I feel like this book was trying to do too much and because of that, it was very congested. It was easy to lose the plot. The dual timeline switches rather frequently, making it difficult to become invested in either storyline. The ending seems far fetched and rushed. Overall a disappointment for me, but I think people that enjoy thrillers would still be entertained by reading it. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy.

Another solid book by Kimberly McCreight. She does the domestic thriller quite well. If you don't mind a lot of jumping back and forth and switching points of view, you'll appreciate the way this mystery unfolds. It starts off with a college-aged Cleo coming home to find her mother, Kat, has gone missing with no explanation. The plot ensues with a lot of backstory and a lot of potential perpetrators. You have to pay close attention to who is speaking and when in order to follow the clues. It can get a bit confusing but keep reading. The ending is not what I expected, and I thought it was overall a little more "deep" than most thrillers. The message I found at the end was that mother-daughter relationships are extremely complex. As a mother with my own traumatic childhood, I also worry how I will influence my daughter's own identity. Some of the situations in the book were hard to read, but I was also validated by the fact that I am not the only one who struggles. I wouldn't recommend this to just anyone, but if you have enjoyed Mc Creight's other books, I think you'll like this too. Note: I would not listen to this on audio, due to the multiple POV's and letters, trial transcripts, and more.

Like Mother, Like Daughter
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Kimberly McCreight

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Knopf and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: When Cleo, a student at NYU, arrives late for dinner at her childhood home in Brooklyn, she finds food burning in the oven and no sign of her mother, Kat. Then Cleo discovers her mom’s bloody shoe under the sofa. Something terrible has happened.

But what? The polar opposite of Cleo, whose “out of control” emotions and “unsafe” behavior have created a seemingly unbridgeable rift between mother and daughter, Kat is the essence of Park Slope perfection: a happily married, successful corporate lawyer. Or so Cleo thinks.

Kat has been lying. She’s not just a lawyer; she’s her firm’s fixer. She’s damn good at it, too. Growing up in a dangerous group home taught her how to think fast, stay calm under pressure, and recognize a real threat when she sees one. And in the days leading up her disappearance, Kat has become aware of multiple threats: demands for money from her unfaithful soon-to-be ex-husband; evidence that Cleo has slipped back into a relationship that’s far riskier than she understands; and menacing anonymous messages from her past—all of which she’s kept hidden from Cleo . . .

My Thoughts: Cleo and her mother, Katrina, have been a bit estranged. Katrina has requested her daughter’s appearance for dinner and Cleo felt it was important to attend, so she reluctantly agrees to be there for dinner. When Cleo arrives at her childhood home, she finds the chicken burning, and no sign of her mother. Upon further inspection, she finds her mother’s bloody shoe under the couch. Kat is the essence of success, a successful corporate lawyer, raised a daughter, and happily married. Appearances can be deceiving. Kat is actually a “fixer” for her firm. The days before her disappearance, there were threats on multiple levels. Her soon to be ex husband making demands for money; her daughter may be back involved with a bad news guy; and a cover up from the most important client at the firm. To top it off, she is receiving anonymous messages that could be from her past…

The story is narrated by both Cleo and Kat with intercepting news articles and therapy sessions layered in through out the story. The story opens with the disappearance of Kat. Cleo’s chapters are after the disappearance, while Kat’s chapters are the days/hours leading up to the disappearance (starts at 8 days before the disappearance). The characters were well developed with depth, mystery, intriguing, and creative. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, twisty, suspenseful, and just brilliant. The author has a masterful way of grabbing your attention, creating intense emotional turmoil and keeping you invested the very end. The author really nails the love/hate relationship between mother and daughter, and the intense angst that follows. The pacing and flow of the character build up matches the intensity of the plot being delivered in twists with an ending that is just perfection.

This story was an enjoyable read. The author coins it as an emotional suspense novel, which I completely agree. The story offers many suspects and remains unpredictable until the end. It has all of the elements of a good thriller, it is gripping, suspenseful, twisty, unpredictable, and captivating. The chapters are labeled well and following along was not an issue. I have enjoyed McCreight’s prior works and this one did not disappoint. I highly recommend picking up today, available in physical, kindle, and audio.

This book started out so great! Interesting story line that made me want to figure out what happened to the Mom. I loved the back and forth between Mom and Daughter. After about 50% I started to lose interest but kept going. It was worth sticking out for the end!

I've really enjoyed all of Kimberly McCreight's other books, and this one was no different in enjoyment level. I really enjoy how she tells her stories in both past and present. It makes for a fun reading experience.

This book is an absolute delight. With well-constructed characters and perfectly tense execution, this book pulls you in from the very beginning. McCreight is a masterful storyteller, with multiple twisty plots rolled in. Is it the pharmaceutical company covering their bases, a blast from the main characters past or the husband who desperately needs money. You'll keep reading as she dangles little carrots along the way to the surprising ending. I will read everything Kimberly McCreight writes. Fantastic!

Another enjoyable thriller by Kimberly McCreight! At the start of this book, college student Cleo comes home to her parents’ brownstone only to find a pool of blood, her mom’s shoe, and her mom missing. The book alternates between Cleo investigating in the following dates, and flashbacks to her mom Katrina in the week leading up to her disappearance. Secrets and potential suspects abound in both timelines.

I have read all of McCreight’s adult books, and this one just might be my favorite. I can always count on her books for page-turning entertainment, and unlike a lot of thrillers, this one didn’t annoy me by going off the rails towards the end. If you’ve never read her books, I’d say if you’re a fan of Lisa Jewell, I think you’d like this one too!

