Katrina "Kat" McHugh lives in a brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. She is separated from her husband Aidan and has a strained relationship with her daughter Cleo, who attends New York University. Kat is an attorney, and her daughter has been angry and frustrated by her mother's strictness. What she doesn't know is that Kat is actually her law firm's fixer, who skillfully makes problems go away for their wealthy clients. Cleo is also unaware of Kat's troubled childhood. When she arrives to have dinner with her mother at their home, Cleo discovers that Kat is missing, along with a bloody shoe and signs of a struggle. Determined to find out what happened to her mother, Cleo starts her own investigation, which leads to several suspects - including her father. And Cleo realizes she has put herself in danger. 

Kimberly McCreight, the author of Like Mother, Like Daughter, has written a tense, entertaining thriller. The story unfolds from the alternating perspectives of Kat, before her disappearance and Cleo, as she searches for her mother. Also interspersed are notes from Cleo's therapy sessions and Kat's childhood journal, which Cleo finds and reads. As she delves deeper, Cleo realizes that the woman she is learning about is vastly different from the mother she thought she knew. This fast-paced novel with effective red herrings and twists, satisfied. After reading it, you'll want to call your mother. 

4.25 stars.

Concept was good, execution was bad.

For the first 50% of the book, you don’t have a clue what’s going on or any potential suspects - you just know the mom is missing. There are too many things happening to even begin to guess: the mom’s current boyfriend dies; something with a drug company; husband had an affair; daughter has a drug dealer boyfriend; random neighbor and daughter…and I’m sure I’m missing something.

Then, there are random chapters of information from texts and news articles that are incredibly unhelpful without any context. It’s told from 2 non linear POVs - mom and daughter - which would be interesting, but it ends up getting too confusing when you add in the texts, therapy transcripts, news articles, etc.

The last 15% finally speeds up, but is relatively anti-climatic.

It felt a lot like telling and not showing. I wanted to know how it ended but it let me down. Also, the daughter just basically solving the case on her own and never contacting the cop that seemed like the one good person in the book (shockingly) was very annoying. Also, absolutely no wrap up for the annoying drug dealer boyfriend.

All in all, way too much going on, but also nothing happened?

I got an ARC of this book and got through it really quickly on a flight but other than that it wasn’t that memorable for me. This story started out and took hold of you with a lot of excitement and then between the two POV’s and multiple little sub plots going on it felt like a lot of information to keep straight and had me losing focus (and care) about the story at all. The start was the last bit of excitement for me.

Overall, I think I would like to try this author again but I don’t think I would recommend picking this one up!

This book was just okay for me. What I did like about it was the pacing and the mixed media elements (things like therapy notes, court documents, etc. were mixed into the story). The book definitely kept my attention and I read it in a day.

That said, the characters were almost all awful/unlikeable, though that doesn't really bother me, especially when reading a thriller. My bigger issue is that I don't like when books have red herrings solely for the purpose of being a red herring. Maybe that's unfair of me, but I want a red herring to have a reasonable purpose for being in the story aside from just to misdirect the reader. I want it to make sense in the context of the story. Most thrillers will have red herrings thrown in to mislead the reader, but I don't think I've ever read a book where there was so much time and energy given to plotlines that ultimately didn't matter in the end and were just sort of left unfinished. It left me asking myself what the point was of all the subplots, and they kind of felt like a waste of my time.

I don't think it's a bad book, and I still thought it was okay, but I didn't love it, would never reread it, and won't find myself recommending it to others. However, I do think there will be others out there that absolutely love it - it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

🔪⚠️⚖️
Book Review
4🌟🌟🌟🌟
📚35/100
📖Like Mother, Like Daughter
⚠️Genre:
Fiction/Thriller
✍️Author:
Kimberly McCreight
✨✨✨✨✨

📝Synopsis 📝
Kat is supposed to have dinner with her daughter in hopes of making things right. Cleo shows up, but her mom is missing and obviously something is very wrong. Cleo takes it upon herself to uncover what happened to her mother and find her.

