Daughter

Kate McLaughlin

Psychological Thriller

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. 

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

“I have no choice but to be his daughter. I don’t have to be his puppet.”

4.5 out of 5 stars (4.5 / 5) I admit I’m one of those people who loves serial killer stories. I know there are more like me, we’re weird! The psychology behind them is intriguing. When I read the synopsis of this book I knew I needed it. 

Scarlet learns her father is the famed “gentleman killer” and is requesting to see her as his dying request. He will trade names of unknown victims for this chance.

Poor Scarlet has her world completely upturned in the matter of hours. It is now up to her to visit her dad and get him to spill the names of more victims.

While this is a thriller, it’s not quite as twisty as I’d expect. It’s very much a family drama with all the thriller vibes. Honestly I loved it. It was fascinating to see this play out, to hear her thoughts and to read the interactions with her father.  She took this situation and put a positive spin on it. I love that she did that and focused on the victims and not her father.

“You and I can spend the rest of our lives feeling guilt that isn’t ours, or we can do something to fight it.”

Also added in the story were details about serial killers that my criminology brain loves;

“Today, we know that many serial killers have reduced gray matter in the limbic system of their brains—the part that controls emotional response. As with an injury, this reduction can also result in a lack of empathy, backing up the theory that psychopaths are quite simply unable to feel for their victims, and that also, they have a higher tendency toward violence and impulsive behavior.”

These killers are largely an American phenomenon, which begs the question, what are we as a country doing wrong? Almost 70 percent of serial killers are American, and just as high a percentage of them experienced some sort of abuse in their childhood.”

General content summary: F words: 20+, a dog unearths a body, teenage drinking and drugs, kissing, “serial killer and necrophile who kidnapped, raped, and murdered numerous young women,” details about his necrophilia, details about victims and their deaths, intimacy in a car with few details, intimacy with few details (2), f/f relationship.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the gifted copy!

The book releases March 8, 2022.

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

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