Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. This is absolutely one of my favourite reads of this year, couldn't get enough of it, read it way into the night, instead of sleeping.

My Darling Daughter by JP Delaney

Another great read by J.P. Delaney!

How would you feel if you gave you daughter up for adoption only to hear from her through an online message fifteen years later saying she is unhappy? You would move heaven and earth to get to her. That is what happens to Susie when she gets a message from Sky, the daughter she never forgot. Susie and her husband, Gabe, instantly get in touch with Sky to see how they can help but it turns out that there is a little miscommunication from Sky, who is now Anna, she is unhappy but not because of her adopted family.

I loved everything about this book, the characters, the fast-paced storyline and so many twists you feel dizzy.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Quercus Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Susie is married to Gabe. Her band is on the up and up and he is happy for her as he has had a successful career in a now defunct boyband. He makes a good living from song writing.
When Susie is contacted out of the blood by the daughter she was forced to give up for adoption, she is delighted and is happy to be in contact with her. Anna tells her she is unhappy and her adoptive parents are doing terrible things. Susie believes her and it opens a big can of worms. In the following months, Susie and Gabe are sent on a roller coaster of emotions, being pitted against each other and facing all sorts of accusations.
As a reader, you know something is going to happen. You're not sure what, but this writer has form.
Enjoy the ride.

JP Delaney is one of my auto buy authors. An author I pick up and I know I will read that book in one sitting or as close as possible. This book was their best yet. Finished the book from start to finish in one evening. Absolutely brilliant. Just sad now I have to wait at least another year for the next book. With thanks to Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

JP Delaney truly never fails to deliver! What a book!! I always find myself racing through his books, they have an effortless reading quality in which makes them perfect for a binge read thriller!
-
This one handles what some could find a difficult theme to read about, but JP Delaney handles it with such care I feel you should still pick up a copy!
-
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the early copy!!

Whilst this book does have some very heavy themes running through it (adoption, consent, mental health issues) it is a forgettable read. It’s really a family drama as opposed to a thriller. The characters weren’t particularly likeable or intriguing, lacking any kind of depth despite the various traumas they’d all experienced.

The story was told from 3 perspectives, all in the current timeline so no mystery as to what anyone else was thinking!

It was a decent beach read (if you don’t mind the heavy themes) but definitely not one to pick up if you’re looking for a gritty thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley for access to the ebook in return for an honest review

My Darling Daughter is the fifth book written by Tony Strong under the pseudonym of JP Delaney and I've (now) read and enjoyed all five. They lean strongly to domestic noir, featuring secrets kept between partners or husbands and wives and challenging relationships to breaking point. They're also consistently clever and offer a number of twists and surprises so readers generally need to be prepared to strap themselves in.

The book opens with Susie being contacted by her biological daughter (born Sky, but renamed Anna by her adoptive parents). Naturally those of us who are suspicious by nature and read a lot of crime fiction and thrillers, assume something is afoot and Anna isn't who she says she is. (Starting out a life of manipulation and chaos at 15 years of age). However... Delaney puts us in Anna, Susie and Gabe's heads so we get to know exactly what they're thinking and we quickly learn that Anna is certainly the daughter that Susie gave birth to years before.

She bonds with Susie in particular before making claims about her adoptive parents. Gabe wants to keep Susie happy (and knows how much she's wanted children) but is more cynical suggesting some of the things that Anna's complaining about ARE simply parents setting boundaries. Some of Anna's claims are worrying however (and there's mention of a therapy used by her adoptive parents I remember from an episode of Law & Order SVU!) When confronted however, they throw blame back at Anna who (they say) can be manipulative and suffered from attachment disorder or adoptive child syndrome.

Again, Gabe isn't as easily swayed but soon Susie and Gabe are Anna's safe haven - only to be arrested and charged with child abduction as a result.

Because we're in Anna's head there certainly are things that don't add up. She does seem to be manipulative, but readers (along with Susie and Gabe) wonder if she's just doing what she needs to in order to escape a bad situation.

We think we can see where this book is going and the proverbial slow motion car crash happens slowly before our eyes, but Delaney keeps changing things up... going in an unexpected direction. I liked the way he dives into the relationship between Susie and Gabe, particularly the fallout after some of Susie's old secrets are revealed. But also the reflection on their 'journey' dealing with loss and infertility. It's central to the unfolding plot - that unrequited desire - along with regret and guilt.

