Cover Image: The Other Daughter

The Other Daughter

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Member Reviews

A very readable domestic thriller from Shalini that I raced through with pleasurable ease.
Rachel has a wonderful partner and two children. Jess, her eldest is not her partner's daughter but from a previous marriage and Charlie is the son they have together. They have very ordinary lives but are happy and content. That is, until the day Kate Morris turns up at the school gates as a new mum with 3 children of her own.
The eldest of Kate's children is Bella and when Rachel claps eyes on her, she is transported back in time, to a painful past when Rachel's eldest daughter, then two and a half is abducted from a shopping centre. Rachel has kept this secret to herself all these years and not even told Matt, her partner.
The story reveals just how quickly Rachel descends into a spiral of needing to know, convinced that Bella is really Holly. She re-arranges her daily life on a desperate mission to uncover the truth and at long last be reunited with her daughter.
Interwoven within the present day story is a story from the past. Catriona has Grace but something terrible happens to Grace and Catriona needs to replace her in order to cope with the emotional trauma.
I am always expecting a twist or two from this type of book, so often try to guess as I am reading what the twist will be. I am rubbish at this but pleased that I am so inept as a detective as it just makes this genre of book more entertaining to read. I didn't get the twisty twists but loved the way each twist revealed the power of the human mind to betray ourselves and the devastating consequences this can have on the people who love us.
Super reading and a book I would recommend as gripping and absorbing.

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Fabulous Five Stars! Ever since reading The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland, I've come to love her work. One feature all her books have in common is that they're set in almost picturesque and idyllic locations so wanting to see the place through her character's eyes becomes a must-do for me. The Other Daughter set in Dorset starts with a chapter that hooks you right in, from there on there's no turning back and I couldn't stop until I had read the last chapter. The plot is taut, gripping and you'll find yourself turning the pages with no wish to stop.

When two-and-a-half-year-old Holly is snatched from a mall while her mother Rachel sits close-by and chats with a friend, three lives are changed forever.
Nine years later Rachel has built her life from the ground up and lives a quiet life in Dorset. With her two children - a girl and a boy and a loving partner, she's slowly making her peace with the tragedy that struck her so long back. So when one day she meets Kate a mother who's recently moved into the neighborhood with her family and whose daughter is in the same class as her daughter she has a good inkling that they're going to be friends for long. But when she sets her eyes on Kate's daughter Bella, she feels like the whole world has to crash down on her. Bella bears a striking resemblance to Holly. With piercing green eyes and those features, Bella is exactly how Holly would have looked today. When she starts to dig further she finds some shocking truths about Kate's family. It seems Kate and Shaun are hiding something from everyone in town. But will the truth bring Rachel the answer she seeks? How will she prove Bella is really Holly? And what kind of twisted game are Kate and Shaun playing with her?

The plot of this story is so twisted that I sometimes found myself stopping to let the words written sink in. The shocks come in the last 25% of the book, but the suspense starts right from page 1 and that's what makes this book so good in my opinion. The twists are executed very well. Rachel, in her quest for her lost daughter, behaves like a crazy person, with no plan in mind, but that is how I believe a mother desperate to find her child would behave. All characters in this book were excellent especially Rachel. This was a really good psychological thriller I have read in a long long time!! Can't wait for Boland's next!!
Thank You, NetGalley, Bookouture and Shalini Boland for an arc!

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Nine years ago, when Rachel was at the mall her young daughter Holly was taken and never seen again. Years later, she is living in Dorset with her younger children Jess and Charlie. All has been well but Rachel never forgot about Holly - her oldest, she has though however managed to keep it a secret from her husband whom she met after her previous marriage dissolved after Holly went missing. All is going well in her life until she meets a new family that has moved to town - Kate and Shaun as Rachel get a shock when she sees their oldest daughter Bella. Bella is the spitting image of Holly and around the same age. Rachel soon becomes convinced that Bella is her daughter and that Kate kidnapped Holly. When Matt learns about Rachel's past he makes her see a therapist and then things start to spiral for Rachel as she discovers she will do anything to get her daughter back. The Other Daughter by Shalini Boland was an amazing thriller and OMG the twists and turns in the last few chapters had me blown away as I never saw the ending coming. Normally I am not too keen on UK Mysteries as they tend to be a bit more slower-paced but the twists and turns of The Other Daughter meant that this comes across as quite a fast-paced novel. The Other Daughter by Shalini Boland was an awesome psychological thriller and a nice change from the bullymances I had been reading lately as often when I find myself reading the same trope, I need to mix it up and I tend to go with mysteries and one of my favorite mystery tropes is abductions and missing children which I wonder stems from the fact that as a child I was taken twice by strangers but thank goodness it was only for very short times and my parents got me back straight away.

