Susie is over the moon when her daughter Anna, who she put up for adoption 15 years earlier makes contact. When Susie and her husband Gabe hear about what Anna has to put up with at home, they agree to try and help her out. But things in Anna's story sometimes don't add up. And Susie knows it's just a matter of time before more secrets of her past will be revealed.

This was a decent novel. Fast paced, multiple POV's, short chapters, plenty of twists, hard to put down - everything I like in a thriller.

Rating: 3.3/5

J.P. Delaney's previous novel, "Playing Nice", was one of my favourite novels of 2020. I even gave it a 5-star rating, which is something of a rarity for me. I have been keenly awaiting this next book and the synopsis had me looking forward to reading something equally impressive. And, to be fair, there are elements of "My Darling Daughter" that are extremely well done, but this is, ultimately, more of a family drama than a psychological thriller - and that isn't really what I was expecting or wanting it to be.

In the first half of the book it seemed to be shaping up to deliver exactly what I was hoping for. The best thrillers often work, because they create situations people can relate to as plausible and relatable - and J.P. Delaney was doing just that. He had created nicely fleshed out and credible characters, too and it was making for suitably enthralling reading. As the reader you could see train-wreck scenarios developing, but still felt compelled to keep watching.

At this juncture, there were a number of possible pathways that the author could have elected to take the narrative down. The path he opted to go for was the one that saw the story develop very much into a family drama. And, although there are important topics raised that are generally handled well and in a sensitive manner, I felt that it was an opportunity missed, in terms of capitalising on the thriller potential of the story.

Nonetheless, this is another perfectly enjoyable book from this writer and I will still be watching out for the next one to bear the J.P. Delaney name.

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

I have enjoyed JP Delaneys other books.

This book was great.

Gripping fast past and a great original story line.

OMG WOW, this novel was so good, I was grabbed from the first page and loved every twist and turn that JP Delaney delivered. I actually know if someone who has adopted a child and this rang so many bells for me, as their child is very manipulative in a way similar to Sky and I would so like to see this turned in to a series for TV.

My Darling Daughter is an intriguing novel focusing Susie and Gabe, a couple who are contacted by a girl, called Amy, who is claiming to be Susie’s long-lost daughter given up for adoption many years ago.

We soon realise that Anna has some issues and may not be the perfect long-lost daughter Susie wants her to be…

The story is told from both Susie and Gabe’s perspectives, so we see Susie’s thoughts – she’s thrilled to have another chance to make things right with her daughter – as well as Gabe’s more reserved view of it all. He’s approaching the situation without the emotional history of Susie, and becomes more and more concerned by Anna’s strange behaviour. Without giving too much away, developments in the characters’ lives and their history mean the sense of threat builds and we’re not always sure exactly who to trust.

This is such an easy book to read – I got through it in no time and found it really engaging. The characters are intriguing, and though you sometimes want to shout at them to make different decisions, Susie and Gabe felt pretty realistic to me. There are believable twists and lots of suspense to keep the reader intrigued throughout.

This was a slightly difficult read for me as my family have just gone through the adoption process (thankfully successfully) and it triggered some emotions. Another great read from this author. I didn’t really like the main characters but I guess we don’t have to!

Another brilliant psychological thriller from JP Delaney. The main characters are not necessarily likeable, but I found them intriguing and compelling to stay with throughout the book. I enjoyed the fast-paced plot, with some shocking twists. At the heart of this novel is a serious subject which JP Delaney handles in a sensitive and believable way.

As typical of J P Delaney’s stories, this psychological thriller, My Darling Daughter is a tense and at times disconcerting read. Susie and her husband Gabe work in the music industry and have everything they want apart from a child. Then the daughter given up for adoption over a decade ago by Susie, makes contact endangering the buried secrets of her past. So begins a series of events causing mayhem in their lives, threatening their marriage and creating multiple legal threats. As their dark secrets become public, the tension and stakes become more dangerous. With its rising tension and surprises, this domestic noir makes for a four star rating. With thanks to Quercus Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced reader copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

Ive read and enjoyed previous books by this author and was looking forward to this one, however, I find myself quite ambivalent about it. I thought the characters were well portrayed and an interesting storyline, but I also felt it almost veered into non- fiction territory at times with long explanations about adoption processes, cared for children, homelessness and county lines etc. Whilst I was actually interested in the information given, it made for a very clunky narrative.
Thank you to netgalley and quercus for an advance copy of this book

~ Quick Summary ~

Susie is contacted by Anna, her daughter that she gave up for adoption 15 years ago and welcomes her with open arms, wanting to protect her from her adoptive parents. But is Anna telling the truth?

~ Pick this up if you enjoy/don’t mind the following ~

👪 Family drama

🏃‍♀️ A side of mystery and psychological thriller

🎶 Music scene, Susie and her husband Gabe are musicians

📚 The Push (darker and more complex characters) and The Last Thing He Told me (relationship development between mother and daughter)

~ What I Enjoyed ~

There was some mystery and reveals sprinkled throughout, I just wish there was more!

~ What I didn’t enjoy ~

This was a forgettable read, it felt very long and I skimmed a lot. This felt more of a family drama with sprinkles of mystery and traces of thriller and suspense. I was hoping for something with more twists. Although the characters had backstories and issues, I never felt too attached to any of them and once we learned all about Anna/Sky I wasn’t that interested in her anymore.

Since this is told from all three perspectives, I know what everyone is thinking and therefore there weren’t any surprises. There was a bit of mystery at the start where we don’t know what Skye’s/Anna’s motives really are but that was quickly revealed.

The last third or so of the book took a slightly weird and unexpected turn. Suddenly the book has a bit more action in it but it seemed a bit out of place considering it felt more like a family drama before.

