I told my daughter a terrible lie…

Lorna never told her sixteen-year-old daughter the chilling truth about her real father. But one morning, she finds Liberty missing — and realizes the teenager has left to find the man she once fled from…

Well this was just the insight i needed to make me want to read this book.   I loved it!  Very well written with great characters.  It flowed well and kept my interest making me want to keep reading right through till dawn to see what happened to Liberty.

The story is told from both Mum  and daughters point of view covering past and present timelines.

Lorna was very likeable although there were times I wanted to give her a good shake.  Liberty was a teenager with all the bravado you expect from them. As for Michael - he was most unpleasant, self centred and thoroughly unlikable which was perfect for his character and role within the story.

I really don't want to give any details of the book because it needs to be read blind in my opinion.  Suffice to say it is an exciting book with an ending you won't see coming - it was great!

I highly recommend reading this book, meanwhile I'm off to see if Suzy has any more books published so I can read them,  another favourite author found!  A big five stars from me.

Thank you Netgalley,  Suzy K Quinn and HE Stories for giving me the opportunity to read this advance copy of the book Not My Daughter.

Synopsis:

Lorna has been trying to protect her daughter Liberty for sixteen years. There are dark secrets from her past about her father that Lorna wishes her daughter never finds out. Liberty’s father is a monster, and the best solution is to hide. Forever.

But Liberty has other plans. One day, Liberty decides to find her father, no matter the cost. And Lorna can’t protect her if she doesn’t know where she went…

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed Not My Daughter. It was a novel that kept me on my toes throughout the whole book and I was eager to know what happens in the end and who the true villain is.

We begin the story in one way, where we have an idea of who the bad person is, and how Lorna is the protector. But once we start reading more, this story becomes more twisted, and we don’t know who to trust anymore. This is something I see in books quite often, but it is not usually as well-written. Suzy did an amazing job writing this part, and making us switch sides as she wanted us to.

The ending was not predictable at all, although, it was a bit unrealistic. However, it really fit nicely with the whole story and I cannot be dissapointed.

It is interesting to see how the mother-daughter relationship develops. But more so, how a relationship forms when a daughter wants to get to know her father, no matter what. You meet this person that you share genes with, and you want them to like you. You want them to accept you, like nothing happened. We could see this wish in Liberty as she meets her father – the need to be accepted as a daughter.

I would recommend this book to everyone that loves mystery thrillers. It is a one of a kind, and a very well-written one too.

Read this if you: 
🤯 Want a gripping psychological thriller 
📖 Enjoy books that jump between timelines 
🤫 Love a story that’s full of secrets 

This is the first book I’ve read by Suzy K. Quinn and it definitely won’t be my last! If you are a fan of gripping thrillers then this is the book for you. Here we meet Lorna and her daughter Liberty. Lorna has spent sixteen years protecting her daughter from a monster, refusing to tell Liberty who her father really is. But one day Liberty stumbles across the truth and learns that her dad is in-fact a well respected rockstar. One morning Lorna wakes you find Liberty has ran away to find her father. Full of fear she has no option but to revisit a dark in a bid to save her daughter. She escaped him once but will she make it out alive this time around? 

I really enjoyed the authors writing style, it was an easy, quick read that had me guessing until the end. The story had a great flow with the chapters alternating between Lorna’s present and past. Liberty’s POV is then introduced a quarter of the way through adding another element to the story. Liberty was by far my favourite character, she has so much strength. There were some lovely moments when Liberty is interacting with her half sister Darcy, who has special needs - it just made me love her more! I did struggle to connect with Lorna. She was completely brainwashed by Michael but I still questioned every decision she made, it left me a little frustrated and I found it difficult to sympathise with her at times.

The book tackles some dark topics such as phycological and mental abuse, underage sex, manipulation and murder! I loved the ending, it was fast paced and full of suspense, I couldn’t read fast enough! Everything is wrapped up nicely and I didn’t see the twist coming at all, the author is always one step ahead of you here! I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat with one action packed finale!

It’s no secret that I have recently been in a bit of a reading slump and also I have also been taking a little bit more time out from social media than I normally do. 

When I first picked this book up, I was in the middle of one of the biggest reading slumps I have ever been in! This book changed that quite quickly. I was gripped and wanted to know what had happened. I wanted to know what secrets Lorna had been keeping from Liberty and I wanted to know what had happened with her father. 

