The Bad Daughter – Joy Fielding

Happy belated release! So many fantastic books releasing in February and March – gotta keep the reviews coming 🙂

Thanks to Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

THE BAD DAUGHTER – Joy Fielding (out now!)

Check back later for the #allthebookreviews thoughts!

My Thoughts: 3.5/5 stars!

THE BAD DAUGHTER was my introduction to Joy Fielding. I’ve heard nothing but great things about her writing and past books, so I was ready to start! This one was a slower burn than I was expecting, so definitely know that going into it. The synopsis makes it sound really intense but I’d consider more of a slower suspense novel.

Robin is complicated character that I can see readers being frustrated with. She seems all over the place and it can take awhile to get acclimated to her state of mind. Robin is a psychologist and must return to her small town home to see her family. To say her family is complicated would be an understatement – a hostile relationship with her sister, her mother passed away, and a bad relationship with her father’s new wife has kept her estranged from them. When she hears about her father, his wife, and their daughter are in critical condition in the hospital after a random robbery gone awry.

The more time spent home, the more she begins to learn the secrets her family has been hiding. Is this what put them in danger? Was it really a robbery gone wrong or were there more sinister motives behind it?

Overall, I will definitely pick up more from Fielding. She can write a psychological thriller very well, but like I mentioned this would probably be more of a psychological drama for me. The slower pace could take some readers out of the story, but it did pick up towards the end! I can see some thriller genre fanatics being able to predict the ending, but that doesn’t take away from the story.

 

What Joy Fielding books do you recommend I try next?

–Jess