100 books like Daughter of Mine

I’m drawn to characters whose emotional wounds from childhood affect their determination as adults to make the world a more caring place.

I found Jenna Stone, a dedicated investigative journalist in this book, a particularly appealing character. Abandoned as an infant in an apartment building’s hallway, Jenna doesn’t want any child to experience the same fate and doggedly works to uncover the identity of a mother who has left her abandoned baby in a “safe haven” at her local fire station.

Alarmed by the note the mother left indicating that her baby is “in danger,” Jenna hopes to unravel the mystery of what led the new mom to fear for her infant’s safety and reunite her with her child. This is yet another psychological thriller that I had trouble putting down!

I loved this book for its exploration of shock, grief, and denial on the part of two adult daughters whose mother inexplicably ends her own life by drowning in the sea. At odds for many years, the two very different women slowly mend their relationship as they discover a long-buried secret their mother had been keeping.

I especially related to the healing of their relationship as it was in adulthood that I drew much closer to my own sisters. As children, they associated my arrival with the loss of their mother, which did not make for an easy relationship.

Of course, I could hardly turn the pages fast enough for this hauntingly suspenseful tale of a mother who goes missing and a college-age daughter’s desperate search for her. But what I especially loved about it was the way in which Cleo, the college daughter, discovers that her entire narrative about her parents has been wrong.

Her ne’er-do-well father is not the hero she imagined, and her mom is not the enemy but someone whose horrific childhood led her to be overly protective. Ultimately, this is a deeply moving love story about a mother and daughter drawn together by a terrifying event.

As the daughter of a mom who suffered a mental breakdown shortly after my birth, I have always been strongly interested in stories of mothers who experience emotional difficulties following the births of their children. In this book, a young woman abandons her infant in a hospital shortly after giving birth and disappears.

Her husband attributes her behavior to postpartum psychosis, a malady that she’s been monitored for throughout her pregnancy, given her own mother’s struggles with the disorder. But is that what really led to the mom’s sudden disappearance? Told in multiple viewpoints, it’s unclear who is telling the truth about what happened to the young mother. I found the plot twist at the end of this propulsive tale especially satisfying. 

The shocking twists alone are enough to satisfy readers eager for turmoil and drama in an unsettling Gothic environment, but Marshall deftly creates a shadowy world with its own rules, with a sure hand.

As mist settles over the landscape as well as our protagonist’s memories, something rotten in this ancestral home calls to her through a labyrinth of architecture that is slightly off. The antagonistic distant family intimidates Helen as the house settles into her bones and dreams, steeling readers for a stunning final act that will keep their hearts pounding well after setting this book down.

This is one of the most thoroughly enjoyable books I’ve read in recent memory.

I was initially drawn in by the period, title, and intrigue. I loved the premise of this novel, yet it felt so heart-wrenchingly sad. 

It’s New Year’s Eve 1969 when little Alice goes missing. For me, a parent’s worst nightmare. And when poor young farmhand Bobby James is convicted, well. With twists, lies, and deceit, I desperately wanted the truth to come out, and have injustices righted. Years later architect Willow James discovers the truth. Thank goodness. Hold on tight. No spoilers here. I found it a good read.

John Marrs is one of my favorite authors, and this book is what got me hooked on his work. This is not your typical thriller, or your typical plot. So buckle up because you are in for a ride. You think you’ve read about dysfunctional families? Wait until you meet Maggie and Nina. Just your run-of-the-mill mom and daughter, hanging out, eating dinner, until mom gets sent back to the attic where she’s chained and being held captive—um what?! Dark, disturbing, with unreliable narrators, it’s everything I love in a domestic thriller and more. 

If you love to unravel a mystery with a hint of suspense, I’ll Never Tell is an exemplary example of a tale told from multiple points of view, with the requisite family secrets, lies, and betrayal, and a messy past getting mired into the present. A cleverly plotted, fast-paced read.

The first line had me hooked: “It would be inaccurate to say that my childhood was normal before they came.”

That one sentence fired up my imagination, and the story kept me turning the pages late into the night. Libby, an adoptee, unexpectedly inherits a once-grand mansion in London’s Chelsea, only to discover it comes with a grim family history that’s nothing like the fanciful one she’d imagined.

I’m particularly drawn to novels like this one, with multiple narrators and intertwining timelines.

As someone who grew up on Sabrina the Teenage Witch in Archie Digests as well as the TGIF sitcom, I have long had a soft spot for stories featuring witches. As a kid, you always think that magic is the pinnacle of exciting! And that’s how young Moth feels, especially as she finds out that she is a witch. Except her mom has sworn off of magic and doesn’t want that life for her daughter…which I feel for Moth being extremely upset about it. She has to find a way to get in touch with her roots, learn about her magic, and discover secrets about her past that are intriguing and exciting! It’s such a fun story told by a talented creator. Everything about this book is—wait for it—magical!