Thirteen years ago Cole and Lisa Shipley fled with their foster daughter after her mother came to them bleeding, dying, and begging them to hide her. The longer they ran, the guiltier they looked.

This one is a wild ride from start to finish. If you’re in the mood for action packed thriller with a well bonded family, this is it. The aren’t really any twists and the mystery is pretty straight forward, but that’s okay because there’s so much intense action.

“Life was basically normal here. Well, as normal as it could get when they were still on the FBI’s most wanted list.”

Not Our Daughter comes out 2/11.

Publishing Feb 11

Cole and Lisa had been fostering an infant with hopes of adopting her. That morning, however, a judge ruled that her bio mother be given custody. Then, that evening, bio mom showed up having been stabbed, telling them they aren't safe. So, Cole and Lisa dropped everything in their comfortable life, and ran.

This story meets up with a just turned 14 Jade, after a financial transaction pings the FBI's radar and the family is on the run once again. It's not just wall to wall action, there's a lot of heart in this one. And Jade is an authentically written teenager ;)

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I have been reading Chad Zunker books for several years now and I have become a fan of his writing. Not Our Daughter is another one of his novels that does not disappoint. Like many of his books, this one is a fast-paced and leaves the reader on the edge of their seat with some mystery sprinkled in to keep you guessing.

At the center of this story are Cole and Lisa Shipley, who have a secret past that not even their teenage daughter, Maddie, knows about. After thirteen years of leading a normal life, the family must go on the run because their past is catching up with them. To further complicate the situation is that Maddie doesn’t understand why they are running and soon begins to question her parents’ motives especially when the FBI and more dangerous characters are involved in the pursuit of her family. Despite everything, Lisa and Cole Shipley will do anything to protect their daughter, but will they be able to convince her that they have her best interests at heart? You must read Not Our Daughter to find out what happens.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

#NotOurDaughter, #ChadZunker, #Netgalley

I am a sucker for a quick paced thriller! I was rooting for the main characters to have their happy ending. The only thing that lacked was the ending of this story. The twist unraveled too quickly to the characters. The FBI agent just said 'oh my bad, you guys are good now' and accepted the killer was the killer all these years later when he was insistent that MMC and FMC were the killers all that time. This book could of been a few extra pages longer to help round out the ending and not make it feel so hard stopped.
I did like it though and that is why it received 4 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

I received an ARC through "NetGalley" and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The story begins 13 tears earlier where Greg and Amy Olsen have just learned that Marcy, the baby they were taking care of as foster parents, had just learned in court that the natural mother was to be given custody. That night Greg gets up because someone has been banging on the door. When he opens the door Candace, Marcy's mother, tell Greg to take Marcy and get away because they are in danger. Marcy has been stabbed and is dying. Greg gets Amy and the baby and the disappear.

Mark Burns, the FBI agent on the murder of Candace, discovers that one of the items they flagged and which had been idle for 13 years just was active. Mark immediately contacts the FBI in Colo. to get someone to get pictures of the individual that the flagged item identified. The agent sent pictures of Cole, Lisa and Jade Shipley to Mark. After examining the pictures, he realized that this people were the ones that disappeared on the case he was working. Mark immediately got a team to go to Colorado to arrest them. It seems that there was another party interested and had other plans than Mark.

Read along as the Shipley's try to avoid Mark as well as Brock, the other person on the hunt. Learn what steps Cole took as he tried to protect his family and how Mark was able to eventually catch up with them. Discover who the other party was that Cole tried to evade and what the basis as to why it was so important.

The ending is great. Don't miss this book. You will be sorry.

I like fast and easy to read novels like this one, and with a good plot and excellent characters, this is a very entertaining book.

Oh wow! Chad Zunker is a new to me author and I’m so happy to have found him! I will most definitely be reading more of his works. The characters were fantastic. Super relatable in every sense of the word. This was packed with nail biting tension, loads of action and an incredibly tender family love story. I stayed up way past my bedtime reading. Could not put it down. Don’t let this gem pass you by.
Thank you NetGalley, Chad Zunker and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a new author for me and I really enjoyed this book. I was engaged from the first page and add in all the plot twists and turns kept me reading till the end. Great characters and riveting read. The only downside to the book and this is personal preference, I thought it should have had an epiloge.

This story was heart pounding. A total page turner. The court system has failed to given them adoption of the baby they have fostered. The birth mother comes to their house and dies. Thus the mystery of why and who killed her. On the run for over 13 years the couple and the child are on the run to keep alive. The FBI is involved. The race is one to find them and boy oh boy was this a good story. I stayed up way to late reading this one.

Not Our Daughter by Chad Zunker is a gripping, fast-paced thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat—just don’t expect to sit back and relax! Thirteen years after a mysterious death and a hasty escape, Cole and Lisa Shipley are forced to run once more when Cole is framed for another murder. This time, they’re not alone: their teenage daughter, now awakening to the secrets of her past, is caught in the middle of a dangerous game where trust is a luxury they can’t afford.

Zunker weaves a tension-filled narrative that never lets up, with the family’s perilous flight across the western U.S. keeping readers hooked. The pacing is relentless, and the shifting perspectives add depth to the story, especially as the daughter begins to uncover the horrifying truth. But while the action is constant, some moments feel a bit predictable, and certain character developments don’t quite land as strongly as they could.

