The Daughters

by Joanna Margaret

Reeling from the dual deaths of her estranged father and ex-fiancé, Genevieve Tompkins has dropped out of her PhD program in New York City and is looking for a chance to start over in Wilton Springs, a faded Victorian spa town in upstate New York. Utilizing her background as an archivist, she is hired to catalogue the papers of the prominent Wilton family, who trace their lineage back to the founders of the town. But as she digs into their records, Genevieve discovers that the family's pharmaceutical business and their personal lives have been fraught with a history of tragedy. She also uncovers a series of disturbing disappearances and suspicious deaths among the women of the town.

Three centuries earlier, Wilton Springs was the site of a brutal witch trial—a fact which someone has gone to extreme lengths to erase from historical record. As Genevieve explores the connections between the modern disappearances and the town's ugly past, she becomes entangled in a web of conspiracy, where the line between superstition and reality begins to blur, and she fears she may become the next woman to go missing from Wilton Springs . . .

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Gothic

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2026

About the author

Joanna Margaret is an art historian whose previous writing and scholarly work has focused on Florentine aristocrats in sixteenth-century France. She holds a PhD from the University of St Andrews and an MFA from NYU, where Joyce Carol Oates served as her thesis advisor. The Bequest is her first novel.

Reviews

[ashley✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not for me. I found the characters frustratingly stupid and annoying. Genevieve acted like a young teenager; her blinding trust in everyone around her felt ridiculous by the end. The witchy/curse stuff felt silly. There was also something unnatural about the dialogue throughout the novel that continually took me out of the story. I would never want to accuse anyone of anything; it just felt very very odd. However, if you're looking for an easy, brainless thriller, this might fit the bill; it's a quick read with low stakes with a subtle season one of Riverdale vibe to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

[Ashley Straznickas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this from Goodreads.
I really liked this book.
it's about a historian who comes to a small town to research and archive the history of the family the town is named after. There is mystery in the history but then bodies start showing up and people disappear and there are cryptic messages left at doors. you don't know who to trust and the plot twist...wow

[Hunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok. I listened to the audiobook and the dialogue felt like a computer game. Also, there wasn’t really any plot till 50% of the way through after one big event happens and then there still wasn’t a lot of plot till the end. I wanted more suspense. I also thought there would be more witches and more about the witches of the past. This book was all in the present and more about all the characters trauma.

I also didn’t love the random history lessons on bogs or other subjects that didn’t add to the plot.

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genevieve Tompkins rolls into Wilton Springs like every horror protagonist who says the phrase “fresh start” five minutes before the haunting begins. The woman has just been emotionally body-slammed by the deaths of her estranged father and her ex-fiancé, so she does what any rational person would do. She abandons her PhD program in New York and takes a quiet archival job in a mysterious Victorian spa town with a centuries-long history of women disappearing.

Nothing bad has ever happened in that situation. Not once. The genre would never allow it. And honestly, I support her terrible decision making. I respect the commitment to chaos.

The Daughters opens with this deliciously eerie premise. Genevieve is hired to catalogue the archives of the Wilton family, who basically founded the entire town and built a pharmaceutical empire on top of it. Immediately my brain goes, cool cool cool, so we’ve got generational wealth, small-town power structures, and a founding family that probably has skeletons in their historical closet. Love that for us.

Then Genevieve starts digging through the documents. Letters. Old records. Generations of family papers. And slowly she realizes Wilton Springs has a long, deeply uncomfortable pattern of tragedies involving women. Disappearances. Suspicious deaths. The kind of stories people in town talk about in lowered voices while pretending everything is totally normal.

Meanwhile, three centuries earlier the town hosted a brutal witch trial that someone has very aggressively erased from the historical record. Like… scrubbed. Deleted. Historical gaslighting levels of erased.

Now combine that with modern disappearances and a curious archivist whose entire personality is basically “I must know the truth,” and you’ve got a mystery that keeps tightening its grip the deeper Genevieve digs.

And listen. Genevieve exists in the sacred tradition of horror-adjacent protagonists who are incredibly intelligent but possess absolutely zero survival instincts. She is smart enough to notice the patterns, smart enough to follow the historical threads, but not quite smart enough to say the words “wow this town is deeply cursed, I’m going to move literally anywhere else.”

I spent half this audiobook cheering her on and the other half yelling at my headphones like I was watching someone investigate the creepy basement in a horror movie. Girl. The founding family owns half the town and there are three centuries of dead women in the archives. Maybe stop asking questions after sunset.

What really works here is the atmosphere. Wilton Springs has that foggy, decaying Gothic energy where everything feels slightly off. Old buildings. Generational secrets. People who have lived there their whole lives and absolutely know more than they’re saying. The kind of town where everyone smiles politely while also knowing exactly who your great-grandmother dated in 1912.