💭My Thoughts 💭
This was such a great thriller that had me turning those pages as fast as I could. And just when you expect to assume the whodunnit, there’s another twist. It was my first book written by this author, and I loved the complex mother daughter plot to it, all the detailed POVs and side characters, and transcripts. I really think this would have been perfection if there were a few details left out (plot holes) and if the epilogue wasn’t so rushed. This book was an amazing read that kept me trying to figure out whodunnit till the very end, and it had me thinking if we truly know our own parents💭

✨Thank you @netgalley , @pantheonbooks , and Knopf
for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📌Publication Date:
July 30, 2024
✨✨✨✨
#bookstagrammer
#bookreview #booktok #bookrecommendation #fictionbooks #netgalley #bookstagram #bookworms #bibliophile #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreview #likemotherlikedaughter #thrillerbooks #thrillerbook

This book was fast paced though, which I did enjoy. Overall, it was a lot of fun, but it had a lot going on. I did enjoy this story very much but felt that a lot was crammed into the story and feel that some of the ideas could have been trimmed out. There were several sub-plots added in that made it harder to keep up with the storyline.

Cleo arrives home to find food burning, broken glass on the floor and her mom, Kat missing. After further looks she notices a blood puddle on the floor and one of her mom's blood soaked shoes. As Cleo digs in to find out what happened to her "perfect" lawyer mom, she starts to uncover a lot of secrets her mom has been hiding. More than one of these secrets are dangerous enough to be the reason Kat is missing, but where should she start looking first?

Pretty much every character was terrible. The mom was not bad, but her chapters were tough to read because of how repetitive they were. Cleo came around, but she was also very repetitive about her mom being over protective and it made her seem so bratty. That said, I appreciate how she was able to work to find out what happened to her mom and become more of a doer like her mom when she needed to.

I liked this book, but there were too many plots going on and the ending felt so far fetched. The parts about Cleo's teenage sexual history seemed so unnecessary to the plot. That said, I liked the mixed mediums of the book, with the doctor notes, case files, alternating POVs, which helped the pacing of the book. I was able to finish this in one sitting.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️: 3/5

Cleo, a college student at NYU, arrives at her mother Kat’s house in Brooklyn for dinner to find her mother missing and evidence of a struggle. As Cleo begins to investigate what happened to her, she finds that Kat was hiding things about her past and her present from Cleo, things that may have led to her disappearance.

I’m a fan of Kimberly McCreight. A Good Marriage was my favorite by her, but I liked her previous books as well. This one kind of missed the mark for me though. The mystery/thriller aspect of this one was pretty well done, with twists and turns and red herrings, so that was pretty good, but really it was the characters that let me down. Cleo was a caricature of a teenage idiot, who thinks she knows better than the adults, and thus makes stupid and ill-conceived choices that made everything harder, and who alienated her mother due to her selfishness. Katrina was also a little insufferable, since she was strangely fixated on certain things being true when it’s clear there’s alternatives. I also am not the target audience for “motherhood is the best thing I did” books, because I am happily and intentionally childless, and intend to stay that way, so it comes off a little preachy to my ears. That is 100% a me problem with this book though, and while my review/rating reflects my own feelings, I don’t think it should sway you from checking this one out if it sounds more up your alley.

Thank you to @netgalley and @aaknopf for this free eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Katrina and Cleo have had a strained relationship for years. At the request of her mother, Cleo agrees to come home for a dinner and to talk but what she finds terrifies her. Her mother is no where to be found and in her place one shoe and blood remains. Where is Katrina?

I truly enjoyed Like Mother Like Daughter. Not only did we get dual POV, we also got information in different forms for each situation. The thing that struck me most was the undeniable fact that no matter how close we are to someone, there is always part of those people we don't know I was hooked from the beginning, the opening was strong and captivating. The character development was so cool because we were able to look into the characters thoughts and emotions beyond the current developments throughout the arc. I found myself invested in both mother and daughter even if they were at odds.

