I absolutely loved The Last Flight and I’ve been looking forward to this one ever since. It did NOT disappoint. Julie Clark is so skilled at hooking her reader and keeping them turning pages. I couldn’t put this one down- I needed answers.

The Ghostwriter is the story of ghostwriter, Olivia DuMont- really Olivia Taylor. She has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of Vincent Taylor who was accused of murdering his siblings in the 70s. But did he really do it?? She is offered the job of ghostwriter on a very secretive, special project: writing her father’s memoir. As the story progresses, though, all is not as it seems. Or is it?

This book kept me guessing and second guessing throughout the entire story. At many points throughout, I thought I might have figured it out, and no. No, I did not. This is a must read. Thank you to NetGalley and to Sourcebooks Landmark for this early read of The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This thriller kept me up late into the night, trying to figure out the true story behind the murders of a brother and sister fifty years after the events took place in Ojai, CA. The unreliable narrator is the surviving sibling, Vincent Taylor, a famous author who was suspected but never charged with his siblings' murders, now unable to write his memoir due to a debilitating cognitive disease. He recruits his daughter Olivia, a formerly successful ghostwriter, who hasn't spoken to him in several decades, to share his story with the world. As Olivia tries to piece together the truth behind her family's tragedy, she also must face how this secret trauma has infiltrated every aspect of her life, no matter how hard she tried to compartmentalize her past. Two timelines and multiple POVs, past and present, make this a complex, interwoven mystery that left me trying to figure out the true story until the very last pages. A great summer read. Highly recommend!

Oh my! I was delighted to receive an advance copy of Ghostwriter from NetGalley. This could be misconstrued as a whodunnit, but is so much more. A tragedy and a dysfunctional family combine to lead the reader on a journey with many twists and turns. As a reader becomes invested in conjuring up their own theories only for, the plot takes another unexpected development. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the book!

I absolutely loved this book. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. I love the different POV from journals, films, manuscripts and personal accounts. This hops back and forth from the 1970's to present day to give a full picture view of the events that occurred. I loved the concept of this book and it didn't feel like a book written within a book, sometimes those can be a lot. This was more of the writing process and discovering what took place during that time. It was very mysterious and had you thinking it was multiple people throughout the book.

Highly recommend giving this one a read. I've read others from her via audiobook and really enjoyed them. But, this one was my favorite from her!

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for the early copy!

The Ghostwriter is a psychological thriller. The story follows Helena Ross, a renowned romance novelist who has just months to live. Determined to write one final book, Helena decides to reveal the truth about a tragic event that has haunted her for years.

As Helena races against time, she hires a ghostwriter to help her complete the manuscript. The novel unfolds through Helena's confessions, revealing layers of deception, guilt, and the devastating impact of her lies. The book progresses and is filled with unexpected twists and reveals shocking truths piece by piece. The book was heartbreaking and thought-provoking that keeps you guessing until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy.

Very interesting premise and a "fun" read as far as thrillers/mysteries go. For me it was a constant changing of my mind between "yes he did, no he didn't" and I love that in my stories. It just adds to the dread factor and makes for an enjoyable mystery ride.

I went into this book expecting more but I just never really connected with the characters. The story never grabbed me and I was just never very interested. Vincent was never a sympathetic character and his daughter Olivia was somewhat boring. Together they couldn't drum up interest in trying to figure out what happened years ago.

In the summer of 1975, Vincent Taylor's teenage brother and sister were murdered during the end-of-school carnival in Ojai, California. As rumors and suspicion swirled about him, Vince leaned into his infamy becoming a renowned horror novelist. After decades of literary success, substance abuse, and bad behavior, he decides it is time for the truth about his siblings' murders to be made public in a memoir. The talent behind dozens of memoirs, Olivia Dumont is contacted to ghostwrite Vince's book. A publishing pariah after speaking out about another ghostwriter's misogyny, Olivia desperately needs the job. One hitch, Vince is her father and they've been estranged since he dumped her at boarding school in Europe as a teenager. Back in her hometown, Olivia is up against an unreliable source and a truth murkier than anyone imagined. I thoroughly enjoyed The Ghostwriter and cruised through it in a day (and 5 minutes the next day because my iPad died with 2 pages to go!)

The Ghostwriter is a brilliant thriller premised on what we remember, what we have seen, and the truth. The main character, Olivia Taylor Dumont, is a ghostwriter who reluctantly accepts a project for financial reasons. The glitch — the subject interested in hiring her is none other than her estranged father, Vincent Taylor, a famous horror author. Despite his talent, a cloud has always followed Vincent after his younger sister Poppy and older brother Danny were brutally murdered at home in 1975, leaving Vincent as the sole surviving sibling and the presumed killer.

