The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark is a dark crime thriller that centers on family, loyalty and love. The book asks how far one is willing to go to protect themselves, their family, and the secrets that lie buried in the past.
Long-Buried Secrets
In 1975, Ojai, CA, a family is ripped apart by the murder of two teenage siblings. A third sibling, Vincent, survives, but neighbors, schoolmates and friends never stop believing him responsible for the grizzly crime. Over the next few decades, Vincent becomes an accomplished horror novelist, but he has never been able to shake the accusations that loom over his legacy.
In present day, Olivia Dumont, an esteemed and celebrated Ghostwriter who has recently been embroiled in a scandal that threatens her storied career, is offered a chance at redemption. Vincent Taylor needs help writing his next great horror novel due to a secret medical condition and has requested Olivia by name.
However, when Olivia reluctantly agrees, she gets more than she bargained for as Vincent isn’t looking to write a novel, but rather a memoir in which he finally reveals the truth behind that tragic day 50 years ago. What makes this situation all the more precarious … Olivia is Vincent’s estranged daughter.
A Gripping Thriller
The Ghostwriter is a gripping thriller full of atmosphere, mystery and intrigue. This was my first novel by Clark, and I found her style to be textbook thriller writing. I was impressed by her character work and the clever way she uses a small cast of characters set in a sleepy town in the 70s to craft a gritty and atmospheric experience for the reader.
Her use of descriptive writing and cultural callbacks really immersed me in not only the story itself, but the time and setting. When the book flashed back to Vincent, Danny and Poppy, I was sucked back to a time of rebellious teens, petty sibling grievances over girls, bullying, and dark family secrets.
Those scenes were some of the most visceral for me as a reader, and I really enjoyed the change in perspective between Vincent and Poppy. Due to Vincent’s illness, the unreliable narrative trope is very much in play, and so we must rely on aged Super 8 videos and diary entries out of context to piece it all together.
The story that is being told present day seems to differ from the story that plays out on film and paper in the past, and you are stuck guessing at which is the true account.
An Atmospheric Read
This novel is a rollercoaster that keeps you guessing all the way up to the end.
The complicated history between all of the characters is as much a focus as is the overarching mystery, and the conclusion and final reveals solidly wrap up the story. Motivations fit personalities, and the truth behind that fateful day is entangled with the stories of so many characters, leading to a satisfying reveal and conclusion.
Clark has done a wonderful job blending familial drama, true crime and murder mystery storylines to create a well-balanced novel that will have you turning pages and taking blind guesses as to the truth behind the lies.
While this is labeled as a thriller, the pacing is on the slower side and better aligns with that of a mystery novel, so don’t go into the read expecting a pulse-pounding experience. Instead, sit back and enjoy this heavily atmospheric novel.
About Julie Clark:
Julie Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight. It has earned starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, and theNew York Times has called it “thoroughly absorbing”. It’s been named an Indie Next Pick, a Library Reads Pick, and a Best Book of 2020 by Amazon Editors and Apple Books. Her debut, The Ones We Choose, was published in 2018 and has been optioned for television by Lionsgate. She lives in Los Angeles with her two sons and a golden doodle with poor impulse control.
