THE GHOSTWRITER (2025) - Review

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
On Sale: June 3, 2025

What first caught my eye was the book title. Then I wondered if ghostwriter was one word or two words, ghost writer. One word is the correct answer. A while later, I started thinking I had read something by Julie Clark before. I had and it was a book I really loved called "The Lies I Tell". You can read that review by clicking on the title.

FIRST LINE: "I know what your Dad did."

THE STORY: What would you do if your brother and sister were killed in your own home? It's June 1975 and surviving brother Vincent, always suspected of the crime, has become a famous author writing best-selling horror stories. 

On the other hand, Olivia Dumont has spent her life hiding the fact that she is the only child of the infamous Vincent Taylor. When she is suddenly offered the chance to ghost write her father's last book, she reluctantly accepts, needing the money. But it's not a horror novel he wants her to write. After 50 years of silence, Vincent Taylor is ready to talk about what really happened that night in 1975. 

WHAT I THOUGHT: "The Ghostwriter" was just the psychological puzzle with aspects of genealogy and family history that make me a happy reader. The story is told from Olivia's point of view in present day while interspersed with historical chapters from Vincent and his sister, Poppy. I occasionally found it confusing trying to keep the parents and the children separate, but the writing is smooth and the plotting good enough to keep a reader up past their bedtime. Even though there's violence in this family  that's a bit unsettling, I'll still be watching for New York Times bestselling author Julie Clark's next book. 

BOTTOM LINE: RECOMMENDED for mystery/thriller readers. Also available on Audible, Inc.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of "The Ghostwriter" was provided to me by SOURCEBOOKS Landmark/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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HOW I'LL KILL YOU (2023) - Review

How I'll Kill You by Ren DeStefano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
On sale: March 21, 2023

The idea of triplets choosing and killing men they have made love them was fascinating. This is the author's debut and early readers seem to like it. For me, it was disturbing, although I have to admit that I read it in just a couple of days curious to find out what would happen.

FIRST SENTENCE: "What about that one?"

THE STORY: Raised in mostly unpleasant foster homes, identical sisters Iris, Moody, and Sissy now stay together to protect each other. They have rules. They choose vulnerable men, make their lives wonderful, kill them, and move on undetected.

WHAT I THOUGHT: Tension is high throughout the story but new information keeps the action moving forward. Sentences are short and sometimes repetitive. Hoping for a good thriller, it was surprising how much of a love story it was.

BOTTOM LINE: RECOMMENDED with reservations.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free e-copy of "How I'll Kill You" by Ren DeStefano from NetGalley/Berkley Publishing Group for an honest review.

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THE PLOT (2021)

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a while since I've stayed up late to finish a book, but I had to know how Jean Hanff Korelitz's "The Plot" ended before I closed my eyes last night!

FIRST LINE: "Jacob Finch Bonner, the once promising author of the "New & Noteworthy" (New York Times Book Review) novel The Invention of Wonder, let himself into the office he'd been assigned on the second floor of Richard Peng Hall, set his beat-up leather satchel on the barren desk, and looked around in something akin to despair."

THE STORY: Not having published anything worthy since his successful first novel, Jake Finch Bonner has been reduced to teaching a low-residency MFA program at a rural Vermont college teaching creative writing. His first year he encounters Evan Parker, an arrogant young man, who claims to have conceived a plot that can't help but to be the best selling book of all time and shares the plot with his instructor. Several years later, Jake unexpectedly finds an obituary for Evan and decides to write the book himself.

"Crib" becomes an enormous success and Jake is busy touring the country enjoying his new found celebrity when anonymous messages begin to arrive. Someone knows.

Our disingenuous hero thinks he can keep his guilty secret which only undermines everything he has achieved. When he finally decides to track down the person who is threatening him with exposure, the twists and turns tighten.

WHAT I THOUGHT: "The Plot" is devilishly clever. Inserted sections from "Crib" add to the overall arc of the story. Interesting characters, sophisticated writing, a glimpse into world of publishing and writers, plus a fascinating plot makes for a must-read book in 2021.

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of was provided to me by Celadon Books /Net Galley for an honest review. 

Publisher : Celadon Books (May 11, 2021)
Hardcover : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 125079076X
ISBN-13 : 978-1250790767 

THE AUTHOR: Jean Hanff Korelitz is the author of the novels YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN (adapted for HBO as "The Undoing" by David E. Kelley, and starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), ADMISSION (adapted as the 2013 film starring Tina Fey), THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER, THE WHITE ROSE, THE SABBATHDAY RIVER and A JURY OF HER PEERS. A new novel, THE PLOT, will be published on May 11th 2021. Her company BOOKTHEWRITER hosts "Pop-Up Book Groups" in NYC, where small groups of readers can discuss new books with their authors. www.bookthewriter.com 

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WHO IS MAUD DIXON? (2021)

Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Apparently "imposters" is one of my favorite plot themes so when Who is Maud Dixon? was compared to Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley, it went right to the top of my huge TBR pile. Alexandra Andrew's first novel is guaranteed to be a best-seller.

FIRST LINE: "Madame Weel-cock?" Her left eyelid wrenched open, and warm yellow light flooded into the crack. Her vision was crossed by a blurred figure in white. She shut her eye."