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The Other Daughter is a fantastic read with a cracking twist. Another good book by Shalini Boland.
Rachel is out having a coffee and a chat with her friend in a busy shopping centre in London. For only a minute she takes her eye off Holly her two year old who is playing happily in a playhouse but when she turns her attention back her daughter isn’t there and that is the last time she sees her two year old daughter. Fast forward a few years and Rachel has a new family in a new area in Dorset, she is enjoying life until a new parent arrives at pick up time, Rachel meets her eldest daughter, Bella and is absolutely convinced beyond doubt that she is her missing daughter, Holly.
This was a great read that I really enjoyed, I liked how the timelines in different chapters seamlessly linked together, not making it confusing at all. The twists and turns as the book went on were very well thought out and i never saw the main twist coming. A fab thriller.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

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The Other Daughter is a really good thriller.

It held my interest the whole way through as we tried to figure out what was going on.

I would recommend this to anyone who would enjoy a good thriller.

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The Other Daughter is a fantastic edge of your seat thriller. Great twists and turns. Well written and interesting characters.

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Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Having read a couple of previous books by this author, and the synopsis for this book, I was very keen to get started.
I got straight into the story right from the word go. It was easy to read, and I was able to turn the words into images in my mind to almost watch the story pan out. I was absolutely loving it, and then..... the twist. From this moment it all went wrong for me. I found it confusing, and had to re-read some parts to try to get to grips with what was happening. Other reviewers appear to love the twist, but unfortunately for me, it really spoilt what was until then, a brilliant book.

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A mother’s worse nightmare. Rachel’s oldest daughter, disappears without a trace from a play area at a shopping mall. Now fast forward nine years later. Rachel is living with her partner, their son, and Rachel’s second daughter and has managed to find happiness again. Then, a new family moves into town and their oldest daughter, Bella, bears a strong resemblance to Rachel’s still missing daughter.

The Other Daughter is told in two timelines. And, in typical Shalini Boland fashion, it’s a psychological thriller of the first order. The story moves along quite nicely and the reader is drawn into Rachel rising panic and paranoia as she tries to determine if Bella really is her daughter. The twists are unexpected and the suspense slowly builds to a smashing finish.

I am a fan of Shalini Boland’s books and The Other Daughter didn’t disappoint. I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

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From the start, this book had me hooked. Perhaps it helps that I have children and that child abduction has me rather paranoid. Not to mention, my friends and I frequently get together in public places with our children. And, like the mother in the story, it is so easy to get wrapped up in conversation.

The pacing of this book was a little slower at times, but the parts with more action really kept you on the edge of your seat. There were quite a few times where I was so on the edge of my seat that I almost had to stop reading! One thing that I feel really helped the story along was the character development. The author gave you a really good feel for how the characters would act and their actions made sense with their personalities.

There was a really awesome twist at the end of the book that I did start to expect shortly beforehand, but it still was really good! The back story and the two time periods were really great and complimented each other well.

I will definitely be checking out more books by Shalini Boland!

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Well this was a head spinner. A family domestic drama. A stolen child, a bereft mother trying to get on with her life in a new town with a new family and then a new family arrive. The story takes off and will have you riveted as you find out who and where is little Holly. A great read with a fantastic twist.

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Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I love a thriller that grips me from the first chapter until the very end and this book certainly did this. Imagine your child being abducted from you one day and then years later she reappears with a new name and new parents and she has no idea she is your daughter. You will do anything to be reunited with her no matter how crazy it makes people think you are. A twisty page turner that will keep you wondering until the very end. Another great read from Shalini Boland. #theotherdaughter #shaliniboland #netgalley #amazon#kindle #litsy #tea_sipping_bookworm #bookstagram #goodreads

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Shalini Boland never disappoints. This is a great story with an ending that just had me turning back the pages to make sure I had read it right. Very engrossing, fast-paced, and suspenseful. Highly recommend!

