Thank you to Netgalley, author, and publisher for an advance copy of this book.

Only Daughter follows one mother's search for answers after her daughters mysterious death which is quickly ruled a suicide. Kat, our main character, is sure there's more to the story however she's going to find out that maybe some things are better left unknown.

I really enjoyed the multiple twists and turns that this book gave us. Even if you had part of the answer figured out, it's very unlikely you'd be able to piece the entire story together until the very end, which is always refreshing in psych thrillers. None of the characters were especially likeable, but not unlikeable in the way that I have no desire to read about them and their lives, which is a weird thing that I really enjoy in a story.

My least favorite thing, and it's something very minor, is that there was a lot of repetition. The same phrases and thoughts were constantly reiterated, sometimes multiples times on one page. It may have been intentional by the author as the book is told through the eyes of a woman with questionable mental health, mourning and questioning the loss of her daughter.

This was my first Sarah A Denzil book and it's set a high bar for the rest of her work.

EXCERPT: If you were here with me now, I'd say sorry for everything.

I know I've let you down, disappointed you, and it hurts. This is how it ends for me, isn't it? Alone with my thoughts, with my pain, all the regrets about who I am and how I acted coming back to haunt me. I let you down more than anyone else. Maybe one day you'll be able to forgive me, but I know I'll never forgive myself. . .

If you were here now, I'd apologize for everything.

But I wouldn't just say sorry; I'd warn you, too.

Because they're coming after you next. . .

ABOUT THIS BOOK: In one moment, Kat Cavanaugh’s perfect world is shattered into tiny fragments. The flash of her daughter’s yellow dress, the blonde hair hanging across her precious face. Her own heart-broken sob…

Kat experiences every mother’s worst nightmare when her only child’s body is found lifeless in an overgrown, abandoned quarry.

Desperate to find out what happened, Kat questions those closest to her as she tries to piece together the last days of Grace’s life. But as a darker side to her little girl begins to unravel, Kat wonders if she ever really knew Grace.

As Kat is drawn into a twisted game of lies, is she also in terrible danger? And will she be able to unlock her daughter’s final shocking secret?

Even if the truth is unthinkable…

MY THOUGHTS: I blew hot and cold on Only Daughter as I read. I thought it started with promise, and there were moments, a few absolutely brilliant moments, during the book when I fist pumped the air, thinking yes, she's hit her stride! But, unfortunately, they didn't last.

I found it neither addictive, nor emotional. In fact, my lack of feeling was so noticeable that, several times, I wondered if I was the sociopath!

I found the characters hard to relate to, and never got fully involved in the storyline. Only one twist surprised me, and I pretty much had sussed out what was going on by a little over half way through the book. But that doesn't necessarily ruin a book for me. I have recently read a book where I knew what the outcome was, having previously read a later book in the series, and still rated it 5-stars because the journey was extremely enjoyable. And I think herein lies the problem with Only Daughter for me. The journey was, for the most part, pretty ordinary. I had the feeling that I had read it all before.

Beautiful cover art and those few brilliant moments raised this from 2.5 to 😐😐😐

THE AUTHOR: Sarah A. Denzil is a suspense writer from Derbyshire, England. She is also known as young adult author Sarah Dalton.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather.

She is the author of international bestselling psychological thriller SILENT CHILD, which topped the bestseller lists on Amazon in the US, UK and Australia.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Only Daughter for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

Grace Cavanaugh is found dead at the bottom of a quarry with a suicide note in her pocket. Her monther, Kat, refused to believe it was a suicide. As Kat begins to do her own investigation into her daughter's death, she begins to receive threatening texts. As this story unfolds, there are many twists and turns along with a lot of surprises and other story lines that all tie in together in the end. This was a very fast paced read and I really enjoyed being kept on the edge of my seat while devouring it. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very riveting thriller.

I'm grateful for an advanced copy from NetGalley and Bookcouture. I'm disappointed that I did not like this book. It felt like the mother went on and on and on about the daughter's death. I could not connect with the characters or the story. I wasn't thrilled. I had less and less interest in continuing to read and finish the book.

Having read this author's books before and thoroughly enjoyed them I had high hopes for this one. I was not disappointed! Gripping and kept me guessing all the way. One of this year's do not miss books!

Only Daughter by Sarah A. Denzil is a psychological thriller about a sociopathic mother and her dead daughter.

