Sisters Robin and Melanie have never gotten along while they were growing up and have not kept in contact in their young adult life. Robin is a psychologist in LA living with her lawyer boyfriend, Blake. Melanie is a single mom raising her adult autistic son, Landon. Robin gets a call from her sister that their father, his wife Tara and Tara's daughter had been shot with Tara being killed. Tara was Robin's best friend since childhood and was engaged to Robin's brother Alec until she dumped Alec to marry Robin's father. This is a very suspenseful page-turner until a very surprising end with lots of twists and turns in the middle. Great read!

THE BAD DAUGHTER is a downright creepy tale of murder and manipulation in suburbia. Robin, a therapist, is called home by her estranged sister after their father and his second wife and daughter have been shot. It looks like a home invasion but Robin soon finds that more than one person had a motive to commit murder. Could her sister's autistic son be involved? And what about her brother - the one previously engaged to his father's wife - could his hatred of his father have led to this. It is indeed a tangled web Fielding weaves in this intricately plotted novel. A very good read.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. Robin returns home after her father, former best friend and daughter are all shot in what appears to be a home invasion. I normally love books by this author but this one was just okay for me. Robin's sister Melanie was so negative and sarcastic all the time that I almost gave up on the book because it was that annoying. But I finished it and the ending was really shocking.

Joy Fielding has taken the concept of a dysfunctional family to a whole other level! I loved this book from beginning to end! Once you think you have it all figured out you are hit with more surprises. Highly recommend! I thank Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's been five years since Robin left California. I mean, what else do you do when your father marries your (ex) best friend? She turned her back on her hometown, her father, her sister, her best friend, and her past. She has a new life as a therapist, engaged to a man named Blake, and suffers from panic attacks. Now, after a phone call from her estranged sister with the news of a home invasion and a shooting, she's been summoned back to the place she left behind. But was that tragedy what it appears - a random incident? Or was there more to it, something deliberate. It seems as though everyone has something to hide. Has Robin put her own life in danger by returning to town?

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley. Joy Fielding is one of my go-to authors and, while some of her books are better than others, she rarely disappoints. This effort falls somewhere in the middle. I liked the story, but had a hard time connecting to the extremely unlikable characters. Melanie was just awful and was constantly nasty to her sister, referring to everything as "fancy" and giving her a hard time for everything, including the heinous crime of rinsing out a water glass. And then there's Robin. She was just really hard to sympathize with. A nervous little doormat without a backbone. She's supposed to be a therapist but I can't imagine she's successful when her own personal life is such a mess. There was absolutely nothing likable about either of these two women. But my interest in the story itself kept me going. This wasn't my favorite effort by Fielding, but I still liked it.

This book follow Robin as she is forced to go back to a place she never thought she'd go back to, home. After her father and his wife (who just happens to be her former best friend) and his stepdaughter are shot in what appears to be a home invasion Robin must come home to help her dysfunctional family. It doesn't help that she hasn't spoken to many of them in years.

This book had my attention from start to finish. I really liked Robin and felt bad that she had to go back home to her family. Her sister Melanie has such a hatred for Robin and spends the book being an absolute bitch. While in the beginning I wasn't a big fan of Melanie she definitely grew on me throughout the book. The rest of Robin's family tended to baffle me with their behavior.

There is a mystery that is running throughout the book, who shot Robin's dad and his family. I have to say that while I didn't figure out who was behind it for a while I did eventually get it. There are definitely little clues that I felt were left throughout the book that can lead you to who did it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley.

I absolutely thought this was a great book. Have read many of books by Joy Fielding and liked a lot of them. My favorite one was See Jane Run but The Bad Daughter was outstanding. Suspenseful, keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. Basically. the book is about three siblings, especially Robin who left town when her father married her best friend after her mother died and broke her engagement to her brother. So, Robin and her brother left their home ton and moved away. Robin becomes a therapist and is engaged to a wonderful man, but has fidelity issues because her father cheated on her mother throughout their marriage and then broke his son's engagement to her best friend and married Tara, her best friend. Robin gets a phone call from her sister who she never got along with who remained home with her autistic son, telling her that their father, Tara and Tara's daughter Cassidy from a previous quick marriage have been shot and Tara was killed immediately. Their father was still alive and so was Cassidy. So Robin returns to her home town. This is an edge of your seat. turn paging book and not till the very end do you find out who the culprit is and you will never see this coming. I loved this book and if you like this type of genre, then you will love it also.

2.5 stars. I am somewhat ambivalent about this book. There were several things I liked about this book and several that I really didn't. I figured out the mystery very early on, and spent the rest of the book becoming more and more sure of my conclusion until the end came around and, yep, I was right. I don't want to say too much about the book, because it's hard to say anything without given away spoilers.

Thanks, Netgalley, for the advanced copy. Below is my review:

A few initial thoughts... As a middle school teacher (11-13 years), no middle school girl calls her parents “mommy” or “daddy.” Perhaps the names were a part of Cassidy’s “act?” But regardless, it was not realistic and made me suspicious of her, along with the “I only wear thongs” comment. Ew.

Robin’s “panic disorder” was an eye roll-inducing character trait for me. What was the point? To show she was weak? Why was she always sneezing around the horses? Allergic? What was the point? These trivial character traits never materialized to mean much, so why even bother including them?

