The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“’Everyone is an unreliable narrator.’”
“Once you lie about your past, you wall yourself off from the present.”
“’You can’t erase the past by not thinking about it’”
The Ghostwriter is about Olivia who is a ghostwriter, and her father who is prolific horror author. Her father, Vincent, has a history and she has been hiding this fact. She has fallen on hard times recently and has just been offered a job. Vincent is the only remaining sibling in a horrific murder that happened in his home. His brother and sister were killed but no one was held responsible. Vincent wants Olivia to ghost write a book for him but can she trust him? The secrets are numerous and are slow to be revealed. Will Olivia be able to uncover the truth about what happened so long ago? Will she be able to forgive her father?
Julie Clark creates a very engaging story and creates tension that lasts. I needed to know what happened. It was slow but painful in a good way. I was yearning for an explanation. I like how she threw in prospectives from other characters occasionally. This is the second or third book I have read recently that has mentioned Topanga, CA which is weird. It was on page 2 too, so right away. The description of Olivia’s house is amazing. I would love to have a very similar house in a very similar location. What she said that got her in hot water was totally the truth. Her rant was awesome and it sucks she was punished because she spoke out. Then she was told to not get too emotional and to calm down. What a load of BS. I could feel the anger physically in my body. There were some moments of levity like with a hamster. I think she is a good writer because some of the phrasing like “I recognize the way he moves, like a memory of a song” and the way she talks about light & dark. It is almost poetic. There is a gay character too which is always welcome. Yay for the best friend. I had such conflicting feelings towards Vincent. He could be a big asshole but then I could almost understand him. I am leaning towards not liking him though. He is extremely unreliable and I don’t love that storytelling technique. When will people learn that lying will only get you in trouble. I do not feel sorry for Olivia and the consequences of her actions. One of the lines struck me. It would have affected me much more in the past but in the present, I don’t necessarily agree with that feeling. “Of being the friend everyone tries to include out of pity.” There is a kind of voiceover at the end. I could picture it as if it was happening in a movie. It was well conceived and written. I didn’t come across any words that jumped out at me. This is exactly the type of book to read if you enjoy books that talk about writing in it and a slow unraveling mystery.
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