Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for allowing me to read this book in advance.

I really enjoyed this book. It was gripping for the most part and I found myself cheering for the main character at the end. A difficult read as it deals with issues like sexual abuse and death and house fires but felt certain bits dragged on.

Would recommend.

A full review has been left on Goodreads

The Good Daughter is immediately immersive, I was saddened and shocked by the attack.

I am glad Penny cared for her mother. This is an immersive, well-written novel that shows what it really means to
be a good daughter.

5 stars

Thanks to J.A. Baker and Boldwood Books for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

Thank you Net Gallery for the book. It was very enjoyable, very entertaining, lots of twists and turns. I loved the characters. The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that it kept me reading way past midnight, I couldn't put it down! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝...𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐀 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐀 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭.

Opening with a shocking, deeply unsettling sexual assault on a minor, THE GOOD DAUGHTER is the story of Penny, the good girl whom no one believed when she said someone was watching her. So after the assault, she told no one, fearful of not being believed.

Twenty years have passed, and Penny still tries hard to be good. She cares for her mother, who is being consumed by the ravages of Alzheimer's, and tries not to think about the past. But her mother is lost in two world, the present and the past, and when her mother inexplicably brings up some things that happened the night Penny was assaulted, she wonders if her mother knew more than she let on.

Penny's ethics are tested when she's called for jury duty and comes face-to-face with her attacker, accused of the very same crime. One look at his smug, arrogant face, and she knows she will do anything to sway her peers into finding him guilty. This good girl will have vengeance one way or another.

I found this to be a compelling read with a sympathetic main character that I absolutely rooted for and cheered on. She wasn't one of the unhinged, bloodthirsty MCs that are so popular right now, but she was someone real, whose pain could be felt through the pages. She most definitely was a victim, not just of a brutal crime, but of the justice system and the loved ones who fail these women and victimize them all over again. Highly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the early read. This book published April 5, 2025.

I couldn't finish this. I'm not sure why but at the time I just really couldn't get into it which was depressing g to me. I am going to try to read it again next month. I'm not sure what the deal was but I just wasn't hooked from the beginning.

The Good Daughter by J A Baker is another chilling story that took me on a wild ride.
A slow burn suspense filled with twists that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
An intriguing story with characters who draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.

Huge thanks to Boldwood Books, as well as to NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Hush Little Baby!!

This books opens with a harrowing SA which is difficult to read.

Moving on from that I found the story line to be gripping but fairly difficult to stay on top of as it’s dual POV and dual timeline.

That said the actual plot is very clever and I found it to be very unique to anything I’ve read before. I very much recommend it to those that feel they can handle the potential triggers. But note this is a dark emotional book.

Thank you Boldwood Books, Netgalley and J A Baker for the e Arc of The Good Daughter.
Narrated by Melanie Crawley

Ooo this book packed a punch! J A Baker is a new author to me and she has a writing style that draws you in straight away. There are some triggers and some deep subjects that have been written about within the plot line. I felt that this author wrote about these in a sensitive but realistic way. Our characters and especially Penny , our MC was very well built and my heart. went out to her a lot.

The pacing of the plot line was constant with a few twists and the direction is pretty clear from the off. The finale is bitter sweet but a good one.
Melanie Crawley Narrated this book and found her voice really suited this sort of psychological thriller.

4 stars

A slow start to this book and quite distressing at times but it developed into a gripping story . Well worth a read.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

This is a gripping and at times disturbing psychological thriller . It’s one of those books that reeled me right in as soon as I started it . Twenty years after being attacked by someone she knew Penny has the chance to get her revenge and no matter what she is determined to do everything in her power to achieve this . Whilst she is trying to see justice prevail she is also dealing with her mother who is suffering with dementia . Life certainly isn’t easy for Penny . This book was a real page turner for me and I couldn’t wait to get to the final chapter to find out what the outcome would be . This is a dark read in places with some very unsavoury characters . This was a book that was packed with tension and trauma until the final chapter

This was a slow burn of a tale, and I did wonder if it was too slow for me, however I’m glad I continued as this is a good domestic thriller, that as it unwrapped, I was caught up in the emotions of Penny’s past and her current situation in the courtroom and her mum’s story of what happened in the house when the family moved there. I wanted justice for Penny and her family. I loved the twist in the story that I didn’t see coming until it was happening. Read over 2 sittings I’d recommend this book.

When we first meet Penny she is a young teenager living in a remote farmhouse, a house which is filled with shadows and discontent. When Penny is brutally assaulted in her home by someone she recognises she is too scared to share this experience and carries it locked deep within her. Twenty years later and Penny has the opportunity to seek her own form of revenge but that in itself will have far reaching consequences.

Told in two distinct timeframes, we start to build up a picture of who Penny is, the memories she carries, and also the effect that living in this remote and quite austere house has had on her elderly mother who is now widowed and in the early stages of dementia. There’s a definite sense of the past being unpicked and with each revelation we begin to understand the overwhelming power of secrets. The two narratives merge quite seamlessly and I enjoyed the sympathetic depiction of Connie, Penny’s mother, who had her own demons to face.

Well written, with a dramatic and intriguing storyline The Good Daughter made for uncomfortable reading at times however, there was more than enough drama to keep me turning the pages of this intriguing psychological suspense story.

Penny Collins has spent the last twenty years living with the scars of a brutal assault—one so traumatic, she never spoke of it again, except to her mother, who tragically didn’t believe her. Now, as fate would have it, Penny is summoned for jury duty… and comes face to face with the man she’s convinced is her attacker. Torn between the ethical obligation to disclose her connection and the burning desire for justice, Penny faces an impossible choice: should she speak up, or stay silent and try to sway the verdict from inside the jury box?