THE STORY: Maud Dixon, the anonymous best-selling author of  "Mississippi Foxtrot" needs a new assistant. She chooses Florence Darrow, a young woman who escaped to New York to make something of herself but has been stuck in a low level publishing job. One of the perks of the job is the chance to travel to Morocco to research a new book.  

WHAT I THOUGHT: I haven't devoured a book in a long time. When I finished this one, I felt like I had just gotten off a roller coaster ride. The first half is like an anxiety inducing slow climb to the top and then a free fall followed by unexpected twists and turns first right and then left all the way to the ending.

None of the characters are particularly likeable, but they are unpredictable and interesting. The writing is crisp and clever. Descriptions give the reader a real feel for locations.

BOTTOM LINE: Don't read the reviews. It will spoil the fun. Just get a copy and read it. You will not be disappointed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of was provided to me by Little Brown and Company/Net Galley for an honest review.

Publisher : Little, Brown and Company (March 2, 2021)
Language : English
Hardcover : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 0316500313
ISBN-13 : 978-0316500319

THE AUTHOR: Alexandra Andrews has worked as a journalist, editor, and copywriter in New York and Paris. Who Is Maud Dixon? is her first novel. She lives in New York with her husband and daughter.

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Need a Scary Read for Halloween?

10 Novels That Will Scare the Hell Out of You according to Huffington Post's Julie Buntin.

What will you read? What titles would you add to the list?

I am reading Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle this Halloween. The only other book on this list I have read is The Little Stranger by Sara Waters.

THE DINNER (2013)

The Dinner by Herman Koch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The Dinner, the sixth novel by award-winning Dutch author Herman Koch and already a bestseller in Europe, arrives in the U.S. with an excellent translation and great deal of well-deserved advance praise. A slow burn creeper, this suspenseful and unsettling novel turns a microscope on parenthood, examining the darkness that may lie just below the thin veneer of civilization, social grace and propriety."

Bottom Line: If you loved Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, like I did, you will devour this psychological thriller.

A few years ago I discovered Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama and fell in love. That was before every new bookstore in my community closed. (We do have an extensive used book store.) Now when I visit each year, I stop in to see what I am missing. It's exciting to be able to see wonderful books no matter where you cast your eyes.

I was looking for just one special book to purchase. What would I choose? I actually had another book in my hand when I turned around and spotted a display featuring a Wall Street Journal article and The Dinner. It wouldn't ordinarily have been my choice, but I decided to trust this wonderful bookstore and I am so glad I did. (Of course, it didn't hurt that there were comments from Scott Smith, Gillian Flynn, and S.J.Watson on the cover.)

Unfortunately, like Gone Girl, this is a book you need to discover and too much discussion of the story will ruin the experience. I can tell you that it takes place at an expensive restaurant on a single evening where two brothers and their wives are having dinner to discuss their children. If you are a theater goer, you may suppose this will be like Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage. It's not. And like Gone Girl, wherever you think the story is going, it isn't.

Not all literary translations are worthy of the story they tell, but Sam Garrett's work is seamless.

I paid $24.00 plus $2.16 in tax versus purchasing this book from Amazon for $14.31 plus shipping costs (or not) for the same hard back edition, but in exchange I had a lovely conversation with one of the staff and that was worth the difference in price to me.

If you aren't willing to trust my recommendation, check out this unusual way of sharing the excitement of discovering The Dinner.

Disclaimer: I made a resolution for 2013 to visit independent bookstores, buy a book, read it, and blog about the bookstore.

Title: The Dinner

Author: Herman Koch

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Hogarth

No. of Pages: 304 pages

Copyright: February 12, 2013

ISBN: 0770437850

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: Page & Pallette, Fairhope, Alabama

Herman Koch, a Dutch actor as well as writer, is the author of seven novels and three collections of short stories. The Dinner, his sixth novel, has been published in 25 countries, and was the winner of the Publieksprijs Prize in 2009. He currently lives in Amsterdam. 


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Update to EVERY SECRET THING (2003)

Soon to be a motion picture!

And today word comes that the movie of Laura Lippman's book Every Secret Thing is finally coming to fruition. Check out the details HERE. Stars will include Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Banks, and Diane Lane.

Read my review from a few years ago HERE.

Update to BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP (2011)

Nicole Kidman

Colin Firth

Not surprised Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson is going to be a movie with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. Check out the details in Variety HERE.

You can read my earlier review HERE.

Before I Go to Sleep (2011)

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Imagine waking up every morning with no memory of the day before? Or not knowing that the man sleeping next to you is your husband? That is the dilemma facing Christine in Before I Go to Sleep. At her doctor's urging she begins keeping a diary but has to reread it everyday.

This is a cleverly imagined and compelling first novel once you have suspended disbelief and buy into the story. Bit by bit the reader learns of conflicting and disturbing information along with the narrator. But what will putting the pieces together reveal and which can be relied upon?


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Trauma (2008)

Apparently author Patrick McGrath is known for his 'unreliable' narrators and the 'toxic' environments he creates. Although McGrath is British, Trauma is set in New York City and concerns the life of Charlie Weir, a Manhattan psychiatrist, whose life is not what he would like it to be. Alienation and emotional distance make for a disturbing story.