Still, Not Our Daughter is an enjoyable thriller for fans of suspense with plenty of twists and a hefty dose of family drama. The stakes are high, the danger is real, and while the ending may leave you wanting a bit more, the journey is still worth the ride.

I really wish this one was a little longer. I wanted more of the back story of the mom and them going through the process of adopting. Seemed a little rushed but I did like it!

Not Our Daughter started off at full speed and never let up! The action and suspense did not hold back keeping me fully engrossed in the story. I finished this in one day, because I needed to know how it would all end.

Greg, Amy and Marcy are a family that encounters more than their fair share of obstacles, yet consistently fights to stay together, even when the odds are stacked against them. Mark Burns is an FBI Special Agent who has been trying to solve a case that is more than a decade old. In so many ways, this action-packed read reminded me of the movie The Fugitive with Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? I really enjoyed this one! And yes...this is another book that I can visualise being made into a movie. I'd buy a ticket!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I especially enjoyed the Texas and Colorado settings, two places that I am very familiar with.

4.00 stars
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TW: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity
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This heart-racing book about a family who will stop at nothing to protect their daughter will keep you on the edge of your seat. Thirteen years ago, Cole and Lisa Shipley were fostering an infant in hopes of adopting her and raising her as their own. On the night after the judge denies their petition to adopt, the biological mother turns up on their doorstep begging them to leave town and take their daughter with them.

On the run, and wanted for murder - the family has changed their names and has decided to lay low. Things were tense in the first few years, but they seemed to have calmed down. That is until Cole pulls out a large sum of money to pay for surgery for his daughter. This seemingly innocent thing sets off a domino effect, that sends the family on the run again.

This will keep you on the edge of your seat, the family is running from the law, and you want them to get away. While rooting for them, there's a large sense of dread about what happens if they are caught. It isn't until about 75% into the book, the FBI finally catch on that perhaps Cole wasn't the one to murder Jade's biological mom all those years ago. There's been another man after the family trying to murder them, and that same man was caught at the scene of the crime years ago but was ruled out of the question.
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I would like to thank Thomas & Mercer, Chad Zunker, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review Not Our Daughter by Chad Zunker in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions formulated in this review are my own. Not Our Daughter is scheduled to publish on February 11th, 2025, you can preorder your copy today!

I enjoyed this one although I wasn’t compelled by the description to get to it quickly. Still, that’s more a reflection of personal preference than anything else. Great pacing and storytelling.

This was a non-stop thriller as Cole and Lisa flee the FBI and an assassin with their daughter Jade. The book opens with a couple having to give up the baby they wanted to adopt to her birth mother, when in the middle of the night the mother shows up at their house after being stabbed, tells them to keep her daughter safe, and then dies. The couple has been on the run ever since, with the FBI convinced they killed the baby's mother.

Now the FBI agent involved in the case finally tracks them down through a money transfer. However, someone else has also found them and is ready to silence the entire family at any cost. This is a book that you can't put down, definitely readable in one day. It was clever and fun to read!

Not Our Daughter by Chad Zunker is a highly recommended novel of suspense following a family on the run.

Greg and Amy Olsen were going to adopt the baby they were fostering, Marcy, when the court gave the birth mother, Candace, custody. That night Candace turns up at their house, covered in blood, and begs for them to immediately run away and save Marcy because "He's coming here... for her." She dies on their doorstep and Greg and Amy went on the run to protect their daughter. Thirteen years later they are living under the radar as Cole and Lisa Shipley and daughter Jade in a small Colorado town.

When Cole withdrawals money from a Cayman Islands account to treat Jade’s scoliosis. Since they were suspected in the death of Candace, the account was being monitored so the withdrawal triggers a new FBI manhunt. FBI agent Mark Burns, who was on the original case, is immediately in pursuit. Making their situation more perilous is the fact that the man who killed Candace is now also hunting for them.

This is a well-written, classic cat and mouse trope of pursuit and escape. Here an innocent family is on the run being pursued by the known and unknown. They have to use their wits and attention to details to evade being captured while sending evidence of their innocence to the FBI. You'll be cheering the family on and hope they can escape the clutches of the FBI, police, and the mystery man.

The plot moves at a lightning fast pace and the tension is high right to the end. The short page counts make this a quick read that will keep you engaged throughout. It can be a bit predictable, but there are more surprises and twists along the way that will keep your interest high.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Amazing thriller, lots of suspense and twists.

It did not disappoint,

I will check out the backlist on this author.

Love love loved this! Twists and turns and things I didn’t anticipate or expect.. it had me thinking I knew when i truly had no clue!

4 solid stars and worth the recommendation to all thriller lovers!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Woah action packed from start to finish. This book hits close to home and makes you really think about life and decisions you make

Family on the run. Hired hitman. One determined FBI agent.

The story did keep me hooked til the end. I did find it hard at first to get into the multiple point of views in this story.

The story wrapped up nice but something seemed a little off but I can't place it.

Overall was a good book. Kept me hooked but was somewhat predictable story wise.

I want to thank NetGalley & Thomas & Mercer for the advance readers copy.