Yes, My Darling Daughter: A Novel

Margaret Leroy

Mar 2010 · Sold by Sarah Crichton Books

About this ebook

Every once in a blue moon, a masterful writer dives into gothic waters and emerges with a novel that—like Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, Minette Walters's The Breaker, and Donna Tartt's The Little Friend—simultaneously celebrates and transcends the tradition. Welcome Margaret Leroy to the clan.

What's the matter with Sylvie?

Such a pretty girl. Four years old; well loved by her young mother, Grace. But there's something . . . "off " about the child. Her deathly fear of water; her night terrors; most of all, her fixation with a photo of an Irish seaside town called Coldharbour.

"Sylvie, tell me about your picture. Why's it so special, sweetheart?" My heart is racing, but I try to make my voice quite calm.

"That's my seaside, Grace." Very matter-of-fact, as though this should be obvious. "I lived there, Grace. Before."

Grace doesn't know what to do with this revelation—she's barely scraping by as it is. A single mother with no family, Grace works full-time at a London flower shop to support herself and Sylvie. Overwhelmed by her inability to help her daughter, she turns to Adam Winters, a dashing psychology professor with some unusual theories about what might be troubling the child. Together, they travel to seemingly idyllic Coldharbour, hoping to understand Sylvie's mysterious connection to the place. Impossible as it may seem, Grace has to accept that her daughter may be remembering a past life. And not only that: the danger bedeviling Sylvie from her past life is still very much a threat to her in this one.

Margaret Leroy has been celebrated for writing "like a dream," and her previous novels have been praised for their "hypnotic prose" and "sensuously ethereal, subtly electric drama." Now, in Yes, My Darling Daughter, Leroy offers a novel both haunted and haunting—a wonderfully original, deliciously suspenseful story that enthralls from the first page to the very last.

Ratings and reviews

What a disappointment! Try as I might, I honestly found nothing redeeming about this weak-willed, stupid, naive main character who revels in her victim-hood. When she's not swooning at every bad guy's expensive cologne she's bemoaning the consequences of her poor choices. As for the writing... well.... unfortunately, labored phrases like "skimmed-milk pools of narcissi" come to mind. Painful! I finished this book because it was a Christmas gift from a good friend. But a lump of coal might have been preferable.

Great book, I did not want to put it down. The relationship between a mother and her child. The struggles and worry. Loved it!

About the author

Margaret Leroy was born in England, was born in England and studied music at Oxford. She has worked as a music therapist, teacher, and psychiatric social worker. She is the author of four previous novels.