The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Today I’m diving into one of my most anticipated reads of the summer, The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. This one became an instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller, and I couldn’t wait to share all my thoughts with you.

In this post, you’ll find my full review, a summary, the ending explained, and answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the book. I hope you enjoy!

Let’s jump in!

Spoiler-Free Zone
This section of the post is completely spoiler-free, no twists revealed, no key plot points given away. It’s safe to keep reading, even if you haven’t started the book yet.

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark completely pulled me in. It’s a slow-burn mystery that builds in the best way, it’s layered, sadly heartbreaking, and super addictive. The book feels like a puzzle, slowly and painfully coming together piece by piece. It’s emotional and introspective, but also heavy and at times very dark, especially because it explores themes like illness, trauma, complicated family dynamics, and hidden secrets. It’s beautifully written, with amazingly well-developed characters.
Truly a 5-star read!

The Ghostwriter – Book Synopsis

Published 5 June 2025

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.

Goodreads Rating

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Title	The Ghostwriter
Author	Julie Clark
Genre	Thriller, Crime, Psychological Thriller, Mistery Thriller
Format	352 pages, Paperback
Published	5 Jun 2025, Zaffre
ISBN 10	1804188522
ASIN 13	978-1804188521
Language	English
Bestseller List	New York Times Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller

Author’s Bio – Julie Clark

Julie Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ones We Choose and The Last Flight, which was also a #1 international bestseller and has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in Los Angeles with her family and a golden doodle with poor impulse control.

Check her Official Website: Julie Clark

Consider adding The Ghostwriter to your TBR list on Goodreads.

We Are All Guilty Here – Quick Summary

The Ghostwriter – Trigger Warnings, Sensitive Topics and Age Rating

Before we go any further, I always like to include a quick note on sensitive content. Every reader is different, and some themes in this book might be difficult for certain people.

If you prefer to check content warnings before reading, just click below to reveal the list of trigger warnings, sensitive topics and age ratting.

Age Rating

18+ (Mature Readers Only)
Due to the intense subject matter, and mature themes, this book is best suited for adult readers. It may not be appropriate for younger teens.

Trigger Warnings / Sensitive Topics:

Death of a child
Murder and violence
Sexual assault (mentioned)
Dementia (Lewy body)
Alcoholism and substance use
Emotional abuse and trauma
Child abandonment and grief
Abortion (mentioned)
Bullying and sexism
Toxic relationships
Medical trauma and hospital scenes
Animal death or cruelty

Notes

This book includes a range of sensitive topics that may be distressing for some readers. While the writing is literary and not overly graphic, the themes are emotionally heavy and complex.

Plot Overview

The Ghostwriter is a slow-burn mystery that blends a haunting cold case with deeply personal family drama. The story follows Olivia, a struggling writer who takes on a ghostwriting project she didn’t ask for, helping Vincent, a famous screenwriter and her estranged father, write his memoir. But this time, he’s not interested in polishing his legacy or crafting another mystery bestseller. He wants to finally tell the truth about something that happened in their family decades ago, something that still haunts him every day: the murder of his two siblings, Poppy and Danny, inside their home in the summer of 1975.

As Olivia works through his memories, she begins to uncover more than just old stories. There’s a truth Vincent has been hiding for years, and the deeper she goes, the more painful and complicated it becomes. The book moves between past and present, and through different points of view, slowly revealing how long-buried secrets and unresolved trauma have shaped each one of them.

My Thoughts

What I Loved

What I loved most about The Ghostwriter, besides the amazing writing that builds the tension so well, was how we get to see the past through Vincent and Poppy’s points of view.

The author tells us early on that Vincent loves treasure hunts and puzzles, and that he used to create them for his daughter, Olivia. That detail really stuck with me, because reading his and Poppy’s chapters felt just like that, like piecing together a puzzle. I loved slowly working through the clues, bit by bit, trying to figure out what really happened.

