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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
mysterious
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:
No
The Murderer’s Daughter follows the life of a woman who is the daughter of a murderer, as the title implies. However, I think the title is a bit misleading. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the murdering part of her parentage isn’t really what shaped her life. It’s the part that comes before and after it.
The main character, Grace, though, is a tremendously gifted child, who is fortunate enough to land in a situation where her talents are fostered. Her interest in psychology and eventual career allows her to help other victims of trauma, but also creates an interesting twist when her past and present collide.
I did like the narrative style of weaving the story of her past with her present, so it is like the unwrapping of many presents. It is almost two stories in one. It is the story of how she became the woman she is, which is highly guarded, private, and solitary, while also the story of how she is seeking to find out the identity of who is trying to kill her because she doesn’t want to take her story to the police.
I love the main character, although the story borders on far-fetched. There are just too many convenient circumstances to make the book “tidy” and wrap-up nicely for my taste. While there were unexpected twists and turns, I just kept thinking “this is all too convenient” as I read the novel. It was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end, so I could read the conclusion, which was well done, in my opinion. However, in my opinion, I just just kept coming back to the fact that everything wrapped up too well. I don’t know if that was to keep the book a readable length or to keep it simple. But, for a psychological thriller, there was a ton of psychology and not as much thrilling!
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to give an honest review of this book!
The main character, Grace, though, is a tremendously gifted child, who is fortunate enough to land in a situation where her talents are fostered. Her interest in psychology and eventual career allows her to help other victims of trauma, but also creates an interesting twist when her past and present collide.
I did like the narrative style of weaving the story of her past with her present, so it is like the unwrapping of many presents. It is almost two stories in one. It is the story of how she became the woman she is, which is highly guarded, private, and solitary, while also the story of how she is seeking to find out the identity of who is trying to kill her because she doesn’t want to take her story to the police.
I love the main character, although the story borders on far-fetched. There are just too many convenient circumstances to make the book “tidy” and wrap-up nicely for my taste. While there were unexpected twists and turns, I just kept thinking “this is all too convenient” as I read the novel. It was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end, so I could read the conclusion, which was well done, in my opinion. However, in my opinion, I just just kept coming back to the fact that everything wrapped up too well. I don’t know if that was to keep the book a readable length or to keep it simple. But, for a psychological thriller, there was a ton of psychology and not as much thrilling!
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to give an honest review of this book!
Interesting enough to hold my attention, not interesting enough to awe me. I could smell the ending 5 miles away.
I was given this book by Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, I am already a fan of Jonathan Kellerman and I have already read several of his books. I love Alex and Milo. I think they are both great characters. Even though this was a stand alone novel, I am hoping that we see more of Grace in his future novels.
I loved the flashbacks to her life as a child and growing up in the foster care system. I thought that it added to who she was a person and showed me why she was the way she was. The flashbacks were my favorite part of the story. I wish there had been a little more information on those 3 other kids that showed up at the last foster home that she was in, especially since they played such a large part in the present day part of the novel. I also wish that there was more of an explanation as to why one of them came looking for her. I was a bit confused by that part of the book, and I didn't really feel that I got everything answered at the end. I was left hanging. I felt that the part involving her searching for the 3 other foster kids was too rushed, and it didn't really fit in neatly with the rest of the story. It felt like it could/should have been a different book altogether.
Overall, I did enjoy this book very much. I hope there are either more books with Grace, or that she is incorporated into his other books. She is a very strong character and I would like to see her more.
First of all, I am already a fan of Jonathan Kellerman and I have already read several of his books. I love Alex and Milo. I think they are both great characters. Even though this was a stand alone novel, I am hoping that we see more of Grace in his future novels.
I loved the flashbacks to her life as a child and growing up in the foster care system. I thought that it added to who she was a person and showed me why she was the way she was. The flashbacks were my favorite part of the story. I wish there had been a little more information on those 3 other kids that showed up at the last foster home that she was in, especially since they played such a large part in the present day part of the novel. I also wish that there was more of an explanation as to why one of them came looking for her. I was a bit confused by that part of the book, and I didn't really feel that I got everything answered at the end. I was left hanging. I felt that the part involving her searching for the 3 other foster kids was too rushed, and it didn't really fit in neatly with the rest of the story. It felt like it could/should have been a different book altogether.
Overall, I did enjoy this book very much. I hope there are either more books with Grace, or that she is incorporated into his other books. She is a very strong character and I would like to see her more.