It was a quick read, not too shocking, and the twists were relatively predictable. What I did enjoy was the themes covered in the book. Can a sociopath (def: a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience) actually love someone? Does nurturing overcome the natural order of things? Do you really know your children? How far do you go to prove your child was murdered when everyone else believes she committed suicide?

The themes were thought provoking and that’s always a great take-away from a book. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy this genre.

Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for the ARC.

Well HOT DAMN! This book was dark, disturbing, and deliciously twisted!

Sarah A. Denzil has crafted a story that will blow your mind and destroy your heart. I just finish this and my heart is still racing. This was not the book I was expecting, it was SO much more! This book truly is every mother’s absolute worst nightmare, I honestly never thought it could get worse than a child’s suicide, but apparently it can.

Kat gets the call that no parent ever wants, her daughter Grace is dead. To make things worse Grace’s death has been ruled a suicide. Kat knows without a doubt that her daughter would not kill herself. So she takes it upon herself to investigate Grace’s death. But as the puzzle pieces began to fit and more and more things are revealed Kat realizes she didn’t really know her daughter at all. How well do you really know your child? Can the child that you held as an infant turn into a monster? And can they do it without you even noticing? *shutters*

Kat has been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder a.k.a. a sociopath. however she has truly loved her daughter with all her heart, and has done everything in her power to give her child a stable home environment and to be a loving mother. Kat did not grow up in a stable environment and her mother has some pretty major issues of her own. I found Kat to be a sympathetic and relatable character. Not that I’m a sociopath, but I could completely empathize with her grief, sorrow, and need to find out the truth no matter what the cost. And The cost was pretty high Kat had to face many of her own demons throughout the investigation. All the characters in this book were vividly and cleverly drawn. The story was so dark and intense and completely riveting! Perfectly pace with twists and turns you won’t see coming. All I can say is pick this up and then buckle up because you are in for one crazy well worth it ride! Absolutely recommend!

*** many thanks to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***

Ok, color me surprised but I did NOT come close guessing the end of Only Daughter by Sarah A. Denzil. I will admit I began this one thinking OK, the writing may be good so far and the story entertaining but I bet it’s going to be x did it and then I’ll be annoyed….haha nope.

What the author has done in Only Daughter is take readers into the mind of a sociopath in the protagonist, Kat. Kat is the mother of Grace, a teenager who was just found at the bottom of the quarry known to be a spot for suicides with a note in her pocket.

Grace was the one thing in Kat’s life that she had ever truly loved and cared for and she is determined no matter what the police or anyone else says that her daughter did not take her own life. As far as Kat is concerned there is a murderer on the loose and she will find them.

Oh this one was a fun read, I instantly felt Kat’s personality or perhaps I should say lack of a personality oozing off of each page. When danger comes along she stares it straight in the eye and doesn’t back down in a way most could never do. There’s suspicion and secrets all throughout to keep the pages turning quickly until that final twist that I dare readers to try to guess.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have read other books by Sarah A Denzil and have always enjoyed them for the psychological thrillers that they were however I just couldn’t really enjoy Only Daughter, it was a very dark and gloomy book. I suppose if you think that your only daughter had committed suicide or been murdered, it is not going to be a happy, clappy, sunny book. I look forward to reading other future books by the author, this one wasn’t one of my personal favourites.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the book.

OMG I adored this book. I was so mesmerized by the character of the mother Kat and her personality disorder. Despite this disorder, that was supposed to deem her unable to love , she tenaciously spends the weeks after her teenage daughters apparent suicide tracking down those who may have harmed her or even killed her. The book focuses on the power of maternal love and moving through the thickness of grief. Cannot recommend enough.

The author wrote a thriller that started with a bang and just kept going! The twists kept coming, so I couldn't put it down. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

I really struggled to get into this book. About halfway through I considered giving up. But because it was for a review I persevered. I don't know if it was because I couldn't warm to the main character or it seemed a bit repetitive and long winded.

There was a good twist at the end but I feel it took too long to get there.

Others seem to have loved it so obviously it's just not my thing.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for my ARC in return for an honest review.

