The must-read psychological thriller for 2019 from the million-copy-bestselling author of Silent Child.In one moment, Kat Cavanaugh’s perfect world is shattered into tiny fragments. The flash of her daughter’s torn yellow dress, the beautiful blonde hair hanging across her precious face. Her own heart-broken sob… nightmare when her little girl is found dead. And then the police add the word ‘suicide’. But Kat refuses to believe them.
Even when they show her the familiar looping handwriting and smudged ink on the note Grace left behind. She knows her bubbly, bright daughter would never take her own life.
But as she searches Grace’s perfume-scented room, filled with smiling photos, she uncovers secrets her daughter had been hiding. Secrets that make her wonder how well she really knew the woman her only child was becoming.
Kat’s determined to find out what really happened to Grace on the night she died, even if it means confronting her own troubled past. But as she gets closer to the terrible truth, Kat is faced with an unthinkable question: there was no way she could have protected Grace – or was there?
This addictive and emotional psychological thriller will keep you gripped into the dark hours. Perfect for fans of Behind Closed Doors and The Girl on the Train.
Why readers are completely gripped by Only Daughter:
‘I couldn’t put it down!… it had me glued to the pages! There aren’t many books which have me in big sobbing tears and then biting my nails in anticipation, but this was one of them!… Brilliant writing, gripping story, well worthy of its 5 stars!’ Stardust Book Reviews, 5 stars
‘Oh. My. God. This thriller was chilling, twisted, and an absolute page-turner…filled with so many twists, turns, and shocks that had me hanging off of every page.’ The Reading Chemist
‘Wow, just wow!… Right from the very first page, I was hooked… a highly addictive read with so many twists and turns. I absolutely loved it!… it blew my mind. Brilliant!’ By the Letter Book Reviews, 5 stars
‘Brilliant, compelling, enthralling… I was utterly flabbergasted multiple times throughout with lots of unexpected shocking twists and turns. Your emotions are constantly on a very twisted rollercoaster from beginning to end.’ Reading Through the Pain, 5 stars
‘Well HOT DAMN! This book was dark, disturbing, and deliciously twisted!… will blow your mind and destroy your heart. I just finish this and my heart is still racing… The story was so dark and intense and completely riveting! you are in for one crazy well worth it ride! Absolutely recommend!’ Audio Killed the Bookmark
‘BLOWN AWAY BY THIS AUTHOR AGAIN!! JUST WOW! 5 STARS OVER AND OVER!… I love the build-up… really keeps you on the edge of your seat… Seriously, seriously amazing!!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘WOW!!… WOW!… I LOVE IT!… has you hooked from the chilling prologue.’ Zooloo’s Book Diary
‘Amazing! Loved every bit of this book, 5 stars! Kept me up half the night I just needed to find out what happened.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘Omg, Sarah A. Denzil is my new favourite author!!!… I absolutely loved the plot of this book… I would have never guessed the ending… 5 stars.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
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This was such a page-turner. Sarah A Denzil really makes you question everyone and everything. A perfect thriller. I adored the depth of the characters and the realism of conditions. Fantastic world-building and original. Off I go to devour the next one.
Wonderful book and worth reading.
This is a fast-paced and well-written psychological thriller that hooked me from the start.
This first-person narrative is about many things on many levels not least how environment can form a person. It touches themes such as bullying, brainwashing, poverty and lies…and much more.
It’s emotional and psychologically intriguing – sad and disturbing, too.
I highly recommended this fantastic and suspenseful thriller.
Grace Cavanaugh is found dead at the bottom of a quarry with a suicide note in her pocket. Her monther, Kat, refused to believe it was a suicide. As Kat begins to do her own investigation into her daughter’s death, she begins to receive threatening texts. As this story unfolds, there are many twists and turns along with a lot of surprises and other story lines that all tie in together in the end. This was a very fast paced read and I really enjoyed being kept on the edge of my seat while devouring it. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very riveting thriller.
