A Decent Thriller

3.5 stars

Like Mother, Like Daughter is a thriller about a mother who goes missing and her daughter’s quest to find her.

Katrina, a fixer at a prominent law firm, is grappling with her recent separation, a new relationship, a new case, and a rocky relationship with her daughter. When she mysteriously goes missing with only a bloody shoe left behind, her estranged daughter Cleo is determined to find her.

Cleo is going through her own drama with Katrina. She is constantly making bad decisions, especially when it comes to the men in her life, and her stupidity and desperation for love have far-reaching consequences.

The narrative structure is non-linear and multimodal. In addition to traditional chapters told from Katrina and Cleo’s POV, also shared are transcripts of Cleo’s therapy sessions, court documents, social media posts, mysterious text messages, diary entries, etc. The problem with the narrative is that not all storylines are fleshed out to weave in some red herrings, and not all are successful, creating gaps and unanswered questions.

The timeline alternates back and forth between the time Katrina goes missing to the present when she is missing, as well as a few chapters shared from the past.

The characters are not necessarily likable. Katrina is a strong woman with a strong voice, which might be off-putting for some readers. It was hard for me to like Cleo; she is privileged, selfish, and lives in a bubble, but as her character developed, she grew on me. There are also a lot of side characters, some with more prominent roles than others. The most present is Aidan, Katrina’s estranged husband, who is a narcissistic a*hole.

The plot is one I have read before. There is a pretty big twist, but it is not all that surprising. However, it is rather sickening.

Some reviewers remarked that the pacing was slow, but for me, the pacing was on point. However, it takes a bit of time to get the meat of the story. Also, had some of the storylines, especially Katrina’s past, been fleshed out it would have made more of an impact.

Overall, this is a decent but unmemorable thriller with a satisfying ending.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor in exchange for an honest review.

This felt like a slow burn thriller to me. Mother and daughter relationships are so complicated and this one’s no different. Secrets galore which I loved. The plot was a great idea and that part had me curious. The problem was there was no likable characters for me, these relationships were very frustrating. I felt that about half way things started coming out and you could try to figure out what had happened. The ending was underwhelming.
2.5

Thank Knopf and Netgalley for my gifted copy.

Like Mother, Like Daughter is suspenseful and also thought provoking. The story is told in alternating POVs with alternating timelines as well as text messages and news articles. I enjoyed the variation in delivery which I felt was very well done and not distracting from the story. This is also a legal thriller so if you enjoy that genre you will definitely enjoy this one. The ending had a ton of twists and tied everything up nicely. This was one great thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Super fast-paced with a lot going on! I think this one has a lot going for it, and I'm excited for it's publication. I think it'll be a hit. I have to say, though, that there were a lot of subplots in this one. A bit too many for my taste; however, I think other people will enjoy them.

I love thrillers with mixed media! Like Mother, Like Daughter was a bit wonky at times, but I enjoyed the plot rolling out with the mixed media, they were implemented extremely well. I thought the characters were well developed and the plot intriguing enough, but something just didn't quite work for me—it could be the pacing or my frustration with amateur detectives—I still haven't worked this out.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf, and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

This was captivating from the start! I did like the mixed methods of getting information across to the reader, utilising News articles and case notes, in addition to the story. The author had me guessing the whole time and I was quite shocked at the ending! However, the ending results that tied it all together did feel very short and just felt very suddenly done.

Like Mother, Like Daughter is my fourth read by Kimberly McCreight. Kimberly is one of those authors that I can always count on for a good thriller. Not only are her books highly entertaining, Kimberly is truly a great writer. Her books are always extremely well-written. She did a great job with the characterization, both characters had a lot of depth. The book perfectly demonstrates the complex relationship between mother and daughter. Like Mother, Like Daughter’s plot was also multi-layered with a unique twist at the end.

Thriller and mystery readers are going to love this one! I also highly recommend checking out Kimberly McCreight’s backlist titles (Friends Like These and A Good Marriage are my favorites!).

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight will be available on July 9. Many thanks to AA Knopf and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

This book was wild in the best possible way! I can't wait to see what the Kimberly McCreight comes up with next.

Just finished reading this book...what a page turner! I literally could not put this book down and stayed up WAY too late to finish it! This book is very well written, and the main characters fully developed. The history of the relationship between the mother, Kat, and daughter, Cleo, was revealed throughout the story, and so you understand how they came to be in their present situation/relationship. Kat's job and other relationships are also deeply explored. The story was suspenseful and well developed. I love a book that keeps you guessing and this book accomplished that so very well. I will definitely recommend this book to friends and family. I look forward to reading my next Kimberly McCreight novel.

I enjoyed the mother daughter relationship in this. I was a bit underwhelmed with it overall but would recommend it to a newer thriller reader. I liked the amateur detective aspect. Overall the story was fine but nothing really grasped me to fully immerse me into the story.

Thank you Net Galley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage & Anchor for the free arc in exchange for my honest review!