I received this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

I’m going to be honest, I STRUGGLED through this one. I didn’t feel like the plot was very enjoyable and it was unbelievably slow. Nothing made much sense to me until we got closer to the end of the book, and by the time we got there I had completely lost interest.

Like Mother, Like Daughter was a highly anticipated thriller, yet sadly it fell a little short for me. There was so much going on, yet nothing was really happening. I had a really hard time relating to Chloe, who's mother has gone missing. She truly is a spoiled, whiny college student who sounds like she was stunted in her maturity somewhere around the age of 15. Her mother, Katrina, was actually more relatable to me and I wish we could have gotten more of her in the story instead.
Needless to say I struggled through this. I had high hopes but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this arc in return for my honest opinion.

Pub Date: 30 July 2024

I really liked this twisty thriller. It was tense and kept you engaged throughout. I definitely recommend it.

Like Mother, Like Daughter features a daughter who attempts to figure out her mother's life after she goes missing. When Cleo comes for dinner at her childhood home, she does not expect to find burning food, along with her mom's blood shoe under the couch. Cleo has the perfect picture of her mom as a successful corporate lawyer with her life in order, but she is about to learn that it is far from the truth.
Kat has a job as a fixer within her law firm. A dangerous background thought her how to pay attention under pressure to protect herself. With threats against her growing in the days leading up to her disappearance, Cleo must figure out the secrets in her mom's life to save her.

Cleo and her mother, Katrina, did not have the best of relationships. Still, when Katrina has Cleo return to her childhood home for dinner so they can talk, she is alarmed when she comes home to food burning and her mother nowhere to be seen. However, she finds her mother's bloody shoe. Cleo immediately goes to her neighbor's house where they call the police and her father soon arrives. A detective starts to investigate however, Cleo decides to start investigating starting with her mother's computer.
Katrina is known as the fixer for a big law firm, so Cleo starts looking at her mother's dating profile and pulling threads leading her down the road of discovery. Soon she realizes that she does not know her mother as well as she thought, and she knows her father less. While following different leads she discovers that many people would have the motive to hurt her mother including her father, as the secrets come out her life is not as picture-perfect as she imagined!
Wow! This one had me on the edge of my seat and everyone has secrets that they do not want someone else to reveal! This book was so good and the ending is not what I expected but it was worth the read! I loved the ending and how everything came together!
Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this one! It was a treat!

This is book is told in multiple POV's; Cleo who is a college student and her mother Kat who is a lawyer, or so everyone thinks. Kat begs Cleo to come home so they can talk as they have a very stressed relationship. Cleo reluctantly agrees but when she arrives home her mother is no where to be found. There is food cooking and s bloody shoe on the ground, what happened? Cleo calls her dad to come help only to discover that her parents have been separated for months and they never told her. One unraveled truth leads to another and a another... could all this hidden information lead Cleo to her mother?

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC!

I’ll be honest, I was so so so excited for this book because I like those of McCreight’s other books that I’ve read, but this one just wasn’t as riveting for me. The characters were annoying, the story was predictable, and I just felt like it wasn’t much of anything new. Thank you to Knopf & NetGalley for sending me a copy of the e-book in exchange for a review.

The beginning scenes of the book hooked me, and I enjoyed some of the twists and turns - not knowing who to trust along the way. I never really felt fully invested in the characters themselves, and I don't really like the jumpy timeline as a personal preference. Overall, a good, fast read!

I gave Like Mother Like Daughter four stars because it’s an engaging and emotional read that delves into the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, family secrets, and the lasting effects of trauma. From the first page, the story pulled me in with its gripping plot and well-developed characters.

The author does a great job of weaving together past and present, giving readers insight into both the mother’s and daughter’s perspectives. I loved how the dual timelines revealed key moments from their lives, gradually uncovering the truth behind their strained relationship. The pacing was steady, with just enough tension to keep me turning the pages, and the twists, while somewhat predictable at times, were satisfying enough to hold my interest.

We picked this as our book club read and it was good. A bit predictable but that was ok. Cleo was a bit of a headache but she had growth because of that.

Great mystery with lots of twists and turns. A tad bit predictable but that’s not always a bad thing. Quick read if you’re looking for a fun stress free book.

Rating: 3 stars!

How far with a mother go for her daughter? How far can you push a mother's love before it breaks? This book explores the depths of a mother/daughter relationship in a mystery "thriller" setting.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 rounded up!

I received this as an ARC & put it off because like most of us our “problem” is that our TBR list keeps growing (terrible problem to have ha). Well my great friend Neils was reading it so I figured it was a great time/excuse for a buddy-read & to finally see what this book had to offer.

Initially I actually was on the fence of not finishing this book. Don’t get me wrong the beginning actually started off immediately with some great drama, but then I initially just wasn’t super impressed with Chloe’s character (Kat’s daughter). I’m glad I kept with it though because once I got into the story it kept my interest all the way through! For the most part the twists were totally unexpected for me, until towards the end where some things were obvious but overall I did not expect where the author was headed as far as who the main villain was. It wasn’t blow me out of the water amazing but it was an entertaining read, and very well written. I’d definitely recommend Like Mother, Like Daughter to fellow suspense fans & I’d love to read more by McCreight 🤗

Thanks so much to NetGalley & the publisher Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor !!