The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark Genres: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Published by Sourcebooks on June 3, 2025
Format: Audio/Physical (368 pages) • Source: Purchased, Spotify Audiobooks
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THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
"Deftly and engagingly delves into this complicated not-so-cold case." —The New York Times
"Expertly plotted and exquisitely twisted." —Ashley Elston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins
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.
I realized I forgot to review this one last year for some reason. I really try to keep track of all the full-length novels I read on the blog so here’s my delayed reaction to this one!
I was intrigued by the premise of this and luckily it was incredibly addicting to read. The book follows a couple of timelines and POVs. The Taylor family suffers a major loss in 1975 when two siblings are murdered and suspicion surrounds the remaining sibling, Vincent. He turns into a successful horror writer and eventually decides to write a memoir. His daughter Olivia is a ghostwriter and he refuses to work with anyone else. Cue Olivia’s return home to her complicated relationship with her father and a potential reveal that she is his daughter, something she’s kept secret her entire career.
I enjoyed seeing some footage – for lack of a better word, you’ll see if you read it – of the 1975 timeline along with Olivia interacting with her father in present day. I thought the book was incredibly interesting while reading it but didn’t really think it would stick with me too much. Looking back, not a ton happens? There were a couple of twists but for some reason I really thought it was going to be full of them.
The plot was generally intriguing and I’m glad I picked it up! Our book club overall really enjoyed this one as well, which was nice. I’ll definitely be curious to read more of her books – I think I have a few backlist ones on my TBR.
Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston Genres: Adult, Mystery/Thriller
Published by Penguin on January 13, 2026
Also by this author: 10 Blind Dates, 10 Truths and a Dare, First Lie Wins
Format: Audiobook, eBook, Hardcover (352 pages) • Source: Book of the Month, Everand, Spotify Audiobooks
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FROM THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF FIRST LIE WINS
Two women. One dead husband. And only one alibi.
“Elston expertly unravels a web of secrets and lies. You won’t be able to put this excellent thriller down until the final shocking page.” —Megan Miranda
Everyone at Chantilly’s Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss. Red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. But that woman wasn’t Camille Bayliss. It was Aubrey Price.
Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life; she’s married to hotshot lawyer Ben and is the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it seems: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can’t find proof because he tracks her every move.
Aubrey Price has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she’s convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there’s more than one way to get to the truth—and she may have found the best way in.
Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan. It sounds simple: For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille’s place. Camille will spy on Ben, and the two women will get the answers they desperately seek.
Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered. Both women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone.
I’ve adored Elston’s YA books and, like many other YA authors I’ve loved, she’s moved into adult novels now. Her first mystery was really interesting and unique but didn’t fully meet the mark for me like it did many others. I was super ready for her next adult mystery to see if it would impress. I grabbed ANATOMY OF AN ALIBI as an early release from BOTM and launched into it right away. I enjoyed reading it for the most part but it didn’t really grab me. I was trying to finish it ahead of starting my book club pick for the month but ended up having to put it on hold for a few days instead – it just wasn’t addicting enough for me.
The book follows Camille, who hires a woman (Aubrey) to pretend to be her for the day. Camille is hoping to spy on her husband because she thinks he’s up to something, but he tracks her every move. When she returns home from a “weekend away,” her husband is dead in his office. She has an alibi, but Aubrey (who is connected in more ways than you think) does not.
This got a lot better and more interesting in the end but man, Elston’s mysteries just don’t hit for me like they do for everyone else! There were a ton of characters and alternating timelines that confused me. The concept and connections between characters were really interesting but something lacked in the execution maybe. If you can sit and binge-read this, you’ll probably enjoy it a lot more.
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