A nicely written, more emotionally-focused version of Lyga's action/thriller I Hunt Killers series. The narrative moves along well enough and main character Scarlet is a good older teen narrator, her anxiety and coping mechanisms very well drawn, although her love of films came off as a little tell-not-show to me. But there doesn't really seem to be much of a story arc or even much of a message (Scarlet does struggle with the question of nature vs. nurture, but rejects the idea of genetic destiny fairly quickly), and labeling this a mystery or thriller feels like a stretch (there are no significant surprises or twists after the initial premise is set up - a moment with a potentially troubled character at a party is quickly derailed - and no one really does any investigative work, instead relying on long monologues from Scarlet's father ending in directions to his victims). The romance was also somewhat lackluster if inoffensive, and the side characters could have been served better. Definitely more for fans of My Sister Rosa as opposed to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

Kate McLaughlin has a knack for coming at an issue from a totally new perspective, so I immediately knew I wanted to read her latest novel, Daughter.

Told from the point of view of 18-year-old Scarlet, Scarlet finds out she is actually the daughter of a renown serial killer, and her mother changed their names and created new lives for them in the northeast. I loved the fresh take on serial killers because, as mentioned several times throughout the book, we often focus so much on the psychopath behind the murders, and rarely do we think to remember the victims. As a society, we tend to blame the victims for “getting into” a bad situation or not seeing the red flags rather than consider how easily any of us might disregard a red flag or misread a situation. Daughter was a great book that was fun to read, but even more than that, it was an important and relevant assessment of how warped our society can be.

I previously read Kate McLaughlin’s What Unbreakable Looks Like, which was an intense glimpse into sex trafficking minors, and she does an incredible job of bringing these major issues to the forefront in a relatable way. I have to also admit that we are both in Connecticut and the fact that her novels take place so close to my home was a part of why she initially caught my eye.

The only thing that I found amusing was how the teenage characters talked and related. Not being a teen myself anymore, I won’t pretend to know the new lingo and slang, but I felt like a lot of the slang was a bit forced and the teens themselves were all a bit too smart and too mature to be realistic. That won’t stop me from reading pretty much anything that Kate McLaughlin writes though!

Oh, I loved this book. It read like an episode of #Prodigalson or #criminalminds and I was all in!
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Scarlett is just your average teenager. She has an overprotective mom, hangs with friends and tries to catch the eye of the boy she likes.
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It all comes to a shocking halt when the FBI shows up at her door. Notorious serial killer Jeffery Robert Lake is dying and he will only give the names and locations of the missing girls to one person…..his daughter.
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Scarlet is left reeling. Her name isn’t actually Scarlet and her father didn’t actually leave them. Her father is a serial killer.
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I loved this. It’s aware enough to compare itself to silence of the lambs and raw enough to display the honest emotions of a teenager coming to terms with who she is as an individual and as a daughter.
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Thank you @wednesdaybooks for an advanced copy!

I loved Kate’s first book, What Unbreakable Looks Like, so much. This book was good in its own way, too, but just seemed a bit far fetched. It definitely built on the current obsession with true crime and I think those who enjoy true crime will like this book.

This was a creative and chilling book about the daughter of a notorious serial killer who didn't know who her father was until she was a senior in high school. She is shocked one day to find FBI agents at her home and even more surprised when they inform her that her father is Jeffrey Lake and he is dying from cancer. He wants to meet her and has agreed two give her names of more of his victims if she agrees to meet with him.

From there, the book touches on how it must feel to be a teenager suddenly left to process such shocking information and having such a heavy burden placed on your shoulders. It also shows how people react to her differently from morbid curiousity all the way to fear that she could be like him.

Along the way, Scarlet learns a lot about herself and comes to understand her mother much better. All her mom's controlling and hyper vigilance as a parent now suddenly make sense. As horrifying as the news is, it's also freeing because she understands things so much better.

I thought this book was well done. It's a clever imagining of what it would be like to walk in a girl like Scarlet's shoes. The varying emotions you would experience and so forth.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

I cannot name a single character trail any of the characters in this book had other than being an alcoholic and vaping.

