My Darling Daughter follows a husband and wife who are sought out by the wife’s daughter who was adopted at birth. With it being a psychological thriller, I knew that this reunion was going to go wrong somehow but I didn’t expect to be taken on the journey of twists and turns I ended up on.

The ending fell a little short for me as it wrapped everything up a little too conveniently but if you’re looking for a quick and easy read, you may enjoy this one.

Delaney is one of my favourite authors and my expectations for the book were really high. I enjoyed it overall but would have definitely preferred more twists. I was gripped though and raced to the end.

When a child you gave up contacts you out of the blue and knows your life and wants to live with you - what do you say. A gripping psychological family thriller.

Absolutely brilliant! I love the books by JP Delaney and this is one of the best. It had me gripped from the first page right to the last. The story evoked many emotions as I read - happiness, sadness, anger along with tension. The actual tension in this book was relentless. The characters were all strong and well drawn. This is a must read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review. I absolutely loved it.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. The book follows Gabe and Susie, a couple who are struggling to conceive. They both lost a child each in the past, Gabe’s daughter died aged 3 and Susie put her daughter up for adoption after becoming pregnant at 20. When a chance to meet her now 15-year old daughter appears, they jump at the opportunity. But Susie’s daughter also includes a worrying final line in her letter - that she needs help.

This book was an enjoyable read - a real page turner. From the outset I could tell something was going to be weird about the daughter and her adoptive parents and in true JP Delaney style - this book involved plenty of twists. My only critique would be that the middle part of the book was a little too drawn out and had some unnecessary information that wasn’t necessarily needed. In addition to this, the final twist was good but a little watered down (I just expected a little more).

And finally, it seemed a little unrealistic that every main character (Susie, Gabe and Sky) had this victim mentality. It just felt like they were in trouble for so many things (drug-use, sexual assault etc) but it was just a terrible misunderstanding in every case. Is everyone in that much bother really so squeaky clean and just in the wrong place at the wrong time? I don’t know.

Anyway very enjoyable read and I would recommend to read! Great book to get you out of a reading slump!

Well this is an addictive read. Couldn't put it down and had it finished in a few hours, it was that good and so easy to read and just fly through.
Susie's fifteen year old daughter Sky, whom she gave up when she was a baby, suddenly appears in her life again, with tales of a terrible life at home with her controlling adoptive parents. She pleads with Susie and her husband Gabe to intervene. Sky is very compelling and at first I felt sorry for her and her life, but as things unravel the truth comes out and it's a lot more shocking than you think.

Life as they know it starts to crumble for Susie and Gabe, all thanks to Sky and yes this poor girl has been through horrendous experiences in her short life so far, but nothing excuses the things she does next. I really really disliked Susie for the way she handled it, yes you can understand this is her long lost daughter who she has finally been reunited with and she doesn't want to turn her back on her, but the things Sky did where unforgivable, they could have destroyed them!

It's always horrendous reading about young teenagers and kids with accusations that can destroy innocent people and how social services have to back the child, but at the expense of people and families that have done nothing other than try to help the child in question.
It was also interesting about adoption and fostering and how the help is available from many sources, including financial, when a child is fostered, but it's totally different when a child is adopted.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC in return for an honest review.

An ingenious plot line with twists and turns all over the place. Brilliant writing from JP Delaney as ever.

I’ve been a big fan of Jp Delaney since the first book and waiting in anticipation of another release.
This book did not disappoint again I was hooked from the first chapter. Itching to find out more.
The twists and turns in this book had me not wanting to put the book down.
The ending was not what I expected but that made it more exciting.
Thank you for another amazing book and I look forward to another.

I couldn’t put this book down and had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next!
Susie’s daughter that she adopted out 15 years earlier suddenly makes contact turning her life upside down.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I have read this authors other works and I thought this was just as good. Well written and a good atmospheric tale. The author must of done lots of research and really bought the story together to make it almost like a true story. A good read.

A very well researched novel, it almost felt like a true story to start with. Ive had some experience in my life with the storyline and was easily drawn in as it was very credible…then it became a thriller and I just couldn’t put it down. It’s such an absorbing read, I liked that it was written from other peoples perspectives which gave a rounded story and became totally gripping. Finished at 2.30am…I’m not normally a middle of the night reader!

Similar to Delaney's 'Playing Nice' this domestic thriller explores parenthood, specifically how far a mother's love can stretch forgiveness.

Social media has become an essential part of our daily lives but remains highly controversial. As it continues to dominate, we are introduced to new issues. In his authors note Delaney explains that the Adoption Society estimate one in four adoptee's make contact with their biological family before the age of 18, usually through social media.

Although far fetched at times, elements of this narrative come together to give it an authentic atmosphere. For example, I love that Delaney uses real examples from recent psychology misdemeanors such a coercive restraint therapy. CRT or 'Holding Therapy's was used and advocated for in the UK as recently as 2010.

I particularly liked the interspersed literary devices such as snippets of articles and reports which added a fun and engaging element to a heavy topic.

By no means my favourite or most emotive Delaney book I still found this a really enjoyable read. Perfect in-flight entertainment ✈️🌏

Thank you @netgalley for my ARC! ❤️

A solid read overall, though I would have liked a bit more tension at the beginning. I felt there was a too much research explained at the start, which made it a tad dry for my liking and took me away from developing an emotional bond with the characters. I would have enjoyed more twists.

Yet another great book from JP Delaney.