And the archival stuff? Catnip. Absolute nerd bait in the best way. There is something deeply satisfying about watching a character piece together a mystery through letters and historical records while realizing someone went to extreme lengths to bury the truth.

The audiobook experience really helps sell that creeping tension. Shaina Summerville’s narration nails the mood without going full haunted-house narrator. She gives Genevieve this grounded curiosity that keeps the investigation feeling natural, even when the town itself starts to feel like it’s quietly circling her like a shark.

At the same time, part of me kept wanting the book to lean even harder into the witch trial history. The setup promises this huge centuries-spanning web of secrets tying the past and present together, and while those elements are definitely there, I kept waiting for the story to go even deeper into the historical darkness.

Instead the book leans a little more into modern mystery thriller territory than full historical gothic. Which still works, the pacing moves quickly and the twists keep the story humming, but the history nerd in me wanted to kick down the door of the 1700s timeline and spend more time there.

Still. I was never bored. The mystery keeps unfolding, the tension builds steadily, and the slow realization that women in this town have been in danger for generations adds a weight that lingers under the entire story. Also I will always show up for a plot where a historian uncovers something powerful people tried to erase. That’s basically my version of a popcorn thriller.

By the end I was fully invested in seeing how everything unraveled, even if a small voice in my head was still screaming “GENEVIEVE PLEASE JUST TRANSFER TO A DIFFERENT ARCHIVE.”

Overall this lands at a very solid 3.5 stars for me. Moody, twisty, slightly witchy, and a genuinely fun audiobook listen with enough creeping small-town dread to make you suspicious of any place that has a founding family and a suspicious number of historical tragedies.

Whodunity Award: For Making “Archivist With Questions” Feel Like a Profession With a Disturbingly High Mortality Rate

And a big thank you to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook. Nothing like wandering into a cursed small town mystery while doing dishes. Truly the ideal haunting experience.

[Chaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genevieve takes a job in a spa town in upstate New York to work on a famous family's archives. She meets sundry town characters, some pleasant, some creepy, and some mysterious. She is soon subjected to and involved in mysterious cases of missing girls, witches' covens, and (wanted and unwanted) attention from various men she meets, some shady and some attractive. At the same time, her work at the family archives uncovers historical mysteries hundreds of years old. Genevieve is simultaneously caught up in uncovering old family secrets, and current strange happenings around her. The author does a good job of balancing the parallel mysteries. The pacing is good, with plenty of action that keeps the plot moving, as well as enough historical intrigue, including 18th century witch trials, to keep the interest of readers who like a good historical tale. The twists and turns of the current mysteries form the crux of the action, while the research Genevieve is doing adds not only mystery but also danger to the story, as there are threatening forces that seemingly want her to stop digging into the past. The twin mysteries dovetail nicely and come together with a climactic ending.

The setting and atmosphere harmonize with the dark themes of the novel. Overall I found this to be an enjoyable, fast-paced read. I would recommend this to lovers of historical fiction and historical mystery.

There are some missteps here. First, there are several hints at the opening of the story that Genevieve's familial and romantic history has some dark and disturbing elements, and considerable time in the beginning of the story is devoted to hinting at her haunted past. For example, she has nightmares, which she says wakes her up every night. When speaking to other characters about her father and former boyfriend, her hemming and hawing instead of giving straight answers suggests mysterious doings, and there are suggestions that she is emotionally scarred by her past. However, her dark and dangerous past is never clarified. Her history is pretty quotidian, and the explanations of her father's and fiance's ends are not overly spooky.

Second, the title of the book suggests that the evildoers in the current time are connected in a deep way to the history Genevieve is unfolding. The title, however, misleads in this regard.

Third, there are a few details that are just not historically correct. I welcome the author and/or editors to contact me for specific instances.

[A.M. (ᴍʏ.sᴘᴏᴏᴋʏ.ᴡᴀʏs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, a huge thank you to The Mysterious Press for the beautiful PR box and all the goodies that came with 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. Opening that up honestly made me even more excited to dive into this book.

Going into the story, I was expecting it to lean much harder into the historical side of things. Witch trials, family curses, old archives, dark secrets buried in the past. Those elements are definitely there, but the book actually reads more like a modern mystery thriller with historical threads woven throughout. Once I settled into that, I found myself flying through the pages.

The story follows Genevieve, who takes a job organizing the archives of a powerful family in a small town in upstate New York. What starts as a simple research job slowly turns into something far stranger as she begins uncovering unsettling pieces of the town’s history. There are centuries old witch trials, family secrets that refuse to stay buried, and women in the present day who have been disappearing under suspicious circumstances. The deeper Genevieve digs, the clearer it becomes that someone may not want those secrets uncovered.

