Excellent example of a domestic thriller.

It always starts with secrets right? Well this is no different and they start to unravel the characters lives and this leads to real tension.

Really enjoyed this book, easy reading.

‘The child you never knew
knows all your secrets . . .’ - cover tag line.

My thanks to Quercus Books for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘My Darling Daughter’ by JP Delaney.

I have read a number of Delaney’s thrillers and have found them all gripping page-turners. His latest continued this trend.

In the novel Susie Jukes is contacted on social media by Anna, the child she had given up for adoption fifteen years ago. However, when they meet up Susie is alarmed by Anna’s account of life with her adoptive parents. When they appear to overreact to Anna having met with Susie, she becomes convinced that Anna needs her help. No further details to avoid spoilers.

I found this an engaging domestic thriller. I especially admired Susie’s patience with respect to Anna’s increasingly erratic behaviour. It was the kind of novel that once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down.

OK, I found this one quite a difficult read.

Themes of abuse, neglect, violence, adoption and pregnancy loss. I don't know whether it was the overall theme of this book or the characters that didn't do it for me.

It wasn't as suspenseful as previous books my the author that I've loved, and I spent most of my time reading worrying about what would happen to Sky.
Maybe it was a little too real for me!

This is the second book I read from this author and once again I’ve really enjoyed it. This book was a fast past thriller with some good twists and well developed characters.. The pace of the story never slowed down and the short chapters made me kept reading until the end. I would definitely recommend this book for psychological thriller fans.

Many Thanks to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book before being published in exchange for an honest review.
I have read a few books by JP Delaney and this one is the one I liked the less.
Susie Jones married to a well known music producer Gabe is contacted on social media by Anna, the daughter she gave in adoption 15 years ago.
They meet and her adoptive parents seem to overreact. Susie wants to believe that Anna needs help.
During the few months that Susie meets up with Anna, she stays in her house for a few days, there is always the strangeness of Anna’s behaviour. She tries to even blame Gabe of touching her inappropriately.
Anna keeps feeling guilty because she abandoned her daughter so she tries to help her as much as she can, until she realises that there are secrets that Susie has been hiding.
I didn´t like Susie and couldn´t connect with Anna as I could see that Susie was hiding something and not behaving properly. Why Anna wouldn´t see that Susie was doing everything to ruin her marriage even destroy the house?
It is an ok psychological thriller. Hopefully, next Delaney’s book will be better.

Loved it. Really well fleshed out characters and a gripping storyline.
When Sky, her adopted daughter turns up out of the blue, Susie is over the moon. It’s what she always wanted but things don’t turn out quite as she hoped and things from her and husband Gabe’s past come to the fore.

If ever there was a book 'too modern' with so much emphasis on social media - this was it, I, too, found it difficult to read and just didn’t enjoy it.

The characters were slightly unbelievable and I failed to finish it.

Thanks to Net Galley and Quercus books for the chance to read and review the book.

My Darling Daughter - JP Delaney ARC
Publication Date: 15th September

“The child you never knew
knows all your secrets . . .

Out of the blue, Susie Jukes is contacted on social media by Anna, the girl she gave up for adoption fifteen years ago.”

I’ve read a few JP Delaney books and have enjoyed them all. Much like his other books I found it a really face paced and quick read, there were some twists that I didn’t see coming. I found the themes were really interesting but I did think there were a little too many topics that it felt a bit forced.
I did enjoy reading this book and found it was really gripping.

Thanks @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Started and finished in one reading, what a gripping book this was.
Singer Susie Jukes and her ex Boyband husband have an enviable life. Both have successful careers but also both have secrets from each other and the world. When Susie is contacted by the daughter she gave up for adoption 15 years ago the secrets begin to seep out and the works around the happy couple is dangerously tested.
The story tells a grim tale of failed care and adoption and the depths of mental health issues that are left untreated and unresolved. The author has obviously done lots of research and it is interesting to read a story that is not all about a happy process.
Highly recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Whenever you feel like a good fast read you can never go wrong with JP Delaney! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it's also a story that makes you think.
You can see a lot of research went into writing this book and I found it fascinating! It gives you a lot of insight into British social services and how adoption orders work. In a lot of cases it is to the benefit of the child but not always. It was also fascinating to learn about the Life Letters.

What do you do if your adopted child suddenly reaches out to you? For Suzy, this was like a dream come true. She's been tormented with the memories of a child that she had to give up and suddenly out of the blue, she sees this child in the crowd at one of her concerts. Just like that Sky steps back into their lives. Will this be a joyful reunion or will it put a strain on Susie and Gabe's marriage? How do you suddenly play mother to a 15-year-old if you don't really know her?

"Someday the bells will start ringing for you. Someday the world will start singing for you. Someday in the future, you will find your past"

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Having read this authors work before, I was expecting great things. However, I found the story to be quite unbelievable and lost its way for quite a lot of the book. The twists were purely for shock factor and didn’t make sense. There wasn’t a single likeable character either!

The child you never knew

knows all your secrets….

Out of the blue, Susie Jukes receives a message on social media from a girl called Anna who claims to be the daughter she gave up for adoption fifteen years ago. Anna isn’t happy at home and Susie and her husband Gabe begin to think something’s amiss. Susie is convinced Anna needs her help. Who is telling the truth and what secrets have been kept hidden and are ready to be exposed?

A psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, My Darling Daughter is a deliciously dark and twisty domestic noir with plenty of truly terrifying moments.

Dealing with some very difficult topics, Delaney’s book is an interesting exploration of the world of adoption and what can happen when the support networks aren’t there for the child and adults involved. Some elements of this book were hard to read but the secrets that are revealed throughout the book makes it hard to feel sorry for any of the characters.

