The Ghostwriter is not only a spellbinding shocking mystery, but also a glimpse at a family whose instability and grief blow up into incomprehensible dysfunction as two of the three children in the family, both young are viciously murdered. Flash forward to the present when the only survivor’s daughter, a ghostwriter who has been estranged from her father for years, the only child not killed and decides to come back home to the place the murders occurred to help him ghostwrite the story of his life before it is all forgotten. He leads his daughter on her last treasure hunt, one of the only joys from her childhood, with hints and clues to what happened all those years ago to not only solve the mystery but heal both their souls.
In 1975 Vincent Taylor’s young sister Poppy and his brother a teenager at the time, Danny were brutally murdered in their home, leaving him an only child as well as the prime suspect. The case was never solved.
Now in the present, Taylor is an acclaimed writer who needs a ghostwriter to help him with the last book he knows he will every write. He insists on Olivia Dumont who is a ghostwriter who has had a few problems recently. Unbeknownst to all, she is actually Olivia Taylor, Vincent’s daughter whom he has not seen in decades.
When she agrees to work with him, she is confused. She discovers this is not a book of fiction, but in fact a confession. But to what? Of course, she knew her family had a tragedy well before she was ever born, but for Olivia, she was a victim as well, of the aftermath of the losses and bullying and grief they all experienced. Her childhood was unpleasant to say the least.
So as Olivia begins to sort through her father’s now flawed memory and keep the publisher unaware of not only who she really is but what is really being written, she begins to discover bits and pieces of evidence from that time period. The more she discovers the more she hunts for what really happened all those years ago, at times frightened as to what the ending may really be.
The Ghostwriter is a wonderful, suspenseful look at a tragedy and those who survived and how they became flawed, and guilt ridden. The shocking ending will haunt the reader. But even more important what happens during this process, is forgiveness and love.
Thank you #NetGalley #SourcebooksLandmark #JulieClark #TheGhostwriter for the advanced copy.
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