If you like a who, what, and why type of thriller this is the pick. I was guessing until the very end.

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight is a riveting psychological thriller that explores the intricacies of a fraught mother-daughter relationship set against a backdrop of mystery and suspense. The novel begins with Cleo, an NYU student, reluctantly agreeing to have dinner with her mother, Kat, at their Brooklyn home. Upon arrival, Cleo is immediately unsettled by the sight of a bloody shoe under the couch and the absence of her mother. The chilling discovery sets off a harrowing investigation led by Cleo herself, driven by a mix of fear and determination.

As Cleo delves into her mother’s disappearance, she uncovers layers of secrets that Kat had meticulously hidden. Flashbacks to the days leading up to Kat’s vanishing provide a deeper understanding of her complex life, revealing a woman entangled in a web of lies, hidden relationships, and potential enemies. These revelations challenge Cleo’s perception of her mother and compel her to question how well she truly knew her.

The narrative is masterfully structured, alternating between Cleo’s present-day investigation and past events that slowly unravel the mystery. McCreight’s writing keeps the tension taut, with each chapter peeling back another layer of Kat’s enigmatic life. The psychological depth of the characters adds richness to the plot, making their motivations and actions deeply compelling.

One of the novel’s strengths is its exploration of the mother-daughter dynamic. Cleo’s relationship with Kat is marked by tension and unresolved issues, which are poignantly highlighted throughout her search for the truth. This emotional core makes the thriller not just a quest for answers, but a journey of self-discovery and reconciliation for Cleo.

The climax of the novel is both shocking and satisfying, delivering a twist that redefines everything Cleo has uncovered. The resolution ties up the intricate plot threads, leaving readers both surprised and contemplative about the nature of familial bonds and the secrets that can lie within them.

Overall, Like Mother, Like Daughter is a captivating read that combines psychological insight with gripping suspense. McCreight has crafted a novel that not only keeps you on the edge of your seat but also resonates on an emotional level, making it a standout in the genre. It's a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers who appreciate a well-woven mystery with deeply human characters.

This was an interesting read. The mother and daughter dynamic was very well written. Kat seemed like a helicopter mom and she bugged me a lot, but in the end I could clearly see why she was so worried about Cleo. And Cleo is the typical rebellious daughter, trying to escape her hovering mom. But as soon as her mother is missing, none of that matters to Cleo. She’s going to do anything she can to find her mom, even if the police investigating tell her to stay out of it. She doesn’t care if she’s putting herself in danger, as long as her mother comes home.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for my ARC of this book.

Like Mother, Like Daughter
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
320 Pages
Releasing July 30th, 2024

Cleo is having dinner with her mother in her childhood home. She arrives late, per usual, & finds food burning in the oven & no sign of her mother… Until she finds her mother’s bloody shoe. Where is her mom? What has happened to her? In the hours following her mom’s disappearance, Cleo learns so much about her “picture perfect family” & her successful lawyer mother. Will something from her mother’s past life come back to haunt her?

What a wild ride this book was! I went into this book blind- I didn’t even read the synopsis before reading because the cover was intriguing enough to make me want to read it. I’ve never read anything by Kimberly McCreight before although several of her books are on my long TBR. I thoroughly enjoyed the alternating POVs and the writing style.

I loved the character development of Cleo & the focus on a broken mother/daughter duo. They both are so focused on helping the other although their relationship needs some work. McCreight did an amazing job with the alternating POVs. She kept my attention throughout the book & the ending 😳🤯

Read if you like:
✨Family Drama
✨2 POVs
✨Sub plots
✨Emotional Suspense


Thank you @netgalley @kimberlymccreight @pantheonbooks @vintageanchorbooks & @aaknopf for an eArc of this new release!

#likemotherlikedaughter #kimberlymccreight #thriller #suspense #netgalley #bookreview

This was my second book by this author and I enjoyed this one as much as the first. I really enjoyed the legal aspect of this one since someone in my life deals with this particular type of law.

Would recommend!

