The Bad Daughter: A Novel

Joy Fielding

Feb 2018 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this ebook

A gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller of family intrigue and dark secrets, from the author of Someone Is Watching and See Jane Run.

There was no shortage of words she could use to describe her father, almost none of them complimentary. Serves you damn right, she thought.
 
A voice mail from her estranged sister, Melanie, sends Robin’s heart racing and her mind spiraling in a full-blown panic attack. Melanie’s message is dire: Their father, his second wife, and his twelve-year-old stepdaughter have been shot—likely in a home invasion—and lie in the hospital in critical condition.
           
It’s been more than five years since Robin turned her back on her father when he married her best friend. Five years since she said goodbye to her hometown of Red Bluff, California, and became a therapist. More than two years since Robin and Melanie have spoken. Yet even with all that distance and time and acrimony, the past is always with Robin.

Now she must return to the family she left behind. As she attempts to mend fences while her father clings to life, Robin begins to wonder if there is more to the tragedy than a botched burglary attempt. It seems that everyone—Robin’s mercurial sister, her less-than-communicative nephew, her absent brother, and even Tara, her father’s wife—has something to hide. And someone may have put them all in grave danger.

New York Times bestselling author Joy Fielding has written a gripping edge-of-your-seat thriller of family intrigue and dark secrets. The Bad Daughter explores the deadly differences between the lies we want to believe and the truths we wish not to know.
 
Praise for The Bad Daughter

“So expert is [Joy] Fielding at seeding clues that readers will never see the final plot twist coming. The acutely portrayed family dynamics lend pathos and a certain schadenfreudian frisson to the proceedings. An author who knows her way around suburban angst.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Fielding, a sure hand at psychological suspense, amps up tension nicely here as the narrative reaches a high-energy conclusion.”—Booklist
 
“[Keeps] the reader turning the pages until the bombshell final shocker.”—Publishers Weekly

Ratings and reviews

I came away from this one with mixed feelings. While the story did hold my interest, it is far from the gripping, edge of your seat thriller that is promised in the blurb. The pacing throughout most of the story is very slow until we get to the last handful of chapters, then it picks up considerably. Even with the slow pace, there were a couple of things that did keep me turning the pages. The first thing was the family dynamic. If you looked up dysfunctional, you'd find this family's picture. It was a bit like a train wreck - you don't really want to see, but you just can't look away. The second thing was the identity of the killer, which is glaringly obvious from very early on, but I've been wrong before so I kept going to see if I'd guessed correctly and what this person's motive could possibly be. Honestly, the cliche of a motive was the biggest disappointment for me, but as much as it's been done, it still manages to send chills down a person's spine. Our main character, Robin was likable enough, but her play by play of dreams became a little tedious and she's not very perceptive for a therapist. With the exception of Blake, there's not a single character in this one that isn't flawed in some way - some worse than others, and some of those flaws made the character more likable and for others, not so much. I do have to comment on the sheer amount of dialogue in this one as it was considerable. But as I read, I began to realize that the dialogue could have been cut almost in half if the author had left out the annoying repetition of statements in question form. Once it caught my attention, I couldn't help but notice how often it was happening and it started becoming a distraction. In the end, I did finish the book and the story did hold my interest, but this one was a middle of the road read for me. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either and I can't say that it would lead me to search out other books from this author.

Good

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About the author

Joy Fielding is the New York Times bestselling author of She’s Not There, Someone Is Watching, Now You See Her, Still Life, Mad River Road, See Jane Run, and other acclaimed novels. She divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach, Florida.