I love Megan Miranda books and I’m so happy I got an early copy of this book!

This slow burn thriller got me hooked from the start. The tension that rises between Hazel and her brothers had me holding my breath for what’s going to happen next. The descriptive writing makes it easy for you to imagine the setting vividly and the tension creeps up on you without even realizing it, the secrets get revealed one by one which makes it hard to put the book down and I love Hazel’s determination to find out what truly happened and didn’t let anyone stop her.

Family troubles, siblings rivalry, a small town full of lies and hidden truths… Megan Miranda did it again! I highly recommend reading this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Marysue Rucci Books for a digital ARC copy.

#DaughterOfMine #NetGalley

This is the second book from this author that I’ve read and unfortunately I just don’t think her writing style is for me. I find them to be very slow paced with little pay off. The ending was pretty predictable and I’ll be honest forgettable for this kind of genre. Sorry it’s a 2 star from me.

Thanks to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Miranda has a unique story telling style that I very much enjoy. However, 'Daughter of Mine' fell a bit short of expectation for me.

The premise & overall storyline was great & made for an atmospheric & enjoyable read; with plenty of twists to keep you hooked, plus decent character development & an interesting insight into family dynamics throughout.

However, it was too much of a slow burn; especially at the beginning. The first 100-150 pages really dragged & I struggled to feel enticed enough to continue. I did persevere & liked it in the end, but the start just dampened the overall enjoyment of the book.

Whilst I didn't love this book, I did still like it & appreciate that where I found it a bit of a slog, others would find it interesting (it's all about personal taste!). I also look forward to reading more from Megan Miranda in future!

Thank you to Netgalley, Megan Miranda & Quercus Books for allowing me to review the ARC of 'Daughter of Mine'; all views are honest & my own.

wow!! was not disappointed by this book at all. such an easy read and definitely kept me on my toes. usually thrillers and mystery’s you can easily work out everyone’s secrets before the end but with this i really didn’t expect the twist that pulled the whole story together.

This is a very good thriller with family dynamics right at the heart of it. The pace is slow and steady but filled with tension and atmosphere. I like the setting of drought filled North Carolina, which is beautifully described. As Hazel returns for her father's funeral, the atmosphere at home builds up to a crescendo with past events catching up to a surprise finale. An enjoyable read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I loved this book so much! I was hooked from the start and couldn't put it down until the end.
After the death of her stepfather, Hazel returns to the small town of Mirror Lake, discovering not only that she inherited her childhood home and everything inside, which leads to tension with her stepbrothers, but also that two old cars have been submerged in the lake - do they have something to do with the disappearance of her mother many years ago? What did her stepfather want to tell her by leaving her the house? And did her former best friend really leave town voluntarily shortly after Hazel came back, or is there more to her disappearance?
There are some elements that I already loved in All The Missing Girls and The Last Houseguest: a former love interest who is probably hiding something, a parent who knows more than they let on, the local police making less of an effort than they probably should.
A small town where you think everybody knows each other - but everybody has secrets. And as the book progresses, more and more of them come to light.
You can't trust anybody - my favorite type of thriller.
Megan Miranda writes fantastic, gripping thrillers and this one is my new favorite. I highly recommend it.
I am so grateful to NetGalley and Quercus that I got the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really impressive novel from a brilliant author. The best word to describe this would be atmospheric and the author does a great job of describing the sense of place and weather

Hazel Sharp unexpectedly inherits her childhood home in Mirror Lake and is drawn back to the town. As the water levels of the lake drop, mysteries of the past are uncovered. Old friendships are rekindled but not everyone is happy to see her and as she begins to dig into her mother's disappearance, years ago, secrets emerge.
Once Hazel returns, everyone knows that the local detective, Perry Holt, left her the house, the only question is why.

This was another fascinating and twisted tale. I love a small town setting and strong female character and this one had both. The author kept the tension high and as always, I thoroughly enjoyed the way she weaved the various threads running through this. There's so much more I could say about what I enjoyed in this one but not without spoilers! 4.5*

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Quercus books for this gifted review copy.