What made it even more interesting was how the story is told using different formats, like Poppy’s diary and the camera footage she recorded during that tragic summer in 1975. Those pieces made everything feel even more real and emotional. This is one of the main reasons I couldn’t put the book down. I felt like I was right there with Olivia, uncovering the truth one clue at a time.

What Surprised Me

The characters in this book are so well developed. I loved how layered they felt, especially Olivia and Vincent. Their relationship is complicated and tense, and watching them navigate their shared past after so many years apart really adds emotional weight to the story.

Early on, we learn that Vincent is suffering from Lewy body dementia, which makes some of his memories foggy and confused. That adds a whole other level to the mystery. How do you trust someone whose mind is slipping, someone who is heavily medicated, to tell the truth about something that happened decades ago? He becomes a classic unreliable narrator, and that uncertainty made me question everything he shared.

That’s where we have to trust Olivia’s instincts. She has to read between the lines, try to figure out what’s real and what’s been distorted, all while dealing with the pain of their estrangement and the emotional weight of his illness. It’s not just about solving a mystery, it’s about facing the past, unpacking grief, and coming to terms with everything left unsaid for far too long.

Vibe Check

The whole vibe of the book feels like a sad and heartbreaking puzzle, piece by piece slowly coming together. It’s emotional and introspective, but also heavy and even dark at times, especially when it explores themes like, illness, trauma, and complicated family dynamics. It doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff, and that’s part of what makes it so good. You’re not just solving a mystery, you’re witnessing the emotional weight of everything these characters have carried for years.

What Didn’t Work for Me

Now, let’s talk about what didn’t quite work for me. One thing I kept thinking about while reading was how we get the points of view from Vincent and Poppy, which I really enjoyed, but I couldn’t help but feel it would have been even more interesting if we had Danny’s perspective too. His role in the story is so important, and having a glimpse into his thoughts and motivations could have added more depth, or at least helped us understand him better.

Not having his voice left me feeling a bit disconnected from his character, especially considering how central he is to everything that happened. It’s a small thing, I know, but yeah, it did bug me a bit.

About The Plot Twist

Let’s talk about the plot twist, you know I love a good one! And while this one didn’t completely catch me off guard, that actually didn’t take anything away from the experience. I have to say, I kind of expected it. From early on, you start to get a feeling about what really happened, so the final reveal isn’t exactly shocking. But for me, that wasn’t the point. The real strength of this book is in how everything comes together, figuring out the timeline, understanding who each character really is, and uncovering the role they played in this awful, tangled story.

This book isn’t about jaw-dropping revelations. It’s about slowly putting the pieces together, understanding the emotional weight behind every action, and seeing the truth not just as a twist, but as something deeply personal and painful for the people involved. That’s what made it so satisfying, not the shock, but the emotional clarity that finally arrives when everything clicks into place.

Conclusion

In the end, The Ghostwriter is one of those books that completely pulls you in, the kind you stay up way too late reading, telling yourself “just one more chapter” until suddenly it’s 2 a.m. It’s beautifully written, full of emotion, and layered with a mystery that unfolds at just the right pace.

What makes it even more special is how interactive it feels. As a reader, you’re not just watching the story unfold, you’re actively piecing it together. The diary entries, the film reels, the shifting points of view, it all feels like a puzzle you get to solve alongside the characters, and that made the experience even more engaging.

You’ll meet characters you might struggle with, like Vincent, and others you’ll root for, like Olivia. The story is heavy and, at times, heartbreakingly sad, but it’s also deeply satisfying.

Definitely a page-turner.

Some Book Quotes

“Snippets of memories, fragments of conversations. When you’re living it, you can’t see how it all fits together, or how it’s all going to end.”

“You think answers will fix everything, but they don’t. Information is power. But it’s also a burden because once you know something, you can’t pretend you don’t.”

“This isn’t just a memoir. It’s a treasure hunt—our last one—and every story is a clue.”

The Ghostwriter – Full Spoilers

Contains Major Spoilers
If you haven’t finished the book yet, you might want to bookmark this page and come back later. I’ll be diving into important plot points, big twists, and key character details.
Read on only if you’re ready for the full story!