What a book!!!!! From the moment I started it I was totally hooked.
Grace goes missing one day and then the follow day turns up dead and the authorities and putting it down to suicide . However her mother refuses to believe that to be the case and makes it her mission to find out what exactly has happened to her daughter.
This is a book that keeps on giving as you read through it you get a sense of almost solving what has happened to Grace but then you get sent into a different direction.
A well written storyline by Sarah A Denzil and great characters
Thank you to both NetGalley and Bookouture for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

Mother and daughter relationships are captivating. They say it shapes your life, and in a way, it truly does. I am blessed to have a strong and independent mother who loves me unconditionally, and as an only child, I was (over)protected and cherished (still am!). What interests me is to compare my own experience with others and to clash it against clichés. I picked Only Daughter because of the winning combination of a beautiful blue cover, an efficient title, and an intriguing synopsis.

Reading Only Daughter is like opening a bottle of perfume. When I was little, I used to hide in my aunt’s room at my grandparents and open those small glasses containing this strange water. Some bottles made me happy, others nostalgic, and the worst made me sneeze. This is where I learned the power of fragrances. The intoxicating scent surrounded me straight away, plunging me in every mother’s nightmare. The opening is poignant, desperate, and heart-breaking, and left me bereft. Then, without awareness, my heart started beating at the same rhythm as Kat. The smell, strong and lingering, wrapped us in a clear fog, the new and empty world of a mother without her daughter. The scent never left me and kept me awake until 3am, unable to tear myself away from the novel in my hands. Sarah Denzil impressed me with her spot-on writing, never weepy, always heart-wrenching, swimming from one emotion to the other, allowing Kat to navigate her new boat without the anchor that was Grace.

Only Daughter doesn’t deal with the hackneyed mother-daughter tropes. It goes above and beyond. It gives grief a colour, it gives emptiness a form, and it gives a mother the opportunity to show her fire. How well do you know your child? Grace is said to have committed suicide, but Kat can’t even begin to imagine her daughter doing such a thing. This made me walk down memory lane, to my teenage years and the days of struggles. Finding myself meant not telling my mother everything. Did it mean I didn’t love her? Trust her? Can Kat make the link between the Grace she knew and the one her actions and things left behind are portraying? Those questions talked to the deepest places of my heart and stirred so many emotions in me that I almost got scared.

The bottle of perfume… The smell of her daughter mixed with Kat’s guilt, and the bittersweet taste of her questions. As we get to know Grace through Kat’s eyes, we also intrude Kat’s mind, and this was the most beautiful and moving part I have ever read. Kat is no ordinary woman. Her belief that her daughter would never have chosen death is common, but the author takes this usual reaction and pushes it to the limits, exploring a mind that is boiling with overflowing emotions and seeing the world through dark glasses. There is a true observation of a woman, a wife, and a mother here. One you can’t forget, one that life and death can’t change. I fell for Kat. It happened unexpectedly, suddenly, and it swallowed me whole.

Grace’s presence is everywhere, and so are secrets and lies around her passing away. I sometimes wondered if Kat was chasing her daughter’s ghost, clinging to the bluish scent of her sweet teenager. I sometimes truly believed there was more that met the eyes around Grace’s fate.

I can’t categorise Only Daughter. It definitely is a character-driven novel. Characters you fight against, fight with, live with. But the mystery hovers above as a burning whirlwind. Kat turns her pain into a driving force, walking through the fire and holding on to the bond which linked her to Grace, until the truth is revealed. How do I let you know that my heart felt like exploding, that my chest felt too small to digest the reality of it all, that saying goodbye to Grace brought me peace and reinforced my faith in motherhood? How do I convey the strength with which the author strikes Kat, and her readers, with the past and the present, with life and death?

Only Daughter is a magnificent psychological novel, one that makes you dig deep to connect to the roots of our emotions. I am in awe of Sarah A. Denzil’s ability to imprison her character in a bottle, letting them float and cast a spell on the reader, taking them by the hand for an unforgettable experience.

A brilliant psychological thriller, I smugly thought I’d worked out “whodunnit” only to be shocked by a final twist!
Kat’s daughter goes missing and is found dead the next day at the bottom of a quarry. All signs suggest it was suicide. Her mother isn’t convinced however and vows to find out what really happened.
From a troubled past herself, Kat struggles to know which is the truth and which are lies.
As she slowly unravels her daughters life, she is devastated to learn she didn’t really ever know her, or the people around her.
Who is to blame for all of this? Was Grace murdered?
Kept me guessing all the way through. Looking forward to the next book by this author.