Extreme narcissist decides vigilante justice is the way to go after years of doing nothing and not giving a shit. Who does she hunt and kill? No fucking clue. I think they were named Typhon and Samael but then they weren't, but then one shows up for our heroine to fuck, but then he dies, I think it was Typhon, and the sister of the multi-monikered - or maybe she wasn't really a sister - was killed in a fire - no wait! she's alive and looking listless about getting fucked in the ass (you can tell by the angle, apparently.) By her brother! Or maybe by someone else - I don't really know and, more importantly, I. Do. Not. Care.
I think Kellerman was trying really hard to add a bunch of red herrings like you might find in a traditional mystery but instead he ends up with a bunch of random scenes of various bit players who don't advance the barely existent plot line that works its way into some completely mundane development deal thing, and a WHOLE LOT of unnecessary back story with a ton of holes and the alleged bad guys changing names so many times I genuinely don't know who our heroine was hunting, who she kills, or why.
So why that generous second star? The back story - on its own, it would have been an interesting story about a troubled child and would explain some of our heroine's more obnoxious behaviors. Unfortunately, that also falls apart at the end when everyone gets hit by a bus - I mean a drunk driver - and it is unclear if this was the doing of our many-monikered alleged evil-doers or a coincidence, or an easy writing technique to not have to deal with these characters in the present day portions of the book.
Oh yeah, there's also a lot of driving. To nowhere. Like, pages of it.
I do have a bunch of sexist/feminist thoughts (depending on the angle you'd like to take) about how this book is a by-men-for-men thing, but I'll let them go because this review sounds pretty bitter already and I think I've already successfully deterred you from reading it. You're welcome.
I think Kellerman was trying really hard to add a bunch of red herrings like you might find in a traditional mystery but instead he ends up with a bunch of random scenes of various bit players who don't advance the barely existent plot line that works its way into some completely mundane development deal thing, and a WHOLE LOT of unnecessary back story with a ton of holes and the alleged bad guys changing names so many times I genuinely don't know who our heroine was hunting, who she kills, or why.
So why that generous second star? The back story - on its own, it would have been an interesting story about a troubled child and would explain some of our heroine's more obnoxious behaviors. Unfortunately, that also falls apart at the end when everyone gets hit by a bus - I mean a drunk driver - and it is unclear if this was the doing of our many-monikered alleged evil-doers or a coincidence, or an easy writing technique to not have to deal with these characters in the present day portions of the book.
Oh yeah, there's also a lot of driving. To nowhere. Like, pages of it.
I do have a bunch of sexist/feminist thoughts (depending on the angle you'd like to take) about how this book is a by-men-for-men thing, but I'll let them go because this review sounds pretty bitter already and I think I've already successfully deterred you from reading it. You're welcome.
3 1/2 stars...I really enjoyed this novel and was completely wrapped in it until the last 50-75 pages...I found the ending to be flat and it took me two evenings just to get through it.
This was my first book by Johnathan Kellerman. It's a stand-alone novel introducing the psychologically interesting character of Grace Blades. Switching effortlessly between past and present, Grace's upbringing going from abusive parents to years in the foster system and finally her miraculous journey to becoming an extremely successful therapist is described in a compelling way. I thoroughly enjoyed this side of the story. As for the present-day part of the story, while it was filled with action and mystery, I found myself skimming those passages that contained overly long driving directions and descriptions. That's my main reason for the 4 instead of 5 stars.
I wouldn't really classify this as a thriller, but it's a remarkable character study with a nice mystery element. It gets better and better as it progresses and the conclusion, though not really believable, was totally satisfying.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
I wouldn't really classify this as a thriller, but it's a remarkable character study with a nice mystery element. It gets better and better as it progresses and the conclusion, though not really believable, was totally satisfying.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
I am a HUGE Kellerman fan and was so intrigued to see a non-Delaware title. Of course, the book exists in the Delaware-verse, so we got a brief appearance. Any fans of Kellerman will appreciate this story with the same pace, twists, and LA atmosphere he is known for. There were times the story felt a bit long, and sections where the main character Grace Blades was more a caricature than a fully realized person, but I can live with it for an engrossing story.
The Murderer’s Daughter by Jonathan Kellerman is a 2015 Random House publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The first thing one should know up front is that this is NOT an Alex Delaware mystery, although Alex does manage to have his name dropped once. This story is told from the personal perspective of a psychologist, Grace Blades.
