I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

"The Diary of a Serial Killer's Daughter: A chilling dark thriller" by L.A. Detwiler is a haunting and suspenseful tale that takes you on an unsettling journey into the aftermath of darkness, leaving you with a lingering sense of unease.

I was intrigued by the idea of this book and delighted to be given the opportunity to review it but unfortunately it was not a winner for me. I kept putting it down and having to pick it up only to set it back down. The style of the writing just didn't jive for me and ultimately it was a DNF. I typically don't read books in diary format or from a young POV. I have young siblings and depictions of children usually treat them as far younger or older than the age they are supposed to be. Makes it hard for me to sink into and believe in. I deliberated a long time over submitting feedback but at this point I still find myself unable to fully forge through this story. I just recommend any author writing with a young voice have a parent or teacher etc familiar with that age group give feedback on the voice.

I don’t even know what to say. Just wow.
I usually don’t like to read books written in diary form. But this………this one was absolutely disturbing and insane. It almost makes you feel like something is seriously wrong with yourself because even as disturbing and insane that it is you still can put it down.

I am very interested in ready more by this author to compare to the writing in this story.

The title of the book really stood out as something I would enjoy reading.
It was a bit of a slow start and quite repetitive for a while. Once the story got going in the middle I started to enjoy it more.
I did find myself thinking of other things while reading it then having to reread as I wasn’t taking it in.
I’d like to try more by this author to get an honest opinion of her books.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

Unfortunately I didn't really connect with this book. I had high expectations but just found it a little simplistic in style.

The author makes reading it flow very easily. It is a dark and disturbing tale that will haunt you long after you finish. That's the mark of a great writer but in this case, be careful if you're not prepared for that kind of trauma.

This was such a creepy, goosebumps-inducing book. When young Ruby discovers her dad’s dark secret, she’s torn. If she turns him in, she loses the only parent she has. But she knows what he’s doing is wrong. And worse still, she finds herself drawn to what he’s doing in the worse possible way.

I seriously enjoyed this book!! I was so interested in this when I first heard about it and the cover is amazing! I started reading and couldn’t put it down! I loved seeing it through a young kids eyes. I could only give it 4 stars because I would have loved this more if it was a full novel not just diary entries. I liked the writing style even if some of it wasn’t that great! But even because of that it was still a good story! I ended it totally wanting more!

Although this book can be very dark in places I enjoyed reading it I wasnt expecting that ending would recommend

This was a very disturbing book. The whole thing is written in the form of a diary and goes through many years in the life of Ruby, the daughter of a serial killer. It is very disturbing but I quite enjoyed the complexity of the main character... the love she feels for her daddy and the way she quite does'nt understand the world.

perfect october read

I’ve always enjoyed books written in diary form. There’s something about reading someone’s inner private thoughts.

This diary though. It was something else!
This story is being told by a young girl throughout the years. It’s definitely disturbing but that’s the whole point.

It was a bit slow to start but it definitely picks up and gets super interesting. Our main character Ruby is 7 years old when we first meet, and kids that age just aren’t that interesting. But once it picked up I couldn’t put the book down! There were some parts where even I was a little disturbed. It was somehow worse knowing these were a child’s voice.

If you enjoy dark reads I definitely recommend this. I’m super annoyed with myself for waiting so long to read it.

Thank you netgalley for the copy of this book.

This is a captivating and dark read that sucked me in from page 1. If you're a fan of Dateline or true crime, you will love this read. I love that this is unique and is told from a different perspective. Chilling and dark, but totally worth the read.

One of the best thrillers that I've read in forever!

Detwiler does an incredible job of giving a new and intriguing perspective on the entire serial killer genre. And the fact that you get to see the main character grow up makes it that much more interesting.

The only reason why I'm not giving this book a full five stars is because I didn't totally love the ending - but everything else was perfect!

Thank you too Netgalley and the publisher for letting me enjoy this great thriller!

That title nearly killed me! Applause to this book! It is jam-packed with chills and so much frustrating in the sense that you want to know what really happens. It is poignant and kinda love it.

The Diary of a Serial Killer’s Daughter by L.A. Detwiler is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

Ruby Marlowe keeps a diary, and as she grows into her teenage years, a number of things became evident.  She has no friends because they live outside of town.  She is considered weird, treated differently, and bullied.  But she has her diary, and her poetry, and her daddy.  She loves the colour red.

Ruby's mother died when she was two, and her father is her whole world.  She discovers what he does in their garage, but keeps his secret.  She wonders what really happened to her mother, and discovers some unsettling things.  She wonders if she should tell somebody about the women who her father takes into the garage.  She wonders if, perhaps, she is a little like her father.

Eventually Ruby wonders if she is ready to live her own life, instead of one spent protecting her fathers secrets.  But a secret of her own changes everything.


My Opinions:   

This book grabbed my attention immediately.  The title said it all, and the first few pages ensured I wasn't putting it down any time soon.  It is a dark tale, and I loved every minute of it!

The whole story is told from the pages of Ruby's diary.  It started when she was 7 and ended at age 17 (with a few years missed here and there).  I loved the idea of this.  I also think the wording in the first couple years was a little too advanced for a 7 year old.  However, it did make for good reading.  I loved her poems.

This one isn't for the faint of heart.  It's vivid in it's gruesomeness.  Lots of blood.  That part didn't bother me.  The bullying did -- it was brutal.  

Thinking of monsters/serial killers, the book looked into whether they are born with the tendancy, or grew into the tendancy because of outside influences  (nature/nurture).  

Overall, this was a well-written, dark, disturbing story.  I absolutely loved it.  It's going to stick with me for a while.

The Diary of A Serial Killer's Daughter by L.A. Detwiler
This was written from the daughters point of view in her diaries entries from the time she was young till about 16. Very interesting and disturbing, a little slow paced for me but it did hold my interest and I wanted to know what was going to happen with Ruby and her father. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this and leave my opinion.

The is written from the point of view of a child and continues until she is a teen. The serial killer’s daughter keeps a diary of her father’s kills in the garage late at night. He never realized that his daughter knows of his secret let alone watches him kill the women. The daughter is described as “weird” and “slow”, she appears to have some characteristics of ASD and kids at school are mean to here. The book seems to be written for young adults based on the writing style and not the content. It was a quick read with little depth.

The Diary of a Serial Killer's daughter is an experience. It follows the autistic daughter of a serial killer from the age of 7 to 16 and we get a look into her mind as she goes about her life, see what her relationship is like with her dad, as well as watch her mature and struggle with what she believes.

Originally what she thought to be a game as a child, she eventually learns as she grows is her father committing murders in their garage. A secret he keeps and one he doesn't know she knows because she is a good secret keeper.

This book can be hard to read at times either due to how her writing style changes as she grows (as most everyone's does), so it drags a bit, but also how her hyper-fixation on blood can make a person uncomfortable. I definitely do not recommend this to anyone who doesn't like child characters, who doesn't like talk of blood, doesn't like obsessive thoughts in characters.

Also while the autistic representation is written well in terms of Ruby herself as a character, anyone who goes into this without knowing specific traits / characteristics (such as hyper-fixation), may not grasp things in the best light as those who know of these things.