Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight had me hooked for the last 20% as I raced to witness the ending unfold. I enjoyed the intrigue as Kat’s daughter Cleo relentlessly worked to find her missing mother, all while secrets unraveled through dual timelines, news articles, and therapy sessions.

It took a minute for me to become invested in the storyline, characters, and outcome. A lot of the intertwined twists felt a bit convenient and cleverly tied up in the end, while others fell short. However, I will say this- McCreight surely knows how to amp up the suspense in those final moments, leading up to the pending climax!

I remember reading and enjoying a previous novel of McCreight’s, A Good Marriage, and would gladly read another by this author.

Thank you to the author, publishers, and Net Galley for my advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 ⭐️
Rounded up to 4.

#LikeMotherLikeDaughter #NetGalley

Having survived the tumultuous teen years with two of my own daughters, I could easily relate to Kimberly McCreight's latest novel. Once I started it, I could barely put it down. There were quite a few characters to keep track of, so I occasionally had to stop and figure out just who some of the minor characters were. There were quite a few twists and turns in the story, but some of my suspicions did prove to be true. Thanks to NetGalley, Knopf and the author for an advance copy to read and review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

One night when Cleo visits her mom, Kat, she finds food burning on the stove and a bloody shoe under the sofa - her mom is no where to be found.

Kat is a lawyer and is going through a divorce, and her soon-to-be-ex husband is making demands for money. She seems to be entwined with things in her past that her family doesn't know about.

Through the telling of 2 different timelines, we find out what happens leading up to Kat's disappearance and deep dives into the relationship between Kat and Cleo.

Fast paced read - recommend to all my fellow suspense seekers!

Cleo and her mom, Kat, aren’t really close. In fact, they haven’t spoken in months. It’s only some insistent text messages that lure Cleo home from NYU for a dinner with her mom. When Cleo arrives though, there are obvious signs of a struggle, and her mom is missing. This is only the beginning of the convoluted, multi-perspective, multi-timeline, mixed media, fast-paced novel that readers have come to expect from Kimberly McCreight. Told from both Cleo and Kay’s perspectives along with some court documents and therapy session transcripts, readers learn about what happened not only to strain their mother daughter relationship but also what happened to Kat. This is a must read for mystery readers!


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a good book and storyline. Mom and daughter both get tangled with same man decades apart after past comes back to haunt her

This was a really good thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. Cleo is summoned to her mom Kat's house for dinner. When Cleo gets there, her mom is missing. Where is her mom? There were so many twists and turns with Cleo and Kat. I enjoyed this thriller and loved the twists. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I am very much a fan of Kimberly McCreight’s novels and was very excited to read her latest, Like Mother, Like Daughter. I am happy to say that this latest lived up to my expectations. Not only is this a fast-paced thriller, it also delves into the expectations of motherhood and the complicated relationship between mother and daughter.

The story is told in both the perspective of mother and daughter, as well as several other aspects, including legal papers, text messages, journal entries and therapy sessions, so it was a well rounded story. There were also different timelines. All of this was a compelling way to advance the action and give the background in an interesting way without being confusing. I recommend this to readers who enjoy thrillers with good character development!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Knopf for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

A solid thriller/mystery from Kimberly McCreight. A multi-layered look at a mother/daughter relationship, and how each side can differ so greatly in relation to the same situation. Formatted with a back and forth narration ("before" and "after" the introductory scene), I occasionally struggled to keep the timeline straight. The plot was complex, as there are many moving parts, many ways it could go. I wondered how and if it would all intersect. While the author does a good job of the slow build and reveal, for me there was one too many threads as red herring possibilities. However, the ultimate reveal was a surprise, and great job in working up to that - it was clearer in retrospect, but not as I read. I have previously read McCreight's debut novel, but none since. I will consider going back to her other work, and it is well-written and consistently engaging.

ARC received from Knopt via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Like Mother, Like Daughter is a great read. It uses the overt similarities of mother’s and daughters and creates a wonderful piece of thrilling fiction that keeps you reading from the start. I feel like the writer really does a good job of characterizing both the main characters in such a way that they are clearly different and yet totally alike in personality. It exposes the coming of age era for every adult daughter, sharing the moment they realize their mother was more of a separate and unique figure than just being their care giver. Of course most of us don’t make these realizations by being victim to the disappearance of our mother, but it is still relatable in the sense that a lot of us daughters grow to understand the deeply sacrificing love that our mother’s have for us all while being unfairly resented. I love this book. 5 stars!

What a great whodunit- where is she! So much going on it was a little difficult to keep straight - made you pay attention and not want to put it down!

This was just ok for me. I got a little confused with the different dudes in the book, and had to flip back a few times to remember who was who. The end had some decent twistage but still wasn’t my favorite from the author. Transparently, I have been V busy this past month and have had a hard time concentrating on book, so another place and time I could feel very different! Will read more of her books for sure.