I've read and enjoyed J.P. Delaney's work before, so of course I couldn't resist the invitation to read his newest story My Darling Daughter. It's true that I've been mostly staying away from more domestic focused psychological thrillers in recent months, but there was just something about this story that had me fully intrigued. And what a story it ended up being! It's been a while I've had a character THIS manipulative and cunning, and she is a minor at that. My Darling Daughter turned out to be a compelling and chilling domestic thriller with a cast of characters I won't soon forget.

There is no doubt that My Darling Daugher focuses a lot on domestic life, adoption and family in general. I was expecting more of a psychological thriller approach; domestic thrillers don't tend to work all that well for me at the moment, and a little warning would have been appreciated. That said, between the engaging writing style, short chapters and lots of secrets, twists and suspense, the pace never slowed down and I finished this story in less than a day. There is something strangely addictive about seeing everything escalate, knowing that things are bound to go horribly wrong sooner than later... And you keep wondering just how far Anna will take things and what she will do next.

My Darling Daughter uses a multiple POV structure, and this makes it really easy to both keep things from us readers and give little hints about a possible future and/or escalation. The story itself is mostly character driven, and while they were not exactly likeable, the character development was well done and thorough. The characters all seemed to have their secrets and motives for not letting the truth come out; the unreliable narrator element used to keep you doubting what is the truth and which parts are lies. I never guessed the full scope of it all, although I did get some of the details right... But the journey itself was more than satisfying, and it ended up being a very compelling and almost uncomfortable read.

If you like your domestic thrillers on the dark side, riddled with secrets and lies and have an extremely manipulative character to boot, My Darling Daughter will be the perfect read for you. It will be hard to stop reading once things start escalating!

Susie had to give up her child for adoption, years later a young woman gets in touch and tells her she is that daughter. Susie wants to meet her.

This is a novel full of complex emotions and excellent thriller aspects. I found it fascinating and the author does credit to what is a very difficult situation.

Susie and Gabe have made a good living from careers in music. Gabe used to be in a boy band and Susie’s musical career is taking off.

They both had an extremely difficult time before they got together. Gabe’s daughter, Leah, died from leukaemia and Susie had to give up her baby girl, Sky, for adoption.

Fifteen years on and Susie gets a message out of the blue from someone called Anna, purporting to be her daughter.

What follows is one of the most tense stories that I have read this year. The story is told from Susie, Gabe and Anna/Sky’s point of view.

It is a dark and gripping story. A tale of secrets and lies but also full of twists that really make you stop and think.

My thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

My Darling Daughter was a fairly fast paced read that dealt with a lot of difficult and sensitive topics, this I felt was done well by the author.
Susie gave a daughter up for adoption when she was young, she named her Sky. Susie is contacted one day by a girl called Anna and she claims to be her daughter. Susie arranges to meet up with her and her husband, Gabe. Anna tells of a life that isn’t what Susie wanted for her and concerned she gets in touch with the adoptive parents but they aren’t forthcoming in anyway. Things pick up pace and before Susie knows it all manner of accusations are being thrown at Gabe. Accusations are just the tip of the iceberg as they both deal with being unable to have a child having suffered many miscarriages. Anna seemed like a dream come true for Susie but is quickly left reeling by this young girl.
A good plot with some good characters make this a great read, there are quite a few twists along the way and this helps making this a quick read.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

A psychological thriller that covers a number of sensitive topics including child death, miscarriages, infertility, adoption, drug trafficking and band behaviour with groupies.

This story is told through multiple narratives and keeps you engaged, wondering what shockers will be be revealed next. The main character is a 15 year old girl who tries to destroy the ordered lives of those who are trying to help her, revealing secrets of their pasts that they had hoped would remain buried.

JP Delaney has done it again. What an incredibly, gripping psychological thriller. It had me on the edge of my seat and I could not put it down. Fast paced with plenty of twists.

Full of twists and turns this is what I love about a JP Delaney book, the idea of the child you gave up getting in touch could have been a story all on its own but this becomes a brilliant thriller that makes you wonder and guess at the truth.

The characters are easy to follow and you really want to work out whats happened and what people are hiding. I felt invoved in the story!

What an amazing read. Full of manipulative characters and a tense unique plot this author is one of the best at psychological thrillers. Highly recommended read.

4.75⭐️

This is one of my favourite authors as he manages to come up with unique plot lines. So I was excited to read this psychological thriller.

Susie and Gabe have an idyllic lifestyle. Gabe was a successful musician Susie’s musical career is on the rise. Susie gave up a child called Sky for adoption, Gabe’s daughter Leah died from leukaemia. They haven’t been able to have a child together which has left them gutted.
Suddenly Susie is contacted by someone claiming to be the adopted child.

The story is told from Gabe, Susie’s and Anna’s POV.
It grabbed my interest immediately, keeping me totally engrossed throughout which isn’t an easy thing to achieve with psychological thrillers, a lot are slow burns which just isn’t my style.

It’s a totally immersive read, got a great pace, lots going on throughout. I liked Gabe and Susie, both far from perfect, both have flaws.

It’s quite dark, there are quite a few themes sensitively explored through the book which I won’t mention incase readers want to go in blind. It’s very character driven, the characters are all very well developed, feeling very real. One thing that I will say there’s a family dog who doesn’t get harmed, as I feared that was a very real possibility.

This is an excellent book, one I’d highly recommend. If you loved Lucinda Berry’s Perfect Child you’ll love this.

Wow , what an absolutely brilliant book . So tense right from the start. I loved the characters and I could understand the way all of them acted and I did have a lot of sympathy for them . Can’t rave about this book enough , definitely worth reading . 5 stars from me , can’t wait for the next from this brilliant author