Member Reviews
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER by Kimberly McCreight
⭐️ rating: 9/10
read if you like:
👯♂️ mother/daughter dramas
🤔 missing people
🧑🔧books about fixers
🖐🏼 multiple timelines & POV’s
summary:
I loved RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA and when I got selected to preview Kimberly McCreight’s next book, I was excited to get started. And wow this did not disappoint. This is about a woman, Katrina and her daughter, Cleo, living in NYC. One night as Cleo is coming home for dinner, she finds her mother gone, with only a bloody shoe left in her otherwise intact home. Cleo takes it on herself to find out what happened to her mother, and why? Katrina, who grew up as a foster child and now works as a “fixer” for a law firm in Manhattan, has a number of potential enemies, but do any of them have anything to do with her disappearance?
This book is written from Cleo’s POV after the disappearance and Katrina’s POV leading up to the disappearance, interspersed with text conversations, press releases and journal entries from Katrina as a child, woven brilliantly together. While the story naturally jumps aback and forth pre and post disappearance, you get to learn a lot about both Cleo and Katrina. It reflects on the relationship between mothers and daughters, and how much they share, communicate and be honest with each other. I also love the authors use of various conflicts/red herrings in this, as it keeps you guessing on what will matter and what won’t in the books ultimate end. Much like her other books, the end does come as a surprise and has a complexity that keeps it interesting!
Thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor and Net Galley for the advanced preview! Definitely check this book out when it releases on July 30!
Like Mother, Like Daughter uses an interesting device to tell the story. Setting stories with flashbacks and variable chronology is not new, but McCreight uses the format well to add suspense. Of course, the flip side is that it is sometimes hard to keep up with WHEN things are happening. I find that my Kindle reads don't lend themselves well to that, as I can't flip back a few pages to check on something as I do with print books! Fortunately the story was plenty intriguing enough to keep me engaged throughout. True to the title, the story is ultimately about a mother and a daughter and their relationship, which I found interesting and moving. The push-pull dynamic of that relationship was depicted well. All the intrigue of the mystery of the missing mother is well-done and not TOO easy to predict. It was a very enjoyable read, and I recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for a complimentary copy of this novel!
Kat is a successful lawyer who “fixes” things for clients. Up until the age of 14, she grew up in an orphanage. Kat’s past and present seem a bit shady and neither her daughter, Cleo nor soon-to-be ex-husband, Aiden know all the details. Cleo is Kat and Aiden’s daughter. She is in college, but lately has been running around with a guy named Kyle who deals drugs. Kat finds out and threatens him to leave her daughter alone. Now that Cleo is done with Kyle, she is seeing Will, a much better mannered guy. Aiden is a floundering filmmaker looking to get his hands on Kat’s 3.5 million inheritance. He also has secrets of his own. Now, Kat’s pasts is catching up to her as she is dealing with a difficult case. On top of everything, she goes missing. And the suspects are numerous, including her own husband, Aiden and even Cleo her daughter.
This author is new to me, and I enjoyed reading her this novel! I felt it started out slow, but picked up and the revelations were unexpected. I look forward to more novels from this author. AVAILABLE July 30, 2024
3.5 stars
Mystery thriller about a young woman and her mother, who have always had a pretty rocky relationship. Daughter is invited for dinner but the mother has disappeared, leaving behind a bloody shoe. Complicated novel about family secrets and bad behavior on the personal and corporate level.
The story was pretty good but had too many plot elements going on at once. In addition, the story was told from the POV of both mother and daughter, which helped add to the suspense, but also included transcripts from a therapist, legal documents, texts, etc.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.
This book was quite the twisting thriller with a very surprising ending. The story was told by mother and daughter with flashbacks to the past. I liked that the book kept me wondering what would happen next. There were a lot of characters and it was sometimes hard for me to keep them straight. The characters are well portrayed. Not all of them were likable and the reasons for that were well done. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.
A huge thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the opportunity to read an advance copy of "Like Mother, Like Daughter" in exchange for an honest review.
"Like Mother, Like Daughter" is a domestic thriller that shows just how far a mother (Kat) will go to protect her daughter (Cleo), despite their fractured relationship.
