This one is so much more than expected. It is full of suspense! I was completely sucked into the story. The characters are interesting. The plot is unique. It's fast paced. I read it in one sitting. I was just hooked!

I discovered Chad Zunker when he wrote “All He Has Left” and now I’ll read anything that he writes. Zunker is a master at creating decent, strong male main characters who rely primarily on their wits instead of brute force. In “Not Our Daughter” he has two dads of teenage daughters, one a divorced FBI agent and the other a fugitive that the FBI agent has been chasing for thirteen years. This thriller isn’t a typical good guy vs. bad guy story — in fact, at the beginning you won’t be rooting for Agent Burns to capture Cole Shipley/Greg Olsen. You’ll be on the edge of your seat hoping that Cole can get his wife Lisa and daughter Jade to safety far, far away from Burns and a mystery killer.

It’s a fairly short book that you’ll be likely to consume in one sitting. This is a twisty, thrilling chase from start to finish, and every time you relax, Zunker ratchets up the action again. I couldn’t put it down! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Lisa has green eyes, and Jade has bluish-green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO We do get a car chase from Colorado to Texas that covers mountains and deserts.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer/Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

HAPPY PUB DAY!!!!

As always, big thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC copy of this impulsive thriller!

I've read a few Chad Zunker books now and he really knows how to pack the adrenaline punches throughout his books! I love the descriptive scenes he gives us and how his stories just flow so well.
This was another great read from him & I loved how this wrapped up.

Be sure to pick this one up for your TBR!

20/100 or 1.0 stars

I was hoping to like this, as the description made this a promising thriller. The entrire story was predictable, and all the plot holes and conveniences were really too much to ignore. I don't want to be mean, but this was not good. If you have read even a few thrillers before, this is not the book for you. I was so disappointed in this one. I would give the author a second chance, but this was rough.

3⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy of Not Our Daughter.

The Shipley family is your normal average family celebrating their daughter turning 14. Then they find out that the FBI has found them and they need to abandon their lives and run. The daughter Jade is shocked by what she is hearing but her parents Cole and Lisa have been preparing for this for years. Jade is about to find out the truth and her life gets turned upside down. Cole and Lisa will do whatever they need to do to keep her safe.

This was an okay thriller for me. I was able to figure out the plot pretty early on. I was frustrated that the parents were not just honest from the beginning. Overall just an okay read for me.

Chad Zunker did not disappoint with NOT OUR DAUGHTER. I wasn’t sure where he was going with this so I was pleasantly surprised throughout. This was an edge of your seat thriller and a true page turner. It was action packed and the type of book you will not want to put down!

Blown away page by page! This was a nonstop page turn. I was absolutely engrossed in every word and want to read this author’s entire backlist! 5 🌟s! Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC!

This read was fast paced and an edge of your seat thriller. It was hard to put this book down, because I wanted to know what happened next.

Definitely a popcorn thriller and one that all parents can relate to. The main characters would stop at nothing to protect their foster daughter.

Yes the twists and turns were slightly predictable but this book definitely was a great read.

Chad Zunker has been on my radar for a while and this book was only the second one of his that I have read. I will definitely be reading more of his backlist this year.

Thanks to @netgalley and @amazonpublishing for the advanced reader copy.

#notourdaughter #chadzunker #thomasandmercer

This book did a great job or peaking my interest right away, got a little boring in the middle and took me a bit to keep pushing through. I think it was a decent story line but unfortunately it just felt like a Netflix movie I had seen one too many times. Definitely would check out his other work though.

Not Our Daughter is a pulse-pounding thriller that keeps you on edge from start to finish. The story follows Cole and Lisa Shipley, a couple who, after a chilling tragedy, have been living under assumed identities for over a decade. But their carefully built life is shattered when they’re exposed, forcing them to flee once again—this time with the very child they once sought to protect, now a teenager grappling with shocking revelations.

The novel delivers a compelling mix of suspense, emotional depth, and relentless action. The chase across the western U.S. is intense, with danger lurking at every turn, and the FBI agent on their trail adds a strong cat-and-mouse element. The mystery surrounding that fateful night unravels at a gripping pace, keeping the reader invested in every twist and turn.

