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“Brings to mind Jodi Picoult…thought-provoking domestic drama.” – Booklist
“Will make you miss your bedtime, guaranteed.” – Bestselling author Kimberly Belle
Gripping, emotional, and wire-taut, Not Her Daughter raises the question of what it means to be a mother—and how far someone will go to keep a child safe.
Emma Townsend. Five years old. Gray eyes, brown hair. Missing since June.
Emma is lonely. Living with her cruel mother and clueless father, Emma retreats into her own world of quiet and solitude.
Sarah Walker. Successful entrepreneur. Broken-hearted. Kidnapper.
Sarah has never seen a girl so precious as the gray-eyed child in a crowded airport terminal. When a second-chance encounter with Emma presents itself, Sarah takes her—far away from home. But if it’s to rescue a little girl from her damaging mother, is kidnapping wrong?
Amy Townsend. Unhappy wife. Unfit mother. Unsure whether she wants her daughter back.
Amy’s life is a string of disappointments, but her biggest issue is her inability to connect with her daughter. And now Emma is gone without a trace.
As Sarah and Emma avoid the nationwide hunt, they form an unshakeable bond. But what about Emma’s real mother, back at home?
Praise for Not Her Daughter
“The plot twists here are brave, the themes are both poignant and unsettling, and the resolution is deeply resonant. A page-turner with heart!” – New York Times bestselling author Kate Moretti
“A cleverly constructed novel that will have you questioning everything you believe about right or wrong.” – New York Times bestselling author Chevy Stevens
“Engrossing and suspenseful, Frey writes her characters with depth and compassion, challenging readers to question their own code of ethics.” – Zoje Stage, author of Baby Teeth
“An emotional ride where the line between right and wrong begins to fade…pulls you in from the very first page, and unlike most in its genre, you won’t know how you want it to end until it does.” – Wendy Walker, author of Emma in the Night
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I really wanted to like this book. Faced with a moral decision what do you do? Sarah owns a successful business and she has two brief encounters of seeing a child being disciplined severely by her mother. What does she do? On an impulse, she takes the child. The story has unbelievable characters and an unbelievable plot that just does not make sense. Received this book from NetGalley.
Not Her Daughter is well-written and the story has a building tension that keeps the pages turning. The story is written in dual points of view, alternating between our kidnapper, Sarah, and Emma’s mother, Amy. We also get before, during, and after chapters to give some perspective into the characters and their frame of mind. All of this should’ve added up to a high-praise review. However, there were a few things throughout the story that niggled at me. Amy is unlikable from the start, which is kind of the point, and Sarah makes a rash decision to kidnap Emma, thus freeing her from a bad home life. Why Sarah chose kidnapping over calling authorities is explained, but suffice it to say that her emotions and mental state weren’t exactly where they should be. Okay, I can get with that. My problems started from there. I don’t want to give spoilers, so I’ll just sum it up with either Sarah is extremely lucky or everyone involved is completely inept at their jobs because her name is never brought up. Not once. The ending, while unexpected, was unsatisfactory at best. I understand that this one is in the works for the big screen and maybe it will work better in that format, but for me, there were just too many things that required a suspension of disbelief. On the whole, the story had great potential, but fell a bit short of that wow factor.
This book was amazing – exciting! I did not expect the ending – but it totally worked!
Sarah Walker first observes the interactions between Amy Townsend and her five-year-old daughter Emma in an airport. Amy is scolding and pushing Emma while arguing with her husband. Unable to get Emma out of her mind, Sarah sees her again a few months later. This time when Amy physically lashes out at Emma Sarah snaps. Having herself grown up in a home where her mother was first verbally and emotionally abusive to Sarah and then walked out of the home, Sarah is shaken to her core to see this happening to Emma. So – Sarah takes Emma – just to keep her safe. Can this be so wrong? Now Sarah is on the run. She has to do this. She can’t let Emma be returned to her mother.
Amy Townsend – nagging wife. How did life go so wrong? Why can she never catch a break? Unfit mother? Her small son never seems to push her buttons like Emma does. Now Emma is missing. How did she let this happen? Does she want a second chance with Emma? Would life be better without Emma? Did I want her to have a second chance?
Two women – one child. Which woman is a “real mother”? What does it take to be a “good” mother?
Such a beautifully written story – and so difficult to put down. How dare life get in the way when I have such a phenomenal book to read!
The characters are believable. The situation is impossible – or is it? We know the law, but is the law always right? Quite the moral dilemma. We definitely dive into that gray area here. Emotionally wrenching! Suspenseful! I loved it!! Perfect book club read!
I’m SO GLAD I didn’t give up on this one! I honestly struggled with it at first, just couldn’t get into it – but something about it told me to give it a little time and come back to it and after I did I found myself immersed…
How many times have any of us witnessed cruelty to a child and wished we could do something about it? Well, Sarah did – and the tale that follows that decision is moving and unbelievable and touching and really a remarkable read. I did find it, at times, unbelievable – the suspension of disbelief is more than occasionally required here – but it was never any less enjoyable a read for that.
Emma is heart-breakingly believable in and of herself – that may be why the book didn’t always have to be, if that makes any sense. I have a five year old daughter who is, like Emma, lovely and audacious and smart as a whip; there were definitely times when this book hurt my heart because I can’t even imagine a child like mine going through what Emma did. Sarah’s impetuosity – and her continued decision to act when most would have walked away – will garner criticism and complain. I get that, I really do – we can’t all decide we are The Law or things would go to hell in a handbasket even faster than they are. But I also found it lovely to see someone in this increasingly isolated, me-myself-and-I-focused world care enough about a stranger to actually take action – even if that action was somewhat insane.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The characters were gut-wrenchingly genuine and the tale was well paced and articulated. I will definitely look for more from Rea Frey.
My review copy was provided by NetGalley. The book releases in the U.S. on August 21, 2018.
I started this book at 10 at night thinking I would read just a few chapters before bed. I literally didn’t move off the couch until the very last words. This book was so heartbreakingly beautiful! Emma is a sweet beautiful 5 year old little girl that her mother Amy just doesn’t get along with. Sarah first notices Emma and her family in the airport then months later runs into Emma again. Sarah kidnaps Emma wanting to show her love. The story is told by Sarah and Amy in before, during, and after timelines. I felt for all the characters even the ones that aren’t particularly likable. I loved Emma as she is the absolute sweetest little girl. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All opinions are my own.
Don’t know quite what to say about this book. The first couple of pages I thought I wouldn’t finish it. I turned another page and I was hooked! Emma has had a sad childhood. She comes across a very young abused child and decides she needs to take this child and give her a better life.. they go on the run. The child comes from a disfunctional home. The mother doesn’t want the child because the child is more than she wants to handle. The author makes it difficult for you to decide who to side with.