So this was such a tangled web of psychological warfare and I loved every minute.
Picture the scene Kat’s daughter Grace lies cold on the mortuary slab, a supposed victim of suicide.
But Kat doesn’t and won’t accept this apparent scenario and outcome.
Kat formally Katie Flack, a girl with a colourful past who has dragged herself up from her poor beginnings in life to her current station married to Charles who is himself old money.
In therapy, for years Kat has lived a life of personal improvement all for one person’s benefit, Grace.
Who better than Kat: diagnosed sociopath and grieving mother to investigate her daughter’s suspicious demise.
A mother with no conscience just a dogged determination to discover the truth whatever the cost
Her one attachment and stabling force removed and out of the equation.
So as Kat covertly investigates Grace’s life and death she discovers in this process that she didn’t know her daughter quite as well as she thought she did and with a mysterious adversary warning her away from the truth things soon start to escalate.
“Only daughter” apart from that first harrowing and traumatic opening scene was told completely from Kat’s POV.
Kat was such an interesting individual to me: her unique thought process and atypical reactions begging the same old argument of nature versus nuture and in regards to her daughter Grace is it ultimately truth that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree itself.
Is Grace far more like her mother that Kat realised.
From the beginning, this managed to grip and enthral me, the mystery here kept me guessing until the very end.
I also found the dynamic between Kat and Charles curious and as the story progresses these two after colliding seemed to drift back towards each other almost cementing their alliance.
This was so much more than what it seemed and show-cased brilliantly how our underlying relationships growing up are the building blocks and foundations of our future selves.
Our early life experiences or lack of almost shaping and moulding us into what’s to come.
This really does explore what contributes to our overall personalities.
So I suspected everyone here, absolutely no one was immune from my beady-eyed suspicion.
Some stuff I did guess, but others still crept up on me catching me unawares.
This was, in my opinion, a really well written and engaging read: one that I am happy to recommend.
This was a thought-provoking and suspenseful read.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of “Only Daughter”.
All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
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I’m a fan of this author and her latest did not disappoint! It’s hard to read this as a mother, especially as one of a teenage girl, as it is about a mother dealing with the loss of her 17 year old. The police say it’s suicide, but her mother Kat will not let it go, as she believes it must have been murder. The pacing of the story is the only thing I had issue with, as it is pretty slow for much of the story and doesn’t pick up until at least halfway through.
Much of the plot revolves around Kat no longer trusting her friends and family and seeing everyone she knows as a suspect until thoroughly proved otherwise. We’re given hints that she has a dark past that has lead her to believe herself a sociopath and there is a large amount of inner dialogue regarding how she was able to love her daughter when she should not be capable of love. She thinks many of her actions are due to not having a conscience and that it gives her an edge getting tough on people to find out the truth.
I would have liked to see her past revealed a bit earlier, so the reader would better understand her actions throughout more of the story, rather than learning towards the end and then having to reflect back over everything. But it doesn’t hurt the story and I was deeply engrossed until the last page. I’d definitely recommend this book and I can’t wait until her next one comes out.
Prologue:
Her only daughter died and she wants to know what happened.
Overall:
This was a character driven story with many supporting characters. Katie was not a detective she was mother, yet she was determined to find the truth about her daughter. Katie knew Grace differently than her friends from school. At home Grace was a good daughter.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve a read a story where one of the parents takes a personal interest in solving their own child’s murder, while detectives close the case with different answers.
The truth is usually ugly yet necessary when needing answers. Katie had the drive and money to solve this case. Along the way Katie was scrutinized, threatened, and blamed for trying to find the truth. She made accusations herself and fell short many times. Even when those accusations didn’t lead to Grace’s truth they led to a truth.
The Only Daughter had many variables. The execution of information kept the reader engaged with truths and lies. Every resolution seemed plausible. Katie had a good truth detector.