The only drawback is that some of the plot points feel slightly implausible, and a few characters could have been more fleshed out. However, the tension and emotional stakes make up for it, delivering a thrilling ride that fans of fast-paced suspense will love. If you enjoy high-stakes mysteries with family drama at their core, Not Our Daughter is well worth the read!

Not Our Daughter by Chad Zunker

What would you be willing to do to keep your child safe? And, if you had to go underground to do so, what do you think would be required? Intriguing premise for the book that had me thinking… “what if?”

What I liked:
* The prologue that set the stage
* Cole & Lisa Shipley: loving, protective, dedicated, bright, strong, resilient, willing to do anything for their daughter, plans made for contingencies, love Jade
* Jade: teenager, celebrating her fourteenth birthday, likes a boy, makes choices that put her and her family at risk, benefited from finally learning her backstory
* Special Agent Mark Burns: divorced, has a teenager, dedicated to work, wants to be closer to his daughter, originally on the Olsen case, comes through for the right side…eventually
* That I cared about the outcome and was hoping that the father, mother, and daughter would eventually find a safe place to land
* Wondering how Cole managed to make the decision he did that ultimately exposed them
* Being able to thoroughly dislike the bad guys and wish Karma to do its worst
* Thinking about the decision that Cole & Lisa made and wondering if I would have done the same
* That it was a fairly straightforward easy to read story that was perhaps predictable but a fun action-packed story that was easy to follow and get immersed in.
* The conclusion and wondering where Cole, Lisa & Jade will be located in the future and what their lives will be like

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about evil wealthy men willing to do anything to protect their own interests

Did I like this book Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

Firstly I think I have been sleeping on Chad Zunker and so sorry good sir. I did not expect to stay up late with this one. Although the daughter almost drove me to insanity when she messaged her boyfriend because teenage love yes.

The book begins 13 years ago when a young couple whose fostering dream is shattered only to get an unexpected visit from the baby's birth mother . Nothing says you can foster than the child's mother bleeding to death on their front doorstep and uttering "He’s coming here…for her! Save her." So the young couple flees until 13 years later when they go on the run again because of an action of love they did. Truly magnificent ,fast paced and a wonderful read.

A family on the run. The FBI is looking for them. Then there's the danger lurking in the background.

This was really good! Fast paced and thrilling, kept me on the edge of my seat biting my nails. I liked the family dynamics, how they always looked out for each other.

This was a great, quick paced novel! I really loved the story line, the fast paced action, and ending. This was a ready set run style novel for sure and it kept me engrossed. I read this in two sittings and couldn’t stop reading once I got to the middle. Highly recommend this novel for anyone that loves a good FBI chase.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for giving me an ARC to enjoy!

Not Our Daughter is a twisty and dramatic thriller, following a high stakes dash across the country by two parents desperate to keep their daughter safe.

Up front - the writing style wasn’t quite my cup of tea, and fell a bit flat at times. The character’s inner dialogues also felt a bit robotic and predictable at times. Overall though, the storyline was engaging and action packed, and moved at a rewarding pace. The various threads and clues came together for a credible and satisfying ending.

I’d recommend this for anyone looking for a quick and easy read with plenty of action and some satisfying reveals. 3.5⭐️

Thank you Thomas & Mercer for a complementary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

This quick and easy read can be done in one sitting. It has about a 3 1/2-hour reading time, and the story's momentum keeps you hooked from the first page. It would be the perfect read for a travel day or a day when you have nothing else to do but read an entire book. If you have a high book goal number for the year, add this one to the list because it is quick and easy.

I'm not entirely sure what to say about this book. It was a good read that kept my attention in the moment, but it was also forgettable enough that I have been struggling with what to write about it. Some things near the end became predictable, but that was ok. By that point, any new twist would have been out of place.

