Review: Daughter by Kate McLaughlin

Daughter by Kate McLaughlin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided a print and audio arc of this book via Netgalley.  Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this awesome thriller!  I loved it!  I highly recommend the audiobook, the narrator did a wonderful job with the different characters.  Justis Bolding certainly made Lake extra creepy!

Scarlett is your typical 17 year old, she wants to hang out with friends, go to parties, date boys, make mistakes, and live her life.  Her mom on the other hand is a bit overprotective and keeps her on a tight leash.  We learn early on in the book why Gina, Scarlett's mom, has been so paranoid and protective, when two FBI agents knock on their door.  Scarlett is thrown into a world she didn't know she was a part of when she finds out she is the daughter of a famed serial killer, who happens to be on his deathbed. His parting wish is to meet is estranged daughter in exchange for information on previously undisclosed victims.

If you are like me and you enjoy shows like Criminal Minds, crime documentary shows, and Unsolved Mysteries just to name a few, I think you will really enjoy this book.  This reads a bit like a documentary, where you are learning about the killer and the people in his life.  We learn about the people he charmed and fooled, those he hurt, the trial, and about the people he is still impacting in his final days.  I really thought it was well done and enjoyed it!

I thought Scarlett had decent character development.  There is some normal 17 year old teenage angst which is only magnified by the drama that ensues when she and her mother come out of hiding.  Scarlett already deals with anxiety and she has to deal with that and the other emotions that come with the revelation that she has a serial killer for a father.  Not only that but she has to deal with the repercussions of her mother's decision to hide away from the aftermath of her father's deeds and trial, reporters begin to follow her and people want to ask her questions about him and what he tells her when she visits.  Fortunately Scarlett has a good support system and is quickly able to figure out who her real friends are.  Scarlett very much has to deal with her father's antics as he comes to terms with is looming death, and has to cope with him wanting her to be his final prize and victim before he goes.  The character of Jeff Lake was really creepy  I thought the author did a good job weaving the coming of age story in with the thriller aspects.  As Scarlett gets to know her father, she quickly has to get to know herself and figure out what to do with the knowledge she has quickly been given and figure out how to process it and what to do with it.

This is marked as YA, but it does have some mature themes.  There is alcohol and drug use both recreational and prescription.  There is sex but it is closed door and not very detailed, but it is mentioned.  

View all my reviews