Julie Clark’s The Ghostwriter is a haunting, slow-burn thriller that delves into family secrets and blurred truths. Olivia Dumont, the estranged daughter of infamous horror author Vincent Taylor, reluctantly agrees to ghostwrite his final book: a tell-all about the decades-old murder of his siblings. As she sifts through his cryptic notes and her aunt’s old diary, Olivia uncovers chilling revelations that challenge everything she knows.

Clark masterfully built tension, weaving past and present with eerie precision. Though the pacing leans deliberate, the layered mystery and complex family dynamics me turning pages. Olivia’s journey was gripping: part investigative unraveling, part emotional reckoning. Fans of Clark’s previous thrillers may miss the breakneck speed, but the atmospheric storytelling and shocking twists more than compensated. A must-read for lovers of gothic-tinged suspense. 4.25/5 stars!!

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark is a twisty thriller that definitely kept me up past my bedtime because I couldn't wait to find out what happened. It has multiple POV's, a dual timeline, unreliable narrators, and a dysfunctional family. The book is well written and I highly recommend it.

Synopsis:
June, 1975.

The Taylor family shatters in a single night when two teenage siblings are found dead in their own home. The only surviving sibling, Vincent, never shakes the whispers and accusations that he was the one who killed them. Decades later, the legend only grows as his career as a horror writer skyrockets.

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of Vincent Taylor. Now on the brink of financial ruin, she's offered a job to ghostwrite her father's last book. What she doesn't know, though, is that this project is another one of his lies. Because it's not another horror novel he wants her to write.

After fifty years of silence, Vincent Taylor is finally ready to talk about what really happened that night in 1975.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced digital copy of the book.

I really enjoyed this book. I love this author & again, she did not disappoint, definitely recommend.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩.” 🖤

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 was amazing and surpassed all my expectations! It grabbed my attention right from the start and kept it until the end. I really liked the tense relationship between Olivia, the ghostwriter, and her horror writer father, Vincent, who suffered from the early stages of a form of dementia.

Learning about the dark past she had to write about in his memoir added a thrilling element to the story. The details about his childhood and the tragic deaths of his two siblings made the story much deeper.

Julie Clark did a great job with the plot, and creating an unreliable narrator in Vincent, revealing the truth through multiple characters' viewpoints and dual timelines. I also liked the old Super 8 clips included in the book. The characters felt real, their growth made sense, and they kept me guessing.

The ending was very satisfying, especially the twist of Olivia, the daughter of a suspected killer, coming back to write her father's memoir as a smart marketing move.

This book is both a family drama and a mystery thriller, offering emotional depth and real suspense. I also always love books about books. I highly recommend this one!

Many thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Ghostwriter by Julie Clark delivers a compelling mystery rooted in dark family secrets and emotional reckoning. The story follows Olivia, a struggling ghostwriter who takes on a high-paying job only to discover her new client is her estranged father—an aging horror novelist and a long-suspected figure in a decades-old double murder. As Olivia digs deeper into his past, she must confront painful memories and untangle fact from fiction.

Although I enjoyed the book overall, it took a while to get to the heart of the story. The pacing in the first half felt slow, with a lot of setup before the real emotional and narrative substance kicked in. That said, I thought the author did an excellent job portraying what it’s like to interact with and care for a loved one suffering from dementia—capturing both the heartbreak and the confusion with nuance and empathy. And just when I thought I had the mystery figured out, the book surprised me with an unexpected twist at the end that I did not see coming. A solid read for those who enjoy slow-burn thrillers with emotional depth and a final jolt of surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing an ARC of this book to me.

The ghostwriter is a slow burn suspense novel with a father/daughter story at its core. Olivia has always had a fraught relationship with her dad-the famous horror novel, Vincent Taylor, even though she followed in his career path. She is surprised when he asks her to write his memoir for him, as his health is fading due to Lewy body dementia Seeing this as a chance to rebuild her struggling career, Olivia hops at the opportunity. Olivia also sees this as the chance to find out answers to a tragedy that has plagued her family her entire life. In the 70s, her dad’s two siblings were murdered leaving her dad as the sole surviving sibling. However, there was always a twinge of suspicion on him for the murders. Will Olivia clear his name or prove his guilt?

This was a good read! Slow burning filled with twists and turns! I liked the multiple povs in the flashbacks to the 1975 lead up to the murders. The story between Olivia and Vincent propels this and makes it stand out above other thrillers. Well-done!

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book just didn't come together for me—there was both too much and not enough going on. We hear that Olivia's father is a famous horror writer, but never hear anything about his work (which seems relevant, given the rumors around him!). There were too many character POV chapters. I felt like I barely knew anything about Lydia by the end, and Olivia herself, the main character, was also a cipher. The ghostwriting was a good setup, but ultimately, the book just didn't become more than the sum of its pieces.

The Ghostwriter is the first book I’ve read by this author. I really enjoyed this book! It had kinda a slow start, but then it got really good! I did figure out one of the twists, but then I was surprised by the other twists. If you like suspense, mystery and a fast page turner then I recommend you read this book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Julie Clark has done it again! The relationship between father and daughter and the secrets between them kept me hooked the entire book. I was invested with and in Olivia and couldn’t wait to see what really happened. Twists, turns and the slow burn was exactly was I what I always expect from Clark. I will be looking forward to more from her.

A slow burn twisted thriller -running out of money and options, ghostwriter Olivia Dumont takes a job to help write the memoir of famous horror author, Vincent Taylor. What her agent doesn't know is Vincent is Olivia's father - and he has been living with a secret. In 1975, Vincent's brother, Danny, and sister, Poppy, were murdered in their home on the opening night of the local carnival. For years, rumors have swirled that Vincent murdered his siblings. Olivia, who has told people that both her parents are dead (neither are) comes to realize that in order to tell Vincent's story, she must find out what happened on that June evening in 1975. Told in several perspectives - Olivia's, Vincents, and Poppys. Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy.

