The book had all the bits of a great thriller. And more on top. It caused you to ask and feel Soapy things. It asked you to.wonder on the moral of things or "rules" over getting true justice and deservedly so.
I felt so bad for our main characters
At the base of it is so much pain and hurt and a.system and society that doesn't ease that.
I can't imagine continuing on when your bear a weight like that. Especially if you feel so alone.
This book went so much deeper into things surrounding the justice system,family dynamics and the grey areas of right and wrong when it involves such horrific things
This book is face based and thriller enoguh but with that complete emotions wallop to give it so much extra.

𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗉𝖺𝗀𝖾 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖾𝖽 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖾𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗅 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗎𝗆𝖺, 𝗍𝗐𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗎𝗌𝗉𝖾𝗇𝗌𝖾 . 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗅 𝖽𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗉𝖾𝖽, 𝖾𝗌𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝖯𝖾𝗇𝗇𝗒. 𝖸𝗈𝗎 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖺𝗅𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗂𝗇𝗇𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗆𝗈𝗂𝗅 𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝗎𝗀𝗀𝗅𝖾𝗌 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝗈𝗋 𝗌𝖾𝖾𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍𝗂𝖼𝖾.
𝖳𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗌𝗅𝗈𝗐 𝖻𝗎𝗋𝗇, 𝖾𝗆𝗈𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝗀𝖾𝖽 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗆𝗉𝖺𝖼𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗎𝗆𝖺, 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝖽𝖾𝖼𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗌 𝗅𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗋. 𝖮𝗏𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖺 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽.



Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgally for my advanced copy.

Penny Collins is a loving daughter. She is married with one young child and looks after her widowed mother, Connie, who lives next door and is living with dementia. We pick up Penny’s story when she has been called for jury service. Told in dual timelines, twenty years apart, this is a harrowing story of sexual abuse and its effects on the abused. A slow burner with a good amount of detailed background to the main story, well written and good plot.

Briefly, heading off to court Penny is shocked to find herself called for a case where a man is charged with the rape of a teenager. To her absolute horror she recognises the man as the same person who raped her as a 14 year old. Does she disclose her involvement or does she see it as the time he gets his comeuppance?

The narrative around Penny’s and her mother’s earlier life, and how and why Penny now plots to bring the accused down, is quite sad and I really felt for Penny. It’s also interesting to see how courts and juries deal with young victims, despite the nature of the crime the accused seems to have the upper hand. It’s a dark story and a compelling read with a shocking climax and will certainly make you think.

I was accepted to read this book before official publication through NetGalley and below is my honest review.

This book was fantastic! It’s gripping and draws you in from the start.

The story telling and character development is fantastically written into a fast paced read. I found myself angry and emotional in parts, it really pulls you in. It does contain some heavy themes though so I recommend checking the trigger warnings before reading!

I highly recommend this to any fans of psychological thrillers filled with emotion.

Publication date is 5th April 2025 (you can preorder now for 99p!)

Overall, I give this book 5 stars!!

Good story which splits between the past and future for the main character. She was assaulted as a child, and by chance in the present is now a juror for the perpetrator on trial. Somewhat descriptive throughout which makes it slow in places but a good story nonetheless

Another twisty tale from J A Baker. What a great book. I've enjoyed all the others I've read and watched was pleased that this one lived up to the others. Kept me guessing all the way through to the end. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This story has a few triggers within so not for the faint hearted.
This story has a slow burn start to it giving you the background of the characters and the locations of the plot to set the scene. Penny Collins is the main character who suffers imaginable events as a child and struggles with the fact of no one believing her saying she was making it all up.
When she becomes an adult she is called for Jury Service and comes face to face with her abuser and is part of the team who decides his fate, will the evil abuser get his comeuppance now after over 20years of believing he is invincible or will his reign of freedom come to an abrupt end?
What will the Jurors decide GUILTY or NOT GUILTY!!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
*Please review trigger warnings before reading book*

The writing was good, but it felt like nothing happened. It was a shorter story that did time jumps and POV changes, but easy to follow along. The verdict, illnesses in the book, and fellow survivor are predictable elements unfortunately. While it didn’t seem like much, I feel some readers may view it as a victim’s journey of acceptance and recovering their voice. I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t that storyline.

This one fell a bit flat for me but not for the storyline, purely because of pacing. I wanted it to grab me and pull me in and I think it felt too drawn out. I felt for Penny and her situation and I was anxious for the trial to see how it unfolded. Overall the story was great but I just felt like I was wanting more.