I enjoyed the writing and loved how it flowed and kept me engaged and wanting to read more. I found myself going to sleep thinking about it and the. Waking up wanting to read more. 

The storyline was okay. I started off really enjoying it having all of these questions however the further into the story we got, the less believable it became (I know, I know it’s fiction. But I like things to happen a bit more organically!!). Everything was all mysterious and then nearer the end something just clicked and switched and I was left thinking “what?!?”. So sadly for me the last 20% of the book was a bit too rushed for my liking. 

However, I am very grateful for the wonderful writing style and how it pulled me right out of my slump! 

Thank you so much to @hqstories for sending me a widget in exchange for a fair and honest review on the blog tour.

⭐️ BLOG TOUR ⭐️
Good morning my fellow #readersofinstagram today is my stop on the @hqstories blog tour for Not My Daughter.
Synopsis:

I told my daughter a terrible lie…

Lorna never told her sixteen-year-old daughter the chilling truth about her real father. But one morning, she finds Liberty missing — and realizes the teenager has left to find the man she once fled from…

Review:
I really enjoyed this. The book is told from two POVs, Lorna & her daughter Liberty’s. Lorna also has flashback chapters which are really the building blocks of the story. I really liked the writing in this, it was easy to read and had a easy flow, just enough suspense to keep the reader going. I read it in a day, I just had to know what was going on. There was a good twist towards the end, albeit the mother in me found it a little hard to believe. Good characters, you really root for Lorna and feel for liberty as you start to question what’s going on. However, young Lorna & old Lorna are very different....until they’re not, which was quite frustrating. Overall a really fab psychological thriller!

I absolutely loved this one! It was fast paced, exciting, gripping and just an overall addictive thriller that keeps you wanting to know more.

It's everything I want from a psychological thriller, I have never read anything by Suzy before and will definitely be on the look out for more!

The ending wasn't as realistic as you would think but it worked really well. The characters are very well portrayed and I definitely found myself questioning who was actually telling the truth.

A fascinating psychological thriller, that had me gripped from its opening chapter!

Lorna & Liberty are both compelling, engaging characters. Quinn does a brilliant job of keeping us guessing whether Lorna is lying or telling the truth throughout.

It missed out on 5⭐ because I found the ending was a bit too far fetched for me. But I still enjoyed this well-paced thriller.

Overall a creepy plot, with great characters. If you are a fan of Lisa Hall this book is well worth a read.

A huge thanks to HQ Stories & NetGalley for gifting me a copy in return for an open & honest review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is a really quick read, short chapters and fast paced keeps your attention throughout and wondering where it’s going. I really enjoyed this one, Lorna suffocates Liberty by now allowing her to go out at night or see friends. She thinks she is saving her but actually she’s damaging her. Liberty seems to rebel against everything and will not stop until she finds out the truth. The twists towards the end really surprised me and whilst it’s not hugely realistic I loved it. Well written and keeps you guessing, I’ll definitely be on the look out for more by this author.

Tense and unpredictable. I found it hard to relate to the mother, but was mesmerized by the flashbacks. Taut, well plotted and enjoyable

Wow this one got me flipping pages so fast!!

Lorna had a bucket list when she was 16, she'd made this because she had been diagnosed with a terminal cancer which she managed to beat, so she was living her life to the fullest.

As is a lot of young teenage girls dreams, one of the items on her bucket list, was to meet & marry a rock star, not just any rock star though, it had to be Michael Reyji Ray.

So to be able to go to one of his concerts and to actually meet him, and to actually have him *choose* her and fall in love with her, well it was like a dream come true, except, it really wasn't.

Fast forward 16 years and Lorna is a scared mother of Liberty, she doesn't allow her to go out at night, or go out with friends, and she is fiercely protective over her, to the utter disgust of her daughter, who thinks she is just an ridiculously over protective mother.

But Lorna has high fences and is over protective for a reason, a reason Liberty is not aware of, and thank goodness Liberty doesn't know who her father is, otherwise everything she knows could change.

Except Liberty does find out, and she wants to meet her famous father and find out what he is really like, as her crazy mother has only told her bad things about what a monster he is, and she wants to find out for herself!