I really enjoyed this book and am happy with the real estate Delaney's books are starting to take-up on my bookshelves.

** I'd definitely recommend this for bookclubs because there's an opportunity for some juicy discussions arising from some moral or ethical dilemmas here. **

I am a huge fan of JP Delaney and could not wait to dive into My Darling Daughter. I was captivated from the onset and consumed this riveting book in two sittings.
Based on a daughter finding her mother after 15 years apart the story spirals into a crazy thrill ride that kept me turning the pages at rapid speed. I loved the fast pace and horrible characters, with really only one person in the whole book that I liked. This added to the tension and made me quite anxious at times as to the outcome.
I was left completely satisfied by the books end and thoroughly enjoyed every page.
Thank you to Quercus for this early reading copy it is a must read for any lover of thrillers.

I am a big fan of JP Delaney and I was super excited to get the opportunity to read and review this book. As always I enjoyed JP Delaney's story telling and style of writing. However, I must say I was slightly disappointed as this book did not hook me like 'The Girl Before,' did.
I wasn't dying to read the next chapter which is a bit unfortunate. However, I do feel this storyline would make an excellent TV series. Don't get me wrong the book is good but I just expected more.
Thank you to JP Delaney, NetGalley and Quercus Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I am a huge fan of JP Delaney’s books and My Darling Daughter was fantastic!

Out of the blue, musician Suzie receives a message on social media from a girl called Anna. She is the daughter that Suzie gave up for adoption fifteen years ago! But when they meet face to face (unbeknownst to Anna’s parents) Suzie and her husband Gabe think that Anna’s home life sounds very strange and Suzie just knows in her core that something isn’t right. And when Anna’s parents find out she has contacted Suzie, they are not happy at all. Is their reaction justified and is Anna’s problematic behaviour to be expected? Or are there other secrets at play?

I really liked how this book was told from the different perspectives of Suzie, Gabe and Anna and found myself racing through the pages to see what would happen next! The plot was so compelling and everything that Suzie did and thought felt so realistic given her present day personal struggles and her desperation to do what she believed was best for Anna! Even though at many times I was wishing she’d make different decisions!

I really liked Gabe’s chapters and he was probably my favourite of all of the characters. They gave such great insight given he doesn’t have any biological connection to Anna and he therefore often felt quite differently to his wife Suzie in response to some of Anna’s behaviours!

I thought that this book dealt with all of the different complexities surrounding adoption really well and there were a lot of thought provoking moments! There were some brilliant surprises as this book progressed too and my feelings towards the various characters were definitely tested along the way as a result! It was such a compelling read and I felt such despair at times given what Suzie and Gabe were having to deal with!

I honestly cannot recommend this book highly enough!

This is a well written book, and I kept on turning page after page. I did not feel a connection to any of the characters in the book though. They were too much on the nose, so it made the story predictable. It felt like all the characters were doing everything a bit too much by the book and even though in the end they were all damaged it felt like they were too rational or doing everything as planned. I would have expected something more.

Another great domestic psychological thriller by JP Delaney.

As I often do, I went in not knowing what this book was about and I wasn't let down; the story raised my attention from the very first chapters and I quickly became very invested.
I didn't know who to believe or who to side with, the theme tackled in this book is so important and controversial, that I kept changing my mind. I'm glad this book raised attention on a few important issues, and in my opinion it dealt with them very well.

The characters' development was top-notch: their point of view, feelings, and contradictions were all explored very well. They were not exactly likable characters but they were relatable all the same because in a situation like the one they found themselves in, I don't think many people would behave in a likable manner.

Definitely a very good thriller I recommend.

Thank you NetGallery and Quercus Books for the arc of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, I didn't. It's not that it's an awful read - it's not at all: Delaney writes as well as he usually does, and it's a decent enough plot, and even though the author has researched the topics covered in this novel, I found it to be very deliberately negative towards social services and the care system in general. While it's a viewpoint I can understand, I don't necessarily agree with it, and I couldn't read it without noticing the negative connotations. I'd also say that it's more of a family drama than a thriller.

So what did I like about it?...

The writing, as I've said, was on point. The pace was well balanced. The plot was predictable, but decent.