Although this sort of plot (parents on the run to protect adopted daughter) has been used by other authors, Not Our Daughter is an easy read, fast-paced, and well-written. Jade is the typical teenager, fulll of angst and defiance, little does she know why her life will be shattered as she knows it in a few minutes. Cole and Lisa are desperate to keep her safe and will do anything if it means she is safe. The FBI does not believe in the couple's story until they realize there was someone lurking in the shadows and willing to kill the family. Jade's birth mother concealed a big secret about who she is and someone is trying to avoid that it becomes public. Verry entertaining!
I thank the author, his publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Cole and Lisa made an impulsive decision to pack up their new foster daughter Jade and run 13 years ago after her bio-mom died on their doorstep. Now, 13 years later, that has come back to haunt them. They don't know why but there are bad guys after them. And the FBI. The life they built is over and they're on the run again. This is implausible but so fast paced and entertaining that I found myself turning the pages.. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

On The Run With The FBI And A Killer Chasing Them

This novel starts 13 years in the past. Greg and Amy Olsen have been fostering an 11-month-old baby girl, Marcy, for the past eight months. They started the process of adopting her. The least of the many problems for Candice, the biological mother, was drug addiction. In the last months, she cleaned herself up and petitioned to regain custody. The judge approved that petition. The next morning, the Olsens will turn over Marcy. Around midnight, Candice was banging on the Olsen’s door. When Greg opens the door, Candice falls into his arms. He lowers her to the floor. He realizes that she is all bloody. She has been either shot or stabbed in the stomach. She tells him that he is coming for her. They need to leave immediately. He looks out but sees only her car. She begs again for them to go. He says that they no longer have custody of Mandy. She says you do now. After another plea for them to leave immediately, she dies. A rapid-paced novel starts from here.

In this novel, the Olsens use two aliases. For this review, I will use their real names so the aliases do not lead to confusion while reading this review.

This novel has three threads. The first thread is the Olsens on the run from where they have lived for the past 10 years. Their quiet life ends when Greg notices that the FBI is surveilling him. The second thread is the FBI investigation to find and arrest them. The lead is the same FBI Special Agent who initially investigated Candice’s murder 13 years ago. The last thread is the man hired to kill the Olsens and the persons directing and supporting his actions. Greg and Amy had developed a seemingly comfortable life until they made a mistake that brought them to the FBI's attention. Unfortunately, that let the person who wanted them dead before a second chance. The Olsens had planned for another escape, but in execution, the FBI and the killer force them to start improvising quickly without any real time to plan at all. An episode within minutes of leaving his home, Greg is almost killed by this killer. This persistent threat of death on their heels keeps the tension high to the novel’s end. The suspense is maintained by the Olsens trying to figure out who and why someone is trying to kill them and whether they are making the right decisions. The pace was rapid. The chapters are short and focused, and they shift between the three threads. I did not have any problem following this novel’s flow.

The background information in this novel is intertwined with Olsen’s thread. Greg and Amy's strongest trait is their steadfast determination to protect Marcy at all costs. Several times, Greg endangered himself with arrest and even death to ensure that Amy and Marcy could escape safely. The secondary source is provided by Greg and Amy’s analysis of the options for the following action. This novel’s aspect contributed to my reading enjoyment.

There is a C-storyline involving Mandy. She is fourteen and has her first real boyfriend. She only knew about her life in Colorado. She is told that she has five minutes to collect what she wants to take with her because they are leaving for good. While trusting her mother, she is stunned by the speed at which this event is occurring. As they leave their home, she hears sirens approaching. Soon, she starts to rebel. Through these events, the reader will observe her change and mature beyond her age.

Only the violence in the novel appears to be a possible cause for some readers to stop reading. It is described in a more edgy manner as it occurs, but to be truthful, the same level is typical on TV shows. There are not any intimate scenes. I did not find one vulgar word. The lesser offensive, rude language is even lower than I usually do in the other novels I read. Lastly, this is a standalone novel, so there is no worry about missing what has happened in a previous novel.

I have read four standalone novels by this author. This novel only reaffirmed him in my Must-Read category. I enjoyed reading this novel and the previous four, and I look forward to his next novel. If the description of this novel piques your interest, I recommend reading it. I rate this novel with four stars.

I received this novel's free prepublication e-book version through NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer. My review is based solely on my own reading experience. Thank you, Thomas & Mercer, for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

OUT FEB. 11!

🔸on the run
🔸family secrets
🔸fugitives
🔸stolen child
🔸action packed start to finish
🔸edge of your seat
🔸cat and mouse
🔸short, coming in at 229 pages

I will definitely read this author again! I didn’t want to stop reading this, it was so crazy!