Told from the POV of Lorna and Liberty and with a sprinkling of the past from Lorna's POV, Suzy K Quinn takes you on a heart stopping journey.

Please be warned that this book deals with Domestic Abuse and has instances of sexual abuse, a LOT of Gaslighting and Manipulation.

It was very interesting to see how differently Michael acted in front of his friends and family, and then with Lorna and some others, the Red Flags were definitely waving, but unfortunately it is not always possible to see them while you think you are in love!

This was an enjoyable read, although I did find it a little flat and basic in places. I think in general it deserves top marks for the storyline and the characters but the writing style just didn't completely grab me at times. However, that said it is definitely worth a read. Loved the storyline as it was original and kept me guessing! 

Thank you Netgalley

It's been sixteen years since Lorna fled with nothing but a baby clutched to her chest and she has spent every second since finding ways to protect  and keep her daughter safe. 

After a life spent living in a remote home behind huge fences, both literal and metaphorical, Liberty has had enough of being wrapped in cotton wool by her Mother. She is old enough to know the truth about her Father and not just the warnings and scare tactics she has been fed by her Mum. With the knowledge of who her father is and where to find him Liberty is determined this time she will discover what really happened all those years ago and no one can stop her.

Lorna knows that nothing good can come of a reunion between her daughter and birth Father Michael the famous rock and roll superstar, but when she wakes to discover Liberty missing she knows exactly where to find her. With control taken from her Lorna finds herself frantically drawn back onto a world she thought she had left behind long ago and she knows she will finally have to face her demons in order to save her daughter. But will it be too late to save Liberty?

Not My Daughter is an atmospheric psychological thriller that had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Quinn has an amazing ability to draw the reader into the heart of her story and I found myself so invested in the dual stories of Lorna & Michael, continually changing my mind about who was telling Liberty the truth! This book had some amazing plot twists, but I genuinely didn't see where the ending took us - no spoilers, but oh my goodness what a finale!

The main characters are richly written with layer upon layer being revealed as the story progressed. I really felt I got to know both Lorna & Michael's past and their relationship really well, although it becomes clear that their recollections of the same events are often skewed with reality adding to the suspense and intrigue.

I absolutely loved Not My Daughter, it's one of the best and most surprising thrillers I've read in a long time. It has a strong, unique story line that offers something different to those same old predictable thrillers that are regularly churned out. It is a fast paced, entertaining page turner that kept me guessing throughout, the perfect thrilling read! Highly recommended !

This book deals with some really hard hitting and sensitive topics including Domestic Violence, Abuse, Rape and Sexual Assault so please be aware of this if you are interested in this title.

I read this book for a blog tour. 

This was a clever thriller where every has a story and an agenda but it's not sure who's playing who and why until the very end.

I've read some of the author's other books but wasn't aware of how good a thriller writer she is till this book, with its twists and turns and throwback narrative and so many secrets.

This is the kind of thriller I devour in one sitting, even forgetting my snack! (Doritos and grapes fyi for this one).

Not My Daughter by Suzy K Quinn is an absolutely marvellous contemporary psychological thriller suspense that completely messed with my mind and emotions. It was a ‘wow’ read.
The novel is cleverly constructed and Suzy Quinn manipulated my emotional responses throughout. I tried to sort out the truth from the lies. Who was spinning the tales? Who was completely vulnerable? And who was in control? See if you can figure it out before the final word is read.
Now the book is ended, I feel totally shell-shocked – superb just doesn’t cover it. There are no superlatives good enough to describe just how marvellous, intricate and clever this book is.
Suzy Quinn has created a fabulous set of characters. My responses to them were perfectly set up by the author, so that I could experience that ‘wow did that just happen?’ moment.
I found Not My Daughter an explosive, exciting, nail biting read. I love Suzy K Quinn’s writings. I am never quite sure how they will end but one thing I do know – I am in for a stomach churning, teeth clenching, heart racing read. Absolutely superb. Suspense out of the top drawer.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

This was an interesting domestic thriller but unfortunately it felt a bit average to me. Definitely not the best domestic thriller I've ever read
 
I did like the writing style. I thought it was really easy to read and engaging. I flew through it quite quickly when I sat down and read it. 

However, there was nothing in the story that made me want to pick it up and read it. 

