Overall an entertaining read but there was a plot hole that felt insane to me that I really found it hard to work through.

Well-developed characters. Interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. A great read!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

This book had my heart. It definitely gave me all the feels cannot wait to read more books by this author in the future. I definitely recommend this book to my friends and family.

I took a very long break from reading. I think it was just extreme reading burn out.

This book, was not in my top 10 nor was it in my top 20.

Not Her Daughter was extremely unbelievable. No person just kidnaps a child on a whim and then ultimately gets away with it. I’m very sad about the unreliable narrative.

I loved the cover of the book I loved the synopsis but ultimately this book failed me on so many different levels.

Another catch up novel from my library.
My first Rea Frey read - a dark thriller which is definitely worth the read

Rea Frey is amazing. I love how she just pulls you in and makes you devour her stories. Incredible book. Recommending to my book club!

This author's books have been a favorite of mine, and this is no exception! What a page turner! Emma Grace is a beautiful 5 year old little girl living in a very toxic family. When she ends up missing from her Washington home, her mom is worried that someone may have seen her physical altercation with her daughter before she disappeared. This book will leave
you wanting more! I wanted to reach into the book and wrap sweet little Emma in a warm hug. This suspenseful story will keep you on the edge of your seat! I'm grateful to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced copy to read and review.

What would you do when you see a mother abusing, whether physically or verbally, to a child? Would you say something to the mother? Would you take her away from her mother? What is the "right" thing to do to protect this child?

The book was very well written with great character development. I really enjoyed how we were able to read from both Amy's and Sarah's POV and how it was broken down into ‘Before’, ‘During’ and ‘After’.

<spoiler> **************
However, the part about Ryan and Charlie was unbelievable and far-fetched. And I don't understand why Ethan didn't just tell the police her name?
*********** </spoiler>

Overall, this was an easy read that I greatly enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Rea Frey for a copy of "Not Her Daughter" in exchange of an honest review.

So much heart, and so much what would you do when you get in too deep over your head. The main character does something so heroic, but in the wrong way. You don't know if you want to shake her or applaud her for coming to a rescue. Not Her Daughter had way more depth than I was anticipating and it was a really wonderfuly done book. It was one of those why didn't I read this sooner moments!

In this novel, Sarah is a successful businesswoman despite a difficult childhood with a mother who was cold and borderline abusive before abandoning Sarah and her father. When Sarah observes a woman seemingly mistreating the woman’s daughter, Sarah ends up basically kidnapping the little girl, Emma. The book is told from the perspectives of Sarah and the mother Amy, both before and after the kidnapping. Surprisingly though, this book is not really a thriller or even a psychological suspense novel though obviously there is a little suspense with Sarah and the little girl Emma on the run.

It’s really hard to rate this one. I thought the writing was good and the book really kept me reading. However, the plot of this book was just kind of out there and unbelievable - not in a cuckoo thriller kind of way but in the context of a book written (nominally) as realistic. Yes, Amy is a bad mother and Emma is happier with Sarah, but it’s still kind of weird for a book to have you rooting for the kidnapper. I also thought some of Amy’s character and actions were unrealistic as well and I hated the many descriptions of her character being overweight as somehow a signal for her moral failings as well.

Yet, I did still enjoy the writing and some aspects of the story and would try another book by Rea Frey. Plus, this was for my book club in a few days and I think we will be able to have an interesting discussion about it. All that being said, I’m going to average out all my mixed feelings into a 3 star rating.

Note: clearing old books from before 2019

Did not have time to read this book - still on my TBR. Thank you for the opportunity and my apologies for not getting to it.

Amazing storyline, characters and an unbelievably amazing cast of characters that I could not put this book down and that ending!

Sarah Walker is a successful, self-made business woman. On one of her business trips she comes across the Townsend family. It is apparent they are a dysfunctional, unhappy family and Sarah immediately feels strong emotions for Emma, who is unfortunately on the receiving end of all her mother, Amy's, unhappiness. Sarah makes a bold (& somewhat unbelievable choice) to kidnap Emma. Sarah's choice may have been extreme but it was definitely borne out of her own childhood.

Amy Townsend is an unhappy wife and mother. Her life is ALWAYS the same …kids, work, cleaning, cooking, and errands. No matter how she tries to organize she is always behind. Amy doesn’t know why she’s able to keep her cool with her son but lashes out when it comes to her daughter, Emma. Every night she promises herself that the next day will go better. But it never does. Now her daughter Emma is gone and Amy hasn’t told the entire truth about what happened the night she disappeared.

I really enjoyed this book and I didn’t see the end coming. The book was very well written and developed.

