The premise was super interesting, but the “I’m a teenager” thing felt too literal and overdone. Maybe that’s just because YA isn’t my usual genre though. Here are the pros: The plot was well done, the pacing was great & the narrator was lovely to listen to. Overall, a decent book I’m glad I listened too.

-Disclaimer: I won this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.-

3.5 stars

A twist on the attention serial killers garner!

I wasn't interested in it until about 26%. It focused a lot on drugs, cute boys, and numbing yourself. And that was before Scarlet found out her whole life had been a lie. There was a little character development for her.

The book was definitely structured and all ends are tied up by the last page. The writing and most characters were typical. There wasn't much description of the world but that made the book go by quicker. The romance was cringey (talks about climbing a guy like a tree, plus other gross ways of describing relationships).

Jeffrey made a great serial killer and the ending was well-planned. Trust was a huge theme in this. It was far less gory than I thought it would be. Overall, if you are into young adult/thriller/suspense and this sounds interesting, I would check out the audiobook!

Im pretty sad because I wanted to read this book real bad but i couldnt get the audiobook to work on the app.

This is a solid YA thriller. I was drawn in by the first few chapters, which only kept me craving more. Sadly, the book slows down after the initial hook. Just FYI, this novel can be a bit disturbing in some of its descriptions.

Scarlet's mom is a helicopter mom, but for good reasons, I suppose. She wants to protect her daughter, but to what extent? What exactly is mom hiding? There are some holes in the story that make it implausible or not make much sense, but it was not enough for me to not recommend this book.

Scarlet discovers that her dad is the famed serial killer, Jeffrey Robert Lake, and he wishes to see her before he dies from cancer in exchange for information that will lead the FBI agents to the bodies of his undiscovered victims.

Scarlet is very immature for her age, which became quite annoying at times. At 17 years old, I expected her to be a bit more mature.

Special thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Narrator 3 stars
I didn't love this narrator. Her voice started to frustrate my ears after a couple of hours but that wouldn't stop me from recommending this book

Stroy 4 stars
Such an interesting premise. Personally I would have liked the story to move on a little quicker as most of the teen characters were annoying after a while but I also need to remember this is targeted towards teens and YA.

I thought the concept was great. We are inundated with documentaries about criminals so it was interesting to know we’d be reading from the family of a killer’s perspective.

I expected Jeff to be more charming, manipulative considering he was known as “the gentleman.” His behavior at their meet ups, their discussions fell flat for me but were disturbing. I know he’s a killer but I wanted to see his manipulative tactics rather than him just flat out discussing everything he did, wants to do.

The storyline of Scarlet wanting to make a documentary was also so promising but didn’t delve as deep as I hoped.

Any of Scarlet and Luke’s interactions made me cringe and seemed out of place.

Overall, I thought this had great potential but I wished to have seen more of Jeff’s alluring behavior (for a better idea of how he swindled women), the mother/daughter relationship explored more, as well as the documentary.

I did love the growth between mother and daughter and learning more about mom’s life with Jeff prior to and during accusations

Finally, something different in a sea of serial killer lit!

I read a lot of crime fiction and it gets really hard to find something unique that's striking enough to stand out without going down a completely disgusting path just for the shock factor, so I absolutely loved the concept of this one. A serial killer on death row playing games with his former wife and their daughter was definitely enough to catch my attention, and the way it all played out was refreshingly different. The way the author portrays the mother through the daughter's eyes as they re-enter the life, they left behind is really well done and definitely keeps you reading.

The only issue I had with this book is that it's labeled for YA without a caution. To be fair, I'm in my mid-thirties, so YA hasn't been my primary genre, but I do read a fair amount of it and I felt like some of the content in this one was a little more than I would want a young teen reading. There's a fair amount of relatively tasteful sex scenes which were fine, but there's a really excessive amount of cursing and drug use by all the characters to the point where it seems unrealistic. I'm not offended by cursing or pot smoking, I'm just not sure I'd want my teen reading a book where every character does this routinely. I also thought the suggestion of necrophilia was unnecessary; it didn't have any impact on the plot and seems like it would be better left out of YA.

Overall, I loved it, I'm just not sure I'd let my kids read it until they were much older.

I listened to this on audiobook and thought the narrator was great. Unfortunately, the book not so much. I had high hopes for the premise which was really intriguing. However, it was very graphic at times and it didn’t seem to go anywhere.