The plot was kinda average. It felt more of a domestic drama for most of the book until the end where it read more like a thriller
 
I wasn't too keen on the ending. It felt a bit silly and far fetched. It wrapped up incredibly quickly and it seemed a bit too unbelievable
 
I didn't really care for any of the characters either. None were particularly likeable
 
Overall, this was an interesting domestic thriller but it just didn't blow me away. Its probably quite forgettable
 
TW: murder, violence and domestic abuse

The beauty of this book is that there is no padding; the writing is tight and concise.  Although you feel you know the twist that is coming, the writer is one step ahead of you so the ending is a genuine surprise.  It was a real change to read a novel which doesn't over-egg the ending and that leaves the reader feeling good afterwards.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good plot with a well- engineered twist.  Will certainly recommend this one to friends.

Firs things first, the front cover of this book looks great, stands out really, and great colouring.
The story is set in two different times - young Lorna and older Lorna. It focuses on two perspectives - mainly Lorna’s and her daughter Liberty.

The story focuses overall on Lorna getting mixed up with a famous rock star called Michael, who is completely unlikeable from the start. I spent time during the book wanting to shout at him myself. Lorna gets brain washed by him, she’s in love with him and his fame, and generally thinks he is a God. In fact, he isn’t. 
It begins with Lorna 16 years on after her time with Michael, and straightaway you can feel her overprotective ways for her daughter and their home. And the story goes back and forth so you can understand why Lorna is so protective. 
I really liked Lorna, and she’s very relatable, but I also wanted to shake her in parts and want her to open her eyes as to what was going on around her. Her daughter, Liberty, was also a great character, very strong willed and bright. 
I enjoyed the snippets in the book of the relationship between Lorna and her sister Dee, that is a true love relationship. I feel Lorna’s fiancé could have had a bigger role in the book as his character seemed very down to earth and likeable - the polar opposite of Michael.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I read it in one sitting. The story was very gripping, and wasn’t completely unbelievable. It was a page turner, and the storyline was great, very modern.

I hadn't read books from Suzy K Quinn before but I was most intrigued when I read the blurb for this novel.

The story itself didn't disappoint.

It was thrilling from start to finish.

Elements of misleading the reader, twists and turns that deceived whilst keeping the storyline interesting and fast paced (although the title sort of gives away a certain part of it all). 

My only criticism is that there were times when the writing didn't flow as well as I thought it should. Perhaps a bit more editing was needed to give greater detail, better sentence structure.

I think it was some of the conversations that fell a bit flat, didn't convey the emotions that I knew the characters would be feeling.

Over all a good novel, a good starter book to this type of genre

I read this book with an open mind and I was pleasantly surprised. 
The cover of the book is designed to draw the reader in with a strong title. The cover of the book is the back of a young girls ponytail with an innocent looking pink bow. The title and the cover suggested to me this could be a thriller, with children involved. As a mother of three I was intrigued at what the story might tell me and how it was going to unfold.

The main character is called Lorna and it's clear from the beginning of the book she is hiding something. She is engaged to be married and has a 16 year old daughter named Liberty and a 4 year old step-daughter with additional needs. The family are living in a luxury home, which is fenced off from the outside world along with gated security access. The family go out and come back as they please however, it's very clear Lorna needs the family to be kept safe especially her daughter Liberty.

Suzy k Quinn is an exceptional intelligent writer when it comes to creating a suspenseful dramatic atmosphere within the story. I found myself to keep reading ahead, just to see what other secrets and twists were going to develop. I found that the author develops a relationship with the reader where they are hooked within the story and keeps the reader engaged.

I would say this book was at times chilling, and it was a great psychological thriller. As I read the story and watched it unfold in my imagination I would have recommended it for a suspenseful t.v series. There are so many twists and turns, ups and downs within the book once you are committed it's hard to put it down and stop reading.

A really enjoyable read, so much so that I read in one day.  I literally had to find out what was going to happen next. 

The whole drama started when Liberty who's mother suffocates the young 16 year old with no freedoms, still refuses to tell her whom her father is 

Unbeknown to her mum, Lorna, she already has found out who her famous father is, and he's living so close that one night, Liberty decides to leave to visit him.

She's heard the stories from her mum, that he's dangerous, but she just thinks her mum is just paranoid.

Will it be the reunion she expected or will things start changed that proves her mother correct?  


Thank you for my copy from Netgalley.