A ghostwriter named Olivia who ended up being a pariah in the writing industry is about to lose it all ( her house etc). She is asked to ghostwrite a book for her dad Vincent an accused murderer who she has cut off years ago. Vincent is dealing with medical issues and needs his story to be told. Julia is very good about switching through characters point of views. I devoured this book in 48 hours. Stayed up way past my bedtime. The ending was shocking and not at all what I expected. I will be reading way more from Julie Clark and already have some of her other books in my wishlist.

It was shocking, suspenseful and everything I wanted in a thriller. I love julia’s writing and will be reading more of her books. Definitely recommend. Thank you NetGalley!! It’s very hard to get a 5 star but this was a very easy 5 star read for me.

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark, this was a new author for me so wasn't really sure what to expect. Olivia has not seem her parents for many years. Her mother left when she was young, her dad shipped her off to boarding school overseas so she has hard feelings from them both. As a writer whom has gotten in trouble and owes a lot of money to one of her clients, she is desperate and when a job offer comes up to be a ghostwriter to her fathers book she is torn whether to do it or not. She really doesn't have much choice, but once she arrives back in her home town she is thrown for a loop to find out her dad is sick. What follows is a woman's search to find the answers to a mystery that has plagued the town for many years. Overall I found this to be an entertaining read, one that I could connect with the main character. I would recommend this book to others.

I received and ARC from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Powerful, dark, thought-provoking, and twisted, The Ghostwriter delivered a tale packed with both dysfunctional family drama and unbridled suspense. From the well-developed characters who came to life on the page to the claustrophobic feel that delivered in spades, it had me utterly transfixed from the very first chapter. After all, this well-plotted stunner was rife with long-buried secrets, layers of lies, and a family history that was darker than dark. I’m always nervous that the big, giant reveal will land with an anticlimactic plop, but be not afraid as that didn’t remotely happen here. You see, the secrets and lies in this book were both hard-hitting and gut-wrenching in the best possible way.

While the multilayered plot was immersive in the extreme, the characters were the special sauce to this definite slam dunk. Fully fleshed out in a way that only authors as talented as Julie Clark can pull off, the multiple POVs were distinct and realistic. I do have to say, though, that layered in amongst the impeccable characterization was a plot that firmly held my attention. With multiple ground-shifting twists, palpable tension I could feel down to my bones, and an unreliable narrator that had me second-guessing myself, I was in complete and utter awe. And while I probably should’ve expected just such a book given how much I love Ms. Clark’s novels, the poignancy was a welcome addition that I just didn’t see coming.

All said and done, thanks to dual timelines and multiple POVs, this slow burn mix of family drama and thriller had everything I wanted and more as I inhaled page after page. Offering up an onion-like mystery at the core of the plot, the emotionally charged atmosphere kept me on the edge of my seat as the evocative writing of time and place pulled me into the seventies with utter precision. But it was the final last-minute twist that dropped me to my knees. Clever, explosive, and perfectly timed, it had me shouting out “No f***ing way?!” So if you’re looking for a masterclass in suspense that will shock you but good, grab a copy today. After all, this haunting story will easily wiggle itself into your brain. Rating of 5 stars.

Thank you to Julie Clark, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for my complimentary physical and digital copies. All opinions are my own.

Wow! Julie Clark did not disappoint! I absolutely devoured this book. I loved the alternating timelines, the many twist and turns and the overall suspense!


Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks landmarks for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

The Ghostwriter is a family mystery that reads like true crime. I appreciated one of the main characters having Lewy Body Dementia as it added not only an unreliable storyteller but also made the father-daughter dynamic more real. The shifting POVs from current to 1970s flashbacks gave unique perspectives that made you question what you thought you knew. Very well done.
 
Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thrillers that bring a character back to their hometown to face the past are my absolute favorite, and The Ghostwriter delivered exactly what I love. I was completely drawn in by the alternating timelines and perspectives, especially the chapters from the past that slowly revealed just enough to keep me guessing. I found myself trying to piece together the twists in real time, and I loved every second of it. Julie Clark knows how to keep readers hooked and constantly second-guessing. This one’s a must-read for fans of layered, emotional suspense.

The Ghostwriter
by Julie Clark
Pub Date: Jun 03 2025

The Ghostwriter is a twisty mystery, intertwined with a deeply sentimental and dysfunctional family drama with tragic events. Family drama, mystery and tragedy all in one story! The story is full of suspense, emotion and twists and turns. It started out a little slow but hang in as when it picks up you won't want to stop until you are finished!

Synopsis: 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. 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 centre of her family.

Many thanks to #Sourcebooks #Landmark #NetGalley #TheGhostwriter for providing me an E-ARC of this book.

This book was fantastic! Such an intricate, well thought out mystery. I loved how the author moved from past to present and included the voice of different characters in the story. I also liked how the readers knew the real story of what had happened and the main characters had most of the details, but not all. Great book! Highly recommend it to those who love a good mystery!

Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Julie Clark is an auto buy author for me. I found her years ago with her first novel and never looked back.

The Ghostwriter is perfection. Messy family drama, small town, sibling rivalry… it has it all.

There were so many twists and turns. I thought I had it figured out then bam! Nope!

This would be a great read on a plane as you have no where else to go and can be read in one sitting.

Pick it up. You won’t be disappointed.

I read this at the same time as We Don't Talk About Carol and they were strangely similar. I liked it at first but felt like it was slow the more I got into it. I didn't find any of the characters very likable.