Suspenseful with unexpected turns and twists.

This book was full of secrets hidden for years that were beginning to come to light. Every time I believed that what Hazel was discovering might point to a suspect, I found myself lost again in the pages that followed. The plot focusing on the Holt family was very engaging and intriguing.
 
Perry Holt, a father and respected detective, dies. His death brings his daughter back to town after many years of absence. To the family's surprise, it is Hazel who inherits the family home. And she wasn't even his daughter. Why did he leave this house to her and not to his sons? The climax begins when a second car is found in the water behind the Holt’s family home. It belonged to Hazel's mother, who left Hazel behind with the Holt family.
 
This book surprised me. I was intrigued with the plot, and constant suspicions, drama and secrets. The pacing was perfect, and it was hard to put this book down.

This book had the makings of a good plot but I am not a fan of amateur detective and that's what this became at a certain point. I felt like the plot moved along really nicely to a point and then it became quite chaotic and at a certain point I wasn't sure which realizations were happening and felt almost "too stupid" to understand the connections. Perhaps I wasn't able to keep the multiple characters separate in my mind and that was the issue but it became offputting to finish the story out.
As a big Megan Miranda fan back in the day I just feel the books are all following this type of experience lately.

It’s been a few years since I last read a Megan Miranda book (since I predominantly read fantasy these days) so I was curious to see how it would go switching gears. I went into Daughter of Mine blind, and now having read the plot summary, I would highly recommend doing so as well. I think this one was best to go in with zero plot expectations to just let the story unfold. As it is a thriller and deals with some darker subject matter do be sure to review the content warnings on Storygraph if you have any concerns.

I was instantly intrigued by Daughter of Mine and while it is a slower paced thriller, I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed the family dynamic in this one which was definitely one of the standouts to the plot. As secrets and truths start to reveal themselves I found myself needing to know more. The family dynamics and relationships are much more complicated than they initially seem. Hazel was an interesting main character and I enjoyed learning more about her as the story unfolded.

I really loved the setting of this one. I really could picture the Holt family home on Mirror Lake. Weather plays a fairly large role in the story. I loved how the drought and the number of days that passed added tension to the story until the rain finally came. It really added to the atmosphere of the story.

I really enjoyed this one. It is definitely a slower thriller but one that I also found to be quiet and tense which was just as powerful.

Thank you to @simonschusterca & @netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Daughter of Mine is out May 9th!

⭐4/5 stars⭐

A slow burning, creepy small town thriller.

Hazel returns home after her father’s passing, he has left her his house, her, not her two brothers. But why would he leave it to only her? Long ago Hazels mother left her, disappeared without a trace. The story is she conned the family and ran away, but as Hazel returns home in a drought and cars are being found in the drying up lake she begins to question everything. In a small town, where everyone knows everyone and everyone knows, or is, the police, will the truth ever come to light, or it is all better left buried?

I definitely enjoyed this one. A slow burn slow go where sometimes I even questioned if Hazel was just being over dramatic and turning nothing into something. The creep level was definitely there, as I live alone and found myself questioning the creaks in my own home. A really enjoyable ride with undertones of family connections.

Daughter of Mine is a captivating domestic thriller with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end. Hazel returns to her childhood of Mirror Lake following the death of he much loved and respected father. She unexpectedly is the sole heir of her childhood home much to the surprise of her two brothers. This is a tense filled novel that explores the themes of : what is a family, can you ever go home, childhood memories and trauma, sibling rivalry, and the idealization or condemnation of parents. Although I found the pacing a little slow at times, I appreciate the multiple layers of this well plotted mystery. I loved the creepy isolated atmosphere of Hazel’s childhood home and the feeling that she was not alone or something sinister could be lurking around the corner. Megan Miranda does an admirable job of the exploration of family dynamics, and small town living.

I recommend this if you enjoy:
-small town mysteries
-past and present storylines
-family drama and dysfunction
-secrets and lies with a trust no one vibe
-tension filled and creepy atmosphere

My rating: 4 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this eARC that will be released April 9 2024.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. I love how the story hooks you from the starts and just brings you into an a world of secrets and twists . The atmosphere of this book was just amazing and the intrigue kept the wheels in my brain turning non stop until the very end. Every time you think you have figured it out, something comes up making you doubt everything you’ve thought so far. It was definitely a quick read and the build up was perfect. This was my first book by Megan Miranda and it will not be the last.

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda

Megan Miranda is an auto buy author for me. I don’t read a ton of thrillers, but I always love the atmosphere and characters in her books. This one was one of my favourites.

Hazel returns to the small lakeside town she grew up in after her father dies. She’s shocked to learn that her dad left the house to her alone, not her brothers. As she spends more time in the house, her feelings of being watched become more and more intense. As secrets of the past begin to rise to the surface, literally as cars long gone in the lake are discovered, the people she grew up with become more and more suspicious.

I loved the paranoia level and general setting and atmosphere of this one. It was the perfect amount of creepy for me. I also really loved how the layers of the situation were revealed, just enough to keep me engaged and on the edge of my seat. I appreciated the delicate relationships and how they changed over time, there was great wisdom in some of the lines.

The ending felt a bit rushed and scattered, but that’s what I expect from thrillers so although it was a bit of a let down it didn’t really take that much away from my enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to @simonschusterca for my early copy! This one is out on April 8th.

I loved this book. Thank you for the ARC. The atmosphere was so intense I could feel the tension. The scenes were detailed and paced well. A redemption book for Megan Miranda!

