I really enjoyed The Ghostwriter! Olivia is a ghostwriter in need of work after getting herself into a bit of a professional scandal. Lucky her, a job falls in her lap in the form of her famous author father, who’s writing a memoir based on the murders of his brother and sister back in the 70s—crimes for which he’s been under suspicion as having committed himself for over fifty years.
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Secrets and family drama and lies, oh my! As Olivia researches the past, aided by her ailing father’s memories and notes and one of the victim’s old videos and diary, we get a picture of sibling turmoil, strained relationships, and precarious family dynamics. The story builds and builds and is layered with chapters set in the past that really add to the tension.
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I thought the middle dragged the tiniest bit, but once we hit 80% I couldn’t put it down! Those final Poppy and Vincent chapters hit with a bang and I loved the ending! The last chapter was surprisingly poignant and moving. 👏
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Four enjoyable stars! Thanks a million to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the arc!

I really wanted to love The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark, but unfortunately, it just didn’t pull me in the way I had hoped. The premise was intriguing, and Clark’s writing is solid, but I found it hard to connect with the characters and the pacing felt slow in parts. There were moments of tension and insight, but overall, the story didn’t grip me or leave a lasting impact. A decent read, but not one that stood out for me.

A good, slow burn thriller. I thought I maybe had it figured out but this was an interesting ride trying to figure out what actually happened. More depth than your typical popcorn thriller.

I love when a thriller keeps me guessing on what is fact and what is fiction, and The Ghostwriter had me doing that until the end. Add in the multiple point of views you get with the flashback chapters and this was another winner from Julie Clark for me!

Olivia is a ghostwriter who is struggling with getting writing gigs and could really use the money since she got herself into a bit of trouble. When she gets the call that the famous writer Vincent Taylor wants her to ghostwrite his memoir, she isn't thrilled about it, because Vincent is her father who she has been estranged from for years. When Olivia and Vincent reunite, she learns that the book she thought she was writing is not the one Vincent wants to tell, he wants to share with the world what really happened when his brother and sister died in the same night.

I liked that Vincent was set up as an unreliable narrator as he shared his family's story with Olivia. Every time she thought she was getting a peak into the past, something happened to make her dismiss everything she learned and it kept me guessing with what really may have happened to Poppy and Danny on that fateful night in 1975. While I did start to piece some things together, the outcome of everything did take me by surprise.

The Ghostwriter was another wonderful novel by author Julie Clark. This is the second I’ve read by this author, and I was not disappointed. This book is a slow burn, family, drama, thriller of sorts that just keeps pulling you in.
The twist and turns were believable, and I found myself eagerly looking forward to picking up the book again and reading more. This is definitely a go to author for me, and I will be looking for other books by her..

#theghostwriter #netgalley

Since reading Julie Clark's previous books, The Last Flight and The Lies I Tell (my favorite), I've been a big fan of her writing. Her latest novel, The Ghostwriter, is another winning story. It's a brilliant, mysterious novel that keeps the reader intrigued and guessing until the end. Getting the perspectives from three of the characters made the story even more interesting. I didn't feel connected to (or even liked) any of the characters, which is the main issue I had with the novel. Also, it seems that so many novels these days, including this one, include as many social/political issues in their books, and they're appearing formulaic. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of the book to read and review.

Julie Clark's latest thriller kept me reading. While there are some weak plot points, the intrigue was enough to keep me turning pages. Unreliable narrators and many suspicious characters will keep readers guessing. This would make a good book club discussion book.

Famous author of horror novels Vincent Taylor is dying. He requests a ghostwriter to help him complete his final and last book, a memoir of his life. Olivia Dumont has not seen or spoken to her elusive father in years. She was sent to boarding school at 14 years old and never went home again. With a different last name, Olivia, also a writer, has slipped under the radar and no-one knows her true identity or the details of her complicated family. When Vincent was a teenage his brother and sister were murdered. The killer never found. Fingers pointed at Vincent for years which only increased sales of his mysterious novels. But now he is ready for the truth to be written and he wants Olivia be the author. But similar to her early childhood, Vincent is still playing games with her clever mind. Olivia must follow his clues to figure out who killed her Aunt Poppy and Uncle Danny. Going back to Ojai, the town she grew up in is hard enough but facing the reasons her mother left and her father’s neglect brings Olivia back into painful memories. Regardless of the outcome and obstacles personally and professionally she remains determined to solve this twisted mystery. Could not put this one down. Well written, fast paced book within a book, a perfect beach read!

𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗘𝗞
Olivia has spent her life distancing herself from her father, Vincent Taylor, a renowned horror author infamous for being the prime suspect in the 1975 murders of his teen siblings. Facing financial hardship, Olivia reluctantly agrees to ghostwrite Vincent’s final book, only to discover that he intends to reveal the truth about the decades-old tragedy.

𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗡
This book gripped me. I’m usually a fast-paced thriller girlie, but I found this slow burn completely addictive. There’s so much care and intention in the way the story unfolds - it needed that slower pace to breathe.

I was honestly hooked on the characters. Olivia is layered and fascinating, and her dynamic with her dad is full of tension, pain, and that complicated kind of love. He’s not super likable, and you’re never totally sure if you can trust him, but there’s something really compelling about him.

The storytelling style is what really stood out for me. It’s told in Olivia’s POV in the present, but the past comes in through a mix of third and first person - and sometimes it’s impossibly all knowing. It’s such a cool narrative choice, and it gives the story this layered, cinematic depth.

The ending was beautiful and bittersweet and everything I wanted. I kept thinking how incredible it would be as a movie - the Super 8 reels, the shifting timelines, the atmosphere.

Quick heads-up: this one does deal with some heavy themes. It’s not particularly graphic, but just know it gets emotionally dark.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗?
Yes, yes, yes. This is my second 5-star read of 2025. It’s beautifully written, full of heart and tension, with a great twist and characters you won’t forget.

Thanks to @Netgalley and @bookmarked for access to this advance readers copy

✨4.5 stars rounded up✨

Wow. This book. It was full of family drama, twists, and turns. I stayed up way too late finishing this book and I have zero regrets. I didn’t want to put it down. I wanted to know all of the secrets. I needed all of the answers. Highly recommend.

The Ghostwriter publishes on June 3, 2025. I was given an advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

I was looking for a thriller to keep me on my toes and this was it!! Olivia is asked to ghostwrite her father’s book. He is suspected of murdering his brother and sister. Very unique storyline that kept me invested the entire time!

Julie Clark's latest release, The Ghostwriter, will have readers on the edge of their seats again (as she did with The Lies I Tell) and flying through the pages in this propulsive slow-burn thriller. Olivia Dumont is a well-known ghostwriter who went viral for all the wrong reasons. On the verge of bankruptcy and selling her beloved home, her agency contacts her with an offer: famous horror-writer Vincent Taylor is writing his memoir and asked exclusively for Olivia. Unbeknownst to her agency and the publisher, Olivia is Vince's estranged daughter and hasn't seen him in more than 20 years.

Vince grew up in the shadows of his popular brother and sister; a bit of an outsider. While most of the town is at a summer carnival, Vince's teenage brother and sister are brutally murdered at home. Vince has a solid alibi but can't escape the notoriety that follows him as many in the town believe he got away with murder. Now, 50 years later, he's ready to tell the truth about his family and what really happened that night-but only to Olivia. What follows is a dual-timeline, multiple POV novel that will have readers questioning everything we are told and every character we meet-I found myself going back and forth a few times until the final twist and secret was revealed. Pick this one up-4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Julie Clark knows exactly how to keep readers on edge. The Last Flight was a nonstop thrill ride, and The Ghostwriter is every bit as twisty and addictive. When two siblings are murdered in 1975, suspicion immediately falls on their brother, Vincent. He has an alibi, but doubt lingers—and for decades, the truth remains buried. Now, as dementia threatens his memories, Vincent hires his estranged daughter to ghostwrite his final book. As she reluctantly steps into his world, the lines between fact and fiction blur, and chilling questions arise: was her father hiding something all along? Smart, layered, and packed with jaw-dropping twists, The Ghostwriter will grip you from the first page and won’t let go until the final, haunting reveal.

Although Ghostwriter Olivia once had a promising career, she's been 'canceled' and unable to secure a job until her father, bestselling horror author, asks for her to ghostwrite his last book.

Olivia has spent the last several decades of her life separating herself from her father's checkered past - no one knows that she is his daughter. So, when his agent reaches out to request her for this book, she is surprised but feels like she has no other option but to take the assignment.