4 stars - a thrilling read that was a bit slow but once it got going was brilliant. It is atmospheric, with characters that we well written and are, in the main, enjoyable to read about. I loved the plotline, and found it to be really engaging, There were however a few points where not all of the questions raised were answered but this did not detract from my enjoyment. I did solve this one, but the journney to th solution was worth it.

4 stars - a slow burn mystery with lots of twists and turns set in a tight knit community.

Hazel returns to her childhood home after her step father passes away and leaves his house to her other than his two biological sons. At the same time her sister in law disappears and there is a drought causing the lake to drain revealing some hidden secrets including Hazels missing mother’s car.

I really enjoyed this book and the foreboding tension kept me intrigued and up well past my bedtime. I felt a connection to Hazel straight away and felt bad for her as she deals with her two step brothers not so subtle attitudes regarding the house.

The different mystery’s all came together to a satisfying conclusion and I didn’t suspect the real culprit until revealed.

One thing I felt a little under-developed was Hazel and Nicos relationship - even though they knew each other growing up it felt like they got pushed together for the sake of it with no real relationship building.

I’ve read nearly all of the authors past works and this is up with one of my favourites.

4.5

Daughters are different ….

It’s 62 days and counting since it’s rained in the Carolinas. The drought begins on the West Coast and gradually affects the east too. As the water levels drop in the west, it reveals submerged bodies, not so in Mirror Lake where it reveals a car. Whilst a crane raises it to the surface, the funeral of detective Perry Holt is taking place. Although Perry has been important in the day-to-day events of Mirror Lake, even those attending the proceedings are distracted by what’s happening at the lake. Two apparently unrelated events, but taken together seem to warn that changes are coming. As Hazel Holt leaves her father‘s funeral to return home to Charlotte, she receives an astonishing call, informing her that Perry has bequeathed her his Lakeside home and not shared with her brothers. The house is hers. This is just the start as Hazel realises she’s been wary for years, waiting for something to happen and she’s certainly right. Hazel narrates the tale.

One of the Queens of intense atmosphere strikes again in this well told suspenseful read. The atmosphere in Mirror Lake has chills in the warm air immediately. You know from the get go that things are going to go bad as the visual writing leaves you in no doubt, as tension swirls in the air. Everything feels off kilter, it’s eerie, there are ghostly hints to the storytelling that has a haunting tone to it which sends shivers down the spine. As if the atmosphere isn’t intense enough, it’s heightened by the awkward, if not openly hostile, family dynamics, specifically between Hazel and brothers Gage and Caden. As the novel progresses, the understanding grows of why there’s hostility and these undercurrents deepen.

The town and Mirror Lake itself further adds to the atmosphere. This is a town where multi generations live or have lived, it’s steeped in tradition and it feels claustrophobic, especially for Hazel. This heightens the oppressive spiralling down of the situation that she is facing and she needs all her wits and attention. She has difficult memories to navigate, but also the multitude of secrets and lies with further shocks to come. She feels justifiable paranoia, will the truth break free of its tether of lies? Who she should trust is the million dollar question. The situation builds and builds and at times the suspense is the scarcely able to breathe kind with fear that is palpable. The ending is a good one and a genuine surprise.