Kat is a fixer. The one thing she can't seem to fix is her relationship with her daughter. While attempting to make amends, Kat invites her daughter over for dinner. Upon Cleo's arrival, she finds dinner in the oven, blood on the ground, and no Kat. Thus, the story begins to divert into separate timelines and POVs. Kat's journey begins 8 days prior to her disappearance, while Cleo's timeline takes place the hours following her discovery at her family home.
For me, the story filled me with confusion. There was so much going on in terms of plot where it was hard to keep the pieces together. We are learning of Kat's job and history that connects with the man she's newly dating, plus her husband having an affair and her being blackmailed for her past? I told you it's a lot. While the pieces all do come together in the end (albeit in a very messy way), it felt as it was too much to enjoy the actual thriller and suspense of the novel.
The characterization wasn't the focus of the book which isn't a terrible thing but sometimes it felt like the characters themselves got lost in the shuffle of the massive plot that continued to carry through the novel.
The twist at the end was....great. It was unexpected. It was strong. When it did happen, it was far too late and far too little to help save us from drowning in the details of McCreight's latest. McCreight is a strong writer but felt she tried to do too much in this domestic thriller.
Cleo returns home from NYU for dinner with her mother, Kat. They have been at odds recently, but Cleo arrives to an empty house. She discovers a burning dinner, blood on the kitchen floor, and a bloodied shoe. Kat, a lawyer by day, secretly works as a fixer for her firm. Previously, Kat forced Cleo to break up with her drug-dealing boyfriend. The narrative unfolds, revealing the complexities of Cleo, Kat, and Kat's estranged husband. The story is rife with twists and turns; Kat's extensive network from her fixer role comes to light, while Cleo, oblivious to her mother's true occupation, embarks on a quest to find her. The tale alternates between Kat's perspective before her disappearance and Cleo's after she begins her search.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the eARC.
I really enjoyed this story. I could not figure out how all of the storylines were going to come together and while some of it you needed to be willing to stretch your brain for, it did not detract from the book to me. There were a variety of twists and reveals that had me audibly gasping. Truly a fun, captivating book.
Thank you to NetGalley, the Publishers, and Kimberly McCreight for an ARC of Like Mother Like Daughter. Absolutely obsessed with this book. I was flying through this book and did not want it to end. I loved how the book flipped from before Kat disappeared and the hours after with Cleo and the text messages, therapist transcripts, and court documents. If I had a whole day to read, this would’ve been finished within 24 hours. I feel like I can relate to Kat with having a pre-teen and it was pretty insightful remembering to not focus on small stuff with your daughters and the bigger picture. The twist really had me and I kept rereading the part going “no way!”
Cleo is on her way to her mom’s house for dinner. They have a really rocky relationship, but it wasn’t always like that. They used to be so close, but Cleo growing up made Kat a bit controlling. Cleo arrives late to her mother’s house to find her mother missing. Food is burning, glass is broke, and there is blood on the floor. Cleo is bound to figure out what happened to her mother - who gives the essence of the perfect life - husband, job, home - while Cleo is out of control and has “unsafe” behaviors. This is very unlike her mother and knows something isn’t right. Cleo finds out she isn’t just a normal lawyer, but a “fixer” and grew up in a scary and dangerous group home which may have helped with being successful as a lawyer/fixer. Cleo finds out that Kat has been receiving threatening text messages, demands for money from her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Cleo’s father. Cleo doesn’t understand how Kat’s kept this secret life from her. Kat will do anything to protect her daughter and there is no end to her love for her daughter. They will both come to find out how close a mother daughter bond can be.
Loved this book. Excellent read. Great dynamic between mother daughter. Enjoyed the rotating chapters / perspectives
A good suspense with an even better mother and daughter story. My suspicions kept changing throughout this “who done it”. I didn’t feel like I got too invested in any of the characters and was questioning the mothers motives the entire book. The ending felt rushed but I enjoyed the premise. I feel like some parts could have been elaborated on and others dragged on longer than needed but overall I enjoyed.