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3.5*
In a heartbeat, little 3 year old Holly has vanished. Here one minute, gone the next from a local playground. Her mother Rachel, mere feet away. Just one distracted moment for mom to turn away to chat with friends and poof… Holly was never seen again.

Now nine years later Rachel has moved away and started her life over. She has a devoted boyfriend she loves, as well as 2 young children to raise. Of course she has never forgotten her sweet Holly, just never speaks of her or that horrendous day. She’s managed to move on as well as could be expected. That is until she spots a teenage girl that she thinks could be Holly! Now grown and being raised by another family!

This is where Rachel’s behavior just went a bit too far off the rails for me. Her actions and behavior were just a bit too far-fetched.

But hold on everybody! You’re in luck…you have a huge, twisty pretzel 🥨heading your way! In fact, maybe too big of a twist... as I struggled to put all the puzzle 🧩 pieces together! But maybe that was just me!

A buddy read with Susanne.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Shalini Boland for an ARC to read and review.

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I read this book non stop, I had no idea if Rachel had really seen her daughter Holly or if she was having a breakdown, and I couldn’t wait to find out. I really didn’t see the plot twist coming. I marked the book down one star as I didn’t particularly like Rachel so I didn’t feel as invested in her story as I may have done, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the plot.

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Any book by Shalini Boland is a guaranteed good read and this one didn't disappoint. I had no idea how the book was going to work out and never ever would have guessed that ending. Brilliant !

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Shalini Boland is always one of my go-to authors. I love her style, her brilliant imagination and no one quite writes domestic or psychological thrillers like she does. Except maybe Kim Slater...lol But Shalini is the queen of killer twists and this book was no different. All throughout I kept thinking "how is she going to throw us a twist in this?" and without fail, she still manages to do it and shock us all at once!

Nine years ago, Rachel's daughter Holly was abducted whilst in the children's play area of a busy shopping centre. Rachel was enjoying coffee with a friend with their two sleeping babies, whilst two and a half year old Holly played her imaginative games inside a pink playhouse. Distracted in her conversation and some adult time, Rachel doesn't notice the hooded figure leading her daughter away with a cookie and the promise petting a real live bunny rabbit. Rachel's husband blames her for Holly's abduction and as the cracks in their marriage begin to crumble, Andrew leaves her and their baby daughter and sets up home in Spain where he soon has a new family.

London held too many memories for Rachel and so she packs up and moves herself and baby Jess to Dorset, where she meets Matt. Nine years later, Rachel and Matt are living happily together with the now 10 year old Jess and 6 year old Charlie. Life is good for Rachel now.

Then she meets Kate Morris outside the school gates one afternoon, who also has two children - Amy and Keiran - the same ages as Jess and Charlie. It's their first day at the school but Rachel is quick to ease Kate's nerves as they await for their respective children. But it is Kate's eldest daughter that captures Rachel's interest. Tween-aged Bella leans nonchalantly against her mother's car, tapping at her phone and wondering what is taking her mother so long. As soon as Rachel sees her, she is sure that Bella is her missing daughter Holly. Her emotional reaction is so visceral that she has no doubt at all. She could not mistake those green eyes, that heart shaped face and those long dark locks. Added to that, she is also the same age as her missing daughter would be now. Bella IS Holly. And it is this that sets everything that follows in motion...

Rachel becomes obsessed as she endeavours to find out more about Bella and what lead Kate and her family to move from London to their sleepy corner of Dorset. She invites them to dinner on the pretext of seeing Bella again, but is dismayed when Bella goes to a friend's house instead. So Rachel begins to drunkenly quiz her new friends at the dinner table about why they moved here and why does Bella not resemble them at all. Needless to say, Kate and her husband Shaun felt incredibly uncomfortable at her probing and citing not feeling well, left early taking their two youngest children with them despite the promised sleepover. But Rachel will not be swayed. She vows to collect evidence - enough to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bella is her missing daughter. There is just one problem...she has never told Matt about Holly...ever.

