The Daughters is a story of vengeance, loss and the power of family connection. Parts of the story really pulled me in, while other sections were disturbing to read. There are multiple trigger warnings including sexual abuse to a child and self harm just to name a few. I had a hard time connecting with the characters because they were so unlikable. This book shows that trusting the wrong person may be deadly. This is the second book I have read from Julia Crouch and I enjoyed The New Mother so much more. This was not bad by any means, and I will read future books by this author. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy.

The daughters was the first book was the first book by Jules Crouch I’ve read but certainly won’t be the last. I spent two nights up reading until sunrise I honestly could not put this book down, if I didn’t have things to do during the day I would of completed in one sitting!!!
The premise of this domestic thriller is centred around one question what happened to Alice? Alice was presumed dead by suicide 7 years earlier. Her daughters Sarah and Lucy have dealt with their grief differently. Sarah left moved to Australia leaving behind her young sister Lucy who is suffering from a range of complex mental health issues. Their father Bill got remarried to Clary and they have a 5 year old daughter Beanie.
Sarah decides to return to England for a few months as she believes that there’s more to her mother’s death, she believes fowl play is at play and as a detective she’s ready to solve the case. Meanwhile Clary takes Lucy to see a hypnotherapist which bring up some extremely troubling ‘recovered memories’. Bur what does any of this mean? Plus Clary has a secret but what is it?

I often pick books based on their covers I can often tell if I will like a book that way, don’t judge a book by its cover whoever said that never experienced book covers of 2022! I honestly had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up and I wasn’t even certain I was going to continue reading past the first few chapters but i’m happy I did!!

I had assumed the entire book would be from the POV of both daughters so what a great surprise is was when actually Clary’s POV was majority of the book especially when you can’t help but suspect her of something from the beginning of the book. It is clear that she is hiding something to do with Alice the question is, is it her death or something else? Also it’s so refreshing to read a book with a stepmother who is actually really nice. It’s made clear with her relationship with Lucy, I couldn’t help but wonder why Sarah has such a problem with her, particularly because she actually left the country. Clary is a very interesting character, she is a step mother who seems over involved with Lucy and her continued grief. She even sends her to a hypnotherapist behind Bill’s back, which well is an whole other story. I really liked her character and I understand why the author choose her POV with Sarah instead of Lucy’s, as we get Lucy’s story through both ladies.

Sarah is a bit of an annoying character, she is on the hunt for answers what really happened to her mother? Who knows what really happened? She thinks Clary has the answers! On her return she manages to segrate Lucy, start an investigation, blame everyone and find her high school boyfriend yes it’s a lot. I think the only part of her storyline which wasn’t necessary was the ex boyfriend part it added nothing to the story but heyho it isn’t a major issue. Sarah is very demanding and at times rude, she’s keeping secrets from everyone and it’s hard to know what she really wants. She hates her dad but it seems theres equal blame on both sides. But she’s certain her mother wouldn’t kill herself. However all the evidence suggests that she did.

The what was really exciting about The daughters and kept me reading were the chapters focused on Lucy and the idea of recovered memories. It’s a topic that is still very much for debate and the book also makes this very clear. Can we believe the memories of a 8 year old? Not only that but a young lady who is clearly struggling with mental illness. Are her memories formed from her imagination or truth? It was fascinating honestly, plus the hypnotherapist gave a creepy vibe so the main question on my mind was is he planting these memories and if so what is his interest in this entire sargar.

Okay okay there is so much I could write to tell you about this but the best thing to say is to read it, there’s so much going on in one book and it’s hard to explain how it all goes down without too many spoilers. The book is centred around Alice, did she kill herself? Was she murdered? Did she just leave? Who holds the answers? Well If I answered that I would be spoiling a great read.
Let me say it’s twists and turns everyone has a something they are hiding and Lucy might be the person with the answers. We don’t hear much from Bill yet he is the one who holds them altogether but a female lead narrative is well done. Also I must say the way mental health is handled in this book is incredible with the respect and care it requires that’s a talent in itself. I am obviously rating this book 5 stars 🌟

Thanks to netgalley, the publishers and Jules Crouch for the digital ARC in exchange for my fair and honest opinions.