As it turns out, Vincent does not want Olivia to ghostwrite a novel for him, but a memoir based on the murders. However, Olivia soon learns that her father is an unreliable narrator as he is dying from Lewy Body Dementia, and his version of the facts does not match up with what Olivia has gleaned from witnesses and other evidence. But all is not as it seems, and it is up to the reader to solve the mystery with not only the evidence accessible to Olivia, but also contemporary accounts from Poppy, Vincent, Danny, and Olivia’s mother Lydia, that Olivia has no access to. The novel powerfully questions what the reader really knows about the truth, both inside and outside the novel, as well as the corrosive power of secrets long after the truth is left untold. 5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with a complimentary advanced copy of this book.

It's soooo good. Like finish it in 2 days good. My first book by Julie Clark and I'm definitely going to read more!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the advance copy.

A slow burn, who-dun-it thriller, but more so why?
Why would someone kill two teenage siblings?
So many suspects and fifty years later, the killer is still unidentified.

Vincent Taylor, once a celebrated horror novelist, has spent decades living under the shadow of suspicion for the brutal 1970s murders of his teenage siblings. Though the police cleared him, the public never did. His estranged daughter Olivia, who has carefully built a new life under a different identity as a successful ghostwriter, has long tried to escape the haunting legacy of her family’s past. But when Vincent reaches out with a surprising request, for Olivia to write his memoir and help him finally tell the truth, she is pulled back into the mystery that shattered her family. As Olivia digs deeper, long-buried secrets surface, forcing her to confront not only what really happened that night, but also the lasting impact on her family and the person she has become.

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark is a smart, suspenseful read that hooks you from the very first sentence. It is a story filled with secrets, shifting identities, and the emotional weight of past trauma. The dual timeline structure is executed well, gradually revealing just enough to keep you turning pages late into the night.

The characters are richly developed and intricately connected. Though Vincent is far from the perfect father, I found his character compelling... mysterious, flawed, and uniquely endearing with his habit of communicating through scavenger hunts, which added a fun layer to the story. The book also offers a nostalgic journey back to the 1970s, a time marked by debates over women’s rights, the normalcy of hitchhiking, and the novelty of video cameras.

Slow burns have a tendency to drag down the storyline, but this book kept my attention and kept me guessing until the very end. I love a book with dysfunctional family dynamics and this one did not disappoint. You don't know what is true, if memories remain accurate over time and who you can fully trust.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this novel!

In this story there are many secrets and lies to unravel, made all the more difficult by the fact that Vince Taylor has Lewy Body Dementia and his memory isn't reliable. The story is told from the povs of various characters in a series of flashbacks as well as Olivia's current-day investigation. I really liked the story and the characters and the ending, although not a total surprise to me, was satisfying. This is the first book by Julie Clark that I've read although I have a couple of others on my to-read list which I hope to get to sooner rather than later.

TW: There are some triggers that readers should be aware of including rape, abortion, pedophilia. harm to an animal (cat), although none are terribly graphic.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, via Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this novel. All opinions expressed are my own. This review will be published on Goodreads and on amazon.ca on June 9, 2025
Publication Date: June 3, 2025

Olivia is a ghostwriter who spent her career hiding the fact that she's the child of horror author Vincent Taylor, famous not only for his novels but for being suspected of the murder of his siblings. When her career is spiraling, she reluctantly agrees to ghostwrite her father's last book.

This mystery is told with multiple points of views and a dual timeline, helping you piece together what happened to Vince's siblings 50 years earlier and questioning the truth. There's a lot going on in the story that took me a little to get into -- lots of personal drama mixed with dysfunctional family dynamics — but ultimately it's like a puzzle, sifting through fact or fiction, I enjoyed the ride. I especially loved the chapters from Poppy's view. It wasn't as fast-paced as Clark's previous novels, but I enjoyed it overall as it kept me guessing until the end.

The perfect slow burn family drama/thriller for your next beach vacation. It was both a light read and had enough of a suspenseful, twisty plot that kept me coming back and eagerly flipping the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an advance digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.

The Ghostwriter is both a thriller and a family sage. Olivia is a ghostwriter by profession, who has also been hiding her past from her partner and her employer. She hasn't spoken to her parents in many years. Her dad is a famous thriller writer with a mysterious past, as his two teenage siblings were murdered and he has long been a suspect. The way Olivia finds out about what happened is a bit of a puzzle, as she can't trust her dad, either his memory or his honesty and she finds many other clues along the way. It's not totally satisfying in the end, but it's a good story and fun to read.

4.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to @bookmarked and @netgalley for my #gifted copy of this book!

What a ride this was! I absolutely loved this book. I will say that it starts a little slow and definitely is more of a slow burn (no pun intended), but the payoff is so good.

When I got back into reading two years ago, The Last Flight by Julie Clark was one of the very first books I picked up and I really enjoyed it. I do think this one is even better though 🤩 The FMC, Olivia, is a ghostwriter who ends up (reluctantly) agreeing to ghostwrite her estranged father’s final book.

