I would recommend this story to all thriller lovers. This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout the story and I needed to see what was going to happen. I truly enjoyed the pacing of the story and the well-written characters.

Rachel is married to Mitch Moran, they have a thirteen year old daughter Becca and on the day of her birthday everything goes wrong. Rachel receives bad news at work, her mother has recently passed away and her husband Mitch is extremely distant. In the heat of the moment she explodes, Mitch asks her to leave Rose Cottage, and Becca wants to live with her father.

Rachel’s living alone, she starts working at fun-to-learn, here she meets Leona Grey, and she invites her to attend a meeting for mothers who don’t live with their children. Rachel feels uncomfortable going to the meeting, but she’s lonely, she meets Viv, an older lady and they become friends.

When Viv needs help, Rachel offers to take her to see her son Aidan every Sunday, he lives in a special needs home, and looks forward to seeing his mum. Slowly, Rachel tries to repair her relationship with Becca, it's hard because she's a teenager and she only sees her once a week. Lost Daughter, looks at relationships, how they can be complicated, how marriages can drift apart, and in Rachel's case her husband Mitch was happy for her to be the one responsible for their family problems, he's proud to be the good parent and he's not perfect.

I received a copy of Lost Daughter in exchange for an honest review, it really makes you think about motherhood, how hard it is and how it's very easy for people to judge mothers, and we all do our best, five stars from me and I look forward to reading other books by Ali Mercer. I have shared my review on Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Australia, Kobo, Twitter and my Facebook page.

Great characters and a very believable plot line. I've become a huge fan of the author and I'm looking forward to reading more!

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It took me a little time to get in to this story but it was enjoyable once it got going. Rachel has lost custody of her daughter since the split with her husband. It is unclear why for quite some time. The book leaves the reader intrigued as to why a mother has lost her daughter but it is worth the wait.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

This is a very emotional read that mainly features the friendship and love of three women, and the problems they face together. A good read, and worth the effort.

This book was only ok for me. Didn’t keep my interest... felt like it flipped around a lot. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and kept hoping for a moment where things would pick up and grab me but it never did.

A family drama with a bit of a mystery, this is a decent read, but not one that pulled me in and wouldn't let go. Overall, by reaction is a bit blasé...if I had time to read it, fine. If not, no big deal. I'm not quite sure why that is, as the plot was fairly engaging, but I guess I didn't fully connect with the characters enough to become emotionally invested in the outcome. Likely just not the book for me. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3161167300

*thank you to Netgalley, Ali Mercer and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

Lost Daughter is one of those stories that take you on a journey discovering the characters more than the plot. I don't usually read stories like this but given the synopsis for this story I was intrigued and I had every reason to be as this turned out to be well worth the time. It is not fast paced but the story being told is that interesting that it didn't want to be rushed. It's one that you want to take your time with and get involved in.

I think a lot of people can have an understanding of what the main characters in this are going through. They are not rare emotions and thoughts processes. Which I think just allows this to be able to reach more readers. A lot of the story has a mystery to it. For the most part there is always a question going around as not everything is being answered right away. That did make me somewhat intrigued but also a little bit fustrated. Not much but a bit. There are a number of narrators but it doesn't get confusing to who's who as I said before that this is largely based on character development so you do get to know them all pretty well.

The story is well written and keeps you wanting to read more. I would recommend this.

Every mothers nightmare, one event with devastating consequences. An emotional page turner totally absorbing.
Following Rachel while she forges out a new life while peeling back the layers of her old life until only the truth is left.

An interesting book with lots of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing. It was slightly frustrating waiting to find out exactly what Rachel had done to lose her child but apart from that the book was very gripping.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of ‘Lost Daughter’ by Ali Mercer in exchange for an honest review.

‘Lost Daughter’ by Ali Mercer is about a woman called Rachel who is rebuilding her life after separating from her husband and not having custody of her daughter.