This is not your typical suspense/thriller as you already know who the bad guy is, but how would you feel if that bad guy is your father?!?! Ooh, this book was a good one. I was hooked from the beginning and didn't want to put it down.

The Daughter is not just another story of the child of a serial killer. When it starts out, but seems like it might be. This is the first time that I have read this story as a YA book, for example. We start right as Scarlett finds out who her father really is. Finding out your father is a serial killer as a teenager has all kinds of new complications. Especially knowing who he is and having even watched a movie about his crimes. How do you handle finding out you don't even know your real name when you are trying to learn who you are anyway?

Before Scarlett knew, she had judged this case, even her own mother. What would change now? Much like other such stories, Scarlett's dad will only talk to her. Of course he will. You've got to have some tropes in there. And, of course, he is a horrible, evil man. But he has other victims and he is dying. Scarlett decides to meet him and see if she can find the locations of some of the other women he killed. Usually when I read about this happening, the characters are adults. Messed up adults, but still adults. Most have known for a long time who they are meeting. I think not being either of these things makes Scarlett react better to her father than many of the adults in other books.

Scarlett gets a lot more support than we often see. This gives the book a feel good kind of thing that doesn't really fit. The author throws in a little more terrible to tamp this down. The little surprise at the ending did keep me from lowering my opinion of the book.

I love the "oops didn't know I'm related to a serial killer" aftermath stories. I enjoyed that this one twisted how that went in a good way. Additionally, I had to know what was happening to the point where I read it all in one day, but something kept me from a full 5 star in the writing.

Another 5 star from McGlaughlin. The basic presmise of the book is about a high school girl who finds out her father was a notorious serial killer. An incredibly interesting story, but what made this book so good were the characters. I loved Scarlet, all of her friends, I honestly usually hate any kind of romance but I even loved Luke (and his entire family). I loved what scarlet decided to do in honoring the victims. There was so much to love about this book and nothing to mot love. I will def be reading anything written by her from now on! Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. If you aren't reading this book you're missing out!

Daughter is a gripping story about the family of a serial killer and the aftermath of his conviction and life in the spotlight. Scarlet is a normal teenaged girl living in Connecticut with an overprotective mother until the FBI show up at her house and tell her she is the daughter of prolific serial killer Jeff Lake, and Scarlet isn't her real name. Turns out, her mother took her into hiding after her husband was convicted of murdering 14 young women and burying them in their backyard. Now, the FBI needs her help because Lake is dying of cancer, and says he will only give the names and locations of his other kills to his daughter.

As a huge fan of Criminal Minds, this book was immediately up my alley and I am obsessed with it. I read this in one day and I barely put it down. There isn't a lot of action per se, it isn't a true thriller or mystery in that aspect with a lot of twists and turns and creepy scenes, but it is just plain interesting if you're into true crime. I just wanted to know more and keep seeing Scarlet go toe to toe with a psychopath like her father.

McLaughlin is able to put in a lot of emotionality and guilt and triumph into this story - it's not just about Scarlet but also her mother finding herself again and being able to finally relax and not worry about being found. It's about growth and being unapologetically yourself, even in the face of great diversity from societal expectations.

I absolutely loved this book and if you spend your time watching crime shows on cable, listening to true crime podcasts, or watching serial killer documentaries - Daughter is the perfect book for you.

**Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review**

This was really intriguing. I liked the premise a lot, the daughter of a serial killer who doesn't know she is and him on his deathbed reaching out to give her more of his victims names. It kept me reading and I had to see how many names he was going to give up and how it was going to end. The only thing I didn't really care for was the romance. It seemed a little out of place and wasn't needed, Scarlet could have just had friends and new found family to lean on she didn't need to also be consumed with a romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like this is the year of Little Miss Cranky Pants book reviews. Seriously. I hate to be so harsh but I have read some real duds since the start of 2022.

I had high hopes for Daughter and the 4.19 average Goodreads rating led me to believe that this would be a worthwhile reading experience.

