Book Review: A Killer's Daughter

*I received this book as an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

While I was scrolling through Netgalley mindlessly late one night (as one does) this cover caught my eye.  It's got a mythical siren vibe to it, so I was instantly intrigued.  Slap a title like A Killer's Daughter on there and you have me hooked.  I don't even remember if I read the description or not before I hit the request button.  I was excited for this read.

The main idea behind A Killer's Daughter was unique - a FBI forensic psychologist is investigating a series of murders that are eerily familiar to her because they have similar call signs to the murders her own mother committed.  Said FBI agent, Nadine, doesn't trust anybody as she is unsure whether her unsub is messing with her on purpose or is simply inspired by her mother's serial killer tactics.  This book is full of twists and turns with one body being discovered after another, and Kernan leaves the reader questioning who's the real killer and what is their true motive until the last few pages.

Unfortunately, I found the pace of this book to be too slow for my liking.  I was also annoyed with how little Nadine trusted anyone, including those investigating the case with her.  This made it hard to connect with her.  Also, if you didn't want anyone to find out your real identity, wouldn't you change both your first and last name?  That minor detail is something I literally could not let go of the entire time I was reading...

On a different note, I think this book would make a killer tv series - see what I did there? - as there were multiple times reading where it felt like I was watching a "filler" episode.  There were parts where it was dull but I was also invested, so I couldn't stop watching - or, in this case, reading - because I wanted to find out who the killer was.  The last few chapters was where it really ramped up and that's when I was glad I stuck it out.

Regardless of how the last 50ish pages kept me on my toes, I wish that energy had been throughout Nadine's story.  For that reason, I'm giving it 3 leaves.

A Killer's Daughter was released February 11, 2021.  It is available to purchase through major retailers, or my personal favorite book distributor, Bookshop.  Buy through Bookshop, support local bookstores!