Told from multiple points of view, the author delivers a truly gripping story that you won’t want to put down. The short and snappy chapters jumping from one character’s perspective to the next adds to the increasing sense of tension and suspense in the story.

Thoroughly engaging, My Darling Daughter is packed full of family drama- go check it out!

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for the arc. My Darling Daughter is out now..

Honestly, I didn’t love this book. It was somewhat educational in that the author has clearly highlighted a need for ongoing support for adopted children and their parents, where desired / warranted. However, as a book I found it really difficult to read and just didn’t enjoy it as much as previous books by JP Delaney. This one was wrapped up poorly and the adult characters were not likeable. If I had read this from a new author I’d have been disappointed / avoided further books.

Rating 4.5 stars rounded off to 5

Well, that was one of the best and most well researched psychological thrillers I’ve read!

I had read The Girl Before by this author years ago and loved it. So when I saw his new one, I just had to grab it.

Thanks NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC. Apologies for the delay with the review.

Synopsis -

Susie gave up her baby girl for adoption 15 years ago. Now a teenager, Anna contacts her birth mother on social media. But their reunion is far from perfect. Concerned with Anna’s dubious family life and her strange ways, Susie and her husband Gabe gear up to be there for her as her support system. Unfortunately, things are not as simple as they seem.

Review -

I loved how natural and utterly human every character Delaney pictures in this book is. Susie, Gabe and Anna are all flawed. None of their pasts have been easy - the trauma and damage as a result, are like a shadow to their personalities.

The multi POV approach and short punchy chapters worked so well. We have the narratives of all of the three and this helped understand each of them, knowing their deepest thoughts and hidden secrets they are running away from.

Furthermore, it’s how a 15 year old girl cast in a sinister role that steals the show here. Delving deep into the psychological aspects of a teenager who’s been adopted, the author explores the struggles of adoptive parents and adoptee with attachment disorder, as well as the kind of distress and anguish, the birth mother might go through under the circumstances.

Although there is not much action, what shocked me the most was the amount of evil and mind games at play here. By mid-way, the plot’s complexity increases, as multiple threads are conjoined cleverly, making it an all-consuming read until the very last moment.

I appreciated the author’s notes that outline his insights behind the adoption theme, the data that was gathered via research and interviews along with the imagination and creation of these characters.

Highly recommend this gripping and suspenseful read to psychological thriller fans!

Oh wow, what a fantastic book!!! And I'm also surprised as I've read some reviewers saying this is not JP Delaney's best book. How good are his other books, then?? Since this was a new author to me, I decided to buy two of his older books as soon as I finished this one.
I loved the story, a domestic/psychological thriller with very sensitive themes and serious topics which are dealt with extreme care by Delaney. I loved the characters also, so authentic and real that you are automatically drawn to them. And I loved the format too, with the three POV narration and the short, paced chapters, that hooks you in right form the start. And finally, I loved and appreciated the fact that a thriller could also make me tear up at times and get emotional, which to me is always a bonus and just shows how much heart an author puts into his work.
Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I know that once I start this authors books I will be hooked from the beginning and this one was no different. This story was cleverly written and covered a lot of real life sensitive and complex issues which all intertwine to create this family drama/domestic thriller. Each chapter was written from different characters point of view and once I had started reading I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. This has lots of twists and turns and gasp out loud moments and never knew where it was going to take me next.

Am already looking forward to this authors next book.

I've finished reading My Darling Daughter by JP Delaney and I rate it 3 stars 🌟

Out of the blue, Susie Jones is contacted on Facebook by a teenage girl called Anna claiming to be her daughter that she gave up for adoption 15 years ago.

When they decide to meet up Anna's life with her adoptive parents sounds strange and the closer Susie & her husband Gabe get to Anna things start to take a rather unbelievable turn...

I've read all of JP Delaney's books and I loved them but My Darling Daughter it was ok but not brilliant, I found Susie to be really naive and a bit of a boring drip to be honest, Anna/Sky was an ok character.

I found the story a bit slow it didn't really have me gripped I read more then half of it and was getting frustrated with how slow it was so I just read then end if the book and was quite disappointed with the ending the book just isn't as good as the authors previous books it's not bad or terrible but not just as good the story just wasn't for me..

JP Delaney’s The Girl Before was one of the first books that really got me into psychological thrillers. This one was more of a domestic thriller that explores some tough topics - adoption and the issues both parents and children can face with it, the impact of infertility, drug use and trauma.

Told from multiple POV, we get to know Susie, Gabe and Anna. I felt for Gabe at many times through the book. Whilst I connected well with Susie I found her blind trust in Anna very frustrating at times. With Anna- I just had the feeling something wasn’t quite right.

With short, sharp chapters this book jumps straight into the story and keeps up at a cracking pace the whole time. Delaney really knows how to elicit emotions- it took me on a ride with feelings of unease, which then moved into frustration and anger and then disbelief. Whilst I found the ending a little anti-climatic it was still another solid read. Perfect for fans of Baby Teeth and
The Perfect Child

Having read all of JP Delaney’s previous books, I immediately requested this one. However, for some reason this one just seemed to fall flat and didn’t have that ‘can’t put down feel to it’. The book was interesting and an easy read but not as thriller-ish as I was expecting.

Clever and complex, this psychological thriller is about a childless celebrity couple, the reappearance of the wife's daughter, and its effect on all their lives. The psychological suspense builds to an impactful and thought-provoking conclusion.

The plot is twisty, and the depth of characterisation is good. Anna/Sky is a powerful character with many layers, and the reader's feelings about her vacillate. The story explores contemporary themes, many disturbing, in an informative and sensitive way that illuminates the story and its characters.

There is a poignant ethos amidst the spiralling suspense; in many ways, the family drama element dominates the psychological tension, but it's a compelling read.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.