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The Perfect Daughter

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
With The Neighbor and Pray for the Girl, Joseph Souza proved himself a master of twisty and unpredictable psychological suspense. In this riveting new novel, a mother is unwittingly drawn into the dark underbelly of her picture-perfect Maine town . . .

Shepherd's Bay has been home to generations of lobstermen and their families. Lately, affluent newcomers have been buying up waterfront property and mingling uneasily with the locals. Tensions are high, especially since Dakota James, a teenage boy from the wealthier side of town, disappeared weeks ago. But another disturbing incident soon follows.

When high school junior Katie Eaves and her friend, Willow Briggs, fail to come home after a night out, Katie's mother, Isla, is frantic. Two agonizing days go by before Katie is found, bruised and bloodied, yet alive. Isla is grateful. But Willow, a wealthy newcomer from Los Angeles, is still missing. And Katie can't remember anything about the night of their disappearance.

Isla tries to help her daughter sort through her hazy recollections, and to recall the truth of her tangled friendship with privileged, beautiful Willow. At the hair salon she owns, Isla hears dark whispers about wild parties, drug deals, and love triangles gone wrong. How much truth is in the gossip? Is Dakota's disappearance linked to the others? And what other shocking secrets lie at the heart of Shepherd's Bay—and of the family Isla is struggling to hold together?
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 2, 2020
      Weak portrayals of the main characters mar this meandering thriller from Souza (Pray for the Girl). Isla Eaves calls the Shepherd’s Bay, Maine, police after she’s awakened early one morning by a noise in her house only to discover that it was just her Alzheimer’s-afflicted father. When officer Karl Bjornson arrives, Isla notes her daughter Katie, a high school junior, isn’t in her room, but—despite another teen having been missing from town for more than three months—neither Isla nor Karl is particularly concerned until the following day when Katie’s best friend, Willow Briggs, is also reported missing. Katie turns up days later, beaten and with temporary memory loss. Karl investigates, but his technique is limited to questioning Katie and having “gut feelings.” Katie meanwhile tries to remember the start of her friendship with Willow, but her internal monologues often don’t sound like that of a teen. Various extraneous plot threads help keep readers guessing, but the true culprits act suspiciously from the very beginning. Souza has done better. Agent: Evan Marshall, Evan Marshall Agency.

    • Library Journal

      April 1, 2020

      In his third novel, Souza (Pray for the Girl) invites readers to Shepherd's Bay, ME, a small fishing town that has recently had an influx of wealthy outsiders building massive homes on the beachfront. This disparity causes tensions between the poor residents and the newcomers. Before the novel starts, a rich boy named Dakota has gone missing. Local policeman Karl, a native of Shepherd's Bay, has been looking everywhere for him. Meanwhile, Isla, Karl's high school flame, reports that her teenage daughter Katie is missing, along with Katie's wealthy friend Willow. Katie is found two days later and wakes in the hospital without remembering what led to her disappearance. The hunt for Willow and Dakota divides the townspeople further. Karl, Isla, and Katie search for Willow, leading to a surprising ending. Each short chapter is told from the point of view of either Karl, Isla, or Katie. VERDICT The story is timely with the examination of wealthy newcomers versus blue-collar townspeople leading to anger and violence. The ending is well-designed, and readers will likely enjoy the overall story. Fans of Souza's previous works and books by Michael Koryta will find this worthwhile.--Jason L. Steagall, Arapahoe Libs., Centennial, Colorado

      Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      April 1, 2020
      Maine resident Souza (Pray for the Girl, 2019) has a knack for describing towns in transition. This time it's Maine's Shepherd's Bay, where high-schooler Willow Briggs, who lives in the town's growing wealthy neighborhood, and her best friend, Katie, a townie, are missing. Katie is soon found alive but can't remember anything, and it's up to her mother, a hairdresser who works too hard to keep her family afloat because of her husband's alcoholism, and a cop who's the mom's one who got away, to uncover Willow's fate, as well as that of a local boy who's also missing. Katie's brother has a severe form of diabetes and uses a service dog; the depiction of a sick child and his family toughing out the illness adds to what is an absorbing, well-written story of determination, the dangers of a lust for fame, and what it's like to be on the outside of privilege, looking in. Recommend to fans of Emily Littlejohn.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

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  • English

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