Title: Daughter
Author: Kate McLaughlin
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication date: March 8th, 2022
336 pages
5/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis
Scarlet’s life is pretty average. Overly protective mom. Great friends. Cute boy she’s interested in. And a father she’s never known – until she does.
When the FBI show up at Scarlet’s door, she is shocked to learn her father is infamous serial killer Jeffrey Robert Lake. And now, he’s dying and will only give the names and locations of his remaining victims to the one person, the daughter he hasn’t seen since she was a baby.
Scarlet’s mother has tried to protect her from Lake’s horrifying legacy, but there’s no way they can escape the media firestorm that erupts when they come out of hiding. Or the people who blame Scarlet for her father’s choices. When trying to do the right thing puts her life in danger, Scarlet is faced with a choice – go back into hiding or make the world see her as more than a monster’s daughter.
Kate McLaughlin’s Daughter is a novel about trying right deadly choices that were never yours to begin with.
Review
Daughter is a gripping story about the family of a serial killer and the aftermath of his conviction and life in the spotlight. Scarlet is a normal teenaged girl living in Connecticut with an overprotective mother until the FBI show up at her house and tell her she is the daughter of prolific serial killer Jeff Lake, and Scarlet isn’t her real name. Turns out, her mother took her into hiding after her husband was convicted of murdering 14 young women and burying them in their backyard. Now, the FBI needs her help because Lake is dying of cancer, and says he will only give the names and locations of his other kills to his daughter.
As a huge fan of Criminal Minds, this book was immediately up my alley and I am obsessed with it. I read this in one day and I barely put it down. There isn’t a lot of action per se, it isn’t a true thriller or mystery in that aspect with a lot of twists and turns and creepy scenes, but it is just plain interesting if you’re into true crime. I just wanted to know more and keep seeing Scarlet go toe to toe with a psychopath like her father.
McLaughlin is able to put in a lot of emotionality and guilt and triumph into this story – it’s not just about Scarlet but also her mother finding herself again and being able to finally relax and not worry about being found. It’s about growth and being unapologetically yourself, even in the face of great diversity from societal expectations.
I absolutely loved this book and if you spend your time watching crime shows on cable, listening to true crime podcasts, or watching serial killer documentaries – Daughter is the perfect book for you.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
Happy reading, folks!
Baltimore Bibliophile 