Story:
While most would be grieving, Katie was backpedaling with confusing doubts of denial. She replayed in her mind the way she changed because of Grace. Her life with Grace was better, she was healing and reforming herself. Without Grace she feared she would resort to her old ways, no longer needing to be good.
The entire time I’m reading I’m dissecting the meaningful words used to describe Katie and Grace. I like the way Katie analyzed the supporting characters as if she was a detective with the talent to determine a persons motives or behavior.
I wasn’t sure what to make of this story from the beginning. It seemed cut and dry, but then as Katie’s character continued to develop her backstory it shedded light on her mental state of mind. I got to hand it to her she was a remarkable character. It’s easy to get swayed by her passion to find out who Grace was.
Katie was a complex character that grew up poor. Her current life of wealth and opulence had brought about new issues of concern. She was neglected by her mother growing up. She learned to take care of herself. Being married to a wealthy man made life easier for her. She focused on her daughter by providing a lifestyle she never had, yet that still didn’t factor into keeping her safe from harm.
Katie wasn’t proud of her upbringing of violence. She thought being neglected by her mother and being poor contributed to her violent behavior. When the opportunity presented itself to marry a wealthy man she didn’t hesitate. Being married to Charles allowed her to offer her daughter a life without violence. Instead she learned that Grace wasn’t the daughter she had raised. Apparently, money was never the factor.
Playing devils advocate to both sides sways me in either direction. Both have logical explanations.
A tightly woven plot that exults mystery and honest plight. From the very first page until that resounding last line of script, Sarah Denzil, will keep you utterly captivated and on the edge of an emotional breakdown. This is not the typical “missing child” narrative. Denzil throws so many shrewd curveballs into this novel that you will be scrambling for purchase. The characters are brilliant, chaotic, and real. This book is a shining beacon in an overcrowded genre. 5 stars. Fantastic.
Thank you to #NetGalley and #bookouture for this ARC of #OnlyDaughter
First, I want to thank Sarah A. Denzil, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you with this review.
Only Daughter by Sarah A. Denzil is an extremely gripping and emotional Psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist. Words can’t describe what an incredible Psychological Thriller writer Sarah A. Denzil is. Her prologue alone blew me away with Grace’s extreme details and descriptions of how she is laying there in the middle of nowhere left for dead and dying! Not to mention the remorse of how everything she felt was wrong. It was the best prologue I had ever read before in this genre! After reading that prologue, I needed to know what happened to Grace and I would not put my book down til I found out what happened to her.
Kudos to the cover graphic artist who did the cover for this book. I thought it was beautiful and really liked the heart charm necklace and the blue backdrop.
However, there was no significance to the heart necklace mentioned in the story to tie in with the cover. I would have liked to seen that pay a part of it.
This book does cover some difficult subjects that may be triggers for some readers. Those topics include: Suicide, cyber bullying, drug abuse, inappropriate teacher/student relationship, teenage pregnancy, infidelity, etc.
This is one book that must be made into a NetFlix original!! It has so many great aspects to be a big smash hit on so many levels!
This was my first book by Sarah Denzil. I will definitely look for more. The story’s prologue introduces Grace at the end of her life. We know there is more than meets the eye, but the author does a great job of keeping us guessing until the end. Kat is a very unique character. I appreciated her strength. She isn’t the most likeable character, but she seemed very real to me. Her journey to learn what happened to her daughter let her learn more about her. In some ways, it was more than most parents know about their children. The book was full of twists as Kat learned more. From the beginning, I wanted to know more. I enjoyed the story and would highly recommend. I received an advance copy through NetGalley for an honest review.
Compelling psychological thriller from Sarah Denzil. Well constructed tale of unreliable witnesses and tragedies from childhood that stain who we were meant to be. Kat suffers a parent’s worst nightmare when she loses her 17-year old daughter to a supposed suicide. As Kat tries to understand and unravel her daughter’s secrets, the story becomes so twisted and diabolical. Will she survive the truth?