I enjoyed this book but it didn't grip me in an unpputdownable way. A strange story, and a mismatched pair - the potential serial killer and the young woman obsessed by her sister's disappearance all those years ago. I liked how the relationship developed and there were parts where I wanted to yell at her not to do something, but from the start I had the feeling that Carl wasn't the killer he was made out to be. I couldn't work out if his dementia was real - he was clearly very clever much of the time. A strange book, and I'm glad I read it - it did keep you guessing as to what had happened to all the young women.

I am not sure about this book, I became frustrated with it about a third of the way through as it wasn’t really getting anywhere, and yet I continued to read it as I wanted to know what happened. It did come to a conclusion at the end, but it wasn’t a big reveal, just a slow kind of realisation of what had happened in the past to the main characters sister. Overall, I would say that the storyline was a little far fetched/unrealistic and it was slow moving. I would need to be convinced to read something else by this author.

Back in 2015 Heaberlin had one of the hits of the year with the darkly sinister Black Eyed Susans. If you enjoyed her deeply immersive story you won’t be disappointed by Paper Ghosts. In fact my only real gripe with this book is with the cover. The UK publishers have chosen to go with another take on the Black Eyed Susans artwork. I can appreciate why as it is a draw for the casual reader when they see it on a bookstore table or a supermarket shelf and it reminds them of that great book they read on the beach etc. However the original image for the US release is just so perfect and so evocative of the book that it is a crime not to use on the cover. I’ve chosen to go with the US cover and you can see the UK version on the book link below.

Carl Louis Feldman is an old man. He was once a well known photographer and had a book of his most famous pictures published. When he was tried for murder and acquitted his career gradually slid away from him. He has now been diagnosed with dementia and is living in a state care facility. His daughter has been visiting him and has convinced the care home manager that a short trip with her father would be good for him.

Except that she is not his daughter and if she gets her way Carl will never be going home. Grace was twelve when her older sister Rachel disappeared and she has spent the last decade trying to find out what happened to her sister. Convinced that Carl is the man responsible Grace sets out on a ghoulish road trip to prove her suspicions. Of course, if what she suspects is correct, Grace is putting herself in incredible danger.

Paper Ghosts is a beautifully written book. It feels like you are on the road trip with them as they traverse Texas staying in motels and quirky little off the radar towns. Heaberlin’s writing is so evocative that you can almost taste the smokey BBQ tang in the air and feel the deep sense of foreboding. As the book tumbles towards its shocking conclusion you’ll forget all your other obligations as you need to find out the truth.

Supplied by Penguin UK and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Big fan of 'Black Eyed Susans', so I was intrigued to see where Julia Heaberlin would go next.
'Paper Ghosts' is an intriguing novel, I admit to finding it unlikely at the start that such a young girl as Grace,the main charcter,would have been able to do the things that she does but as the story grows, it seems more plausible.
Her sister, Rachel, went out to babysit one evening and never returned. An obsession with finding out what happened to her grows to the point where she is convinced that a photographer named Carl, currently in the care of a quasi-nursing home,is responsible.
She sets up a elaboarate plan wherein she takes him out of the home on a weekend away during which time she intends to prompt him with pictures and locations with the intent to get him to reveal where her sister is.
The strengths of this book are that Carl is just menacing enough to make you worried that Grace is alone with a potential serial killer whilst making him vulnerable enough that he could just be the old man with memory loss that he appears to be.
Meanwhile, is Grace on a redemptive arc to lay her ghosts to rest or is she on a path to bring justice to the girls who have haunted her from their pictures?
Interspersed with black and white pictures and diary entries from Grace as a child, this is a different direction but a very readable one that I thoroughly recommend.
Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for letting me read this in return for a honest review.

A complex story full of twists and turns, a look at dementia, and a road trip. Not really my cup of tea and it seemed to ramble along without ever getting there.

This story kept me interested until the very end and was a little different to the run of the mill story's usually found in this genre. Worth a read.

This is a beautifully written, eerie tale of the sister of a girl who disappeared and her relationship with the man she thinks killed her.

I can't say it's an enjoyable read as I found it incredibly uncomfortable and heavy with sadness throughout. It also deals with dementia and the impact it has on how a person faces their own reality. The sinister undertones are highly effective and stayed with me long after I'd finished the book. I also found the photographs at the start of each chapter both poignant and heartbreaking.

