Book Summary and Reviews of Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda

Daughter of Mine

A Novel

by Megan Miranda

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  • Published:
  • Apr 2024, 368 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The new thrilling novel from Megan Miranda, the instant New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls, The Last to Vanish, and The Only Survivors.

When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake's longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she's warily drawn back to the town—and people—she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel's not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge...including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother's disappearance.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Miranda, a consummate professional when it comes to exposing the small community tensions that naturally arise when people live in close proximity for generations, exposes revelation after twisty revelation…Small-town claustrophobia and intimacies alike propel this twist-filled psychological thriller." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Miranda has arguably written her best book to date, and she has another guaranteed best seller on her hands." —Library Journal (starred review)

"Megan Miranda's next thriller is a clever spin on the trend in that it centers on the daughter of a local detective, who returns to her childhood home after inheriting it and begins uncovering secrets that could explain her mother's disappearance years earlier." —BookPage Most Anticipated Thrillers of 2024

"Megan Miranda just keeps getting better. The undisputed master of chilling secrets and twists!" —Laura Dave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

"Delicious twists, dark secrets and a deadly past ... Megan Miranda's Daughter of Mine is her best book yet! I've been a fan of Megan's since All the Missing Girls and this book is like its perfect big sister. If you loved the simmering small town drama of Mare of Easttown, then you will be blown away by Daughter of Mine." —Ashley Elston, New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins

This information about Daughter of Mine was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Elizabeth@Silver's Reviews

Elizabeth@Silver's Reviews - You won't be able to put this book down.
Ohhhh..this is a good one!!

Hazel’s father died, and in addition to the shock of his death was the shock that he left the family home ONLY to her and not her brothers. That caused a good deal of bad feelings.

While she was home for the funeral more shocking things happened.

One of these things had to do with their mother who had taken every penny out of her husband's bank accounts, any jewelry in the house, and anything else of value and just left without notice or any trace of her when Hazel was sixteen.

Things seemed to have gone the wrong way after their mother left and since the years that Hazel had left Mirror Lake.

Or had things always been going the wrong way for Hazel in this small town and with her family and she hadn't realized it?

How could Hazel have missed all that had been going on while she was growing up and especially for the past few years?

What else could happen?

What else would be revealed?

Who really knew what happened and knows what is happening now?

Find out in this tense family drama that reveals secrets and more missing characters.

Ms. Miranda certainly knows how to weave a storyline that keeps you turning the pages with a surprising, reveal-all ending.

You won’t be able to put DAUGHTER OF MINE down. 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own

She Treads Softly

exceptional, very highly recommended mystery
Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda follows a daughter returning to her dysfunctional family after the death of her father. It is an exceptional, very highly recommended psychological family drama/murder mystery. Daughter of Mine is another excellent, un-put-downable thriller by Megan Miranda.

After leaving a decade earlier, Hazel Sharp returns home to the small town of Mirror Lake, North Carolina, for her father, longtime police officer Detective Perry Holt's, memorial. As the family, her brothers, Caden and Gage and her Uncle Roy, hold the memorial, across the lake a car is being pulled out of the water. A long running drought has lowered the water level at the lake, leading to the discovery of a submerged car. The mystery of the car disturbs Hazel, as her mother disappeared years ago. Even so, after the memorial Hazel was planning to return to Charlotte where she has a building-renovation business, but then she learns she has inherited the house and her brothers have planned to go through it, so she quickly returns. That's when another vehicle is found submerged in the water behind the house.

The tension is high and suspicions are rampant in the atmospheric mystery Daughter of Mine, perhaps Miranda's best novel to date - which is saying a lot. There are several mysteries occurring in the plot. New mysteries include the disappearance of Caden's wife, Jamie, why Hazel inherited the house, and odd occurrences happening in the house. Old mysteries involve the disappearance of Hazel's mom, the two cars pulled from the lake and the clues people seem to be giving Hazel without actually saying anything. The small town, where people have been around for generations and know everything about you and your family plays a major role in the narrative. The ongoing drought is also a noteworthy part of the novel and each chapter opens with how many days it has been since it rained.

Hazel is a fully realized character and immediately a sympathetic one. You will know her mother left her with just a simple note and that Perry Holt cared for her like a father. The sibling rivalry between Hazel and Caden is evident and Gage, as the older brother, also has a preset role in the family dynamics. There are doubts and uncertainty about the strange things happening and Hazel is unsure who can be trusted to help her or give her honest answers.

The writing is extraordinary. The scenes are all perfectly described and place you firmly in the scene. The tension and family dynamics work together to create a heightened sense of caution and even alarm. Secrets abound and I had all sorts of guesses and suppositions about what was happening along the way, but my guesses weren't even close. The final denouement is phenomenal. Thanks to Simon Element for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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Author Information

Megan Miranda Author Biography

Photo: Magen Marie Photography

Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls, The Perfect Stranger, The Last House Guest, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, The Girl from Widow Hills, and Such a Quiet Place. She has also written several books for young adults. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT, and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children.

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