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda
4 stars

When Hazel unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she returns back to her small home town. To her surprise, her brothers were excluded from their father's will, and he left everything to her. But that's not the only surprise - because of a drought, the water level in the lake has dropped, revealing secrets from years past.

My thoughts:
Written in Megan Miranda's signature style, this book is not short on twists and turns. It kept my attention, even though the pace seemed a bit slower at times. Everyone's a suspect and no one can be trusted. If you liked Megan Miranda's past books, I think you'll really enjoy this one as well.

Hazel returns home to the mysterious Mirror Lake after her father’s unexpected death. He has left her his house in his will, much to her brothers’ chagrin. Mirror Lake is currently in a drought, which is leading to a low level of water in the lake. Two abandoned cars are found, and Hazel’s world is turned upside down when what she thought she knew about her family is revealed to be totally wrong.

Thank you to @simonandschusterca and @netgalley for my review copies! I thought this thriller was so atmospheric and paced well. Hazel was a reliable narrator which I liked for a change and I thought all of the people lurking around Mirror Lake were perfectly suspicious. The writing style kind of reminded me of Amy Engel with how dark it was. I didn’t see the twist coming and I thought the suspense building was perfect.

I loved this action packed, cleverly plotted, and suspenseful read! The family dynamics and twists kept my eyes glued to the page. The ending was shocking because I never saw it coming.

A twisty thriller about family secrets, grief, missing women and a serial killer make for a fast-paced small town domestic suspense that was great on audio. I haven't always been a fan of this author but I really enjoyed this latest offering! There are lots of red herrings but things come to an atmospheric head as the truth is finally revealed and three siblings torn apart from loss finally learn how to forgive and heal from their past trauma. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5

Oh mannn. This one just didn’t have my attention. It was very, very slow. I was expecting so much more action. I liked the mystery aspect of it but I just wanted to be hanging on the edge of my seat. There were little moments that were suspenseful but it was very short lived.

“When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake's longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she's warily drawn back to the town-and people-she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel's not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge...including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother's disappearance.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for a DRC. Daughter of Mine is available April 9.

This was a slow, tense thriller, Hazel the main character is home but uncomfortable, you can feel her discomfort. Her father passed away and her brother’s do not seem supportive. Miranda writes some complicated characters, there are layers to the story and she reveals each layer and a new part of the character very carefully.

The house is left to Hazel and her brothers are upset, then a car is found submerged in the lake behind her home. Hazel begins to question her mother’s disappearance; no one seems credible in this town anymore. There were so many small parts to this story, so many different things happening, but they perfectly clicked into place.

I usually really enjoy this authors book, but this one was just a bit too slow paced for me. Too much meandering around.

I liked Hazels character, but thought her brothers and romantic interest were a bit wooden.

I will definitely read more books by this author, but this one wasn’t my fave.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me an arc of this book to read and review.

Megan Miranda can simply do no wrong in my mind. Every single book she knocks out of the park and is unputdownable with crazy twists and turns.

This one was SO good. I had no idea how it was going to pan out and literally until the very last second couldn’t have guessed whodunnit until it was revealed and everything made so much sense.

If she writes it, I’m gonna read it and love it and tell y’all all about it.

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada & netgalley for the chance to read this one early in exchange for an honest review.

Out April 9th!

This took me almost 75% of the book to be engaged. This moved incredibly slowly, lacked suspense, and had too many long pieces of speculation.

There were things the MC made strange reasoning with, and others she blatantly avoided. This could've been done a lot better. I know she's not a detective, but it was difficult to read.

Thank you for letting me read it....

If you like:

✨️ murder in a small town
✨️ family drama
✨️ whodunnit, can't trust anyone vibes
✨️ past secrets coming back to haunt people

Then this might be for you!

I think the writing just didn't click for me and made this one quite difficult to get through. Overall, I do think it had some good pieces, and I wanted to know how it would play out, but I struggled to stay captivated and was let down by the end.

Rating: 2.75

If you know me. I love Megan Miranda but unfortunately I was very disappointed with this book.

This book follows Hazel, as cars are showing up at the bottom of lakes and her father has recently passed away.

The characters were very unlikeable in this thriller which sometimes works for me but this one did not. The messy sibling dynamics were not believable. I didn’t believe any of the relationships actually. It felt like the characters were not real and there was no hatred or love. Some twists and turns were predictable and some unpredictable. Overall it was quick paced but I didn’t feel the same love as I did for her other novels.

I’d recommend if you’re just looking for a quick read.

4.5 ⭐️
I absolutely loved this book. I read it in 24 hours. It had me hooked from the beginning.
Family drama is always my favourite especially when everyone seems suspicious.

Daughter of Mine is a suspense/mystery that follows Hazel Sharp back to the small town of Mirror Lake following her father’s death. There’s a lot to unpack in this story, and the first half of the book moved at a slow pace.

Tension grows as we learn more about Hazel’s family and origin story, including the disappearance of her mother many years ago. As Hazel uncovers more about her father, brothers, and what’s been happening in the town, she doesn’t know who to trust or where to turn. The ongoing drought, unexpected finds in the lake, and break-ins contribute to Hazel’s unease, worry, and paranoia as to what’s happening.

I felt pretty neutral about this book due to the slow burn pace, a few too many characters without a lot of substance, and an ending that was simultaneously convoluted and rushed.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada + NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.