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.
My Thoughts After Reading:
Would you look at those beautiful sprayed edges!? I love them as much as the pages they are printed on.
In The Ghostwriter, Julie Clark blends family drama, literary intrigue, and a decades-old murder mystery into a compelling novel about truth, memory, and the stories we tell. If you enjoy character-driven suspense with emotional depth, this is a book that will keep you turning pages late into the night.
Clark expertly layers multiple timelines and perspectives (one of my favorite formats), creating a mystery that is as much about family trauma and reconciliation as it is about uncovering a killer. I really felt for every member of this family, even those originally portrayed as the villain. Knowing Poppy’s fate, her chapters were the most emotionally impactful. Although, the ending will leave your heart aching for everyone impacted.
There’s ‘A Conversation with The Author’ section at the end of the book where Clark shares that the inspiration for this book came from an urban legend in her home town about two murdered children. I enjoyed learned that the book sprang into being via another story – a story where the full truth will never be known. There is a recurrent theme throughout a book: everyone’s truths are different – shaped by their vantage point, experiences and recollection of memories. And the picture of an event is only whole when everyone chooses to share their truth.
Why a mystery thriller for June? Well, the murders take place in June. So, while it’s not your typical beachy summer read – it evokes a ‘last summer’ vibe.
-Michelle