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read and review this books

This book had its enjoyable moments, but overall, the pacing felt too slow for my taste. While the attention to detail was impressive, at times, it felt excessive—I would have preferred a more streamlined narrative. Though the story had merit, it didn’t quite stand out as a favorite for me this year. However, readers who enjoy richly detailed storytelling and a slower build may appreciate it more.

Struggled to get into this book the middle picked up an the ending was good. It was a short book so read this in just over a day. The storyline was good as I find you can relate to similar stories within the news.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Good Daughter by J.A. Baker due to be published April 5, 2025.

Also recommended by J.A. Baker: Hush Little Baby.

As a teenager, Penny Collins always tried to be a good daughter. Until the night she was brutally attacked as she lay in her bed. The assault, from a man she knew all too well, traumatized Penny and no one believed her. Twenty years later, Penny comes face to face with her attacker and sits on his jury. Can she convince the others of his guilt?
The Good Daughter alternates between two time periods – when Penny was growing up in her hated house left to them by her grandparents, and the present – serving on the jury of the man who had sexually assaulted her as a teenager. It held my interest the entire time as I couldn’t wait to hear the outcome of the trial. There is a huge twist that you will just have to read for yourself!

#NetGalley #JABaker #BoldwoodBooks #TheGoodDaughter

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb of this book really caught my attention and I was pleased at how the story was told. Trigger warning for SA. I liked the change of POV and timelines, that really helped with the understanding and pace of the book. I do wish the ending would of been a little more bang but it ended well. no loose ends. I couldn't stand the mom and how she didn't seem to care about what happened to her daughter. This shows that there are people out there who have to deal with this.

3.5 rounded up.

I was hooked with fear and anticipation from the dark prologue. Such torture and hardships endured by many characters with a story line that alternates between past and present. Seeking revenge and justice, will she get it? No spoilers here! Worth the read!

A harrowing read with a trigger warning for SA. I think I read through in a constant state of anger through Connie's ignorance and oblivious nature towards her teenage daughter and the trial with unsympathetic women.

SA cases are always poorly dealt with in courts and victims barely left with a sense of justice - it's no wonder that so many cases go unreported. This particular story highlights the vulnerability of teenagers but also showed that age doesn't get addressed in such matters. A grown man against a teenage girl is clearly an imbalance but oftentimes it's the perpetrator that has the upper hand.

Penny's journey in this is a tough one but she does get some kind of justice -albeit not the right kind that a civilised society might have. Definitely a tough read but a good story.

3.5 stars

Penny Collins suffered an awful tragedy as a young teenager. Now, as an adult, she is summoned to jury. The trial is for the very man who S-assaulted her and the charge is for an identical crime. Will he receive the justice he deserves this time around?

The writing moves between current time with Penny serving on the jury and the past when her S-assault took place. I liked the dual time line and short chapters. The writing style was a bit juvenile but not enough to lose my interest. It got repetitive in the beginning - the first 40% moved slowly. I did like Penny's character I just wish she had more depth to her. I would categorize the plot more as drama or general fiction and not really mystery/thriller. No major plot twists. Overall entertaining enough, I read through it quickly.

Thanks to NetGalley, J.A. Baker, and Boldwood Books for the ARC and chance to give my honest opinion!

This was a pretty decent enough read. The premise is good and the alternating POV's kept the story interesting though I preferred the current POV's to the ones set in the past. The end of this one was a little anticlimactic for me but overall this is a solid book if a bit forgettable.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A sad tale of pain and letdown. Of taking matters into your own hands when nothing else works.
Of needing to have the pain released from your body and not knowing how to go about it.

And finally there is one person who decides to take matters into to her own hands and even though it’s not the right thing to do it still gives you peace.

Such a crazy tale that often happens when people seek justice but the system doesn’t work.

A must read that will keep you turning the pages until the last word.

The premise of this book is all too believable and the author does an amazing job in respectfully bringing it to life. The tragedy behind the main character’s perspective is heart wrenching and it’s fascinating to read how this past informs the plot and the current case. A really well executed thriller.

I really enjoyed this book! It was very well written and kept me engaged. I enjoyed the changing of story telling perspectives and time frames, I found it flowed well.

As a teenager, Penny moved to a farmhouse inherited by her parents where she was met with trauma. Years later, she has an opportunity to bring justice when she is selected as a jury member to determine the fate of a man from her past.

A definite good read!