The Ghostwriter

Author: Julie Clark
Genre: Fiction/Mystery
320 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Synopsis
“I know what your dad did.”

I set down my sandwich. “He wrote a book.”

The boy, whose name I no longer remember, had shaken his head, eyes sparkling with glee to be the one to tell me. To shatter my childhood right there in the school cafeteria. “Your dad killed his brother and sister. Murdered them in their own home.”

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 that she will be forced to reckon with the ghosts that live at the centre of her family. Because after fifty years of silence, Vincent Taylor is finally ready to talk. But is he ready to tell the truth?

My review
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark is an emotional, character-driven mystery that lingers long after you turn the last page. Clark’s storytelling shines, bringing deeply human characters to life in a haunting and twisty tale. This book isn’t just about the mystery. It weaves in a powerful, dysfunctional family drama that adds even more depth. While some twists might feel predictable at first, I constantly second-guessed myself right up until the final reveal. Told through shifting perspectives, the truth remains elusive, and with narrators you can’t fully trust, nothing is ever as it seems.

The story kicks off in June 1975 with a devastating tragedy that shatters the Taylor family. 18-year-old Danny and 14-year-old Poppy are brutally murdered in their home. The only survivor is 17-year-old Vincent, the middle sibling. Danny was the golden boy, admired by everyone, while Poppy was a lively, passionate young activist. Vincent, on the other hand, was the family’s outsider – a quiet, brooding loner. Even those closest to Danny and Poppy couldn’t help but suspect him, but Vincent had an ironclad alibi. He was with his girlfriend, Lydia, and their neighbor, a schoolteacher, at the time of the murders.

In the present day, Olivia, now going by Olivia Dumont, makes a living as a ghostwriter, crafting memoirs for high-profile women. She’s great at what she does, but a scandal involving a notorious colleague has wrecked both her reputation and her finances. Blacklisted in the industry, she can’t afford to say no when she’s offered a chance to write her famous father’s memoir. What follows is an emotional journey as Olivia is forced to face long-buried secrets, reconnect with the people she left behind, and confront how memories, especially the ones we cling to, can shift and distort over time.

As Olivia digs through her father’s messy, disorganized notes, a chilling thought starts to take hold—what if her father was involved in the tragedy all along? The more she uncovers, the more the doubt creeps in. Determined to get to the truth, she sets out on a path that might lead to even darker revelations than she’s ready for. But this time, instead of running, Olivia chooses to face the past head-on, even if it means unraveling everything she thought she knew.

The Ghostwriter is a sharp, brilliantly layered mystery that completely pulled me in. The storytelling is gripping from start to finish, and without a doubt, this is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I can’t wait to see what Clark comes up with next!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Julie Clark for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

My recommendation: definitely worth the read!