This book had a strong start, but as the story progressed, I found myself struggling to stay engaged. While I did push through to the end, the pacing felt slow, and the storyline could have been more concise. Additionally, some themes may be triggering for readers, so I recommend checking content warnings before diving in.

The alternating perspectives between the mother and daughter added an interesting layer to the narrative, but at times, it felt drawn out. A more streamlined approach might have kept the momentum stronger.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

The Good Daughter by J.A. Baker is a powerful psychological thriller that delves into the trauma of a past that never truly fades. Penny Collins, the protagonist, tries to be the dutiful daughter—caring for her aging mother, who suffers from dementia—but her own haunting memories are impossible to escape. As a teenager, Penny was brutally attacked in her own home, an assault she tried to warn her family about, but they refused to believe her. The trauma of that night has shaped her life, and now, twenty years later, she finds herself once again facing the man who terrorized her.

Baker skillfully weaves tension into the narrative, gradually revealing the pain of Penny’s past and the toll it takes on her present. The structure of the story—switching between past and present—builds suspense as Penny confronts the truth and the man who has haunted her for so long. The emotional complexity of Penny’s character, coupled with her role as a juror in his trial, adds layers to the psychological drama. The dilemma of being a “good daughter” while grappling with unresolved trauma creates a deeply compelling central conflict.

What makes The Good Daughter stand out is its exploration of family dynamics, memory, and the burden of silence. Penny’s struggle to be believed, coupled with her mother’s failing memory, highlights the isolating effects of trauma. The courtroom drama and Penny’s role on the jury intensify the stakes as she seeks justice, both for herself and for those she loves.

In conclusion, The Good Daughter is an evocative and emotionally charged thriller that captures the long-lasting impact of violence and the quest for justice. J.A. Baker delivers a gripping story filled with suspense, emotional depth, and a chilling exploration of how the past continues to shape the future. A must-read for fans of psychological thrillers with rich, complex characters.

Explosive....this is how the book starts and also ends !! The story may not be for everybody as it delves into historic rapes however it is very well written and sympathetically so. It is set between the past and present and told from the points of view of the daughter and the mother. For me it also highlighted how flawed our judicial system is especially for those who have been raped and for those people who hold the power. It is certainly thought provoking.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review

I had such high hopes for this book after seeing other reviews on here but it just didn’t wow me 😕 I felt I knew what was going to happen, felt the characters (apart from Penny) lacked some depth and I didn’t particularly like any of them. I did like the POV from Penny and the fact it did go back to when she was a teenager living in ‘The House.’ Chapters were short which is something else I liked about this book! Unfortunately not for me!

This book was a bit slow for me. I felt a little disconnected at times. Make sure to read the trigger warnings.
Overall, the book was well written and the ending was good.
Thank you #NetGalley for this #ARC

This story though deep & hard at times was really good.
JA Baker has a smooth writing style that I like & it means her books are so easy to read through & keep track & enjoy. No matter the subject matter.
I don’t have many I say that about. But she’s up there.
Penny has a past that has played on her mind and as she moves home with her family, her present becomes a torture too.
She grows, marries and then life catches up. Very good story of life and things just happening, the effects and the follow ups.
Very good read.

Another great book by J A Baker! I have never read anything written by this author that isn't thrilling. If this is your genre she is one of the best.
Penny and actually her entire family go through many traumatic things while she is growing up and these events stay with her through adulthood . Things are finally brought full circle and justice is served but not in a conventional way. Good ending!
Lots of triggers in this one.
Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was a little confused by this book when I started it, I was unsure of how everything was connected. The story did end up making sense, but it didn’t really live up to my expectations. Baker is a good writer, but this book felt like it was lacking depth and breadth to make real connections to the writing.

Penny is part of a jury who is supposed to decide the fate of a man who may or may not be guilty. Penny knows this man though and she isn’t even supposed to be on the jury since it would be a conflict of interest. This was my first issue with the book, that Penny would just be allowed to be on the jury since she didn’t say anything about the truth of the matter… but it just didn’t make sense to me. There’s also two different time periods being shared in the book and the way they connect isn’t revealed at first, but I found it jarring. It jut seemed like they never fit together well, and it made it difficult for me to want to keep up with the book. I just think my problem with the book is the way I found it hard to keep paying attention to the shift of POVs and time periods, causing me to feel a disconnect when I was reading the story. It all comes together to make sense, but I didn’t find myself feeling like I cared or the ending mattered. I’m unsure if I would read another book by this author.

Thank you to J A Baker, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for the review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

J.A. Baker’s newest book is an emotional rollercoaster with heavy conversations about SA and trauma. The book is told from alternating POV & timelines. Penny Collin’s is still dealing with the emotional aftermath of trauma from 20 years ago while caring for her declining mother. Penny is then called to serve jury duty where she has to face that trauma all over again while trying to put a man behind bars.

Overall, this book was a decent read but at times was slow and hard for me to really get into. Although the author was very descriptive, I felt that sometimes it was unnecessary and did not really help set the scene or help me to understand the characters. I felt the plot was very good and was happy with the ending!