Grace is a success, despite her rough start in life, but is still haunted by her past, and perhaps you might question her mental health on more than one occasion. But, then her past presents itself in what was at first an awkward and embarrassing situation, that quickly turns deadly and dangerous. As Grace searches for answers, her memories come to the forefront of her mind as she tells the story of how she became a murderer’s daughter and how she coped, and managed to survive to become a doctor, and why she has so much empathy for her patients. But, as her story unfolds, we see another side of Grace that is sad, unnerving, and chilling, but is also brave, and too smart for her own good…
I honestly had no preconceived notions when I started this book. I knew it was not a part of the long running Delaware series, and I had heard some positive buzz about it prior to its official release. However, I do confess to thinking this book would probably follow some kind of traditional mystery trope or formula, which is not the case.
This is an interesting way of presenting a crime and Grace’s role in the developments that took place in her young life and how it all comes back to haunt her in adulthood. Her character is certainly fascinating. She’s a lone wolf, takes uncalled for risk, is a bit eccentric and her mental health may not be on par with what people consider normal, but it is like a defense mechanism, and of course her attitude, feelings, and actions will leave you feeling conflicted.
In some ways she is like an anti-hero, but I found myself fascinated by her narrative, and could understand her at times, since I am an extreme introvert. Many things Grace craved, such as solitude and time to read, are things I will do anything to achieve. So, while some will not know how to take her, I actually liked her.
While this is certainly not a traditional crime story or mystery, there is action, some very tense moments, and a lot of dark subject matter. However, it’s almost like reading Grace’s personal journals or maybe like reading a memoir, and she makes a compelling character study and is quite analytical.
Once I finished the book, I was not sure about my feelings for it. But, the more I think about it, the more I see its merits and have concluded it was a good story, a little outside the box, but very thought provoking. Its unconventional style could throw Kellerman’s fans off a little bit, since this book is nothing at all like anything else he’s written, that I know of. But, I would urge people to approach the book with an open mind, and if you can do that, I think you will enjoy this book.
4 stars
The first thing one should know up front is that this is NOT an Alex Delaware mystery, although Alex does manage to have his name dropped once. This story is told from the personal perspective of a psychologist, Grace Blades.
Grace is a success, despite her rough start in life, but is still haunted by her past, and perhaps you might question her mental health on more than one occasion. But, then her past presents itself in what was at first an awkward and embarrassing situation, that quickly turns deadly and dangerous. As Grace searches for answers, her memories come to the forefront of her mind as she tells the story of how she became a murderer’s daughter and how she coped, and managed to survive to become a doctor, and why she has so much empathy for her patients. But, as her story unfolds, we see another side of Grace that is sad, unnerving, and chilling, but is also brave, and too smart for her own good…
I honestly had no preconceived notions when I started this book. I knew it was not a part of the long running Delaware series, and I had heard some positive buzz about it prior to its official release. However, I do confess to thinking this book would probably follow some kind of traditional mystery trope or formula, which is not the case.
This is an interesting way of presenting a crime and Grace’s role in the developments that took place in her young life and how it all comes back to haunt her in adulthood. Her character is certainly fascinating. She’s a lone wolf, takes uncalled for risk, is a bit eccentric and her mental health may not be on par with what people consider normal, but it is like a defense mechanism, and of course her attitude, feelings, and actions will leave you feeling conflicted.
In some ways she is like an anti-hero, but I found myself fascinated by her narrative, and could understand her at times, since I am an extreme introvert. Many things Grace craved, such as solitude and time to read, are things I will do anything to achieve. So, while some will not know how to take her, I actually liked her.
While this is certainly not a traditional crime story or mystery, there is action, some very tense moments, and a lot of dark subject matter. However, it’s almost like reading Grace’s personal journals or maybe like reading a memoir, and she makes a compelling character study and is quite analytical.
Once I finished the book, I was not sure about my feelings for it. But, the more I think about it, the more I see its merits and have concluded it was a good story, a little outside the box, but very thought provoking. Its unconventional style could throw Kellerman’s fans off a little bit, since this book is nothing at all like anything else he’s written, that I know of. But, I would urge people to approach the book with an open mind, and if you can do that, I think you will enjoy this book.
4 stars
A nice departure from his Delaware novels, with an intestine new character - but wrapped it up a little too quickly and easily. No satisfaction in ending.