This novel is masterfully written, with a dual timeline and POV structure that peels back the layers of Penny’s past while keeping you guessing at every turn. The tension simmers and intensifies with every chapter, and the emotional depth is both raw and compelling. J.A. Baker has crafted a thriller that’s not only suspenseful, but also deeply human. I couldn’t put it down—and I highly recommend it to readers who love smart, twisty thrillers with heart.

It's been a while since I've read a book by Baker, I'd forgotten how good they are.

The Good Daughter starts on the dark subject of a serious sexual assault, and the ripple effects of this continue to reverberate throughout the book in decades to come.

Narrated by both mother and daughter, and interwoven across dual timelines it's an intense read that's full of suspense and drama.

The characters are credible and the author's attention to detail is excellent.

A tough but compelling page turner.

The Good Daughter
by J A Baker
Pub Date: Apr 05 2025

The Good Daughter is a gripping psychological thriller that alternates between the past and the present. Full of dark, difficult subject matter, with themes of sexual assault and trauma at its core, a solid, emotionally intense novel that confronts trauma with ruthless honesty.

I liked the story, it was very engaging. Most of all I enjoyed the way the past-present storytelling was portrayed with present day following Penny, and the past following the story of the house. I highly recommend this 5 star read!

Synopsis: As a teenager, Penny Collins always tried to be a good daughter. Until the night she was brutally attacked as she lay in her bed. The assault, from a man she knew all too well, traumatised Penny. Worse still, after her family refused to believe her initial fears about being watched, Penny told nobody, afraid her family would be convinced she was making the whole thing up...So when Penny comes face to face with her attacker again, she knows it’s time for her to take action and get answers for them all. This time he's in the dock where he belongs, accused of the same terrible crime. And Penny, a good daughter and now a good citizen, sits on the jury - his fate finally in her hands...

Many thanks to #TheGoodDaughter #NetGalley and #BoldWoodBooks for providing me with an E-ARC of this fantastic psychological thriller!

Another great read from the author, a well written storyline that held my interest from start to finish. Touching on delicate subject matter but done so in a delicate way. Flitting between past and present we learn how Penny was assaulted as a 14 year old and felt there was nothing she could do about it but now as an adult there is a chance of getting justice or is it revenge.

The Good Daughter by J. A. Baker is a haunting and emotionally charged psychological thriller that bravely delves into dark, difficult subject matter. With themes of sexual assault and trauma at its core, this novel is not for the faint of heart and absolutely warrants a content warning for sensitive readers. However, for those prepared to face its challenging themes, the story delivers a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of justice, memory, and the long shadow of abuse.

At the center of the novel is Penny, a character whose pain is palpable and whose determination is unwavering. Having survived a horrific attack in her youth, Penny finds herself—years later—on the jury for the trial of the man she believes destroyed her life. While this premise stretches the bounds of courtroom reality, it serves as a compelling framework for Penny’s deeply personal quest for justice—not only for herself but for others affected by the same predator.

Baker crafts a slow-burning narrative that suits the gravity of the subject matter, allowing space for psychological depth and character development. The use of multiple perspectives enriches the storytelling, providing a fuller view of the events and the emotional weight carried by each character. The layers unfold gradually, building suspense and emotional complexity with each chapter.

The Good Daughter is a well-constructed, emotionally intense novel that confronts trauma with unflinching honesty. J. A. Baker handles the subject with care and nuance, creating a story that is both unsettling and deeply human. It’s a story of survival, of reclaiming power, and ultimately, of seeking truth in a system that so often fails the vulnerable.

This book hits hard. There are some difficult topics, but I am so glad they were approached and in a very realistic way. The author really gave your the feel that the victim had and we saw the aftermath of it, especially without her family being a support system. It was heartbreaking and then we saw the twists start to take hold. The author threw the different perspectives and timeframes at us, really giving us a feel for events. We also got to see between Penny and the mother, whom I really did not care for.
Then the ultimate twist and Penny is able to get revenge, or at least attempt to, and in a perfectly legal way. Oh what he must have felt when he looked up and saw her in the jury. Oh how she must have felt to have his fate in her hands. I could get the sense for all of this from the detailed and brilliant writing of the author. I found this book so engaging. It did, again have tough topics, but ones we need to talk about to help those going through it and to show how important it is to believe victims and fight for justice. Great read.

The Good Daughter by J.A Baker is a compelling psychological thriller that delves into the trauma of a brutal attack and it's lingering effects.

Penny Collins has spent the past twenty years trying to overcome a horrific assault in her room when she was a young teenager. Unable to heal her trauma, Penny has just buried the assault and not told anyone except her mother who didn't believe her at the time. But now Penny is called for jury duty and to her utter shock she recognizes the defendant. It is her attacker. She knows that she must tell the court that she has a conflict of interest but what if she doesn't? If she is on the jury, she could potentially help send her attacker to jail. She knows this man is guilty and what he is capable of, but should she try to influence the jury to find him guilty?

This book is definitely packed full of emotional depth and twists. The tension builds steadily and keeps you on edge as the dual timeline and dual POV help you uncover everything that really happened twenty years ago. This is definitely a thriller that I would recommend to readers who love an emotionally charged read!

Thank you to NetGalley, J.A Baker, and Boldwood Books for this ARC! Publication date is April 5th 2025.

Penny was raped as a teenager. As an adult she finds herself on jury duty, with her attacker in the dock for a similar crime. The story is told as a series of flashbacks. Penny’s teenage story is interspersed between her days in court.

The story is well written, with the harrowing details of the attack sensitively handled. The author gradually reveals the long term impact it has had on all members of the family.

I was expecting a twist at the end, which never comes, but justice is served, which makes for a satisfying ending.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.