I really enjoyed the trapped daughter. It's a story told through the eyes of a woman who is struggling with mental health and how she perceives the world around here. A new and different take on an old story, it's hard not to be dragged into Belle's world and what it means to her. I felt a personal connection to this story and I'm sure others out there would feel the same, but I also don't think it's a story of everyone and calling it a thriller is a real misnomer.

I always enjoy a story that involves the psychological tangle that involves the human brain. The Trapped Daughter had me hooked from the start. It's written in the first-person narrative, which allows the reader to delve deeply into the mind of the storyteller - Belle.

Nothing was absolutely clear, and although I suspected the truth, it was written in such a way that many questions were buzzing - 'I wonder if...' Cleverly done.

Themes such as insanity, love and loyalty run alongside, identity, abuse and imprisonment, while written in an easy-to-read style, make this a compelling read.

Highly recommended.

DNF. Left at 15%. The Trapped Daughter looks like an interesting book but story line and narration does not leave much to desire. First of all, It is very clear from beginning what is the problem. I hoped that I am wrong but reading a while, the clues led me to the conclusion. Also narration does not pull reader to the world and it is flippant.
Needs better editorial support.

I loved this book very much. I love everything this author writes. His books are unique and the writing is so smooth it reads really easy.
I read The Trapped Daughter in two sittings. I was intrigued until the very end to know what will happen.
This author can very well go into the mind of his characters that you are so connected with them, you feel they are you. That what happened to me here with Belle. I had a feeling I was in her twisted mind.
While I was reading I had a lot of WTF moments. I was trying to figure out what was going on and how crazy she really was. The whole time she thinks she is being held captive by her dad and she was trying to escape from him. But was she really?
For me this was a great read and I recommend it to anyone who wants to give it a try. I enjoyed it a lot and can't wait for the next book by this author.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and author for providing me with an early review copy of this book for the Kindle.
As I knew I would be reviewing this book I decided to borrow A Predator And A Psychpath through Kindle Unlimited and read that first. In hindsight I think I would have probably enjoyed the experience more if I had read this book first.
Whereas the first book really scared me, shocked me and made me angry this book was quite predictable and did not have the tension and edge-of-seat reading. Having said that the book was well written and there were some good things to learn from the story and I will definitely be looking out for more releases from Jay Kerk in the future

This book was a big surprise. It definitely has a twist and ends in an unexpected way.

My problems with it are that the ending was a bit cheesy. It starts off great but slowly let's you down. I think that it would have been better without the twist.

However, these are only my opinions someone else may LOVE this book, so please don't let me review discourage you from reading it.

Holy wow... That book was a rollercoaster, and I loved every moment. I don’t often give out a full 5 stars, but this was so brutally honest and raw, and absolutely captivating from start to finish.

Plot: This book is impossible to discuss without spoilers, so be warned. The book follows Belle, who is being held ‘captive’ by her father. It is entirely from her point of view, and the book lurches and twists and turns as you struggle to determine real from not real. A times I found myself believe Belle’s father, sure that Belle was very mentally ill. At other times, I believed Bell. I could follow her logic and see the holes in Richard’s behaviour, and found myself inclined to believe that she was being drugged in an attempt to make her believe she was crazy.
The book follows this from start to finish, and gives the reader an extraordinary inside into the mind of something battling extreme mental illness. As someone with mental illness myself, I would say the characterisation is perfect. Her confidence in her mind initially then her slow spiral into ‘deranged’ was a relatively accurate depiction of how mental illness can take hold of a person.

Characters: This was some of the best characterisation I have ever seen. Belle is such a complex character, but the first person narrative allows the reader to really dive in and explore her mind. You learn about ‘Gabe’ yes, but you also learn how her childhood experiences have shaped her, and her warped perception of her mother is fascinating and entirely believable.
Richard was the ever doting, but firm handed father figure and I adored him. At times I could see the narcissism and maliciousness that Belle saw, but all in all, he was so well written, and watching him slowly descend into exhaustion was a painfully honest response to dealing with someone mentally ill.
Marie is painted as a complex baddy throughout, but by the time you read the end of the book and reflect on her, she is the kindest and sweetest character. I love her and I love how many contrasting emotions she made me feel.

