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Winnipeg Free Press

The final chapter

American author Julie Clark's latest thriller, The Ghostwriter, is a perfect read for a summer vacation whether at the beach, cottage or simply on your couch. Be prepared with a cold drink nearby, as this engrossing novel is a true page-turner. The Ghostwriter is Clark's third novel. Her previous books, The Last Flight and The Lies I Tell, are international bestsellers translated into over 25 languages, and The Last Flight was a Target Club Pick and Book of the Month selection in the U.S. An eye-catching feature of The Ghostwriter is artwork printed on the edges of the pages. Flames seem to be destroying typed words, reflected in the cover art; the image of a burning manuscript hints at this novel's fiery nature. Jesse Dittmar photo Julie Clark The story hinges on a terrible tragedy occurring on June 13, 1975 in Ojai, Calif. On that night, as many families are having fun at a carnival a short distance away from the Taylor family's home, 17-year-old Danny and 14-year-old Poppy Taylor are fatally stabbed. Their murder is never solved, but public suspicion focuses on the surviving sibling, Vince, who is 16 when the murder happens. The rumours refuse to disappear as years pass; as an adult, Vince's daughter Olivia says a 10-year-old classmate whispered the secret of her father's alleged crime to her, hoping to shock her. Vince becomes a highly successful author of horror stories but remains in Ojai, with Olivia eventually following in his footsteps as a writer. Olivia, however, is a ghostwriter, preferring to help others, primarily professional women she admires, to tell their life stories. She lives in L.A. and rarely contacts her father, retaining the surname from a brief marriage so she can further distance herself from her father. Even her literary agent doesn't know Vince Taylor is Olivia's father when she unwittingly offers Olivia the chance to be a ghostwriter — assisting Vince to write his next book. 'I've worked hard to create a life separate from my father, living abroad until I could be certain the American media had forgotten Vincent Taylor ever had a daughter,' Olivia says. A public outburst at a writers' conference and subsequent bitter social media battle results in Olivia being ordered to pay $500,000 in compensation to another writer. With no writing contracts since that time, she feels financially forced to accept the offer to work with Vince. It isn't until she drives back to Ojai and meets her father that she finds his mental and physical abilities are deteriorating rapidly due to Lewy body dementia, the reason he had his publishing company ask Olivia to help him tell his final story. But rather than writing another horror story or his memoir of his experiences as a bestselling writer, as Olivia expects, he surprises her. 'The memoir isn't about my career. It's about my childhood, Specifically, it's about my family and the months leading up to the murders of Danny and Poppy,' he tells Olivia. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. He hands Olivia a huge stack of legal pads covered with his handwriting. Rather than simply transcribing and editing as he instructs her to do, she discovers most of Vince's memories are incomplete and incoherent. She's chilled when she reads, 'I wanted to kill Danny.' The Ghostwriter This sentence sends Olivia on a search to track down and interview the Taylor children's friends, her mother and others who were involved in the initial murder investigation. She's compelled to uncover the true story and trying to reconcile that with her father's fading memories. Throughout her research, she's haunted by the belief that Vince might be the murderer. Her work is also hampered when her relationship with Vince becomes public knowledge, leading to fallout with those in her orbit as it becomes clear she's not been honest. As Olivia gradually unearths new information, and Vince shares his own version of events, The Ghostwriter takes many unexpected twists, and is sure to keep readers guessing until the last chapter. Andrea Geary is a freelance writer in Selkirk.