This was twisty!

Cleo is an NYU student who arrives late to dinner with her mother at their house, finding broken glass and blood on the kitchen floor. Food is in the oven, but there's no sign of her mother, Kat. Already in a fragile relationship with her mother, Cleo is determined to find out what happened to her mother, looking at everyone as a suspect, even her father.

Kat is an attorney whose job role is labeled as "a fixer". Kat has uncovered some disturbing information about a lawsuit her firm is handling and is thrown in the mix of dangerous people desperate to cover up their mistakes. Along with everything else going on, Kat is being threatened by someone from her past for something she did when she was a child living at a facility with foster kids.

Set in present and past timelines, this will definitely keep you on your toes. Enjoy the ride to uncover the truth.

4 Stars!

Cleo, an NYU student, comes home for dinner with her mom only to find the door unlocked, food burning on the stove, and no mom. Cleo sees her mom's bloody shoe under the couch. What a start to a book!

This book is told from different points of view (mom, daughter, journal, therapy notes). I had an inkling on how this one would end, but there was definitely a good twist to my thoughts.

This is a good summer read!

Cleo's mother goes missing and she is determined to find out what happened. With their relationship strained over the last couple years and not much information to go off of, she digs into her mother's past and current life to narrow down where her mother could be.


I love books that go between past and present and this book was full of it. This book was keeping me wanting more and felt unputdownable at times. I did not see the twist at the end with how it was all laid out but I had some hints here and there. Overall a great and fast read! I appreciate having the opportunity to read this ARC.

Overall a good book. It's the kind of book that sucks you in from the get. It starts out with a mother calling for her daughter to come home, only when the daughter arrives nothing is right and the mother is missing. This carries you between the point of view of the daughter - Cleo as she searches for her mother, and the point of view of the mother - Katrina, before her disappearance. We find out Katrina's life is not what she portrayed it out to be.

If you like a book that grabs you from the start, this is it. This book is written in alternating first person POV. Cleo is summoned to her mother’s house only to find her missing. Now she is looking for her and along the way she finds out so much she didn’t know about her mom. Lots of twists and many possible suspects. This is an excellent thriller.

WOW! The story pulled me in and kept me hooked from start to finish! Every time I thought I figured out what happened to Kat another suspect's motives were cleverly thrown in. The book kept me guessing, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it.

I enjoyed this mother/daughter thriller though there was a question left unanswered at the end. It wasn't a gasping, heart pounding thriller but it was interesting enough to keep me engaged enough to keep turning the pages.

This is the first book I've read by Kimberly McCreight and I am interested in checking out her other books after this! I enjoyed the premise of the story, but did feel like there was SO MUCH happening that it was hard to keep track of. I love the characters and thought they were very well written and love the dual perspectives! I will say that I did not see the ending coming and that surprised me!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.*

While I liked the fact that we got the perspective from both the mother from before the incident and the daughter after she finds out her mom is missing, it did end up getting a little confusing once all the news articles, transcripts, and texts were all added in. Sometimes simpler is better.

I did enjoy the plot, but it seemed like there was always so much going on. I understand wanting there to be secrets and a wow factor, but it almost felt like the author threw in everything they could think of to give this plot an edge.

This is a very fast-paced book, which I enjoy in my mystery/thriller books. There was never a chance to really sit and get bored while reading this as I was constantly waiting to see when the next shoe would drop.

The characters were written very well. They were realistic and flawed and seemed like they could be just like you and me. The strains on the mother-daughter relationship were also portrayed well.

The ending of the book was okay. It felt quick and the epilogue had to explain parts of the ending, which I personally don't think should need to be done if the ending is executed well.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and would read another book by the author if the blurb sounded interesting.

Kimberly McCreight's latest LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER (publishes July 9, 2024) shows a daughter's love and perseverance in finding her missing mother despite them being on the outs. After a somewhat estranged relationship, mother Kat summons her college-age daughter Cleo home for dinner. When Cleo arrives to her family home, she finds dinner burning, her mother's bloody shoe, and her mother nowhere to be found.

There are suspects from all facets of Kat's life. She's a "fixer" for a law firm that is dealing with a high-profile prescription drug case, and she's coincidentally having a fling with a man from that firm. Her assistant is acting shady. Kat had a traumatic past that might be catching up with her as well. Her husband that she's separated from wants several million dollars from her. And her daughter Cleo has been working with a drug dealer.

This dual narrative switches between Kat (starting 8 days before her disappearance) and Cleo (post-disappearance). I enjoyed both perspectives, but Cleo's perspective was a little less chaotic so I liked that one a bit better. I feel like we also got to understand Cleo a bit more from her therapist transcripts. Kat, particularly due to her job, was tougher to get to know. I did enjoy the realistic mother-daughter dynamic in this one although they aren't in many scenes together.

If you enjoy a more plot-driven suspense novel and have enjoyed McCreight's novels in the past, check this one out!