In the end, I think it just wasn't for me.
TW: Miscarriage, fibroids, infertility, drug use, prostitution, social workers and injustice, Baby P, adoption, fostering, infant death, adopted child syndrome

My Darling Daughter publishes on 15th September 2022.

Many thanks to the author, Quercus Books and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Quercus Books, Quercus for this arc. And thank you Farah for an other great buddy reading.

I went to this book blind and I had not idea what to expect. It had a lot of mystery at the beggining so I liked but the facts that were not nice started to bump and I did not like that as much but that was because the diffcult themes like miscariage, all kind abuses. But I continued to read and was nice written and wanted to say something to one of the character that how mad I was at that personage. I liked the suspance as well and if that was not for hard themes that I am sensitive I would sure loved the book even more. In all the crazy stuff I liked the book at the end.

My Darling Daughter
after giving up for adoption at a young age Gabriel and Suise Are shocked to discover a letter from their daughter. So a letter is brought back to the would be maybe daughter. Unfortunately I had developed some complications and has not given birth to another child so this is a major getting her life and does cause a lot of trauma. Throughout reading this book I unfortunately did not feel a lot for it the characters in stick out of me as having much emotion and it felt more like informative book than something from the imagination.

I enjoy The girl before from this author so when I saw this one was excited.
Was ok not a great can't put down book. Covers adoption and family drama. Interesting,informative but rather boring in parts.
Kinds glad when the story ended

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

JP Delaney's 'The Girl Before' was one of my favourite thrillers of last year, with a unique twist on the genre. I was therefore really excited to have the opportunity to read this book before it was released.

My Darling Daughter follows the story of Susie and Gabe, a high flying pair of musicians who are madly in love. However, it soon transpires they both have secrets they'd rather keep buried in the past. In My Darling Daughter, these come to the surface when Susie's daughter Anna emerges, 15 years after she was adopted, throwing their world into disarray.

I thought the topic of adoption was handled very sensitively in this book. I also thought it covered some important themes. The story kept me hooked, but I did feel I was sort of sat waiting for something to happen at times, waiting for 'that twist' which unfortunately didn't come. A good read and certainly a page turner, but it just didn't have quite the same hook as Delaney's previous work for me. Still worth a read though!

After reading this author's previous work, I had high expectations for this read, requesting it on NetGalley without even reading the synopsis. A skilled psychological thriller writer, J.P Delaney creates plots like Cadbury creates the Curly Wurly; everyone is unique and individual.

The adoption story is woven into this story flawlessly, and it is refreshing to have multiple viewpoints on the subject. The signature short, snappy chapters made this an engaging, exciting and thought-provoking read. The awareness raised regarding child-to-parent violence needs to be noted, as very rarely spoken about within society for fear of judgement. Also, the Attachment Disorder element helped bring these characters a level of depth that made for an emotional rollercoaster read.

I was delighted my suspicions of Gabe, and predictions of this conclusion were wrong, as I didn't see the ending coming.

Admittingly, this is not my favourite by this author, but I still highly recommend it despite some very sensitive issues, and readers should note trigger warnings.

Unlike 'The Girl before' which I really enjoyed, this book didn't really work for me. I found the writing style irritating with an overuse of hyphens, as well as the constant changing of narrative between the main characters - Gabe, Susie and Sky.

I appreciate when an author has researched a topic they write about but in this case, I felt there was an information overload and excessive explanations and regurgitations, a lot of which were not really needed and just distracted from the plot. Also, I felt Sky's antics annoying and unbelievable due to the extreme nature of them. I felt almost as if I was thinking 'blah, blah, blah' with an eye roll as I read.

For me, this was a disappointing, average read, and my least favourite book by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, Quercus Books and J. P. Delaney for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great read.
I’ll be careful not to give too much away as this is a story with lots of layers.
When Susie is contacted by a teenager claiming to be her daughter, her husband Gabe is suspicious.
After ensuring she is her daughter, Susie is delighted to be back in touch with the girl who was adopted years earlier.
The family she is with seem strange and Susie and Gabe can’t understand some of their decisions so tensions soon run high.
Things then start to go wrong on all levels and some tricky decisions have to be made.
I can’t say anymore as you really need to read it to see how the story develops.
It’s an interesting insight into a dysfunctional family and definitely kept my attention throughout.
Thanks to Quercus books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.