Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – The Good Daughter

This book is Brutal. And it makes it a little tough to review.

Usually I shy away from super long books, but I was tired of having to pick out a new audiobook every few days, so I settled on the first thriller that caught my eye.

The story follows two sisters who, as children, survive a violent and horrific home invasion. In the first chapter we experience this visceral and gut-wrenching event right along with them, and it is HARD to read.

Then we fast forward three decades to where another violent school shooting shakes the survivors and the town they live in once again, unearthing unsolved mysteries from the past and present.

The Quinn family of lawyers is easy to root for, the banter between the sisters feels real, and the personalities of all the characters seem to pop off the page. Although this audiobook was 19 hours long, it felt like it passed quickly.

There are plenty of red herrings in this complicated mystery, and while some of the reveals were certainly unexpected there was at least one in there that didn’t feel quite right to me. But the real thing that I just couldn’t stomach was the brutality of the violence scenes. This book does not hold back, and it really comes off as disturbing. They actually tell the account of the original home invasion three times, and every time the details get worse.

Honestly, if I’d known there was… (*Spoilery Trigger Warning*)

…violent, onscreen child rape I would’ve passed this book by. (That’s what I get for picking it up books at random I guess.) But if extreme, realistic violence doesn’t bother you, you’ll probably enjoy this tense, complicated thriller. I really enjoyed the style of writing, and would probably pick up another book from this author (but you can bet I’ll check out the trigger warnings first!)

⭐⭐⭐¾

This is my disturbed face. I am disturbed. (You know, more than I was before reading, anyway.)

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Suffer Little Children

Suffer Little Children by Freda Hansburg starts out as Robin begins a new job opportunity in cancer research, and struggles with her relationship with her boyfriend Ben over his unruly children, Amber and Jaden. Enter Gloria, a concerned friend of Ben’s trying to get her son into the cancer research study.

I had trouble starting this one, because Amber (one of the POVs) and Ben really grated on my nerves. Which is pretty much how Robin feels too though, so it’s easy to connect with her. The plot thickens as Gloria, an incredibly well-spun character, goes from irritating to unhinged, and the last half is quite engrossing as the characters’ lives start to unravel. As the twists are thrown at them (which were definitely surprising), Robin and Amber both evolve in satisfying ways, ending in a well-executed conclusion. I was a little thrown off by the prologue, which I thought was unnecessarily spoilery, but I would still recommend to anyone looking for a satisfying psychological thriller! Thanks so much to the author for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐   

I think Gloria may have disturbed Tula. 😂

Thanks for reading!