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ericaco0's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I feel like it was written in a very expressive way that would be great as a movie. This thriller was slow to build, you felt for the misunderstood main character, and it was written to make you question everyone and stay ok edge. But by the end, I felt like the action fell a little flat. But all-in-all, I thought it was a good read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Addiction, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and Gun violence
cyndi1966's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Abandonment, and Violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
minimicropup's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Was a little skeptical as to how much Iβd enjoy this going in, but it was a good read and had some genuinely scary moments for me.
Energy: Accommodating. Pensive. Vulnerable.
Scene: πΊπΈ South Carolina town of Mirror Lake in May.
Perspective: We follow our main character, an entrepreneur that renovates and flips houses. Their father (recently retired from law enforcement), has passed and they are surprised to find they inherited his house, causing complicated feelings between our MC and their siblings.
π Howls: Little parts leading up to the ending felt rushed to tie up plot points. I hated some of the characters and their lack of communication making them such jerks.
π© Tail Wags: The unease and mysteries. Hazel navigating family and personal mysteries. The scenes and settings. The overall plot and its execution.
π€ Random Thoughts:
This is both dialogue and plot-driven, with character study bits sprinkled throughout via little monologues.
Yay finally, a house with a layout thatβs described and consistent! It added to the scares around things going βthumpβ in the night. Read at night for best results, preferably when home alone.
I like the high stakes action scene being brief and intense. I tend to zone out when action scenes go on for too long or people are scattered about and I canβt figure out where they all are. Thereβs some room to imaging how things turn out for everyone long term if you donβt like everything being tied up in a neat little bow.
----
π€ Reader Role: Caught in the mystery, assembling clues and figuring out who to trust alongside Hazel.
πΊοΈ World-Building: Rustic, foreboding, and atmospheric. I had no problem imagining the town, houses, and picking up the vibes.
π₯ Fuel: What are all these cars from missing persons in the lake? Why was Hazel left her fatherβs house? Why do so many of the mothers in this town abandon their families? Are the police trustworthy? Is Hazelβs family trustworthy? Is someone stalking Hazel?
π Cred: Realistic to plausible
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Spring. Moss. Evergreens. Cool breeze. Brittle grass. Wood rot. Lake waves. Boat engines. Cracked earth.
- A sprinkling of romantic tension and rekindling old flames
- Puzzle piecing and amateur sleuthing family and town secrets
Content Heads-Up: Drought. Heart attack. Parental abandonment (as teen). Loss of a parent. Gun violence. Betrayal. Murder. Sibling rivalry. Missing persons. Infidelity. Car accident. Alcohol (self-medicating). Corruption. Addiction (opioids, alcohol). Suicide (implied).
Rep: Diverse skin tones. Cisgender. Heterosexual. American.
π Format: Library Digital
My musings π powered by puppy snuggles πΆ
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Gun violence, Murder, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction and Suicide
shesflippinpages's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, Addiction, Death of parent, Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Drug use, and Violence
bringmybooks's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
β¨Bringβ¨ | Borrow | Bypass
Thank you to NetGalley, Marysue Ricci Books, and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.
Notes: I have genuinely REALLY enjoyed every single Megan Miranda book I've read (this is the 8th!) and I think she's only gotten better with each one. This one had a lot of red herrings, a lot of small twists and bigger twists, and was near impossible to put down!
Here's my "official" ranking of the ones I've read thus far:
1. The Perfect Stranger (2017)
2. The Only Survivors (2023)
3. Daughter of Mine (2024)
3. All the Missing Girls (2016)
4. The Last House Guest (2019)
5. The Last to Vanish (2022)
6. The Girl from Widow Hills (2020)
7. Such a Quiet Place (2021)
Overall Rating: β β β β / 4.13
Rating each element of the book out of 5β
Characters β β β β
Atmosphere β β β β
Writing β β β β
Plot β β β
Intrigue β β β β
Logic β β β
Enjoyment β β β β
Pacing β β β β
Dialogue β β β
β did not like / β β it was okay / β β β liked it / β β β β really liked it / β β β β β loved it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Car accident, Addiction, and Gun violence
Minor: Suicide
lovelymisanthrope's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I picked this up because I have enjoyed Megan Miranda in the past and was curious about her new release.
"Daughter of Mine" follows Hazel Sharp. Hazel's father was the beloved detective of the small town of Mirror Lake, a place Hazel ran from years ago. Following his passing, Hazel learns that she inherited his house, much to the protests of her two brothers. Hazel's return to Mirror Lake stirs up more than sibling jealousy however when she discovers an abandoned car in the lake behind the family house, and the car may be linked to a decade's old crime.
This was a fine, fun mystery. Hazel was a fine character to read from, and I enjoyed her confident persona and her approach to not take attitude from anyone.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this story while I read it, but it was not super memorable for me. I think the mystery was well thought out, and although I did not see the ending coming, I was not surprised either. There was something about this story that did not grip me, but I still had a very fine time.
I will definitely keep Megan Miranda on my radar in the future.
"Daughter of Mine" follows Hazel Sharp. Hazel's father was the beloved detective of the small town of Mirror Lake, a place Hazel ran from years ago. Following his passing, Hazel learns that she inherited his house, much to the protests of her two brothers. Hazel's return to Mirror Lake stirs up more than sibling jealousy however when she discovers an abandoned car in the lake behind the family house, and the car may be linked to a decade's old crime.
This was a fine, fun mystery. Hazel was a fine character to read from, and I enjoyed her confident persona and her approach to not take attitude from anyone.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this story while I read it, but it was not super memorable for me. I think the mystery was well thought out, and although I did not see the ending coming, I was not surprised either. There was something about this story that did not grip me, but I still had a very fine time.
I will definitely keep Megan Miranda on my radar in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Gun violence, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content
bmpicc's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Typical thriller, but with an almost dystopian feeling plot point. What if it didn't rain for so long that the lakes started to dry up? What WOULD we find?? Not really a spoiler; we learn this in the first few pages. This was a fun one to try and solve & Miranda remains a Favorite Author of Mine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Death of parent
aileron's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence and Car accident
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Suicide
booklvrkat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Hazelβs family is cracked. When she arrives from out of town because her stepfather recently passed, she finds out that he has left the lake house to her solely. This was entirely surprising to her since sheβs not Perryβs blood relation, and her mother left her when she was younger. Not surprisingly, her brothers are incensed with her windfall of the house, her best friend is married to one of them, and her high-school boyfriend is now back in town. Family secrets unfold on top of the mysterious story as each chapter unfolds, marked by βdays without rainβ, a car has been found in the lake, and Hazel leans into her suspicions on the owner of the car.
As each car was surfacing, as each secret expanded, my mind was constantly spinning with each hint given. The lake house was creepy enough, but I cheered when Hazel made the decision to upgrade the home security, much to the dismay of her brothers. A small-town mystery, secrets cloaked in shadows and citizens that might not actually believe her kept me keenly listening. InΓ©s del Castillo, narrator, holds us in the palm of her hand until the very last reveal. Amazingly fast read, if you like suspenseful mysteries, this is a good one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident and Drug use
hollispaige's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
From start to finish this book kept me coming back for more. A lot of thriller books are very heavy on the detective being the main character, and i liked that this one had them involved and not main characters.
holy moly twists and turns! at one point would i have guessed the killer correctly? yes. toward the end though, i truthfully donβt know how i expected the story to unfold!
holy moly twists and turns! at one point would i have guessed the killer correctly? yes. toward the end though, i truthfully donβt know how i expected the story to unfold!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Suicide