Literally the only likable character in the whole book was Blake. Everyone else was either socially inept, an over-the-top annoying bitch, or weak and weird.

Highly recommended psychological suspense novel that was a non-stop read! When it comes to family relations Robin's family is some kind of mess. First comes what seems to be marriage problems for Robin and her husband Blake that kick the story off in Robin's contemplations as she finds herself racing home after many years of separation from her family. Her father, his wife (Robin's childhood girlfriend), and niece have been shot. To add to the shootings and problematic family relations is that Robin is a therapist who actually seems to be needing a therapist of her own. Now she finds herself having to council her young niece Cassidy while the police try to solve the murders of her father and his wife. Who could be responsible?

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballentine for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I have read Joy Fielding for years, and I enjoy her books, so I admit I was looking forward to this one. A tough relationship between sisters (and honestly, one of them does seem like she's...well, not nice), brings them back together when their Dad, step mom and step sister are all shot. There is a really complicated messy relationship there as well. The plot was very interesting and had me guessing back and forth, the characters were all well developed and realistic. Some you didn't like, but that's like life, right? I highly recommend this book. Get it as soon as it comes out, because you will love it.

This book is a suspense/mystery with lots of twists and turns. Robin returns to her old home after a "home invasion" kills her former best friend/stepmother, and injures her father and their daughter. Her older sister Melanie is living in the home with her autistic son. Robin wants to solve the mystery of who shot her family members and help the young 12 year old daughter Cassidy. There are many twists and turns as different family members become suspects including Robin and Mel's brother Alec, Melanie's son Landon, and Melanie's boyfriend Donny. What was Alec doing that night? Where was Landon? Is Donny involved? How lucky was it that the killers were bad shots and only injured Cassidy? Will Cassidy remember what she saw that night? This was a good suspense that it was difficult to put down and stop reading. I was unable to solve the mystery myself and was surprised when the culprit was revealed!

I have been a huge fan of Joy Fielding for years and The Bad Daughter did not disappoint! At all. In fact this is a true psychological thriller that should not be missed! From the first page I was hooked. A disfunctional family is thrust into trauma with many story twists and turns. Strong characters that keep you guessing and guessing. I loved this book! Joy Fielding is at the top of her game with The Bad Daughter. Many thanks for the privilege to read it.

I have always enjoyed Joy Fielding's books. This one was an easy read - both enjoyable and suspenseful.
One comment is that it was very predictable. About halfway through the novel, I could tell what the outcome would be. Irregardless, it was a good book and I will continue to read Joy Fielding. Thank you to the publisher for an advanced reader copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

I love this Author. Her books are enthralling and never lack anything.
This story is no exception. A dysfunctional family learning to cope with each other as siblings and people. As well as the added dysfunction of step-fathers, ex- fiances turned lovers, a spoiled child, hate,and abuse.
When I say this book has all you want in a psychological thriller, it does.
Twists, turns, roller coaster rides. Want to have your mind played with, this novel will definitely do that. Great character development.
5 Stars

I love Joy Fielding's books. She keeps you guessing the entire time. The females in this book have very strong and different personalities and clash quite often. Melanie was so snarky that it was annoying at some points, but Robin finally started to dig her heels in and stand up to her, which I liked. Without giving anything away, the end really got me.

I received this book from #NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I must firstly admit that Joy Fielding has long been a favorite writer of mine so I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately, as in everything not everything lives up to expectations. It does not mean that it was a bad book it was just not as great as I had expected. The main character’s boyfriend in the beginning seems like someone you should run from never to look back and that whole relationship takes a complete turn without accounting for the major change. The plot is simple enough with a family (mom, dad and daughter) being found shot and the rest of the book focuses on trying to solve crime. No great excitement as all the usual suspects are being looked at and the ending almost leaves you completely flat. It’s like you have nothing invested in the characters and really couldn’t care less. A great shame.

Robin is a thirty-three year-old psychologist and her life is uprooted when she has to return home to see her family. Feelings of anxiety and distress pick at her for the entire time she interacts with her older sister, Melanie. As if it’s not bad enough that her father’s life hangs in the balance, her relationship with her lawyer boyfriend also hangs by a thread.

I really enjoyed this author’s writing style! The complex and toxic relationships featured in this novel really made it a worthwhile read! The narrator was down to earth and a bit melodramatic at times, but Robin was relatable and likable. There weren’t any big twists/ reveals in this story (it became crystal clear who the villain was before the final explanation) but the overall journey to the truth was a satisfying one.

This was a bad time of year to read a book that was hard to put down. LOL I would have to stop reading so I could go and do things and couldn't wait to get back to read more. The story was enthralling the whole way through from beginning to end. I was trying to figure out who was the "bad daughter". Melanie, whose name is Meanie when the L is removed....from the story, seemed really bad. Robin, the main character sure had her own hang ups and made me wonder how she was a therapist with all those hang ups. She didn't seem bad at all. As the story goes along, her family was a mess and I could understand her self doubts. A great read and I thank Netgalley for a kindle copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fielding snd i have had an over-30-year relationship. Like any long-term relationship, we've had our ups and downs.
This book was just okay. Typical Fielding plot arc, usual cast of characters. I saw the ending coming by chapter 6.
Still, it was a quick fun read, watching the plot unfold. Fans of Fielding, or if fast paced, not-too-complicated plots, will appreciate this.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.