Her father’s siblings, Poppy and Danny, were brutally murdered when they were teens in the 1970s. The crime went unsolved but suspicions have swirled around her father as the suspected perpetrator. Vincent is now ready to tell his side of the story, except he has been diagnosed with Lewey body dementia and Olivia must sift through her father’s memories to determine what is true and what is not.

I really enjoyed this thriller mystery that has a true crime feeling to it. Although there are twists and turns, there is deep exploration of the characters as we get to know them and try to figure out what happened. I was left guessing right up to the end, and unlike with many books in this genre, I wasn't left annoyed at how everything played out. It was enough mystery to keep me on the edge of my seat while still feeling like an authentic narrative (not just a bunch of cheap thrills).

Definitely recommend!

* I received a digital review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

How Stephen King didn't write this book, I DO NOT KNOW.

Do you really need more to a review? That man loves writing about authors!

But Julie Clark has done an amazing job writing a book that had me worried. That is until I read the first line of the Foreword: "I know what your dad did."
BOOM!

What did her dad do???

Olivia Dumont is a ghostwriter. A successful ghostwriter (but unfortunately with a huge lawsuit hanging over her head where she owes half-a-million $ to a competitive writer.)

She's down to her last penny when she gets an assignment from her agent: a hugely bestselling author - very Stephen-ish - personally requests that she ghostwrite what will be his Final Book.

And who might this author be, but her estranged father, who was accused - and never convicted - of brutally murdering his older brother and younger sister when he was a teen.

Thank you Sourcebooks and NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy of The Ghostwriter. It was a wonderful book. Twists and turns, flashbacks and just when I thought.. "no, this can't happen, not realistic," Clark uses the right literary tools to make me think otherwise.

This was a really great read. VERY original. Loved it.

This novel kept me guessing. Greatly enjoyed the intriguing characters and slowly unfolding plot. Well written and plotted.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for offering the opportunity to review! Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I tried to branch out but I just couldn't get into the concept of reading about a man murdering his siblings. Maybe he didn't do it; I didn't let myself get that far but I just couldn't pick up the threads. I'm sure others will love this title, but it just wasn't for me.

This book was 5 stars all the way! Will be back with an updated review!

On a bus tour and bus too bumpy right now to do a decent review

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont's job opportunities dried up after she criticized a fellow author an dis in danger of losing
her home. She has spent her adult life hiding the fact that she is the daughter of horror author Vincent Taylor,
a prime suspect in his siblings' murders years ago. As Victor's memory fades due to Lewy body dementia, he
waants to tell the story of what actually happened.
Engrossing read.
#TheGhostwriter #SourcebooksLandmark #NetGalley

The Ghostwriter
Julie Clark
06/03/2025
Sourcebooks

I could revamp the blurb and tell you what happens in the story, but I took away so much more than that. When Olivia is asked to ghostwrite her estranged father, Vincent’s, final novel, she begins piecing his story together through a kaleidoscope of perspectives—neighbors, friends, teachers, parents, an old diary, forgotten Super 8 reels, and the vivid, often conflicting memories that both she and her father carry. As she immerses herself in the fragments of his life, a fuller picture begins to emerge—one that’s as much about understanding him as it is about rediscovering herself.

Olivia was born into the aftermath of a story already broken, the daughter of a man who took pain and unknown circumstances from his past and carried it with him. While he successfully wrote novel after novel, the only language of love that he was able to express was through treasure hunts and for her, it was a distraction, something to keep her busy. She never understood the importance. Olivia grew up in the shadow of her father’s brilliance, mistaking neglect for her own unworthiness. To the world, he was a tortured genius; to her, just a father who never saw her. He had buried his siblings and, with them, pieces of himself.

Julie Clark does more than tell us an amazing and suspenseful story that is steeped in a 50-year-old unsolved murder—it’s a deeply emotional journey, rich in character development that lingers long after the final page. Every twist was earned, and every character felt achingly real. It's the kind of story that stays with you. The heart of this story lies in the profound healing that unfolds between Olivia and her father—an emotional journey that transcends the pages. It’s in the raw honesty they finally share, and the way Olivia can be honest with herself and become the woman she wanted to be. The Ghostwriter is an unforgettable story that quietly shifts how you see people, grief, and the hidden battles they carry. It’s a powerful reminder that we rarely know the full story behind someone's silence. This book deserves to be recognized as one of the best of the year—because it truly is.