I almost gave up early on in this book, but I’m glad that I kept going. The unexpected friendships Rachel forms help her through trying times yet also provide some unexpected twists.

I only kept going because I wanted to find out what Rachel did that was so horrible to have her husband and daughter essentially kick her out of the house. For the most part, I was satisfied with the ending.

I’m glad I waited to write my review for a few days after finishing. Initially I was underwhelmed. However, days after I finished, I’m still thinking about Rachel and some of the incidents in the plot.

Heartbreaking, intense and worth the read. Page by page the storyline unfolds and you want to see where it will go, only it doesn’t go where you expect it. You can quickly identify with the mother... the gut wrenching feelings, the guilt yet the discovery of the reality. A page turner and storyline you won’t want to put down.

3.25 stars
This is yet again another instance in which I thought I was requesting a thriller only to discover it is women’s fiction. The good news is that I figured this out before I started reading the book based on other reviews so I was prepared....

How do I describe this book? Hmmm. It is kind of a tough one. It is about three women who have each lost a child in different ways. Rachel is living estranged from her husband Mitch and 13-year old daughter, Becca, after a moment of emotional regression that leaves her feeling guilty and ashamed. Viv has an adult son who she sent to live in a care home when he was a young child. Leona has a young daughter she gave up for adoption. The story starts with these three women coming together to support one another with their losses. It focuses on each of their stories and their developing friendships. But then it takes a turn, I will say, I didn’t see coming.

The blurb describes this book as heart wrenching. I’m not sure I completely agree. It was en emotional read but more because of Rachel’s marital situation. A large focus of the book is on Rachel and Mitch’s relationship - what is was, how it is now...There were some despicable characters that made the story angering more than anything else.

I felt like this book had two separate plot lines. One was the story of the lost children. The other was about Rachel and Mitch. And although the author tried to blend the two together, for me it felt a bit clunky and never totally came together. I will give a thumbs up to the last quarter of the book when things get as crazy as a soap opera. In fact that’s what I was thinking as I read the final chapters...it reminded me of one of those old night time soap dramas like Knots Landing or Melrose Place.

For me, this was a so-so read that started off slow but picks up towards the end. I feel like there was maybe a bit too much tackled in the book which resulted in some of the supporting characters being one note and the plot, as a whole, under developed. There was definitely room for more depth.

ARC received by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc.
This just wasn't my type of book. I prefer a story with a plot and one that's a thriller. This was a very different type of book. A good book but it just didn't grip me at all. One more about the characters.

This is a very enjoyable book about three women who have all lost custody of their children, and the friendship they develop. Well worth a read

Interesting read. It was chilling at times and a mystery to where they were heading with it. Well written and easy to read

After reading the back of the book you would expect this book to be some part of a thriller. It isn't but there is still suspense in the book. It had me going through ranges of emotions. The book wasn't just centred on one storyline it had many. It was quite enjoyable and I would be interested in reading more of her books.

Ali Mercer explores the world of family heartbreak. Three women who have all lost children, living children, come together to grieve and support one another. Their lives become intertwined in ways that no one could have foreseen. While sadness pervades their lives, they find comfort in shared loss.

Rachel learns her husband was not what she believed him to be. Leona finds a new, unexpected future, and Elaine takes comfort in the fact that Rachel enjoys spending time with Aidan, Elaine's institutionalized adult son. In the end, it's apparent that families can be redefined.

Rachel had been happily married. Her artist husband was happy to stay at home while she worked, looking after their daughter & doing the household chores (even if they weren't always the way she'd do it!) That was until something awful happened. Now she has to manage in a bedsit, doing temp jobs & only allowed to see Becca on a Saturday. Together with Leona, a work colleague, & Viv they meet as a small club for mothers living away from their children.

The story is told from various points of view & at various times. Much of the story was leading up to the 'something awful' but the friendship that grew up between Viv & Rachel was, in my mind the best bit of the story.

This was a good read. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.