An interesting crime/ moral dilemma novel focusing on the concept of children who are wanted more by people besides their own parents. This is one of those topics that makes you a bit uncomfortable either way and I struggled to get through it. The character seemed a bit too straightforward instead of having more complexed backgrounds and explain actions for their actions but over all its a good book, if a bit implausible on the side of the police investigation.

Emma Grace deserves a better class of mother. And Sarah’s gonna give it to her!

THE ANALYTICAL.

What is self-hatred? Self-hatred is an intense dislike of oneself. Self-hatred is the exact opposite of self-love. And many people in the world are being tempted, even daily, to hate themselves. There are many reasons that the spirit called self-hatred prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom it may devour: for it, the evil spirit called self-hatred, has nothing that it can do in and of itself because it is, after all, a spirit floating around in this three-dimensional physical realm. It is always in need of a human being on whom it can wage war. And it all starts in the head. The mind affects all else, and for this reason, evil must first wage war in the human mind to destroy the entire body.

Here is the advantage that spiritual beings have over their physical prey here in the Earth realm: the spiritual hosts of wickedness can see their physical victims, but their physical victims cannot see them. The spiritual can see physical existences, but not the other way around. That can only happen if human beings are permitted to see spiritual beings while in the physical realm.

For in war, the enemy goes in for the kill. And in this case, the unseen enemy has prepared its weaponry. Which is this: use the human beings’ flesh and their rebellious inability to not be carnal-minded against them. It’s called the “divide and conquer tactic.” And it works against human beings every time. The five senses that humans possess? Use those five senses against them. It works every time because humans are used to seeing only the surface and not what lies beneath the surface—in the spirit. And the flesh is what destroys them every time. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Once the demon called self-hatred gets planted in the mind of a human being, its seed begins to grow and grow and grow: over time, it works on that human mind to meticulously consume the person, both body and soul: for its purpose is to bring down to Sheol with it, not just one soul, but many: for this is the origin of spiritual warfare: it all starts in the human mind.

The stars of the psychological thriller currently under review are those whose minds have been captured and enslaved by the evil spirit called self-hatred. And the war is waged in any number of ways. Self-hatred doesn’t tempt a human being in only one way, but rather, in many ways. Everything from the way they look to perhaps being financially destitute, ignored, or even isolated and abandoned can leave a door open in a person’s mind through which self-hatred can enter. And where Sarah Walker and Amy Townsend, the leading lady and the supporting lead, are concerned, the demonic warfare of self-hatred on both women is at the dangerous level of 10.

THE DISINTEGRATION.

Meet Sarah Walker. Sarah is our unrelenting leading lady. Sarah Walker is a woman who has it all: a successful business, a spacious (and expensive) condo, physical beauty, riches, wealth, a Chemex, a successful beau, and not a care in the world. Sarah Walker: a happy-go-lucky free spirit who is a mistress of her (fabulous) domain. She lives well, eats well, and drinks well. But despite her many perks in life, there is just one nagging imperfection that refuses to leave Sarah Walker alone: her mother, Elaine. Elaine is the Paulette Abagnale of this tale. Elaine is a failed actress and a hater: she hates her life, marriage, and Sarah.

Meet Amy Townsend. Amy is our reprehensible antagonist. Amy Townsend has a so-so job, a so-so house, below-average looks, bad skin, excessive body weight, thinning hair, and quite a few other flaws with which she lives daily. Amy Townsend is a bitter, angry, and miserable woman who wants nothing more than to be put out of her misery. Sure, she has a home, a job, and sole possession of her car. But even though she is alive, there is just one nagging imperfection that refuses to leave Amy Townsend alone: her daughter, Emma Grace. The beautiful child. The hated child. The unwanted child. The five-year-old child whose own mother hates her and abuses her mentally and physically because she has beauty and her mother does not.

WISH HARD ENOUGH FOR SOMETHING, AND YOU JUST MAY GET IT.

Sarah Walker is the founder and president of TACK, a company that manufactures digital activity books for grade school children. She lives in the gorgeous, albeit excessively rainy, city of Portland, where she leads a life surrounded by her TACK team, her best friend Lisa, and her “amazingly attentive” boyfriend, Ethan Turner. A wiz with a Chemex, Ethan Turner is the owner of a successful furniture store. And he spoils—oh God, does he spoil—Sarah with a constant succession of gifts and outdoorsy activities. But despite how long the couple has been together, Ethan is dragging his feet on proposing marriage to Sarah. And sensing that her biological clock is moving along in mockery of her, Sarah angrily gives Ethan an ultimatum. Marry me or else. Or else. Or else.