Thank you to netgalley for the copy!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book wasn't really for me, but I am sure it will be enjoyed by many. It had too much going on for my liking and took too long to get to the meat for me. To many parts to the story that I don't think really mattered and some questions that were just left in the air that I didn't really get. But, I am a simply person and mainly travel a straight line.

An action-packed page turner. I figured out some twists before they happened, but only right before they happened. Lots of things unfold right at the end of the book, and it felt a bit rushed (and also left at least one big plot hole for me). Even though the ending fell short for me, the rest of the book was engaging. I loved the development of Cleo's and Kat's characters, and I loved how much Cleo grew as a person throughout the story.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had my attention from the get go. I loved the two different points of view and how it got us to the outcome of the mystery.

My main problem with the story was how it ended. It feels like it ended way too quickly and I still had a few questions that I wanted answered. There were also tons of red herrings and the plot that came with it just felt like a little too much. Even as I was reading it I was questioning if all this information was needed.

3.5 stars rounded down

Really liked this one! I always love the settings in her books being from NY state, plot is always so twisty turny, and keeps you super engaged!

Will def be reading the next one!

My favorite types of thrillers are where everyone has something to hide, no one is really who the seem - and with multiple perspectives/timelines to keep you guessing.

When her mother Kat goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Cleo starts asking questions. Despite their strained relationship, she's worried - and that escalates as she starts digging.

Once I started, I had a hard time putting this down! I had a few different guesses for how it was going to go - what a fun summer thriller!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for an ARC.

A mother’s love is unconditional and for Katrina McHugh, it also has very few boundaries. She will do just about anything to keep her daughter, Cleo, safe. Unfortunately, all Cleo wants is the chance to become an independent young woman, after all, her mother has raised her to be strong and resourceful.

In McCreight’s newest thriller, we not only get a fast-paced compulsive read, but we also get to explore the complexities of a mother-daughter relationship that is full of love but fraught with tension.

When Cleo’s mother goes missing, we see the lengths she will go to find her mother while learning some hard truths about herself and her parents along the way.

This thriller follows two timelines. Katrina’s timeline traverses back and forth starting about a week prior to her abduction. The second timeline follows a linear path from Cleo’s perspective. McCreight also intersperses the book with trial notes, journal entries from Katrina’s youth and transcripts from Cleo’s sessions with her therapist. This helps to give you additional glimpses into their lives.

This book is full of twists and turns, and there is a large suspect list that spirals out from the point of her abduction. Although I did figure out part of the twist at the halfway point, McCreight kept me guessing and questioning if I was right until the very end.

Both the main characters were well developed but not always likeable and sometimes I called their decision into question, but I think that was very much the author’s plan.

If I had one complaint, it would be that the ending wrapped up a little too quickly and left me wanting answers. I guess that’s not necessarily a bad thing as days later I’m still thinking about it.

This was my second thriller by this author, but it won’t be my last. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

I thoroughly enjoyed this 'emotional suspense' novel (author's description). It has a complex plot that centers around a lawyer named Katherine McHugh who works as a 'fixer' for high-level corporate businessmen and women. Her own life is rather a mess: she's recently separated from her husband of 20+ years and has a volatile relationship with her daughter Cleo who is attending NYU. One evening Cleo deigns to come home for dinner with her mother but when she arrives, she finds the door unlocked, food burning in the kitchen, signs of a struggle throughout the house, and her mother gone.

The timeline goes back and forth: from Kat's journal entries going back to 1993 when she lived in abusive group foster home; to the days leading up to her disappearance; to Cleo's attempts to figure out what happened to her mother and why. Interspersed are transcripts from Cleo's sessions with a psychiatrist as well as court documents from a suit against a major drug company. Sounds complicated but it all ties together well in the end and results in a riveting, page-turning story.

These characters are so real and well-drawn. A big part of the story (of course you knew this from the title) is the complex mother-daughter relationship between Kat and Cleo. Maybe they are just too much alike to get along. What a mess people make of their lives!

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new suspense novel. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.