The narrative switches between the perspectives of the 3 main characters, which makes for an easy and enjoyable flow. This is a classic psychological family drama that touches on some very serious topics, all well researched and handled with the utmost care and respect.

A very enjoyable, clever read.

Thank you NetGalley and Quercus Books for a Review Copy.

My Darling Daughter by JP Delaney tells the story of Susie Jukes and Sky, the daughter she gave up for adoption to pursue a music career. Susie is now married to Gabe and living a comfortable lifestyle. She is finally fronting a band. Gabe is now writing songs for young musicians after his boyband career.
After numerous failed attempts at having a baby, Susie and Gabe are desperate to start a family. Then, Sky makes contact via social media.
One will expect Sky to have unresolved issues as well as Susie her mother. Sky's adoptive parents' challenges of raising a teenager are relatable.
As with JP Delaney's previous novels, this novel is a gripping psychological thriller.
The story is the product of good research. The legal and psychological aspects of adoption are explored delicately.
As the story unfolds, it becomes difficult to put the book down due to the twist and suspense woven into the story.
I have read novels written by the author and I had high expectations for this title. I was not disappointed.

This is the second JP Delaney book I’ve read and it was every bit as pacey and gripping as I hoped it would be. I absolutely inhaled this story about manipulation and deception, which I’d recommend as a great beach read (I got chills despite being in a very warm climate!) You’ll be gripped right up to the final pages.

Domestic Noir telling the story of a reunion between an adopted child, a birth mother and her husband. The chapters are short and alternate between their three different points of view. This is not my usual kind of genre, although I have listened to one of the author’s other books: The Girl Before (which I rated 3/5 stars.)

The main issue I had with this book, and why I found myself reading it so quickly yesterday, skimming and scanning chapters, was that it felt melodramatic. Lots of research has obviously gone into the process of adoption, attachment issues and what can happen further down the line to vulnerable young people, but I felt that the prose was very simplistic, the characters weren’t fully developed and there was little in the way of description of setting and other characters. It feels rushed and sensationalised. I kept wondering what this story would look like in the hands of an author like Ann Cleeves, after having just read the second book in her Vera series and giving it 5 stars.

This is a beach read, if you are not disturbed by heavy themes. It’s the definition of a page turner (in my case a very fast page turner!)

By the end it loses momentum and feels as if it limps to a not really satisfying conclusion, albeit perhaps a realistic one about the way forward for them all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read ARC of this book.

What happens when the girl you gave up for adoption 15 years ago reaches out to you because her life at home isn't healthy. What if she's apart of the reason why?

<b>A therapist told me once that the pain of loss doesn’t shrink, but sometimes we’re able to let our lives expand around it, the way a tree can grow around a nail.</b>

Delaney does domestic thriller like nobody else. Such a topical subject to be writing about, and done in a way that is somehow both sensitive and thought provoking. I was engaged throughout, loving the twists and turns this book took me down, sometimes gasping at the results.

<B>It was easier to feel shit if I wasn’t around someone else who was also feeling shit, and she felt exactly the same way, so we ended up just . . . pushing apart from each other. A bit like when you swap around two magnets that have been locked together, and suddenly you can’t get them to even touch.</b>

For a domestic thriller this hits all the marks, it made me squirm, it made me cry, it made me think. Clever and touching but with an edge of harsh truth about some really contemporary issues.

As a fan of JP Delaney’s previous titles, I couldn’t wait to read the latest. My Darling Daughter is about married musicians Susie and Gabe. Whilst not world-renowned rock stars, they have a comfortable life with successful careers. Out of the blue one day, fifteen year old Anna contacts Susie saying she is her daughter, the baby girl she gave up for adoption years ago. As Susie and Gabe have struggled starting a family of their own, Susie welcomes Anna with open arms. However, it seems Anna knows a little too much about their lives already. Is her behaviour a result of childhood trauma, or is there something else she is hiding?
 
A well written domestic noir, this book was so easy to read; without even realising it I read most of it in one sitting! Short, snappy chapters keep you engaged and tease you to read ‘just one more’.
 
The characterisation was well done. Anna is infuriating; I got so angry with her because of her actions! Despite that I felt immense sympathy for her and hoped she would receive help before the end. I also felt for Susie and Gabe, trying to do what is best but getting treated horribly in return. Flawed, imperfect characters are the most interesting I think!
 
An enjoyable, fast-paced read, but not my favourite of JP Delaney.

4 stars
Singer Susie Jukes gets a social media message from a 15-year-old girl who believes she may be her mother and the P.S. breaks her heart as the teenager says she is desperately unhappy. Could this be Sky, now called Anna, who’s Susie gave up for adoption? They meet, Susie hears Anna’s story but there’s always two sides and as we know some teenagers… fill in as you see fit!

This is an enjoyable, easy read, the pace is quick and there are some surprising twists or three. The story is told from several points of view which flows and is done very well especially Susie and her husband Gabe’s turmoil and their multitude of emotions which comes across very strongly.You feel as if you are with them, almost a fly on a wall. Anna‘s perspective is very illuminating and that’s all I’ll say! The characterisation is very good but at times I do want to yell at them despite their very good intentions!

This is a well researched novel, I like the psychology and legal sections as they make the whole thing feel very authentic. As the storyline builds I think some situations may be a tad unlikely, possibly even implausible but it does make for darn good fiction and that at the end of the day is what we as readers are after.

Overall, theme is a difficult and sensitive one but I think JP Delaney handles it very well and gives you food for thought.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Quercus for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.