Meanwhile, there lives a highly dysfunctional family—named Townsend—in Longview, a quaint little town in Washington. A factory worker named Richard (a waif of a man was there ever one) lives a miserable existence alongside his embittered wife Amy, an executive assistant. Their relationship was once cordial, but now hostility rules their space. And Amy is to blame because Amy hates her life. And she hates her marriage to Richard. But she especially hates her five-year-old daughter Emma, who Amy always dresses in the same red dress, the same red shoes, and the same red hair bow. A beauty to behold, the gray-eyed Emma constantly suffers her mother’s wrath: the child sports many black and blue bruises as the result of it. Emma’s baby brother Robbie? Well, he never has to endure his mother’s vicious rage, only his big sister Emma. And Richard? Well, Richard Townsend suffers the menacing turmoil of Amy, too, but only because he feels that he has to; and only because of his two children, both of whom, by the way, is the only source of joy in their father’s shattered life. Amy hates her family, and Richard and Emma hate her, too. She wants her life back to herself again: she wants to be free—minus a weak, pathetic husband and two messy kids. She wants to be a bachelorette again.
Oh, how great it would be to be free again.

WHEN OIL AND WATER COLLIDE.

She saw them for the first time while waiting to board a flight to Ethiopia: it was while going through an airport security screening that Sarah laid eyes on the most beautiful child she had ever seen. The child was being mistreated by her belligerent mother, right out in the great wide open. And as the verbal—and subtly physical—abuse of the lovely child ensued, Sarah only became more disturbed—and overly concerned—about the little girl’s well-being. To ease tensions, she’d even gone so far as to compliment the unloved child on her pretty, red hair bow. The mother’s mistreatment of her child kept itself well-fueled, however. And though it sorely troubled Sarah, she eventually decided that the ordeal was none of her business, and she moved on. But she never forgot the little girl in the red dress, with the red bow in her hair. And were it not for a future trip to Washington, DC on TACK business, Sarah may not have ever seen the little girl—whose mother had called her Emma Grace at the airport—again.

A CRUEL FATE.

So much time had passed before she saw the child again, but it was her! The beautiful little girl with the red bow in her hair. It was Emma! She was in the playground at the school. Sarah could never forget her. Would never. Emma. It must be fate. Her mother, Amy, does her no well. Sarah should know as she endured the same treatment by her mother. Elaine had left not only Sarah but Sarah’s father, too. Her husband. How could she be so selfish? Sarah understands. She has it all now: money, wealth, a successful business. She understands children so she can help Emma. Emma needs her. And she needs Emma. She has to save Emma to save herself. To hell with it. She has to take Emma away from her horrible, fat mother. Emma is too pretty to suffer such hatred. Sarah must help her, and fast! And Sarah does. Sarah takes Emma away and cares for her as though the child spewed from her very own loins. Kidnapping is a federal offense, but Sarah could not care less. It can be damned not only once but twice and a third time for good measure.

THOSE WHO WEEP WEEP ALONE.

From Portland to Washington to Montana to Nebraska to Chicago, the tireless hunt is on for Emma Grace Townsend. Friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and Amy Townsend becomes murder suspect number one.
In a narrative reminiscent of a spotlight seeking Nancy Grace fiasco, Not Her Daughter tells the emotional and bittersweet story of two lost and lonely women. Each one is at a breaking point in her own life, and Emma Grace is the one little girl who entangles them both.

CASTMATES.

Co-starring in this effort, brimming with loss, gain, hopelessness, self-hatred and love, are Mr. Walker, Sarah’s incredibly depressed and alcoholic father; Elaine Walker, Sarah’s despicable and long-lost mother; Lisa, a yoga instructor, overwhelmed mother, owner of a nonprofit, and Sarah’s best friend; Travis, Madison, and Brad, the Gucci-and-Prada-wearing Espresso drinkers who make up Sarah’s TACK team; Detective Frank Lewis, the DC detective commissioned to investigate the kidnapping and possible murder of Emma Grace Townsend; Carla Shirley, Emma’s absent-minded and self-absorbed babysitter; Ryan Bailey, the handsome and financially comfortable Chicago-based bachelor with whom Sarah becomes enraptured; Charlie Bailey, the cute and only child of Ryan Bailey with whom Emma becomes enraptured; Hal Pierce, the crooked and tenacious money man who eagerly desires to buy out TACK; and Barb, the hypnotist with whom the cheese-addicted and ever constipated Amy undergoes past-life regression therapy.

SOME FINAL WORDS.