All in all, I would recommend as a slow burn, uncomfortable read, but, one that has a satisfying wrap up at the end - just hang on in there!

If I could I'd give it 3.5 stars

Many thanks to net galley, Julia Heaberlin and Penguin books for the opportunity to preview.

I liked the promise of this book and have to say it is quite creepy. A road trip with an old man and a young woman has a sinister purpose. The narrator is unnamed and the sole survivor of a serial killing. I found the book a bit boring and I am sorry I started it. Failed to deliver for me but it does have some other excellent reviews. A book you will love or hate. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads, Amazon and Facebook.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.
This book has such an unusual story line, I can't think of anything quite like it that I have read before.
Grace's sister is missing, presumed dead and Grace is certain that she knows the man who is responsible, Carl Feldman. The problem is Carl Feldman now has dementia and is living in a care home.
In a quest for answers, Grace poses as Carl's daughter and visits the care home proposing a "family" trip. She is, of course, plotting to jog Carl's memory and then seek revenge for her sister's death.
Does Carl remember more than he claims? Is He a really a killer?
I loved this title. Highly recommended.

This is a rare and extraordinary book, which is completely spine chilling & hair raising.
The connections that unravel at the end WOW!
Brilliant book, will definitely read the other books by this author.

Thank you netgalley, Michael Joseph and Julie Heaberlin for allowing me to read and review this book.

Having hugely enjoyed Black Eyed Susans, I was really excited to read Paper Ghosts, and though it took a little longer to get into, I found this to be an interesting and, at times, quite creepy novel.

Main character Grace has her own aims when she offers to take her 'father' on a road trip - her sister Rachel disappeared years ago and the Police's main suspect was (is?) her supposed grandfather, Carl. She wants to finally find out what's happening, and will seemingly stop at nothing to do so...

The story starts off with a lot of impact, but it is quite a slow burner. A lot of the plot centers around the dialogue and 'games' the two play with eachother, meaning if you're looknig for a 'thrilling' read, this probably isn't for you. However, the tension builds as the novel continues and I found myself really wondering who knows what, and how much is actually a lie? I liked this element of doubt that Julia throws in.

The use of photographs added to the impact and ultimately the story becomes less about who the killer is, and more about how Grace will 'deal' with Carl. Julia Heaberlin's writing is really skillful and makes you want to know more by teasing out little details via Grace, which did leave me feeling a little confused at times (but wanting to know more) with an added sense of 'chill' surrounding the whole, horrible case - at times you can almost feel Grace's desperation bouncing off the page. Paper Ghosts is a very well-written, slow-building story which I enjoyed.

Grace is haunted by the disappearance of her sister, Rachel, about 7 years ago when Grace was 12 and Rachel was 19. Grace is now 19 and has been obsessed with finding out what happened to Rachel for many years. She’s scoured the Internet, turned up at people’s houses to ask questions, got a wall of photos and news clippings stuck to the back of her wardrobe. She’s narrowed down the search to Carl who is now in a half-way house suffering from dementia having been acquitted of the murder of another young woman, Nicole. Carl was a famous photographer and Grace thinks that his published book of photos may provide links to many girls who have disappeared over the years as well as Rachel. She decides to befriend Carl and take him on a road trip of significant places in Texas which she hopes will trigger memories in Carl despite his dementia.

It’s an interesting premise but I found the execution of it quite implausible, not least as Carl, whether a murderer or not, is erratic and violent at times. A 19 year old girl with a 62 year old potential serial killer on the road for two weeks? Carl claims to remember very little of the past but is very articulate and makes many demands on the road trip. These ‘conditions’ range from requiring favourite food items, to Grace buying him expensive items and to keeping a stray dog and cat acquired on the way. Grace has been on the dark web to source fake id, credit cards and disguises so that she can switch vehicles easily and stay at places beyond her means. It all is quite far-fetched which detracted from my enjoyment of the story.

I won’t give spoilers but I didn’t really like the ending. It felt contrived and a turn that came out of the blue. There is a lot of ‘ who is deceiving who’ type mind games supposedly going on between Carl and Grace but I couldn’t stop thinking that Carl was deceiving Grace well and truly from day one. It was also quite repetitive with each day just being a slight variant on previous ones. My main problem was that there were so many scenarios where Grace put herself in potential danger that I couldn’t credit her with any intelligence no matter how many survival, martial arts, etc. courses she might have done to prepare for these situations. It’s a character driven novel so the plot is not as satisfying as I would like personally.