Writing: I cannot fault the writing here. It was sophisticated but also still accessible. Kerk successfully brought the complexities of mental illness to paper. While some reviews of this have demonstrated that it has seemed a bit mis-leading, or ‘anti-medication’, I entirely disagree. Jay Kerk has written a brutally, glamour-less account of mental illness experience, from internal battles, to the small desire that a great number of sufferers have to not NEED medication. I personally would love it if I did not need medication. I can think more creatively without them, but I’m also more reckless and unstable. Kerk beautifully captures this dilemma in the end, and the ending was so satisfyingly great. I found myself proud of all of the characters, having not realised just how invested in them I was.

Overall, this book was incredible. I have never read such an raw and honest story of mental illness, and this was absolutely striking. 5 stars and not a single star less!

This was a very quick read. Once I started, I didn't want to put it down. Unfortunately, the great story led to an ending that was disappointing. It didn't really provide enough information on how we got from point A to point B. (Can't really say more without spoilers)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy. I am voluntarily leaving a review and all thoughts/opinions are my own.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this book.

I find myself really disappointed with this one. The first problem I have is that the ending was so predictable. It was so predictable that the whole book dragged and felt repetitive because it was obvious where it was going.

The second problem I have is a pretty major one. Throughout 90-95% of the book there is a lot of anti-medication rhetoric and stereotypes. As someone who both has mental illness and takes meds everyday, this was extremely frustrating for me. It honestly made me mad. I know the author tried to alleviate that in the ending but even in the end she says she misses who she was off meds. It’s just a dangerous stereotype and not something I want to read in a book about mental illness. Medication saves lives. It doesn’t make you “less you”. It helps you STAY you.

I wanted to like this one more than I did but with a predictable ending I saw coming after the first few pages, a story that dragged, and said anti-meds rhetoric, it fell incredibly flat for me.

Right from the very beginning, I actively disliked the main character, who appeared to me to be a spoiled, ungrateful brat who luxuriates in her ability to be oh-so-much-more "enlightened" than her wealthy, hard-working father...while, of course, living off his largesse. I can't say whether or not she "gets well" in the end, whether she "wins" against her father, or whether she dies... and frankly, I didn't care enough to read on and find out. Zero empathy with any character, really.

*This book was provided to me as an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher, free of charge, in exchange for my honest review.*

This review is going to be difficult to write without spoiling the story, so I'll attempt to be as vague as possible.

I've only just begun to dip my toes into the psychological thriller genre but have unfortunately stumbled across two books back-to-back with almost the same general plot device. It makes me wonder if "psychological" thriller indicates more than I thought it did. Perhaps I was expecting more when, in reality, the genre is as predictable as its name indicates.

It's disappointing to me when you spend an entire book invested in a story and the ending just sags and hits the floor without anything to hold it up. What's the point of the story if the ending is so predictable and, I'm sorry to say, pointless?

I think I'll take a break from psychological thrillers. Maybe if I only read them occasionally, the predictability won't be such a letdown.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy. I am voluntarily leaving a review and all thoughts/opinions are my own.

This was a fast read. Maybe it's just me but I seemed to have a hard time understanding what was going on. It seems to me that this is about a girl who feels she is being held hostage by her father. She is not allowed to leave the house and is given pills. She has this hate and obsession for a boy named Gabe who went off to become a famous singer off of the songs she helped to write. Then once he became famous he dumped her and didn't want to have anything to do with her anymore. Eventually you find out he doesn't exist?? Since this is a short read i'll probably revisit this to see if I can make some sense out of it. In the end I believe that this is about a girl who has legit suffered from a mental break and we are getting pulled into her world of crazy. It's worth a read.

I'm very interested in what is going on in our minds and how our thoughts affect our lives.

Belle is certain that she is a prisoner in fathers mansion, forced to take her medicine that will do her only good. She is certain that all people around her, including her missing love Gabe, are against her.
But what is the truth?

I liked Belle and I rooted for her.

Real page turner, I've enjoyed the book immensely!