Thank you to NetGalley & Boldwood books for this ARC read in return for my honest review!

So many twists it had my mind BLOWN every page down to the last sentence!!!… My mind was spinning to keep up with all the twists… A must read for those who love a mind-blowing psychological twist! Deliciously dark and twisty…

This is a good psychological thriller, but there are trigger warnings of sexual assault and arson. That aside, the action flips between two timescales and also between mother and daughter. It worked really well, there were plenty twists and it is well written and emotional. Penny is a complex character, traumatised from an assault when in her early teens. The plot was believable, as were the characters, although the pace was a bit slow at times. Overall, it's a good psychological thriller which fans of the genre will enjoy. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

The book had all the bits of a great thriller. And more on top. It caused you to ask and feel Soapy things. It asked you to.wonder on the moral of things or "rules" over getting true justice and deservedly so.
I felt so bad for our main characters
At the base of it is so much pain and hurt and a.system and society that doesn't ease that.
I can't imagine continuing on when your bear a weight like that. Especially if you feel so alone.
This book went so much deeper into things surrounding the justice system,family dynamics and the grey areas of right and wrong when it involves such horrific things
This book is face based and thriller enoguh but with that complete emotions wallop to give it so much extra.

𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗉𝖺𝗀𝖾 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾𝖽 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖾𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗎𝗆𝖺, 𝗍𝗐𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗎𝗌𝗉𝖾𝗇𝗌𝖾 . 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗅 𝖽𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗉𝖾𝖽, 𝖾𝗌𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝖯𝖾𝗇𝗇𝗒. 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖺𝗅𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗂𝗇𝗇𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗆𝗈𝗂𝗅 𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝗎𝗀𝗀𝗅𝖾𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝗈𝗋 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍𝗂𝖼𝖾.
𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗌𝗅𝗈𝗐 𝖻𝗎𝗋𝗇, 𝖾𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗀𝖾𝖽 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗆𝗉𝖺𝖼𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗎𝗆𝖺, 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝖽𝖾𝖼𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗌 𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗋. 𝖮𝗏𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖺 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽.



Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgally for my advanced copy.

Penny Collins is a loving daughter. She is married with one young child and looks after her widowed mother, Connie, who lives next door and is living with dementia. We pick up Penny’s story when she has been called for jury service. Told in dual timelines, twenty years apart, this is a harrowing story of sexual abuse and its effects on the abused. A slow burner with a good amount of detailed background to the main story, well written and good plot.

Briefly, heading off to court Penny is shocked to find herself called for a case where a man is charged with the rape of a teenager. To her absolute horror she recognises the man as the same person who raped her as a 14 year old. Does she disclose her involvement or does she see it as the time he gets his comeuppance?

The narrative around Penny’s and her mother’s earlier life, and how and why Penny now plots to bring the accused down, is quite sad and I really felt for Penny. It’s also interesting to see how courts and juries deal with young victims, despite the nature of the crime the accused seems to have the upper hand. It’s a dark story and a compelling read with a shocking climax and will certainly make you think.

I was accepted to read this book before official publication through NetGalley and below is my honest review.

This book was fantastic! It’s gripping and draws you in from the start.

The story telling and character development is fantastically written into a fast paced read. I found myself angry and emotional in parts, it really pulls you in. It does contain some heavy themes though so I recommend checking the trigger warnings before reading!

I highly recommend this to any fans of psychological thrillers filled with emotion.

Publication date is 5th April 2025 (you can preorder now for 99p!)

Overall, I give this book 5 stars!!

Good story which splits between the past and future for the main character. She was assaulted as a child, and by chance in the present is now a juror for the perpetrator on trial. Somewhat descriptive throughout which makes it slow in places but a good story nonetheless

Another twisty tale from J A Baker. What a great book. I've enjoyed all the others I've read and watched was pleased that this one lived up to the others. Kept me guessing all the way through to the end. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This story has a few triggers within so not for the faint hearted.
This story has a slow burn start to it giving you the background of the characters and the locations of the plot to set the scene. Penny Collins is the main character who suffers imaginable events as a child and struggles with the fact of no one believing her saying she was making it all up.
When she becomes an adult she is called for Jury Service and comes face to face with her abuser and is part of the team who decides his fate, will the evil abuser get his comeuppance now after over 20years of believing he is invincible or will his reign of freedom come to an abrupt end?
What will the Jurors decide GUILTY or NOT GUILTY!!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
*Please review trigger warnings before reading book*

The writing was good, but it felt like nothing happened. It was a shorter story that did time jumps and POV changes, but easy to follow along. The verdict, illnesses in the book, and fellow survivor are predictable elements unfortunately. While it didn’t seem like much, I feel some readers may view it as a victim’s journey of acceptance and recovering their voice. I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t that storyline.

This one fell a bit flat for me but not for the storyline, purely because of pacing. I wanted it to grab me and pull me in and I think it felt too drawn out. I felt for Penny and her situation and I was anxious for the trial to see how it unfolded. Overall the story was great but I just felt like I was wanting more.

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read and review this books