This book is a gripping, psychological family thriller and one that had me guessing right until the end, Sarah and Lucy have never got over losing their mother Alice, years ago when she supposedly committed suicide. Sarah now lives in Australia while Lucy lives in London near to Bill, her father, stepmother Cary’s and her stepsister Bennie. Sarah’s marriage has broken down and she returns home to discover that her father has been lying to them as Alice’s coffin was empty and her body was never found. Lucy is suffering from mental health issues and starts having flashbacks about her mother’s death involving her father and a mysterious woman. Sarah realises that she has to find out the truth as to what happened to their mother. A body is discovered where Bill and Cary’s are developing properties, is it Alice’s? The family is torn apart with hidden secrets and lies and the book builds to a shocking conclusion. An edge of the seat read,
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thus book was enjoyable, if all be it a bit predictable. The ending baffled me as well, I feel like we brre

This book tried way too hard for me. It almost had too much going on, along with not enough going on at all.
Tried really hard to be a favourite but definitrly fell short for me.

Gripping book with a hugely intense ending. Absolutely loved it! Very dark and twisted, highly recommend.

The Daughters by Julia Crouch is an unpredictable psychological thriller with twists that I did not see coming. This book centers on a blended family, Carys is the stepmother to Sara and Lucy. Sara and Lucy’s mother, Alice, died tragically by supposed suicide shortly before Carys entered the picture. Lucy has struggled with her mental health throughout her teen/young adult years and Sara, is returning to the home to assist Lucy. Sara is also returning as she has recently obtained information relating to her mother’s death/funeral. Alice’s body was never recovered. Sara is wondering what exactly happened to her mother, and is her mother actually deceased. As anticipated in any psychological thriller, there are secrets, lies, twists, and turns. This story kept me guessing and there was a wealth of character development. I highly recommend this book and will be seeking out other novels from this author. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my! What an amazing,wonderful, thrilling read! I was at the edge of my seat the while time I was reading this. Absolutely addictive and packed with twists. A must read.

I had a very hard time getting into this book. It gets off to a slow start with lots of exposition and just drags on and on until a daughter's repressed memories are brought forward through hypnosis. After that, the pace picks up and things start to get a little more interesting. There are bodies buried in the garden and a wife who was declared dead even though her body was never found and lots of suspicions about who might have done what....but I never really worked up enough enthusiasm to care what happened to any of the characters.

A psychological thriller that starts slowly. But soon gathers pace, it’s great to learn about all the characters and there back stories.
A suspense thriller with many twists and turns.

I just dont know what to say. This is put to the max - throwing everything in - racism, incest, so many triggers. This is pure escapism and just go for it. Lots of questions but then I thought it is pure escapism and an enjoyable afternoon read which you can just experience. If you want something like this, then this is for you.

I was given a free copy by netgalley but the review is entirely my own.

Wow! This is a chilling family drama. You probably won't like any of the characters, but you can't put the book down.

I quite enjoyed this story of an extremely dysfunctional family with a lot of secrets to hide - although I had to wonder why Carys bothered with the rest of the miserable lot. At times I felt it was written quite clumsily - for example there were a lot of odd metaphors about building/construction which seemed to tie in with Bill and Carys being property developers, but it felt a bit heavy-handed and weird, and I felt some elements of the story lacked subtlety. Without giving any spoilers, some things that happened just didn't ring true because it seemed too great a coincidence, which made the ending of the story a bit of a disappointment.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Readers looking for a chilling family drama that will keep them guessing need look no further than Julia Crouch’s dark, terrifying and creepy new novel, The Daughters.

The death of their beloved mother had naturally hit her two daughters, Sarah and Lucy hard. Losing a parent is hard regardless of how old a child is and the two sisters vow to stick together and to get through this difficult time together. Their father is also willing to do whatever it takes for his daughters during this heart-breaking time. But little did Sarah and Lucy realise that their father had been lying to them and that the coffin they had cried over was empty. When the truth comes out, the two sisters are naturally flabbergasted. Their father had said that he only lied to them in order to protect them. But was his lie truly in their best interest? Or did their father have a more sinister reason for constructing such an elaborate deception?

