Alice Hunter (1)

I enjoyed this book a lot, it has a good pace and managed to keep from boring me with descriptions or a whole lot of unnecessary waffling. The slow reveal structure was good and kept me gripped for the majority of the story. The reason this is 4 stars instead of 5 is because for me, the twist at the end was just... not compelling. The build up was there, but I had hoped it was going in a different direction entirely. I wasn't shocked at where it went, but I was disappointed. It made a lot of the things before lose some of its sense. I don't think I'd enjoy a reread of this book nearly as much. Still, it was a good read, and I am planning to read another book by this author.… (más)

This story is told from the point of view of two main narrators - Beth and her husband Tom - with the occasional insert from another.

Neither of them are always truthful. The light of Beth's life is their small daughter Poppy. She will do anything for Poppy and every decision she makes is based on that premise. Tom and Beth have moved from London to the country to give Poppy a better life, even though it means quite a long commute for Tom as he still works in London. Beth has created a cafe where customers can paint ceramics while they sip coffee.

Beth is a very determined woman, and as the book progresses we learn that what Beth wants Beth gets.

In the end I was blown away by the way the story ends although there were hints of this earlier.… (más)

Jenny Johnson is a vet in a small village in Devon. As a serial killer's daughter, she's used to keeping herself to herself because she doesn't want anyone to know. When a local woman is taken off the street Jenny is concerned about her past coming back to haunt her.

Compounding Jenny's worries is the fact that she is having blackouts, periods during the night when she has no idea what she's been doing, and she starts to question her own behaviour. Jenny is a classic unreliable narrator and I honestly didn't know what to make of her.

Alice Hunter's story is a solid psychological thriller that kept me interested throughout. The short chapters helped to build up the pace and the back and forth between Jenny, her husband Mark, and an unknown narrator, really ramped up the tension, asking the reader to consider whether being related to a serial killer makes you more likely to be one yourself. The snippets from Jenny's childhood were fascinating and macabre too.

I really enjoyed The Serial Killer's Daughter. It was full of suspense. If you're worried that you haven't yet read The Serial Killer's Wife, Hunter's first book, then don't be as they don't follow on. I thought the ending of this one was clever and could spawn a whole new book!… (más)