Quick Synopsis

Her father was accused of murdering his siblings. Now she’s ghostwriting his book—and he’s finally telling the truth.

Publisher’s Synopsis

From the instant New York Times bestselling author of The Last Flight and The Lies I Tell comes a dazzling new thriller.

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.

Book Review

Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont has a new client – prolific fiction writer Vincent Taylor, who is rumored to have killed his siblings as children. He also happens to be Olivia’s estranged father who has commissioned her write his memoir that finally reveals the real story of his life.

The Ghostwriter is a captivating and suspenseful novel about uncovering the past and second chances. At the heart of this story is an emotionally-charged and complex father-daughter relationship. Clark skillfully blends a family drama with an intriguing mystery and a shocking tragedy without overloading the story.

Told in dual timelines and by multiple POVs, this book is a bit of a slow burn to start, but its enthralling plot will urge you forward and keep you guessing. Clark makes the most of the novel’s pace by creating the characters’ extensive backstories. Because the protagonist and her father are fully developed characters, it is easy to become invested in the plot and its outcome.

It takes quite a bit for a thriller to impress me, as I typically guess what happened early on. However, Clark continually makes you question your theories and keeps you guessing. Consequently, I was completely enthralled and closely read every last word.

Overall, The Ghostwriter is a suspenseful, bewitching mystery and among the best I have read in the genre so far this year. I highly recommend it!