The Ghostwriter

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark, 368 pages

Ghostwriter Olivia has long been estranged from her father, Vincent, despite the fact that he's a famous horror writer and they occasionally turn up at the same writing conferences. When he was an awkward loner teen, Vincent's two siblings were found murdered in their family home, and while he was never convicted, most of the residents of their small hometown assume he killed his brother and sister. Growing up in that same small town, Olivia had to deal with more than her share of rumors and bullying based on her dad's notoriety, so it's only natural that she'd try to distance herself from it as much as possible. But when a new work offer comes along — ghostwriting her father's memoir of his siblings' death — Olivia literally can't refuse, and starts to dive into her family history.

Told in chapters that bounce back and forth in time, this thriller is good and twisty. I particularly like the way it handles difficult family relationships that are further complicated by dementia, outsized egos, and unreliable narrators (and that's all one person, at different times of his life). Definitely worth a read.

A Ghostwriter's Guide to Murder

 

A Ghostwriter's Guide to Murder by Melinda Mullet (2025) 311 pages

Maeve Gardner is a ghostwriter for writer Harlan Oak's mystery series, which features PI Simon Hill. She would love to be able to write her own books, but for now, this pays the bills. Her boyfriend of 4 years, Gav, had cheated on her four months ago, and when they split up, she got the small boat that she lives in on a London canal, along with The Captain, a large dog who adores her (and sausage rolls).

The Captain draws her attention to a tire that serves as a bumper along the canal wall where she parks. She finds 50,000 quid stashed in the tire. She ends up returning the cash to the hiding place and fetching the police. When they return, the cash is gone and Gav is dead in the water. Maeve is the prime suspect.

The story gets better from here: her friends are pulling out all the stops to investigate because they don't trust the over-worked police to do so: The computer guru who used to work for the police dept., the ex-navy pub owner, and a proprietor of a floating bookstore. The friends are close, but still have secrets from each other that they don't press each other about. There are also a couple of Wiccan boat neighbors for good cheer (and to clean up auras). Eventually Gav's dart team gets involved, too, but mostly to find out who killed their mate, not that they have any affection for Maeve. 

As the friends get stuck, from time to time, Maeve conjures up the fictional PI, Simon Hill, to help get them unstuck. I found this to be quite the page turner!

Isabel's Bed

Isabel's Bed by Elinor Lipman (1995) 385 pages

Harriet Mahoney is blindsided when her live-in boyfriend of 12 years asks her to move out so that another woman can move in to their apartment. Nursing her wounds, Harriet finds both a new job and a new (temporary) home when she is chosen to ghostwrite Isabel Krug's autobiography. Harriet moves into Isabel's fabulous home along the Massachusetts coast. Isabel is renowned as the huge-breasted mistress whose lover was shot to death when he and Isabel were caught in bed by his wife. The story gets stranger and stranger the more Harriet learns about it. When Nan, the wife-murderess, is released from an institution once she is deemed capable, she comes into their lives, wanting to write her own story. Nan's son, a soap opera star, figures in as well. Isabel's husband, Costas Dimantopoulos, is another unexpected character.

I often wondered where this story was heading, but enjoyed the unexpected turns as Harriet, out of her element, handles her new role, and a possible new love interest.