Kimberly McCreight’s “Like Mother, Like Daughter” is an incredibly engaging thriller that explores a fraught mother-daughter relationship, made more tenuous by the disappearance of the mother and the attempts of her estranged college age daughter to find her. I truly liked the unique plot structure which is derived from their alternating POVs: mom’s (Kat) is prior to her disappearance; the daughter’s (Cleo) starts after her discovery of a bloody shoe and burning food in the oven at her mother’s house. The women’s stories are also interspersed with Kat’s journal entries from 1993 (discovered by Cleo), when she was younger than Cleo and living in a sketchy group home, and transcripts of Cleo’s sessions with a therapist. Kat has since transformed into a lawyer and a “fixer” for her powerful firm. Someone is trying to blackmail her and threaten Chloe. But is it related to her current work assignment or is it a voice from her hidden past?

As the storylines converge, we get to know both Kat and Cleo, who, yes, are both intelligent, stubborn, risk-taking and far from perfect, but very realistic characters. 5 stars!

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

did I binge this on my sick day because I could? I absolutely did!!!! and this was a wild ride from start to finish 😳😳

there’s something about a red herring … or multiple … that gets me so excited and impatient to get to the ending! and I was completely thrown pretty much the entire time!

following cleo on her search for her missing mother, she comes across so many details about her mother’s life that she had no idea about, from what she really does for work to how she grew up in foster care. and while I was a bit disappointed in the ultimate resolution, I loved the back and forth timeline format to keep the reader guessing!

I did guess the ultimate whodunnit at the end, mostly because I felt it was the most obvious choice, but the ride was so worth it!

the pacing and format was spot on, and I’d highly recommend this one for a quick bingeable popcorn thriller! thank you to penguin random house and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: columbia valley pinot noir

I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. I highly recommend if you enjoy mother/daughter drama, family dynamics, edge of your seat mystery/thrillers.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5. Cleo enters her childhood home to have dinner with her semi-estranged mother, to find dinner on fire, and a puddle of blood with her mother missing. Cleo must out together the pieces of her mothers past to try to find her. This was a good thriller, with short addictive chapters, and a dual POV. There were twists that I expected, and ones that I did not. It was going to be a 4⭐️ for me, except I felt like a few loose ends never got tied. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5/
"In other words, she is the exact person you want in an emergency. Too bad she's not here. My mom would be so good at finding herself."

This was a very quick, enthralling read. I read this in under 24 hours and definitely was very invested. The dual timelines of pre and post incident were awesome and made the story work so well. I anticipated a few of the seemingly minor twists and could tell things were off with a few characters, but I was certainly surprised by the final reveal. The commentary on motherhood and childhood also added a lot to the overall story. This was one of my favorite thrillers I've read in quite a while. Highly recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for the eARC! Publishing 7/30!

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that is a perfect fit for readers who enjoy domestic suspense, family drama, and mystery, particularly those who appreciate complex relationships between mothers and daughters and are drawn to stories that explore the darker side of human nature.

This one kept me guessing! Complicated characters, a mother with a painful past, a daughter who can‘t see past her own misery, a father who is lazy and self absorbed. When there is a disappearance, the daughter struggles to find the truth is all the lies and omissions. Perfectly paced, this thriller was compelling and a great summer read. Out July 29th.

This was an intriguing read for my first by the author.
I liked the characters, they were very unreliable and flawed and sometimes that’s what makes me enjoy a story even more. The twists were pretty much predictable for me but that didn’t stop me keeping up and seeing where everything ends.

Kat and Cleo have a ton of secrets, but like many mothers and daughters their secrets often revolve around protection. Kat goes missing and Cleo must unravel Kat’s past and present to find her. This book takes the reader on several twists and turns while creating several red herrings.

Like Mother, Like Daughter, by Kimberly McCreight is a new favorite! This story is so engaging and kept my attention riveted the entire time. The pacing is smooth, not slowing in its momentum or steadily building tension. The plot is intelligent and complex, while still being understandable, and is clever in its execution and planning. The characters are also interesting and fully fleshed out with intriguing histories.

The story revolves around a mother and a college-age daughter and the natural tension and angst that often occurs in such relationships. Katrina, the rather strict mother with an overly cautious nature, has invited her semi-estranged daughter Cleo to dinner to discuss something from her past as a means of caution, but also to connect with her. But when Cleo arrives, her mother is nowhere to be found and Cleo discovers a pool of blood left behind. Who would do such a thing to a seemingly dull, methodical patent attorney? Her husband, whom she is separated from, doesn’t seem to show the appropriate level of concern and this bothers Cleo and the police for several reasons. As Cleo begins to unearth information and inadvertently find tidbits that raise some concerning questions, she can’t help but follow the clues. With dual POV’s leading up to the event, and the investigation after the event, we get two gripping sides to the story that seamlessly come together to complete the story in the most satisfying way.

Like Mother, Like Daughter has layer upon layer, countless potential suspects and red herrings interwoven into the plot, and so much more that lies beneath the surface, reminiscent of real life. Muddied motivations, secrets from the past we’d rather keep hidden, misunderstandings and occasional poor choices…life is complicated, and this thriller showcases that in a very authentic way. Like Mother, Like Daughter has compelling, credible characters with a depth that makes them people you can’t help but feel for, all embedded within a suspenseful, enthralling plot. I loved it, thoroughly enjoyed my time with this book, and look forward to more from this author.