If anyone thinks that it's a wise move to question the gut instinct of a mumma, then you are very mistaken!

Kat has had to do something no parent should ever do - identify her dead daughter for the police. Her little girl is dead. The police believe that Grace committed suicide, but Kat thinks that's a load of nonsense. Does she know everything about her daughter?

'Only Daughter' is a book which, for the most part, leaves you with way more questions than answers. Was it suicide? If not, how did Grace end up dead? Should Kat be able to trust those around her, or are they waiting to watch her fall?

It was gripping. It was gritty. It was jam packed with suspense. However, I couldn't help but feel that the certain events dragged on a little bit too long.

Kat is definitely a marmite character - her heart is in the right place but I couldn't work her out at times! There seemed to be a lot more to her personality than what the author allowed us to see, yet in a frustratingly fab sense, it worked.

Despite being on the fence at times, I enjoyed the author's attention to detail and the way in which she carved the suspense for her storyline. 'Only Daughter' did keep me guessing and I thought that the level of grit was very well incorporated into the actions of the individual characters.

Sarah Denzil kept me enthralled with this exciting and twist packed thriller I've found myself a new author to keep me awake at night.
Kat Cavanah is a wealthy wife and is traumatised by the thought of her only daughter committing suicide and is convinced she was pushed over the quarry.
Once the police investigation was closed as they were satisfied no foul play was afoot Kat began her own investigation which took her on an emotional journey to ultimately find the truth with a twist to all twists at the finale.
Thoroughly recommend this book well deserved 5 stars.

I received a free e-copy of Only Daughter by Sarah A. Denzil from NetGalley for my honest review.

A brilliantly written psychological thriller that I couldn't put down!

Grace, who is the daughter of Charles and Kat is a happy seventeen year old girl. Grace , coming from a wealthy family, attended private school and played violin for the school band.

Grace goes missing one day and turns up dead the next day. The coroner is calling it a suicide. Her mother, Kat, refuses to believe that her daughter would commit suicide. Grace was always a happy girl. Kat decides to investigate her daughter's life to try to find out what happened. There are so many secrets. Kat starts wondering if she really knew her daughter. She also has secrets from her past that she is hiding.

What really happened to Grace???

So this was such a tangled web of psychological warfare and I loved every minute.
Picture the scene Kat's daughter Grace lies cold on the mortuary slab, a supposed victim of suicide.
But Kat doesn't and won't accept this apparent scenario and outcome.
Kat formally Katie Flack, a girl with a colourful past who has dragged herself up from her poor beginnings in life to her current station married to Charles who is himself old money.
In therapy, for years Kat has lived a life of personal improvement all for one person's benefit, Grace.
Who better than Kat: diagnosed sociopath and grieving mother to investigate her daughter's suspicious demise.
A mother with no conscience just a dogged determination to discover the truth whatever the cost
Her one attachment and stabling force removed and out of the equation.
So as Kat covertly investigates Grace's life and death she discovers in this process that she didn't know her daughter quite as well as she thought she did and with a mysterious adversary warning her away from the truth things soon start to escalate.
"Only daughter" apart from that first harrowing and traumatic opening scene was told completely from Kat's POV.
Kat was such an interesting individual to me: her unique thought process and atypical reactions begging the same old argument of nature versus nuture and in regards to her daughter Grace is it ultimately truth that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree itself.
Is Grace far more like her mother that Kat realised.
From the beginning, this managed to grip and enthral me, the mystery here kept me guessing until the very end.
I also found the dynamic between Kat and Charles curious and as the story progresses these two after colliding seemed to drift back towards each other almost cementing their alliance.
This was so much more than what it seemed and show-cased brilliantly how our underlying relationships growing up are the building blocks and foundations of our future selves.
Our early life experiences or lack of almost shaping and moulding us into what's to come.
This really does explore what contributes to our overall personalities.
So I suspected everyone here, absolutely no one was immune from my beady-eyed suspicion.
Some stuff I did guess, but others still crept up on me catching me unawares.
This was, in my opinion, a really well written and engaging read: one that I am happy to recommend.
This was a thought-provoking and suspenseful read.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of "Only Daughter".
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah A. Denzil and Bookouture for this ARC.

This book blew my everloving mind. It was so dark and twisted that I basically stopped living life just so I could devour this book. Sarah A. Denzil is a master at writing page turners that suck you all the way in.

Five stars for this amazing book.