This book had great beginning and I was digging it. Scarlet is your typical 17 year old hanging out with friends and crushing on a boy. Her overly protective mother keeps her on a tight leash for reasons Scarlett can't understand. One day she receives a knock on her door only to find two FBI agents standing there. Here she finds out that she is, in fact, the daughter of infamous serial killer Jeffrey Robert Lake. Lake was convicted of raping and murdering 14 women even though authorities believe there are many more bodies undiscovered.

Lake, now dying in an infirmary with pancreatic cancer has asked that Scarlett come visit him and to her he will reveal the whereabouts of the other victims. She is hesitant, her mother is hesitant, but the FBI urge her to do this in order to bring peace to the other families and so they all agree and Scarlett and her mother make their way from Connecticut to North Carolina.

And here's where it should have gotten super juicy but instead just became problematic.

Scarlett is allowed to sit by a convicted serial killers bedside without anyone around. I realize it's her father but he's a stranger to her since he was put in prison when she was 2 years old. I just can't believe the FBI would allow this and that there wouldn't be more protection provided. Not to mention I would think someone would be recording these conversations rather than rely on a anxious 17 year old who just had her world turned upside down to relay precise details.

Then there is Lake himself. He is nothing more than a caricature of a serial killer. I just did not buy into him, I didn't find him creepy, at best I found him cheesy. Did I mention he's a necrophiliac? Because why not, right? It isn't bad enough that he raped and murdered these women but he liked to go back for seconds and thirds after the deed was done. Gross, yes indeed, but what's even more gross is listening to him talk to his daughter about these things.

Let's move on the the mother now shall we. Gina, our helicopter mom to the extreme, has been dealt a bad hand in life by being manipulated by Lake into falling in love, marrying him, and eventually having a baby with him. She stood by his side until the evidence became too much to ignore and she divorced him. She whisks Scarlett away to another state with new identities to make a life for themselves without scrutiny and prying eyes. Once her huge secret is revealed to her daughter she goes from helicopter mom to a free spirit who couldn't give a crap what her daughter does anymore. She's smiling, she's laughing, she's drinking bucket loads of wine without a care in the world. So it was really her secret that kept her so paranoid and looking over her and her daughters shoulders. Not the actually safety of her daughter. It just didn't make any sense at all.

Another thing I didn't enjoy was the teen sex. Scarlett is constantly lusting after this dude like he's the last man on earth. His smile, his shoulders, his muscular thighs, what she would give to run her hands down his abs. Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck. I think I am too old to be listening to the details of teenagers having sex.

Speaking of being old, this book is definitely YA and Scarlett and her friends come across as very immature. I'm not totally against YA fiction, I've read some great ones (Dangerous Girls is amazing), but I prefer the characters to lean to the more mature side.

I could probably go on a little longer but I won't. You all get the gist of my issues with this. As usual I am in the minority so if this sounds intriguing to you then by all means give it a try. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my complimentary copy.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

Imagine being a teen and finding out that you and your mother are in witness protection and your father is a serial killer.

I am sure that most of us would say that would be a shocking and terrifying experience. For our protagonist Scarlet Murphy that is exactly what she discovers the day the FBI arrives at her home. Her biological father is dying and he promises to tell the FBI about the names of other victims never unearthed if they let him see his daughter.

This premise is definitely what encouraged me to choose it as an ARC I wanted to read in 2022. I was deeply immersed in the narrative and finished it in one sitting. The story was just too good to put down and so I didn't. 😁

One of the aspects I enjoyed is exploring how the perception of the media and the general public towards Scarlet and her mother. Most especially, how the people around them even some of Scarlet's friends felt that her mother must have known everything. It's definitely a situation where you find out who are your real friends. Another aspect I appreciated was the newspaper clippings spread throughout the book. Although I must admit that some of the conversations between Scarlet and her father were deeply traumatizing and felt so realistic.