Scarlet is dumbfounded when she learns that she is the daughter of serial killer Jeffery Robert Lake. Her mother tried to shield the truth from her however, now that Jeffery is dying he wants to reveal the names and locations of his victims to one person; Scarlet.

Between the media coverage and the people coming out of the woodwork blaming Scarlet for her father’s actions, Scarlet will need to decide if she will hide or prove to the world she’s not her father’s daughter.

Thank you to Netgalley and and RB Media for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

The idea behind this one is really good. Scarlet's mother has always been super over protective. One day she comes home to find the FBI waiting for her, and they reveal that her mother was once married to a notorious serial killer, and even more shocking he is her father.

Her father is sick and they don't think he has very long to live. The only person to who he will confess additional girls he murdered is his daughter. So Scarlet has to travel to the prison where her father is being held, and get him to tell her where the bodies of the girls he killed are located.

I really wanted to love this one, but I found that the main characters were annoying, and the story felt rushed. There was potential for a great story, but the ideas just weren't fleshed out enough for my liking. I understand it was written for a YA audience, but that's not an excuse for the shortcomings of the book. I did enjoy the story, but it could have been really good.

The audiobook narrator did a good job presenting the story though.

A different take on a serial killer story. The Daughter tells a story of life as a serial killers daughter and the struggle of identity when learning the information. I felt as though the story needed to contain more details and depth. It felt rushed, with little character development. While the daughter does go through an emotional battle and develops to turn a negative into a positive it felt as though there could have been more depth to the story. It would have been interesting to hear more survivor and family stories. Perhaps over multiple books to really delve into the story.
Overall, it was a wonderful concept and good read but I wanted more from it.

This audiobook had me hooked from the very beginning! Perfect for Teen thriller fans! Scarlet is a very likeable character who readers will sympathize with. Being a teenager is tough enough never mind discovering that your father is a notorious serial killer! I loved the flow of this story and recommend it to all YA thriller fans!

This is my first Kate McLaughlin book and will not be my last. Imagine waking up one day to find out your father is a serial killer and you're name has been changed to protect you, how would you react? Then imagine he is dying and will only reveal who and where his remaining victims are to you.

This book is fast-paced and filled with lots of twists and turns that will keep you engaged from start to finish. I loved how well developed the characters are. The scenery is so well described that I felt like I was with Scarlet throughout her journey.

I really enjoyed this book! I couldn't even imagine, while coming of age, that you also learn that your father was a notorious serial rapist and killer! Like how crazy is that!?! Also, his fetishes made him an extra sick person but the way that the daughter tried to navigate meeting him, releasing her resentment for her Mom, and finding herself through all of the chaos was amazing.

I was pleasantly surprised that this book was more about the daughter navigating her life after hearing the news versus her serial killer father. We as a society get so enraptured with the serial killer and what he/she did, but forget about THEIR families and what they may have had to endure because of their sick family member. I really liked this POV. I would highly recommend.

Thank you so much to @recordedbooks and @wednesdaybooks for the digital listening and reading review copies. Daughter came out on March 8, 2022 - available now!

Scarlet is a regular teen with a pretty overprotective mother until the FBI show up at her door letting her know she is the daughter of one of the most notorious serial killers of her generation. He's dying, and is willing to give up the names of his unfound victims, but only to his daughter who he hasn't seen since she was a baby.

As soon as I started this book I was hooked on the story. It was told in a completely fascinating way, from Scarlet's perspective. The details about her father and his history and actions kept me interested the whole way through.

I was a little surprised with how quickly her mother went from protective to trusting as soon as Scarlet knew the truth about her father. It felt like a switch flipped and suddenly. Similarly, Scarlet adjusted very quickly to her new family and history which made it felt a little rushed - I think the book would have benefitted from extending the timeline from a few weeks to at least a few months.

I appreciated Scarlet's ability to receive a message from her friends on her phone, and leave it without answering or letting them know she would talk about details with them later - this is something that can be hard to do but was a great example for us to strive to emulate.

Overall, I really enjoyed this YA Thriller, not as dark and gorey as some of the other thrillers I gravitate, but quick and attention grabbing.

3.5 stars rounded up.

