This was really good.. I didn't see how it would all come together...and maybe it doesn't dovetail nicely, not unlike life itself, but it was satisfactorily resolved for this reader.

I really tried to get into this book but unfortunately wasn't able to finish it. Some may like it, but it wasn't what I was hoping for.

Grace is one incredible protagonist. She’s the most intelligent person in LA but has a dark obsession to get her kicks. And then that one kick walks into her waiting room and everything changes.

She’s thrown into a police investigation as the last known individual to see a murder victim alive. Is she a person of interest? The detective knows she’s not sharing everything but how much is Grace willing to share? Instead she goes all detective herself to work out what is going on, which I happily joined her with.

I used to love the Alex Delaware books from Kellerman and this has a similar feel to that I remember from the series. The protagonist is one intelligent perceptive individual – she’s not an a-typical investigator, thrown into the case by a chance meeting.

The Murderer’s Daughter is one intricate crime thriller and I’d love to see more from Grace. As I peeled back the layers of the story, I became more and more invested; Grace, despite her unique choice of personal fun and family history, is a brilliant and very interesting character.

The Murderer’s Daughter by Jonathan Kellerman

367 Pages
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
Release Date: Sugust 18, 2015

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Grace Blades spent her early years in a dysfunctional family. When her mother kills her father then kills herself, Grace is placed in foster care. One care home is a ranch with a loving woman who cares for a special needs boy and other children. One night three children dressed in handmade black tunics. Grace is told to stay away from them because they will not be staying. Within a few days, the special boys dies when his oxygen is cut off. This is written off as an accident. Grace is taken into state custody until something can be worked out for her. This is the time Malcom, her teacher, comes to her rescue.

Grace grows into a psychologist and seems to perform miracles in healing troubled souls. She is in high demand by hospitals, doctors, and the police. Grace has her own secrets. She loves to go out at night and pick up strange men. When she meets a man, Roger, her current life collides with her past. Now Grace is on the run hiding from someone wanting to silence her. The book has a fast pace, the characters are very developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. It will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way to the end. If you like suspense and thrillers, you will enjoy this book.

As always, Jonathon Kellermen delivers an excellent book. This was fast paced and the characters take you to an entirely new level. I would recommend this book.

I've been reading Jonathan Kellerman's books for many, many years. I am a big fan of Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis. As excited as I was to read a new Kellerman novel, I wasn't thrilled with The Murderer's Daughter...at first. I thought it started slowly and didn't grab my attention until after Grace began her own improbable investigation into a client's murder. Even then, I found the minute details of every step slow and somewhat boring. I did find Grace's personal history fascinating. The flashbacks to her childhood were riveting, and explained so much about the adult Grace, especially her inability to form emotional attachments to other people. Much like Grace, I found it difficult to form an emotional connection to her. I did admire her intelligence, her sense of humor, her self-awareness and self-acceptance, her survival instincts and skills, and her determination to find answers. I'm not sure at what point I finally became fully invested in this story--probably around the time she figured out who the murder victim was and their connection. I enjoyed many of the secondary characters--Malcom and Sophie, Mrs. Stage, and Wayne.

I had never read anything from this author before. I liked the plot but it started off pretty slow. I think if you can get past that the rest of the book makes up for that slowness in the beginning.

A stand alone thriller featuring Psychologist Dr Grace Blades who has a dark past and makes a fascinating character. Grace Blades uses her troubled past to help others. The novel switches from past to present day and shares a mix of emotions that make excellent reading. My first Kellerman book but on finishing it I was quickly looking at his other work for more books to read or listen to.
The Murderer’s Daughter is a very good psychological thriller, the plot is fast paced and the suspense is gripping in places. Dr Grace Blades is a strong and determined woman with a dark past and is determined to stay in control, bring on the next novel.

I am a fan of Kellerman's Alex Delaware series but found myself disappointed in this standalone novel. The writing did not seem as smooth and the plot somewhat clunky. However, comparison to the Delaware series may not be fair as the author is trying something new.

I received a free advanced digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Here is that review:

I had forgotten how much I like Jonathan Kellerman!! This is one HECK of a story and I was hooked from the first page!! It was meaty and psychological and just a GOOD STORY! I am going to be looking for more of his, because I had forgotten him!

Book started off pretty slow and I never got really into it. It was also advertised as a thriller but it really isn't.

This book was just ok for me. It sort of started out slow and dragged out towards the end. The main character wasn’t my favorite,

Grace Blades’ early life was consumed with neglect and she decided at an early age that the only person that she could truly count on was herself. After witnessing a horrific scene involving her parents, Grace was placed in foster care. Despite the challenging cards she was dealt, Grace grew to be a gifted and precocious child. Fast forward to adulthood. As an adult, Grace led somewhat of a double life--- she was a hardworking, empathetic and professional psychologist by day and a reckless risk-taker at night, craving danger and enjoying pushing the limits in her personal life. When demons from her childhood collided with her present life, Grace was propelled into action. She took matters into her own hands to right wrongs from her past and present, despite the dangers involved.

In a hiatus from his popular Alex Delaware novels, Kellerman has created a new female character in this stand-alone novel who will both pull at reader’s heartstrings and sometimes make them nervous and uncomfortable. And while Dr. Delaware is not the star of this novel, he DOES receive a cameo mention. This novel will hold reader’s attention as they are drawn deeper and deeper into the life of Grace Blades. Note: The writing style of alternating between past and present may be off-putting at first to readers, but the storyline will soon capture their interest and prove it to be worthwhile.

I enjoyed this book! I have always wanted to try Jonathan Kellerman's work so I decided to give this book a try. Unfortunately, life got a little busy when I had originally planned to read this book and my review is about two and a half years late. I really wish that I had read this book when I first got my hands on it because it was really good.

This really is Grace's story. Grace was a wonderful character and incredibly complex. She had a less than ideal childhood but as adult, she is a highly respected psychologist. I loved the fact that we get to know Grace both as a child and as an adult. I thought the contrast between the two periods was really well done. I wouldn't really say that I ever liked Grace but I really did enjoy trying to figure her out and was very curious about her past.

Grace does have a bit of a secret life and that life intersects with her professional life early in this book. As she tries to figure out what really happened, she finds that things may be connected to her past. I thought that the mystery side of this book was really just okay. It was rather complex and I never had everything quite figured out but it wasn't the most enjoyable part of the book for me.

I thought that the first parts of the book were the strongest. I really enjoyed all of the book that focused on Grace as a child. Adult Grace was really more interesting to me during the first part of the book as well. The book continued to bounce back and forth from past to present but as the story progressed the two timelines grew much closer to each other. As the focus of the book moved towards bringing the mystery to a conclusion, it seemed to fizzle out just a bit.

I would recommend this book to others. I really enjoyed the writing style and found this to be the kind of book that was easy to keep reading. I do hope to read from this author in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book I thought Kellerman did a good job branching out from his regular characters I was left wondering which book Grace came from though so I could go back and re-read that Alex Delaware.book.

As always, Jonathon Kellermen delivers. Fast paced, characters that take you to an entirely new level. Can't recommend highly enough!

This thing was like watching Atari Pong- bounced all over the place. Slowly. I was surprised an editor let this make it to press.