There are quite a lot of photos, taken, by Carl in the book which I liked the use of. The writing is also very clear and readable – it just didn’t have a realistic enough plot for my liking.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with the "why" of this book. The characters are well drawn, the first person narrator works well, although it is not something which I naturally prefer, however, why on earth would this road trip ever happen ??? I am at a loss. I can understand that the grief and shock of losing a much loved elder sister would drive you to crazy but kidnap the guy who was acquitted of murder and then go on a road trip to see if he confesses ? Im really not convinced.

Other than this it can be a little over drawn in terms of description however I have never read any of Julia Heaberlin's books before and it may be her style. I am sure that there will be many readers who love this book. Im not one of them but I appreciate the opportunity to read it.

Such an unusual story in some ways but most enjoyable. Grace's older sister disappeared on her way to her summer job and was never found. Grace has become obsessed with finding her sister's abductor/killer and is convinced that Carl Feldman is that person. Carl is in care in Texas and is suffering from dementia. Grace goes to see him and says she is his estranged daughter and wants to take him on a trip. So Grace and Carl go on a journey to all the places where young women have been found murdered.in the hope that it might jog Carl's memory of what had happened to Grace's sister. Quite an adventure follows and the ending isn't quite what I was expecting.

This is not your typical fast paced thriller, it is a wonderful slow burn of a book that gets under your skin and stays there. It is a wonderful exploration of the effects of significant loss (Grace's sister who disappeared and has never been found) and mental health. Whether that be the obsessive nature of Grace in her quest to discover the truth about her sister or the dementia that Carl is suffering.

Near the end of the book a sentence really jumped out at me; "There is an established lack of trust." Grace is talking about the relationship between herself and Carl, and whilst this seems true on the surface, events of the book contradict this. The characters are incredibly nuanced, and I found myself warming to Carl at certain points of the book and becoming frustrated with Grace at other points. The games that the pair play with the other either had my hair standing on end, or laughing along with the black humour that is woven throughout the relationship that grows between them on their Texas road trip.

This is a fantastic book and my thanks go to the publishers and net galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This book has clearly been a bit of a marmite book.
I haven’t read any others by the author but I really enjoyed her style of writing.
Grace, we only find out her name at the end of the book, is obsessed with finding out what happened to her sister. Rachel disappeared without trace and Grace has spent years tracking down evidence, suspects and other cases, to try to work it out.
Eventually, she narrows it down to one man, Carl, a photographer who now suffers from dementia, or does he?
Grace and Carl go on a road trip to establish his guilt.
This is a slow burn, which won’t suit everyone, but I much prefer this to multiple, ‘twists’ which get increasingly ridiculous.
A well thought out, well written, creepy novel which draws you in and leaves you feeling uncomfortable and disturbed.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this copy.

Absolutely loved this book about a young woman on a mission to solve the disappearance of her sister, she is convinced her sister was murdered and knows who the killer is, one problem, he has dementia!
The characters were spot on, I just couldn’t help liking Carl ‘the alleged murderer’ and the relationship that blooms between him and the woman.
It is very well written and constantly keeps you guessing, throws in a few good twists too.
A highly recommended thriller by a talented author!

I was drawn to this book by the amazing cover and the intriguing premise. If you like suspense books then this book does not disappoint. This moody and dark twisting tale certainly grasps your attention from the offset. You are immediately drawn in to the book and feel such a sad connection with the main character whose nineteen year old sister Rachel was murdered when the main character was only twelve and her body was never found. She is so desperate to discover what actually happened and to find her sisters remains so she can finely lay her to rest.
I really like not knowing the main characters name which you don’t find out until right to the end. The not knowing of her true identity adds to the mystery and suspense of the novel.
Researching her sister's death has taken over her life and the story takes us on her road trip of hell in trying to desperately get to the truth. She has tracked down Carl who she believes is her sister's murderer and is now suffering from dementia and tries to make him believe she is his daughter in her desperation to get to the truth. This story is so cleverly written with Carl's dementia adding to the unknown mystery of what actually happened and making it harder for the main character to get to the actual truth.
I really liked the relationship between the main character and Carl. The way they dance around each other both playing mind games and trying to catch each other out. It certainly keeps you turning the pages as you are desperate to also discover the truth.
The story of Carl is an intriguing one as he struggles with his own battles of dementia and memory loss and moments of lucidity. His own past of being accused of murder is haunting him whilst he tries to identify what is real and what isn't.
I love the photography aspect of the book and the photographs that appear throughout. They add to the storyline in such a clever way making it appear very realistic. The images are very ghostly and add to the suspense of the book.
I do not want to give too much away about the storyline as I do not want to spoil the book. I can however say I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and was not disappointed with the end. I will definitely be reading more books by this author.