Their new stepmother Carys just wants the whole family to put a line under the past and look to the future. However, when Lucy has a flash of memory connected to her mother’s death involving her father and a woman whose face she does not recognise that leaves her reeling, Sarah realizes that she must find out who is responsible for her mother’s death. But does she know just what she is letting herself in for? Is she prepared for what she is about to find? Or will her pursuit of the truth end up putting her life in danger?

In The Daughters, Julia Crouch explores with forensic insight the darkness lurking at the heart of a family torn apart by secrets, lies and betrayals. Complex, disturbing and full of moments that had me jumping out of my skin, The Daughters is an eerie thriller that will leave readers wondering just how well they know their nearest and dearest.

A skillfully written page-turner full of nail-biting tension and edge of your seat suspense, domestic noir readers will not want to miss Julia Crouch’s The Daughters.

There are so many mother/daughter combinations it’s hard to keep them all straight…..early chapters will help understand the who’s who in the book.
   The one missing character that seems the lynchpin in this family chaos is Alice. Her suspected suicide resulted in a daughter leaving home, another daughter have mental health issues, the remarriage of the husband and introduction of a lovely new wife (who comes with her own dubious backstory).
   As the reader, I became very exasperated with the second wife, Carys. It’s was hard to comprehend that a woman would constantly tolerate the hostile relationship demonstrated by her oldest stepdaughter. Who is always that kind and tolerant? Stepdaughter Sara, this constantly angry woman and know it all, made it easy to dislike her throughout the whole book. Maybe the was the goal of the author, in which case, good job.
   How their lives intertwined and the outcome in the final scenes revealed provided the reader a non-stop thriller and page turner.

I really struggled with this book. I found it quite boring and it struggled to keep my attention. I didn't care enough about any of the characters or what was going on. Not for me I'm afraid although I appear to be in the minority.

Wow, what an action-packed and twisty book this is!

The characterisation in this book is superb. You might not like or trust all of the characters, but you’ll certainly be completely drawn into their lives and you won’t know who is lying and who is hiding a secret.

There are a great many secrets in this super twisty novel. Even Carys, the character who I liked the most, was keeping something from everyone.

I found myself unable to stop turning the pages, needing to know what was going to happen next. This is a complete cancel-everything, walk-around-glued-to-your-kindle type of book, so be warned, you won’t want to put it down.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to discover more books by this author. Highly recommended.

I did read the bulk of this book during a long delay at an airport so probably wasn’t in the best frame of mind for catching on to who was who in this story with a lot of similar aged characters.
It wasn’t a thriller which was what I was expecting but more of a family drama. Certainly very little tension. An ok starry with a couple of sub plots that didn’t add much if anything to the enjoyment. However th3 author did satisfactorily pull all th3 threads together by the end.

In my opinion this book is completely advertised wrong; it's supposed to be a psychological thriller but there is nothing thrilling about it whatsoever, it was more of a family drama for me. I didn't care enough about what was going on and was just going through the motions trying to get it finished.

I think this has been the worst book in terms of characters for me, absolutely none of them were likeable (well maybe Binnie and the dog); Carys was too much of a try hard and Sara was just an immature, whiny specimen that thinks she can waltz back in after a decade missing and just take over.

No thrills, all drama (and not in a good way).

*Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Julia Crouch for the copy of this book. All views are my own.*

I greatly enjoyed the first book from #JuliaCrouch that I read, #TheNewMother. I jumped at the chance to read this one & was happily satisfied. Starting out a little slow, it takes off into a dark thriller with an array of characters I wasn’t sure how to feel about. Crouch once again left me confused with who was worse and a very #thrillingthriller!

Thank you, Julia Crouch, bookouture & netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own. Thank you, #Bookouture, for including me on the tour!