Although (merely) satisfactory in both body text and character development, Not Her Daughter—in which Sarah, Amy, and Emma narrate with multiple points of view—is nothing more than a figment of its creator’s wild imagination. A fantasy, if you will. And if I may admit as much, the dialogue left an acrid taste—like spoiled Brie cheese—on my reader’s palate. While Rea Frey is a talented scribbler, she failed to adhere to reality per this effort. Although her script meant well in and of itself, her overall vision was just too unbelievable; ergo, a figment of her imagination—existent only in a make-believe world of created delusions.

Why the story bothered me so much that I had a hard time forgetting it at the turning of the final page, I’m not sure; but it did. Maybe it was just because I refused to believe that such a thing could occur without anyone caring? Too many unanswered questions, perhaps? Or it could have been a combination of both? Dear reader, I will let you be the judge: to each his own.

STILL RECOMMENDED, DESPITE ITS CONS.

Did Rea Frey give her all here? Yes, she most certainly did. Does she provide her readers with flawless research? Yes, indeed. Her knowledge of the city of Chicago wowed me twice over with exceptional detail. Is there room for slacking in the script? No, not at all. The energetic text has admirable agility. Does confusion slither in with an annoying, skin-crawling hissing? Why, of course, it does. Did I love our leading lady, Sarah Walker? Yes, absolutely. I loved her so much that I wanted to enter this fictional world and talk some sense into her. Because in several ways, she is a woman with whom I can relate. Regardless of its imperfections, is Rea Frey’s Not Her Daughter still meritable of a read? Yes, I would say so. Although not perfect, the work still commands respect; therefore, consider it recommended, even if not enthusiastically.

Happy reading, all!



REVIEWER’S NOTE: It is my kind pleasure to thank Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin, as well as NetGalley, for the advanced review copy of Not Her Daughter in exchange for my honest review.

Analysis of Not Her Daughter by Rea Frey is courtesy of the Reviews by Cat Ellington book series.

Date of Review: Sunday, September 23, 2018

I have LOVED everything I have read by Rea Frey.
Such a fantastic writer that just makes you FEEL her books.
Love, love, love her.

As a mom, parts of this book were hard to read, and Amy's treatment of Emma was awful and abhorrent. While Sarah will ultimately provide a better life for Emma, one can't help but question her ability to do thebright thing and make sound decisions. I enjoyed this book but am still deciding how I feel about the ending.

Not Her Daughter is a quick paced thriller about a woman named Sarah who feels compelled to kidnap 5 year old Emma. She was drawn to Emma when she first spotted her in an airport, and again at a chance run in at Emma’s school.

On both occasions Sarah witnesses Emma being mistreated by her mother, Amy, and it reminds Sarah of the neglect she felt from her own mother. Told from the point of view of both Sarah and Amy, this book keeps readers wondering who Emma will end up with.

While the pacing of the book was quick I felt that the suspense of the story was carried by the premise rather than the writing. In each “Sarah” section the reader naturally wondered if this is the moment she would be caught.

Amy’s character was completely unlikable because of her depressive thoughts and tendencies. The use of negative body descriptions to paint her in a poor light was problematic for me.

The book had several plot holes that made the story a little to implausible for me, especially given how it resolved.

I had a tough time with the review for this one. On one hand, I did want to see what was going to happen. On the other, there was so much that was not believable about this book that it drove me nuts.

The character of Sarah isn't consistent. She starts as a strong, independent woman who is devoted to her work and has normal insecurities about her boyfriend Ethan. Suddenly, she decides to leave all that behind and literally abduct a child she has seen twice.

First, the backstory with Ethan didn't add to the book. There were scenes and chapters with him and he showed up and then he didn't appear or anything was dealt with again. That was left hanging a bit for me.

Second, why on earth would she think she could a) abduct a child and b) get away with it? She had no plan, no intention, nothing. She literally had to take the kid to a Walmart (or similar store) in order to be able to take her home because she had nothing for her. While the author tries to make you understand her motive (her own upbringing, two incidents she witnessed), it was hard to root for Sarah.

Third, really, the cops couldn't find her or figure it out?

Fourth, why was the whole section with Ryan in Chicago included? I never saw a point for that, unless it was just page filler. Again, another character never to be heard from again.

Overall, the end was what truly knocked this down another star. It was rushed and completely unrealistic. There were characters introduced (Sarah's co-workers?) never to be heard from again. There were plotlines (letters from her mother? never heard from her father again...) that just fell off a cliff. I wanted to like this, but there were so many flaws in the story I couldn't love it.

This was a fun read I picked up because frankly, I got it on NetGalley, and the cover was cute. But - it turned out to be a rolicking quarantine read. It was at first a domestic mystery, but the heartstring tugs started happening. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it for a slow summer afternoon.