Rating: 4.1/5

While I was reading "The Daughter" I had to go away and check that I was correct in my understanding that this was Liz Webb's first novel. It is ... but the level of craft displayed by the author belies that fact. This impressive debut exhibits a level of accomplishment that many far more experienced writers would be justly proud of.

I will say that if you like your reading material to start with a bang and then tear along at a rip-roaring pace until the final page, then this may well not be the book for you. That isn't to say that there isn't excitement, intrigue and suspense, because there certainly is - but it develops over time and is presented in a considered fashion that is both thoughtful and thought-provoking.

There are a number of facets to "The Daughter" and it doesn't sit easily in one specific genre. There are certainly significant aspects of family / domestic drama, but there is also a pervading element of mystery and even murder mystery. However, the central structure of the story shares much in common with Shakespearian tragedy, with a fatally flawed central character at its heart. Liz Webb has also created credible storylines, with realistic and relatable (if not always likeable) characters and - if that weren't already praiseworthy enough - there is also poignant social commentary and some astute dark humour into the bargain.

This book deserves to do well and I will certainly be watching out for more from Liz Webb.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

The start is very slow burn and all the main characters are really unlikeable, at times so unlikeable that I considered quitting. But once this book picked up its pacing (around the half way mark), things move quickly and it becomes unputtable. Very much a book of two halves.

I found this to be a slow starter - it definitely takes a good amount of time to get into it, and at times I felt that I never really clicked with the story. I liked the role that memories played in this story & how they differ between people who share them. With Hannah being an alcoholic, her father having dementia, her brother releasing an autobiography and Hannah speaking with her mother's friends, it is a struggle to see what truth is in her search for her mother's killer. The last quarter of the book is when I felt that it picked up the pace & there were some shocks there. However, I felt that it was a little too late and was a bit anticlimactic. It was an interesting idea but it didn't really deliver for me.

This is a book which has captured my interest from the beginning. I love how this is written. It is filled with a mix of characters and has been a book I have been unable to predict.

I thought the premise of the was good but I did find it a little slow and the characterisation didn't draw me in enough. The book did grow on me though and I did want to finish it!

I found The Daughter by Liz Webb a little too slow paced and struggled to get into the book and story which I felt plodded along somewhat. The underlying story arc was promising but not fully delivered upon.

This was a late off the blocks start but then it somehow turned into Usain Bolt.
Hannah asks her father if he murdered her mother, he is failing with ill health rapidly. She knows it couldn’t possibly have been him or could it?
Thank you to Netgalley, and Liz Webb for giving me an advanced copy of The Daughter.

The Daughter is so well written it draws you in from the first page and the brilliant structure and compelling characters grab you and keep you guessing right up to the end. A very fast paced, action packed story with lots of craziness and suspense to keep you reading straight to the very end! Highly recommend!

Umph, this book! It is absolutely the best I’ve read in a long time. It’s weird, creepy, gripping, quite sad sometimes, you never know where it’s going to go from one chapter to the next. The main character 37 year old Hannah is a force to be reckoned with. She certainly has tenacity when it comes to getting to the truth, but then there’s always doubt. Told in the first person, Hannah does sometimes come across as an unreliable narrator. Not so much that she’s leading us, the reader, a merry dance but more does she know her own mind? and therefore unreliable.

Hannah has a strained relationship with her brother Reece, a successful and popular TV actor. As children they had a happy relationship and spent a lot of time together but since the death of their mother when Hannah was 14 she hardly sees her brother. Reece left for university shortly after his mothers death and has never returned home since, nor will he have anything to do with his father.

Hannah has returned to the family home to take care of her father whose advancing dementia is making it unsafe for him to live at home on his own. There are things her father says to her, even though his mind drifts in and out of lucidity, that concern Hannah. There are many unanswered questions surrounding her mothers death and Hannah is determined to get to the bottom of them.

It’s a tense read, I loved the writing and Hannah’s character. Gradually she unravels more and more secrets, but even Hannah often doubts reality. Could she be imagining things, is she right in her suspicions or is her constant digging really making matters worse? I did start to have my own suspicions which turned out to be right, but had absolutely no idea of the whys and the wherefores. Ooooh it’s just such a fantastic plot. You need to read it, I promise it’s just the best.


*to be reviewed on my blog on publication day* posted to Goodreads now.

A captivating story that kept me glued from the very start and with a clear and strong depiction of how families don't always get it right when they live with secrets. A very relateable middle-aged woman takes the lead with all her weaknesses, past and present mistakes as she tries to unravel her own identity.

Not my usual genre but thought I’d give it a go and I am so bland that I did! An exciting book that I didn’t want to put down. Well done.

This book was a bit slow paced, but it had enough to keep me interested until the very end,, so I would recommend it if you are searching for something to keep you entertained while travelling etc.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book. I liked the idea that Hannah; a woman who is the same age as her mother on her death, decides now is the time to embarks on a journey to discover what really happened to her mum. Her dad has dementia and and keeps apologising to Hannah, for what we are not sure. Hannah looks exactly like Jen, her mother when she died so her father thinks he is speaking with his deceased wife. Will Hannah find the truth about what happened all those years ago? The book although not really fast paced, I felt was fast enough to hold my attention. I very much enjoyed it, I would look to read more from this author.

Secrets abound in this novel. A father close to the end of his life and his daughter who seems to have lived among secrets all her life. A mother who appears t still be controlling everything from the grave and a brother/ son who cannot be relied on or trusted. A surprisingly endearing who dunnit.

This book was extremely gripping. I got to about half way through at my normal reading pace, but from then on I couldn't put it down until I'd finished. I had to know the truth about what had happened to Jen. A very satisfying ending, too.

Great book that kept me intrigued. I worked out quite early on who the killer was but it didn’t spoil it for me and I enjoyed the story unfolding.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

This was a well written book but for me personally it took me a while to get into the story line and I found it hard to get involved and concentrate. It did seem to get better towards the middle and there was quite a bit of mystery in the story.

I don't think I could recommend this book to my friends but thank you to Netgalley and Allison & Busby for giving me the opportunity to read this but it didn't really 'hit the spot' for me.

This is an interesting tale of a deceit that stretches back years - as our main character cares for her dying father, she also tries to get to the bottom of her mother's untimely murder. A story about family, lies and secrets with plenty of drama and twists, this is a well-written book with deep characters and a shocking ending...

Good storyline and well written. Unfortunately it took me a while to get into this book, but no fault of the writer, I just couldn’t get enthused till about halfway through.
A mother is murdered and 20 years later her daughter is looking after her dying father and discovers or thinks that he could have murdered her. Brother Reece is also suspicious. Can she sort this out and get some closure before her father dies or is she totally wrong?

I wasn't entirely drawn in to start with..... but that may just have been me not paying enough attention to the story and expecting more same old same old.....but..... this book soon had me absolutely hooked! It just unfolds beautifully and keeps you guessing til the very end. Nothing is given away, although in hindsight there are a few little hints throughout the book. Just nothing that you would consciously pick up on to give that big reveal away. Ots beautiful written, the characters are so real and relatable that you really do feel for almost each and every one of them. These are just people, like you and me, trying to make sense of a shared history that joined them all as much as it decided them. It's the perfect domestic noir and I can't wait to read more from Liz Webb!!!