The Ghostwriter by Julia Clark – Poppy and Vincent Timelines Breakdown

The Ghostwriter by Julia Clark – Full Spoilers FAQ

This might be one of the most confusing parts of the book, not because the story doesn’t explain it, but because for so long, even the characters themselves don’t know exactly what happened that night.

Danny was killed by Lydia, Vincent’s girlfriend. She stabbed him in a moment of panic, thinking he was going to hurt Vincent. It wasn’t planned, just a split-second decision made in the middle of complete chaos.

For a long time, it seems like Danny might be responsible for Poppy’s death. But in one of Poppy’s flashbacks, we learn the truth: it was actually Mr. Stewart who killed her. He attacked her in her bedroom after she threatened to expose him, then left her to die, allowing the blame to fall on someone else. Later, Danny comes home and finds her, already dying. He removes the knife, just as Vincent arrives and sees him, leading to a tragic misunderstanding. The brothers start to fight, and when Lydia sees everything, she grabs the knife and kills Danny, believing he was about to kill Vincent.

Vincent was innocent the entire time, just trying to make sense of the chaos that unfolded that summer. He was dealing with Danny’s growing aggression, which was rooted in Mr. Stewart’s abuse. Poppy started to grow suspicious of Vincent after she filmed him burying the cat, not knowing that it was actually Danny who killed it. On top of that, Vincent was in a relationship but deeply insecure, especially because of the rumors surrounding Lydia’s pregnancy. He believed Mr. Stewart was the father, not realizing the painful truth: it was Danny, his own brother.

After Poppy’s death, Vincent is left to deal with the trauma and the burden of Lydia’s secret, that she killed Danny to protect him. He burns and buries his bloody shirt, they hide the knife, and together they blackmail Mr. Stewart into providing an alibi, using the fact that he had once falsified documents for Lydia’s abortion.

The father of Lydia’s baby was Danny, Vincent and Poppy’s older brother. Later in the book, Lydia opens up to Olivia about what really happened the night of the campfire. Danny had been unusually kind to her, bringing her drinks, talking to her all night, and making her feel special. Eventually, he suggested they go somewhere quiet. Lydia agreed, and when he kissed her, she initially enjoyed the moment. But then she remembered Vincent , her boyfriend, and how much it would hurt him, so she pulled away.

That’s when Danny turned angry and aggressive, accusing her of leading him on, and then assaulted her.

Lydia later found out she was pregnant. Mr. Stewart discovered the pregnancy and helped her get an abortion, falsifying documents in the process since Lydia was underage. Later Vincent and Lydia used that information to pressure Mr. Stewart into giving them an alibi after Poppy and Danny’s deaths, a secret he agreed to keep.

After a fight where Vincent tries to protect Poppy from Danny, the confrontation escalates violently. Vincent is knocked unconscious during the struggle…

When he wakes up, he finds Poppy already dead and Danny bleeding on the floor.
The knife is on the ground between them, and without fully thinking, Vincent grabs it and runs, panicked and confused.
He assumes everyone will think he killed them both, especially since the knife has his fingerprints and both siblings’ blood.
He worries no one will believe it was self-defense or that Poppy was already dead when he woke up.
He sees Lydia waiting near the oak grove, visibly shaken and covered in blood, but he doesn’t yet understand why.
Lydia sees him approach with the knife, panics, then holds him, relieved he’s alive.
In that moment, Vincent realizes Lydia is the one who killed Danny, likely to protect Vincent.
They share an unspoken understanding and silently agree to keep it secret for the rest of their lives.
The murder weapon was hidden inside Poppy’s windowsill, checked for years by their father.
Eventually, the knife disappears, only Lydia knows where it went, and Vincent never asks.