It's difficult to rate Paper Ghosts. For all its implausibility - and there's a healthy dose - it really is a cracking good read. Nearly a 5 rating from me. The premise of hunting down information on the suspected death of her sister seems pretty traditional stuff. But, add to that the fact that our girl 'befriends' the person most likely to be her sister's killer, poses as his daughter and takes him on a road trip to refresh his memory is pure genius! Did I mention he is suffering from dementia?? No matter, the plan is the plan and off we go searching for answers.

How far would you go to find out what happened to a loved one? The answer, for our unnamed heroine, is pretty blasted far. She has studied up on dementia suffers, befriended loads of witnesses throughout the years, trained and prepared all sorts of extravagant disguises. How does she finance all this?? Does she have a job? This not clear. But no matter, our girl's got gumption and will not be swayed from her mission. Though she does undertake all forms of training she doesn't come across as super capable to me. She's got plenty of bright ideas, though, which does help her along. And the killer, you ask? Oh, he is a proper, multifaceted character unlike anything you've read before.

From the author of Black-Eyed Susans, a thoroughly gripping read, Paper Ghosts is a strong, worthwhile follow-up. I suppose if I were being extremely picky I would prefer the forensic specificity of the earlier book but this novel brings us a complete 360 degree shift on the previous thriller. That shows incredible writing chops and flexibility. Julia Heaberlin is certainly an author to be on the lookout for in future.

Paper Ghosts is a taut thrill ride that has plenty of twists you won't see coming and some sweet, touching moments that soften the aggressive edges. There's more depth here than you might expect. The more I think about it, the more I want to rate it a 5.

At this point I am beginning to think Heaberlin may have the potential to be a really successful serial killer. Just kidding ( or maybe not, lol). In both Paper Ghosts and Black-Eyed Susans she shows a frighteningly precise insight into the minds of killers capable of the most heinous of crimes.

I can identify with the main character and her reckless plan, as bizarre as that may sound. Not knowing the fate of your sister, child or loved one is sometimes worse than knowing all the possibly gruesome details of their death.

It all comes down to the desperation and the need for closure. Society teaches us to sit back and let the authorities do their job, however the reality is that they don’t have magic wands and can only follow the leads and evidence they are aware of, and it all has to be within the confines of the law. When the dots can’t be connected a high number of criminal cases go unsolved or remain without enough evidence to charge a particular suspect.

Grace has connected her own dots and the pattern that emerges is a scenario in which Carl is a serial killer, and the man who took her sister from her. She decides to revisit the scenes of old crimes to jog memories in the foggy confused mind of this man she believes to be a cruel killer.

She is playing a dangerous game with a man, who appears to be suffering from dementia, and yet at the same time he seems to be plotting the demise of his next victim. One moment he is clear enough to be a threat to her life and that of other unsuspecting victims, and the next he is saving dogs, cats and also Grace.

I loved this read. For one it definitely speaks to the random coincidences we sometimes convince ourselves are real connections, thereby creating false scenarios and accusations. Unfortunately for Grace these possible scenarios are based on circumstantial evidence, as opposed to direct evidence.

Heaberlin knows exactly how to create a feeling of suspense and fear. The kind of fear that creeps up on you from behind. You never know whether Carl is going to kill, maim or disfigure his prey, or be a friendly animal loving old man saving Grace from herself and her inner demons.

Even if it sounds like a cliché, if done correctly this would make a great film. It is a compelling and sinister character-driven read. The whole plot is based solely on the interactions between the two of them and the places they visit together. Haeberlin is a master of the mind-screw, building tension and twisted plots. Paper Ghosts is definitely taking a spot on my favourite books of 2018 list.