Overall, Megan Miranda has knocked it out of the park once again, as this is another cracker of a read. It grips me from beginning to end, and it’s one that I can recommend to fans of the genre.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Quercus Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I’m a bit late to the party as this was my first book by Megan Miranda but most certainly won’t be the last it had me gripped.
What I loved about the read was how it slowly crept up on me and the more I read the deeper I became in the story feeling the heat and waiting desperately for the rain. The story is full of atmosphere and the sense of menace gradually creeps into the story as the main character of Hazel Sharp, daughter of the town’s deceased police detective tries to get to the bottom of the disappearance of her mother. Oh my there are secrets upon secrets in this story, shady characters that seem to want Hazel out of the way and as the story progresses the darkness becomes claustrophobic and Hazel feels threatened by everyone and doesn’t know who to trust.
The book was much more than a mystery thriller and very different to what I was expecting and I loved that. It’s a read that I thoroughly enjoyed and can highly recommend it.
My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the sixth book I have read by Megan Miranda, and probably my favorite. This one stands out as it has everything I enjoy: atmospheric, family dynamics, slow building tension, secrets and disappearances.
I loved the "days without rain" count at the beginning of each chapter adding to the tension.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

I have loved the other books I have read by Megan Miranda and this one was no different with the perfect build up of suspense and tension throughout.

My first five star read of the year and I'm devastated that this novel has come to an end. Few authors can build tension and atmosphere like Megan Miranda and her female characters are always strong but flawed.
Hazel Sharp returns home after the death of her father only to find a mystery left behind and the answers to questions left untold. A creepy but gripping story

Wow, what a read. I've always enjoyed Megan Miranda'd books and would say this is my favourite so far.
A fantastic story about family, lies, guilt all driven through a mystery that comes to light when the patriarch of the family dies.
Some great red herrings in the story that kept me guessing right to the end!

#DaughterOfMine #NetGalley
Awesome.
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 .
Loved it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me an advance copy.

I want to say 4.5 rather than a 4 - I’m so pleasantly surprised by this book. I don’t automatically go for anything American. I often struggle with Americanisms and find US thrillers unrelatable. I hadn’t heard of the author either which surprised me. But it was such a good read! I found it completely immersive. The language and description was bordering on literary at times and I adored how each chapter began with the level of rainfall and how long it had been dry for - this really added to the atmosphere and the change in weather charged the environment for the explosive conclusion. The characters were beautifully drawn and I could picture every scene in my minds eye. I really did find it hard to put down. Will absolutely be looking out for this author to read more and more.

Hazel Sharp left behind a complicated family history in the small town of Mirror Lake to relocate in a city where none of that would follow her. The problem is, the ghosts of Hazel's history are about to, quite literally, surface from the wreckage of her past.

Abandoned by her drifter con artist of a mother, who moved on abruptly from her marriage to the town's well-known detective Perry Holt, Hazel was left with only a note addressing her as "daughter of mine" which begged for her forgiveness.

Bewildered and angry, Hazel remained in their blended family with her stepfather and two step brothers, whom she considers her father and brothers, even though she has a fraught relationship with one of the brothers, Caden. Now, there's tension with her other brother, Gage, because their father has died, leaving his house only to Hazel. But why?

Meanwhile, as a drought drags on, water levels drop to reveal all kinds of hidden secrets. Including the car belonging to Hazel's mother, which she was assumed to have left in...

This is a small town mystery which is a decidedly slow burn. But the character development is very strong, and Miranda draws you in as you try to figure out what exactly is going on here. And as plot elements begin to emerge, the dexterity of the writing becomes increasingly apparent. This is a very good thriller.

This was an amazing book! I have read a lot of books by this author and I have enjoyed them all but this one is probably my favourite.

A small town with lots of secrets is a trope I absolutely love - the tense, suffocating atmosphere of Mirror Lake was done perfectly. Each character was well written and I was suspicious of them all. I liked following Hazel as the main character and I thought she was interesting. The exploration of family relationships was really good.

The plot overall moved quite slowly and there were a lot of layers to it but I actually really enjoyed the slow burn, suspenseful style. It definitely had intense, creepy moments and I found it pretty hard to put down at times. The mysteries all came together really well and I was a little surprised at the final reveal!

I didn’t really love the Jamie plotline and I would have liked the ending to have been less rushed - there were so many chapters spent on the rest of the story but only a few on the actual reveals, twists and ending.

Overall though I really loved it and I can’t wait to see what this author publishes next!