At the beginning of the book, we learn that Poppy’s camera went missing just before her death, and for most of the story, its whereabouts remain a mystery. Later, during a conversation between Olivia and her mother, Lydia, the truth is revealed:

Lydia saw Danny and Poppy fighting over the camera on the day everything fell apart.
She watched as Danny tackled Poppy, grabbed the camera, and threw it across the field, then dragged her into the house.
Lydia, hiding nearby, retrieved the damaged camera and kept it.
Years later, she gives it to Olivia, still dented, possibly with film inside.
When Olivia asks why she never gave it to the police, Lydia explains that some truths are too painful, and that silence can feel like protection.
She says she kept the camera out of respect for Poppy, even if she couldn’t face what was on it.
This moment becomes an emotional turning point, revealing how people sometimes keep secrets not out of guilt, but out of love, fear, and the need to survive.

Poppy’s final film reel, which includes sound, reveals a disturbing confrontation between Danny and Mr. Stewart.

It shows Danny and Mr. Stewart arguing near a tent in the woods.
Mr. Stewart tries to manipulate and touch Danny, referencing a past abusive relationship and encouraging him to “be friendly” again.
Danny accuses Mr. Stewart of abusing other boys, calls out his manipulation tactics, and admits to burning down the equipment shed where the abuse likely happened.
Mr. Stewart responds with a chilling calmness and invites Danny to his end-of-year party, then leaves.
After Mr. Stewart walks away, Danny collapses in tears, until he notices Poppy filming the entire scene.
Danny’s expression shifts from heartbreak to rage, and he chases after Poppy.
The footage captures Poppy running, terrified, her breath and footsteps loud, until the camera is thrown and the screen goes black.
The reel confirms Mr. Stewart’s abuse of Danny, and implies Poppy’s intent to expose him, giving Mr. Stewart a strong motive to silence her.
While the film doesn’t capture the murder, it becomes key evidence in uncovering the truth and shifting suspicion directly onto either Danny or Mr. Stewart.

For me, this part of the story is open to interpretation. There’s a moment later in the book where Mr. Stewart says to Danny:

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Danny. We’re neighbors now. Let’s be friendly about it at the very least. After all, it’s not like you’re blameless,” he says. “I know what you did to my cat, and yet I’m able to forgive you.”

This line suggests that Mr. Stewart believes Danny was the one who killed his cat, Ricky Ricardo, and that he’s offering forgiveness, though it sounds more manipulative than sincere.

Later, in a conversation between Olivia and Vincent, we get this:

“Danny killed the cat and wrapped it up in one of my T-shirts. He left it next to the shed where my mother would have found it and blamed me.”
“I hate that Poppy died believing I was the one who killed Ricky Ricardo.”

Here, Vincent says Danny killed the cat and tried to frame him. Even though Vincent isn’t always a reliable narrator, this moment feels honest and full of regret. He clearly cared deeply for Poppy, and the fact that she died thinking he was responsible hurts him, and adds to the emotional weight of their bond.

So, in my view, it was Danny who killed the cat, and Vincent who found and buried it. That would explain why Poppy filmed him with the cat, something that looked suspicious at first, but makes more sense once the pieces fall into place.

But like many parts of this story, it’s still open to interpretation, and that’s part of what makes the book so interesting.

Poppy’s activism is driven by her desire to expose the truth and challenge the injustices around her. She uses her camera to document her family’s dysfunction and the secrets others try to hide, especially those involving her brothers and Mr. Stewart. Her curiosity and determination lead her to uncover disturbing truths, like abuse, violence, and a possible inappropriate relationship between Lydia and Mr. Stewart.

She also takes a bold personal stand by attending an ERA rally alone, showing her growing awareness of women’s rights and independence. But her commitment to truth and justice puts her in danger. When she confronts Mr. Stewart, he kills her to silence her.

In the end, Poppy’s activism, her drive to reveal the truth and speak out, costs her her life, but it also shows her strength, courage, and moral clarity.

Let’s Chat!

What did you think of The Ghostwriter? Who was your favorite character, and what made them stand out to you?

Drop a comment below and let’s talk about it! Whether you’ve already read the book or just added it to your list, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I’m always up for a good book chat!

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