A solid thriller

Publication Date 08/03/22
Goodreads review 11/03/22

Well…… I don’t even know what to say right now. I just finished reading this and I don’t know where to begin. This was a different look at a crime-mystery. Kate McLaughlin writes about dark, painful topics that push me into a position I thought I’d never have to go.
OMG!!!! How does anyone find the courage to deal with this? Heal from this? And move on from this??
I kept thinking about Israel Keyes and his total disregard for life. It scared me. Picking people randomly?
This was a difficult topic and I was uncomfortable at times, but I thought it was so well done. I loved the writing and how it unfolded. I’m so glad I read it. This novel is unforgettable. Kudos to the author on this 5 star read.
Thanks St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books via NetGalley.

The thing that appealed to me about this book is its core conflict: a girl discovers her dad is a serial killer, and she may be the only person who can get the names of some of his victims and therefore bring peace and closure to their families.

One of the things I liked is that the story explores what members of the public felt about Scarlet and her mom, and how difficult that was for them. People speculated whether her mom knew or was involved in Scarlet’s dad’s crimes. They judged her and sometimes treated her as an object of fascination for her closeness to a famous killer.

I also thought the character of Scarlet’s dad was complex and seemed on point with the little bit that I’ve seen or know about killers like Ted Bundy or Aileen Wuornos.

There are a couple things I deeply struggled with in reading this book, though.

First, while I really admire that the author approached the story wanting to bring attention to the girls not strictly as victims but as people in their own right. Scarlet herself goes on a journey of trying to figure out how to draw attention to the girls themselves rather than glorifying or focusing on their deaths. It reminded me of some of the things Courtney Summers said about writing her book SADIE.

I’m not sure that I think this book succeeds in that goal, though. There are news clippings that only mention the girls in terms of how they encountered the man who murdered them. Lots of scenes reference a movie made about the killer’s life and trial. There are lots of conversations that center around what he did and why he did it. What he got out of it. How he saw the women he victimized.

I liked the idea of the news clippings being included, but I think it would have supported the author’s goal more if they focused on the girls themselves or maybe were pieces written by their families or maybe things from the girls themselves? I don’t know. It seemed more like the moral of the story was that the girls deserve to be treated differently, but the story itself didn’t really model that because so much of the story is devoted to learning about what Scarlet’s dad did and why.

If you’re familiar with my blog, you might already be surprised to see that I reviewed this book at all. I think I was expecting something more along the lines of SADIE by Courtney Summers or THE ROW by J. R. Johansson. This book really pushed my limits as far as explicit violence and sexual trauma go. I almost never quit a book, but I came very close to quitting this one.

On the whole, I think this book really wasn’t for me. If you like stories that go up close to really dark topics, like serial killers and assault, then you may really enjoy this one.

Everyone loves a good serial killer story these days...except for when it turns out the killer is your father.

Kate Mc Laughlin's 'Daughter' gave me the SHIVERS! This novel could have very easily tipped into a new adult or adult thriller, and it toes the line on a knife's edge.

Scarlet Murphy is completely average. She has awesome, fun friends, a super hot guy she's into, and attends a ridiculously prestigious New England school that thrives on competition and superiority. All of that is regular except for the fact that Scarlet's mother is neurotically paranoid and refuses to let Scarlet go anywhere. When the FBI shows up on Scarlet's door one day, she quickly learns why and her world shatters.

Scarlet Murphy is actually "Baby" Britney Lake, the daughter of a notorious, vicious serial killer: Jeffery Robert Lake. Lake brutally kidnapped, assaulted, tortured, killed, and then revisited his victims. So content warnings are necessary for the following: necrophilia, rape, violence, drug and alcohol use, emotional abuse, and sexual content. As previously mentioned, this novel could have very easily fit into the adult side of the thriller genre.

The FBI has come bearing news: Lake is dying and his final wish is to see his baby girl. Oh, and give up the names and burial locations of his final, unknown victims.
Scarlet reluctantly agrees, and the emotional journey this character goes on while simultaneously grappling with her father's psychopathy is fascinating and grueling. Her father is every bit the monster his crimes make him out to be, but Scarlet stares down the evil lurking in his eyes to try and bring peace to his victims' families.

