Title: The Other Daughter

Author: Shalini Boland

Genre: Crime/Thriller

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 5th November 2019

Rating: 3.75/5

Cover:

Summary:

Nine years ago her daughter was taken.

And now she’s back. Two-and-a-half-year-old Holly is playing happily in a pink plastic playhouse, while her mother Rachel sips coffee and chats with a friend nearby. It should be an ordinary day for all of them. But, in the blink of an eye, it turns into every family’s worst nightmare.

Holly is taken by a stranger and never found.

Nine years later, Rachel is living a quiet life in Dorset. She’s tried to keep things together since the traumatic day when she lost her eldest daughter. She has a new family, a loving partner and her secrets are locked away in her painful past.

Until one afternoon when Rachel meets a new school parent Kate and her teenage daughter Bella. Rachel’s world is instantly turned upside down – she’s seen Bella before. She’d recognise that face anywhere – it’s her missing child.

And she will stop at nothing to get her back…

Review:

I was intrigued by the premise of this one straight away as I thought it sounded like a pacy and quick thriller and I wasn’t disappointed – it was a fast and easy read which I enjoyed! The story mostly follows Rachel in the present day with some interludes back to the time of the original kidnapping. Rachel is quite tricky to figure out from the beginning, she alternately comes across as determined/capable and a little bit unstable/delusional which is understandable in her situation. The plot moves along quite quickly as we are thrown into Rachel supposedly recognising her daughter very early on in the book and events implode from there. I actually kind of wanted things to slow down just a tiny bit sometimes so certain aspects could be more thoroughly explored but I was never bored which is always a good thing.

Overall The Other Daughter is an enjoyable and interesting read. I did guess the twist quite quickly but that isn’t something that generally bothers me if the book is good (although I know some readers love to be surprised). I liked the in depth look at the bond between mothers and their children and what happens to someone’s mind when that bond is disturbed or broken in some way and I found the relationship between Rachel and Kate particularly interesting. I’d recommend if you’re looking for an intense and twisty psychological thriller this November!

I received a copy of this e-arc through Netgalley. My review is my own, honest, opinion.