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Cleo’s mother Kats disappeared, there’s blood in the kitchen, and she’s nowhere to be found. Cleo’s relationship with her mother at that time was not in a good place, so the insurmountable guilt she feels pushes her to dig in and search for her mother. As she uncovers her mom’s past, she realizes things in her life are not what they seem. People are lying to her; her mom isn’t who she thought—a boring patent lawyer… she’s a mom harboring many secrets.
It turns out she’s just like her mom, digging in and doing whatever it takes to get answers.
Kimberly’s writing is always fast-paced, leaving me glued to my Kindle until I finish.
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️S̤̈T̤̈Ä̤R̤̈S̤̈
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I have enjoyed every book I have read by Kimberly McCreight. This was a fast paced psychological thriller. All of the characters were engaging and likable.
I received this galley from Net Galley.
Thank you NetGalley & Knopf Publishing for an arc of this Like Mother, Like Daughter. I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately it fell flat to me. I expected a more twisty thriller to unfold. I liked the premise but it just fell flat for me.
Expertly plotted thriller about how little children know about their parents. This is a “can’t put it down” kind of summer read. I will definitely read more from this author.
Kimberly McCreight’s latest novel does not disappoint!
Cleo, a college student, heads back to her childhood home at her mother’s persistent requests only to find dinner burned and her mother nowhere to be found. As she searches for her mother, Kat, she uncovers buried secrets about her family, their careers and even her self.
The story is a slow burn reminds us that it’s difficult to escape our pasts. This dark layered novel will leave your head spinning and if you love a dark thriller this is your next read!
A typical mother-daughter of a teenager relationship kind of book except the mother is missing and the daughter tries to find out what happened. I enjoyed the writing style of this book but it never really grabbed my attention and made me want to pick it back up and stay up late reading more, I also didn’t feel like there was enough police involvement if active missing persons case and the police were kind of just mentioned at times. I would like to try another one of her books. I did like the involvement of the law firm client which made the story a bit more interesting.
I always love this author’s stories! Always some good twists that I never see coming! Like Mother, Like Daughter is no exception. The story starts off with a typical Mother/Daughter strained relationship. The parents are going through a divorce partly because of the father’s affair which is unknown to the daughter and the daughter thinks the world of her father. Flash backs to the mother’s rough beginnings and to her current job as a fixer for her law firm which no one knows about brings in the mystery. The mother disappears the evening her daughter is to meet her and then the fun and games begin. The daughter realizes she doesn’t really know her bad a** mother! Such a fun story!
An excellent, fast-paced thriller.
4.5 stars rounded up.
Whatever you may be looking for in a good thriller - a mysterious disappearance, a shady corporate law firm, possibly bad big pharma, marital woes, money troubles, a mysterious past, and tons of shady characters - you will most likely find it here, and a well-written, complex mother-daughter relationship to boot.
Kathrina / „Kat“ is a fixer at her corporate law firm and very good at what she does. Her personal life is more complicated: she is recently separated from her husband and her twenty-year-old daughter Cleo, a student at NYU, is estranged from her. When the book opens, Kat has finally convinced Cleo to come home for dinner. But when Cleo arrives, her mom is missing, and there are signs of a struggle.
Dual timelines and POVs - one Kat‘s, beginning eight days before her disappearance, and one Cleo‘s, beginning the day of - are expertly woven together with newspaper articles, therapy protocols, old diary entries, and cryptic texts to keep readers guessing as to what exactly happened. The true strength of the book, however, is how relatable both Kat and Cleo are in their struggles to understand one another; the author does an excellent job of capturing their complicated dynamic.
As for the mystery itself, it is fast-paced and offers lots of red herrings. I will say that I was quite easily able to guess most of what was later revealed, but that didn‘t bother me at all because it was still well-done and thrilling, and while I got it correct, it also wasn‘t obvious. The only thing that truly bothered me was sheltered teenage Cleo‘s stubborn insistence on conducting her own investigation instead of teaming up with the perfectly capable detective.
An excellent summer read!
TW for drug use, sexual assault.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
„Like Mother, Like Daughter“ is slated to be released on July 9, 2024.
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.
Hmmmm ... a good '...and the plot thickens' type book from the first pages ... fast paced with enough intrigue to keep the reader guessing until the end.
A definite recommendation.