The Liar’s Daughter was a book filled with characters who were just the worst of the worst. And if you are triggered by child sexual abuse, then this isn’t a book for you, since it was obvious that this was a prevalent theme of the book from very early on and lasted throughout. But, even though I knew what would be revealed, this was one I had trouble putting down (even as I was trying to remote/home school my 3rd grader during quarantine!)
Joe is diagnosed with terminal cancer and his stepdaughter, Heidi, feels guilty enough to take care of him during his convalescence. She calls on Joe’s biological daughter, Ciara, and sister, Kathleen, to help and say their goodbyes. Ciara and Heidi absolutely hate each other because of their history, and Kathleen isn’t much better. Once the whole family is there, someone sneaks up to Joe’s room and smothers him. But who did it?
This was a quick thriller to read, and while it did have a lot of child sexual abuse in it, it never went into explicit details, which made it a lot less uncomfortable to read than other books using this topic. The only character I felt sorry for the whole time was Heidi. Even though I knew what was coming with the remaining characters from really early on, it didn’t make those characters any less repulsive to me. But a book can still be a riveting read even with characters you don’t like, and this was one of those for me.
Disclosure: I received an e-galley of this book from NetGalley and Avon Books in exchange for my honest review. It did not influence my opinion.