivia to finish his novel for him. Olivia knows all too well the story of Vincent's life as he is her estranged father. When he was a teen his brother and sister were brutally murdered and he lived in the shadow all his life even though he became famous. Julie Clark spins a wonderful web and sucks the reader right in. Every much enjoyed this book.

4.5 Stars
OMG! This was a great, dark family drama. It was full of mystery and history. I was hooked from the very beginning. I wanted to understand Olivia, her father, and what happened to her aunt and uncle in 1975. Whatever it was, shaped Olivia's entire life. I wouldn't say that this is a horror story, but it was suspenseful and full of twists! I loved it!

I really enjoyed this book. I love family dramas and how their lives are affected by each other, and this book didn’t disappoint! I will definitely recommend this to friends!

I have read several other books by Julie Clark so was really excited to read this new one. And it did not disappoint. Imagine if things you thought you knew about your parents that caused you to become estranged turned out to be very different from what you thought you knew. The twists and turns in this story kept me turning pages to find out what the real story was. I would definitely recommend this book.

This was a solid thriller. A little bit all over the place, and the ending felt muddled, but lots of twists and end of chapter cliff hangers that I enjoyed. Kind of saw the ending coming, but still not sure because it was also a little confusing?

This book took me quite a while to get into but when it clicked I fell hard and could not put it down.
It is the story of Vincent Taylor a horror author who was involved in a tragedy- the murder or his brother and sister that was never solved. For not very good reasons Vincent was still felt to be a suspect especially amongst the people in the area. His daughter Olivia has estranged herself from both her parents and has become a celebrity ghostwriter of some renown. Vincent contacts her to write his memoir of the tragedy. Out of financial desperation as well as some need to put the family story to rest Olivia accepts.
Initially I felt the author was being deliberately obtuse about providing facts and it was frustrating. However about 1/3 in it began to click and became totally absorbing. There were so many twists and turns and nothing was as it seemed.
I found the ending very satisfying and clever.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC to read. This was a big winner for me!

Olivia Dumont is pretty much broke.

When she is asked to ghostwrite a book for none other than horror author Vincent Taylor who is her father she hasn’t talked to for years, she has a difficult decision.

But….with overwhelming debt she agrees.

When she sees her father after thirty years, she finds out he is very ill and has written a memoir about his childhood.

That childhood is one that is a horror story. He was accused of killing both his brother and his sister.

Will she find out what she never knew about her father and the murders of her aunt and uncle?

How will this all play out for Olivia?

Writing this book turns out to be more difficult than she thought it would be and not what she wanted to find out about her family.

Fans of Julia Clark will enjoy her newest tense, pull-you-in read that started out slowly but ends with a bang. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Ghostwriter tells the story of a a ghostwriter whose career has been derailed by her calling out a white male author’s bad behavior. It’s to the point where she’s going to have to sell her house. But then, her agent calls, and she’s suddenly thrust back into her father’s life after many years of not speaking to him.

Her dad, Vincent, has long been thought the murderer of his sister and brother. Now, he finally wants to share his side of the story. But can he stop lying long enough to get his story straight?

This was a decent book, but it didn’t have the extra oomph to make it a 4-star book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

This is the most anticipated book I had for 2025. Julie Clark is one heck of a writer. I read a few reviews where they thought the pacing was slow. I stayed up way too late a couple nights because I thought the opposite. Other than saying I’ve loved every single one of her books and am so happy to report they keep getting better - read this!! Thank you thank you for early copy. You about made me cry with that approval.

3.5/5. I didn’t like this as much as the Last Flight, but the back and forth narration style worked for this story.

This 👏🏻 Book 👏🏻 was 👏🏻 incredible 👏🏻

I loved everything about it! The murder mystery, the uncovering of a story while writing a story, the flashbacks to the 70s, sweet sweet Poppy, the plot, the characters.. everything about this book was so well done! I will be buying a physical copy to go on my trophy shelf if that tells you how much I loved it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to @bookmarked and @netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review. PUB DATE: 6/3

Olivia Dumont is a Ghostwriter. That is, she is the actual author behind the books “supposedly” written by your favorite athlete, actress, politician, etc. Being a Ghostwriter enables her to go behind the scenes, her favorite spot.

Her father is Vincent Taylor, the famous horror author. He is also famous for having been the prime suspect in the case of the murders of Vincent’s younger sister and brother. However, his alibi was sound. Olivia’s father sent her to boarding school while he worked and it was there that she changed her name to avoid being identified as her father’s daughter. Olivia Dumont is her new name.

Olivia’s agent tells her that she, Olivia, has been specifically requested to be Vincent Taylor’s Ghostwriter. Olivia seriously damaged her career when publicly arguing with another famous author during a book talk. Since then she’s been unable to find work. Olivia realizes that almost no one knows who she is, especially in relation to Vincent Taylor but she needs the job, she needs the money. And now she’s curious as to why her father would reach out to her after all of these years.

A unique and exciting family crime mystery with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you author Julie Clark, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy of this book. Publication date: June 03, 2025

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Wow. I finished this book yesterday and had to take a minute to collect myself and write this review. This is one of the best most twisted surprising books I have read in a long time.

The book tells the tale of Olivia and her famous suspense author father. He is also suspected of killing his siblings when he was a teenager. Olivia is tasked with being his ghostwriter for his memoir. Will she be able to get her father justice or convict him?

Be prepared to think you have it figured out and then think wait no now I have it figured out and then be ready to be surprised. This is my must read thriller for the summer!!! Five stars.

The Ghostwriter was a hit! The way Julie Clark revealed information while withholding the actual truth was outstanding. With unreliable narrators, lies, and a hopeful ending, you've got it all. Very strong!