Overall, I found this read to be fast-paced, thrilling, at times gruesome and chilling, but overwhelmingly a positive experience because as the novel progresses, you see Scarlet focusing less on herself, and moving towards approaching difficulties with an air of adulthood. Similarly, the novel progresses from focusing primarily on Lake and more towards focusing on the victims and their stories. I feel like that is some intense critical examination of our culture and its fascination with true crime and serial killers in general: the stories and documentaries shouldn't be about the Bundys and Lakes of the world, but their victims and their families. It's a well-done novel and will definitely take you on quite the ride! 10/10 highly recommend it!

Scarlet lives a life of privilege in Connecticut with no idea of who the father was that “abandoned” her and her mother. When two FBI agents show up on her doorstep, she learns that her father is a serial killer who wants to see her before he dies of cancer in exchange for names of other victims who’ve never been discovered in Kate McLaughlin’s Daughter.

From the blurb, this sounds like it should be a fascinating novel, especially since I read a similar book recently. However, uneven writing, stilted dialogue, and lapses in logic plus a lack of suspense produce a book that quickly becomes melodramatic and somewhat icky. The beginning of the melodrama hinges on Scarlet’s identity being outed by her father, an event that I noted as soon as Scarlet adamantly declared her current name to her father. Certainly, she would have been briefed not to do that. Nor would FBI agents who have been surveilling her, following her around (why would they do that?), visit her house knowing that her mother wasn’t there. I won’t belabor the point or the dead horse. This one didn’t work for me.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this book in a day.

Society, in general, or at least a large section of it, tends to have this sort of morbid curiosity about serial killers. Criminal profilers, psychologists, and the like can spend their entire careers trying to understand and psychoanalyze these monsters made flesh. While I myself have never seen the appeal in the sometimes seemingly endless stream of killer documentaries/mock-u-mentaries. I do sometimes enjoy the occasional mystery or thriller. I like to see the truth unraveled and wrongful parties brought to justice.

In this case, the man in question was put behind bars long before his daughter ever learned who he was or what he'd done. But like a true anti-social narcissist he isn't content to die without another shot in the spotlight. And so, he strikes a deal with the FBI to give them the names of his remaining victims. But he'll only reveal those names to his daughter. A daughter who up until this point had no idea he existed.

Thrust into a national spotlight, she never asked for, our heroine Scarlet is forced to confront her father's past. Suddenly, her mother's obsessively overprotective behavior makes perfect sense. And while she wants nothing to do with the father she's never known, she feels as though it is her duty to help get answers for the families whom her father destroyed. Returning to her mother's hometown, Scarlet meets the man whose very existence has unfortunately colored her life in ways that left her anxious and resentful.

Jeffrey Lake is as awful as they say. And of course, rather than surrendering the names of his victims, he decides to play games with his daughter. Scarlet's seemingly peaceful life is turned upside down.

But it isn't all bad. Turns out, she and her mother aren't alone after all. She has relatives she'd never known about or met. Despite some having reservations, Scarlet quickly bonds with the family she never knew she had and finds a close ally and friend in her cousin Maxi. Scarlet also forms fast friendships with Luke and Darcy, the children of the FBI agent who worked her father's case all those years ago. Though with Luke it develops into much more. Honestly, Scarlet and Luke's relationship was one of my favorite parts of the book. Luke is so sweet, charming, understanding, and supportive. I think we all deserve a Luke in our lives.

Anyways, being thrown into the limelight Scarlet comes to realize in high-profile cases such as these the killer is always the one that takes center stage with the public. The killer is the one that is remembered, the one whose name is known, and the victims are often forgotten. So Scarlet takes it upon herself to learn about the victims and puts effort toward sharing their stories.

This book is fast-paced, highly engaging, and thought-provoking. Honestly, one of my favorite books of the year so far.

Just another white gurl getting excited about a Criminal Minds esque book.

This book was truly wonderful.
I was captivated.
I was skeptical.
I was shocked.
I was proud.

Daughter is an amazing story of how it might be to learn your father was a serial killer, and @alterkates knocks it out if the park.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for allowing me to review this book.

Daughter is came out 3/8 and is now available