DAUGHTER: A NOVEL by kate mclaughlin
#️⃣336 pages
🏃🏽‍♀️medium paced
📚mystery/thriller, YA

Loved the start— quickly grabbed my attention, kept my interest and left me wondering what was going to happen next.

It is a mystery and thriller but not in the way of tons of twist and shock. It does throw in a little romance but that story line takes a backseat to the overall plot.


I do wish there was a big surprise or shock, because the premise of the book is really good and there was definitely potential for it!

Synopsis by publisher/author below 👇🏽👇🏽
………………………..
Kate McLaughlin’s Daughter is a thrilling YA novel about trying to right deadly choices that were never yours to begin with.

Scarlet’s life is pretty average. Overly protective mom. Great friends. Cute boy she’s interested in. And a father she’s never known—until she does.

When the FBI show up at Scarlet’s door, she is shocked to learn her father is infamous serial killer Jeffrey Robert Lake. And now, he’s dying and will only give the names and locations of his remaining victims to the one person, the daughter he hasn’t seen since she was a baby.

Scarlet’s mother has tried to protect her from Lake’s horrifying legacy, but there’s no way they can escape the media firestorm that erupts when they come out of hiding. Or the people who blame Scarlet for her father’s choices. When trying to do the right thing puts her life in danger, Scarlet is faced with a choice—go back into hiding or make the world see her as more than a monster’s daughter.

#netgalleyreader #netgally #netgallyreviewer #daughteranovel #bookstagram #booktok #books #booklover #bookreview #bookreviewer

Daughter was a captivating and entertaining novel, and I found that I really enjoyed listening to it. The narrator really brought to life the main character's personality and showcased her age.

It didn't have a big climax or anything really exciting happen, so I wouldn't put it under the thriller category because of that; it is simply a story about a girl finding out who her dad is and helping find peace for families affected. Overall, it was great and fun to listen to.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read early!

I don't read alot of YA fiction but this one had me intrigued. I saw that alot of my trusted reviewer friends had enjoyed it so I was thrilled when I was approved for an audio copy of Daughter.

I love a good serial killer story and this was a cracker. What would you do if you found out your whole life up until the age of 17 was a lie? That is what happens to Scarlet when the FBI come knocking. She discovers that her Scarlet is not her birth name and that he father who she believed has just abandoned them, was actually notorious serial killer Jeffery Robert Lake. He is in prison and dying. And he has more name for the FBI - but only if his daughter comes to visit him in prison.

Her life is uprooted and changed forever. It was an interesting look at what a the family left behind have to deal with and suffer. Scarlet was a strong girl and I really enjoyed reading her journey. There was a bit too much of the romance side for me to give it 5 stars but that is just me.

The narration was fantastic, and I could not stop listening. Highly recommend. Thanks to RB Media for my audiobook copy to listen to. Daughter is out now and well worth a read or listen.

DNF at 33%

I just felt the main character and writing were too immature for the very mature and dark subject matter. I was very interested in the plot but the plot seemed more interested in cute boys with a background of a necrophilic serial killer. I don't mind YA as I tend to read a ton of it but I think this subject matter didn't combine well with the character's focus. And why did we spend so much time with her and a boy and her friends who seemingly will not be in the rest of the story?

I think the writing was fine though and the concept was super interesting, I just couldn't with how the story was framed and the main character who was experiencing it.

The audio narration was also really good and this cover is amazing.

4.5
I loved this one. it was really good. captivating and thrilling. a very neat storyline, good characters and a very good plot at the end. It reminded me of some murder documentaries that I watch, which I loved. It was good. just good. and I loved the narrator. great. just great. honestly one of the most exciting books that I've read recently.

thanks to NetGallery for providing my copy.

Let me first start by saying the good:

- The premise was super interesting
- The narration was done so well
- The cover is perfection

I'm so sad because this could have been so good. I was instantly hooked and I put in so much effort to love this. Maybe if this wasn't marketed as a Young Adult book, things could have been different, but the amount of drugs, profanity (like literally SO MUCH), underage drinking, hatred for parents, etc. etc. just got really old really fast. It was honestly so distracting from the actual plot (which I actually really liked).

This really makes me sad to write, but I'm not sure who the target audience for this is, but I certainly wouldn't want my teenager reading it and as a mom, it was very frustrating too.

Thank you so much to RB Books for the chance to review this audiobook.