Olivia’s father, though, has SO many secrets, and his health is declining, so the truth isn’t exactly clear. This story has multiple POVs and the dual timeline really helps to pull all of the details of the mystery together. It’s super well organized and the twisty reveals are paced nicely so you get several surprises at various times. I was definitely shocked and really found myself having no clue what the ACTUAL truth in this story was. Julie Clark does a fantastic job keeping you second guessing everything the whole book long.

The parent-child relationships in this book are so well developed and feel real. I love the warring emotions Olivia wrestles with as she reflects on her past and grapples with her present—with both her dad and her absentee mom.

This one really picked up around the halfway mark and it became so hard to put down—I desperately needed to know what was going to happen. So if you’re looking for those vibes, this should hit the mark for you! Definitely not one to miss for thriller lovers everywhere.

This is the third time I’ve had the privilege of being an early reader and reviewer for a Julie Clark novel, and once again, I’m so glad I said yes. The Ghostwriter is everything I’ve come to expect from her: smart, tightly written, emotionally layered, and compulsively readable.

Clark consistently gives us intelligent, capable female leads, and Olivia is no exception. I loved how grounded and relatable she felt—even while grappling with the weight of her mistakes and a notorious family legacy. Hiding the fact that she’s the daughter of Vincent Taylor—the horror writer at the center of a decades-old double murder—has shaped Olivia’s entire life. Now, she’s been asked to ghostwrite his final book... only to find out he’s finally ready to talk about what really happened that night in 1975 when Vincent’s brother and sister were murdered in their family home.

The complicated father-daughter dynamic at the heart of this story gives it some emotional depth and brings a very human element to a plot rooted in long-held secrets and decades-old trauma.

The twist near the end is satisfying as I truly couldn’t work out exactly who was responsible for the murders. The nod to one of Clark’s previous books was a clever bonus and put a big smile on my face.

Easy, engaging, and entertaining, I read it in less than 24 hours. If I had one quibble, I wish the ending was just a bit more dramatic with Olivia possibly placed in a tense and/or dangerous situation.

Olivia Dumont is a successful Ghostwriter who has specialised in writing memoirs of accomplished women. She has also successfully hidden the fact that she is the daughter of popular horror author Vincent Taylor, who was a major suspect in the unsolved brutal murders of his brother Danny and sister Poppy when they were all teenagers in 1975.

After a very public stoush with another author who successfully sued her, Olivia now has huge legal bills to pay with no new writing contracts on the horizon. So, when she is invited to ghostwrite a memoir for the author Vincent Taylor, after he is diagnosed with a type of dementia, she reluctantly agrees, without revealing her relationship to him. She also hopes going back to the town where she grew up will give her the chance to finally know more about her father and why her mother left both of them when Olivia was young.

This is an excellent slow burning suspense, as Olivia tries to piece together the pieces of Vincent’s life and the death of his siblings. With Vincent’s memory failing, he’s the ultimate unreliable narrator and it’s difficult for Olivia to sort out the truth, but she knows how to research and find what she needs so slowly all the pieces of the puzzle do start to fall into place. The plot is cleverly put together with sufficient suspense, twists and revelations to keep the reader totally engaged. The family dynamics are complicated, in both the previous and current generation with deep secrets being withheld from one another, with tragic results. Both atmospheric and haunting, this is an immersive and emotional tale.

This book was exactly what I hope for in a mystery thriller. I read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed the writing. I did see some of the bigger twists coming but it didn't take away from my enjoyment. I received this as an eARC and will immediately be purchasing the physical copy!

The you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC of The Ghostwriter in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s get straight to the point here…I loved this book so much. I was so frustrated that at times, life got in the way of me being able to just sit and devour this mystery, but when I could dedicate a large chunk of time to working my way through The Ghostwriter, I absolutely loved it. Couple key call outs that really hit home for me:

First of all, I’m a complete sucker for an unreliable narrator. Anything that introduces inconsistencies and confusion..sign me up! We had that with Vincent’s character in spades! I also loved the multi person perspective throughout the summer of 1975. As we sat with Olivia’s character in present day, it was the historical characters of her father and aunt that helped insert clues into an otherwise inconsistent storyline and kept the reader from being able to truly nail down a theory until the very end. Which brings me to the third thing I loved, which is the very well placed and fast paced plot twists the reader experiences, especially within the last 20 pages of the book. Where this can sometimes feel like whiplash for the reader, Julie Clark does this so effortlessly that it just makes your head spin in the best way possible. I had three main working theories the entire time, but it was impossible to bring them together! In the end, it turns out pieces of all 3 of my theories were correct, which I certainly did not see coming!

This book was truly a joy to read and I certainly see why BOTM featured The Ghostwriter as a book selection for their June books. Out June 3rd, run and grab a copy of The Ghostwriter and buckle up! You’re in for a wild ride!