Rachel's obsession leads her to make some really REALLY stupid decisions. But she is on a mission to prove what she feels so deep within her soul...that Bella is Holly. And that Kate, or Shaun, stole her and have raised her as their own. Honestly, she borders on deranged. But then, having your child abducted when they were a toddler and never found is probably enough to make any mother a little unbalanced.

Told in two timelines - NOW and THEN - we also meet Catriona in the THEN chapters of nine years previous. It doesn't take long to discover how she fits into the story. And what a tale she tells! In fact, THE OTHER DAUGHTER opens, not with Rachel, but with Catriona...which I feel is a clever touch. Because as the reader we are drawn into Catriona's story and we feel her pain from the start that we almost identify with her and sympathise with her, that we don't even really blame her when she does the unthinkable. But as we watch her story unfold, our hearts breaks for Catriona. And all the while, in the NOW chapters, we are trying to work out what happened to Catriona and how she fits into the present day.

Then...just when you think you know where this is going...BAM! Shalini throws in one of her killer twists to turn everything on its head - and you are left wondering "what the...??" I honestly was trying to work out how this was going to play out as it really didn't seem to have anywhere else to go. But no, this is Shalini we're talking about. She does nothing normal that does not border on irrational or illogical. She takes a normal family...and throws them under, not just a bus, but a roaring train! She uproots everything you know and twists it beyond recognition. That by the end you are left breathless...

I have to say, I enjoyed the THEN chapters the most. I love finding out the who and the why of events leading up to the NOW. I found myself feeling for Catriona more than I did for Rachel, probably because Rachel did some incredibly dumb things that really seemed totally irrational. Her thought process annoyed me at times and I found myself thinking "you cannot be serious, woman?" Whereas with Catriona, she made one mistake - albeit a big one - but out of the best intentions...and spent the rest of her life making it up.

As my fourth thriller I've read by Shalini, I would have to be honest and say THE OTHER DAUGHTER is not her best but it is still one hell of a ride all the same! It will keep you guessing throughout and no matter how much you try and puzzle it together, you will never make the pieces fit. Shalini will have you twisted trying...believe me. And that's what makes her thrillers sooooo damn good! While the bounds of believability might need to be stretched just a tad with this one, it's still a compelling read that will have you up all night trying to figure it out.

You know that when you pick up a Shalini book, you are going to get one hell of a thrill ride and THE OTHER DAUGHTER was no different. And although I personally didn't think it was her best, I still enjoyed it just the same. I just felt the chapter after the "big reveal" was a little rushed with tying up loose ends. I wondered if a little more depth could have been put into them, considering how much we had invested into the whole story. The Epilogue was a fitting conclusion to the whole "debacle" though I'm not sure I even liked the narrator of that chapter as she didn't feel "real", if that makes any sense.

Either way, THE OTHER DAUGHTER is an intriguing, compelling, unputdownable tale that will have you reading long into the night until the finish.

I have no hesitation in recommending this book because as with any Shalini book, without a doubt, you will be in for thrill ride like no other!

I would like to thank #ShaliniBoland, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheOtherDaughter in exchange for an honest review.

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Oh my goodness !!! Brilliantly written psychological thriller with a totally shocking ending I didn’t see coming !!! I highly recommend !! Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book ! #Netgalley
# Bookouture # TheOtherDaughter

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I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
In shock and desperate, Catriona kidnaps a little girl from a busy shopping mall. The story altrrnates between Catriona and Rachel, the mother of the missing girl, Holly. When a new family moves to town with a girl that looks exactly like Rachel's missing daughter, she becomes obsessed with finding out the truth.
I thought I knew what would happen but there wasn't enough book left then bam, plot twist! I definitely didn't see that conclusion coming! I plan to grab the other books written by this author!

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I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion if it. This is the type of book you cannot out down. So suspenseful until the last page.

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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…

****
Unfortunately, this book wasn't really for me. The story itself had a good premise, but I found the story a bit disjointed really. And the ending was really confusing. I think I understood it, but had to re-read it a few times.

But i know I'm in the minority with my thoughts, so read it and see what you think!

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