One thing I really enjoyed was the archival research element. I always love when books include old documents, letters, and historical discoveries because it adds a layer of atmosphere to the story. You can definitely feel the author’s background in history through those sections, which made them especially interesting to read.

That being said, I did wish the historical storyline had been explored a little more. The setup hints at some really fascinating connections between the past and the present, and part of me kept wanting the book to dive even deeper into that darker historical side.

Genevieve’s personal history is also teased quite a bit throughout the story. We get pieces of it here and there, but I found myself wishing that part of her character had been explored more fully, hence the lack of star in my rating.

Overall though, this was a really engaging read with quick pacing and plenty of mystery to keep things moving. Small town secrets, buried history, and a main character who keeps asking questions she probably shouldn’t, who doesn’t love that in a book?! For me, that’s a combination I absolutely love exploring in my reads.

If you enjoy mysteries that mix historical intrigue with present day suspense, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 is definitely worth picking up.

[TenshiMari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing a digital review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

I had a hard time getting into this audiobook because it was hard to tell apart the characters, the narrator did not really differentiate between the different characters by doing different voices, the male voices all sound almost identical and the female voices too. I enjoyed this book, but I expected more of a merge of past and present and a heavier focus on the mystery from the past. Instead, the historical research felt a lot like info-dumping and was wasted on me, and the present day plotline was a lot more interesting. I however saw most of the "whodunnit" mystery coming from miles away, and I felt a little disappointed by the resolution. There was also a lot of hinting around Genevieve's dark and disturbing past that are never explored. The description of the book also suggests that the history of the past and the mystery of the present are connected, but the resolution of the book leaves much to be desired in that regard. Overall, this read more like a modern day thriller and the historical research and dark academia kinda vibes felt very much an afterthought, and left mostly redundant. I don't think it's a bad book by any means, the thriller bits were quite creepy, but I think it tried too hard to be both historical fiction and a contemporary thriller, and ended up somewhere in the middle, missing the marks of both. It was an okay read, but it left much to be desired. I think if it had dropped the focus on historical research and the witch trials of the past and focused on being 100% a modern thriller, it would've been a much more enjoyable read.

[Susan McAulay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gothic mystery, well suited to audio. The narrator of this book conveyed the aura of a town with witches and other goings on. From the very beginning, I had the feeling that this was not a place in which I wanted to live. It only became clear in the last third of the story why.
This book started slowly, with Genevieve, a historian who comes to Wilton Springs to study the family after which the town is named. This all seems innocent enough except that dead bodies are found, at which point readers understand that this is a town with secrets. Genevieve continues to search the archives of the town but becomes increasingly concerned, as she is threatened by someone who remains anonymous. Meanwhile, there is a coven of witches that wants to welcome Genevieve into its fold. Genevieve becomes more and more enmeshed in these goings on, her friend disappearing. The mystery grows and morphs into something much larger and Genevieve doesn’t know who she can trust. The story picks up after the slow start.
Not that it was necessarily a problem, I did figure out well before the end who was involved in the murders, and why. It might have improved the story if the reader was strung along just a little longer. Nevertheless, this was a solid gothic mystery with decent character development and lots of atmosphere.
Thanks to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook. All the opinions herein are my own.

[When Books Speak · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Daughters by Joanna Margaret was such an atmospheric and gripping listen! The gothic, witchy vibes were absolutely immersive, and Wilton Springs felt like a town that was hiding something dark around every corner. I was hooked from the very beginning.

Genevieve was a character I genuinely enjoyed following. Her curiosity and determination to uncover the truth made her so compelling, even when I was quietly begging her to stop asking questions after dark! The historical elements and witch trial threads woven throughout added a fascinating layer to the mystery, and the twists kept me on my toes.

The narrator did a wonderful job bringing that eerie, creeping atmosphere to life, making the whole experience even more immersive.

My nitpicks are that I wished the story leaned even deeper into the historical side - the setup promised so much darkness from the past, and I wanted more of it. Genevieve's personal history is hinted at throughout but never fully explored, leaving me wanting closure there. The storyline also felt slightly disjointed in places as it shifted between threads.

Overall, though, a really engaging gothic mystery with plenty of atmosphere and secrets to unravel!

Pub Day: Mar 17, 2026
Categories: Mystery & Thrillers, General Fiction (Adult)

Huge thanks to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the ARC.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genevieve Tompkins drops out of her PhD study in the aftermath of the deaths of her father and ex-fiancé. Looking to leave New York City, she accepts a job in upstate New York cataloguing the papers of a prominent family. Genevieve discovers a tragic family history and a series of disturbing disappearances and deaths of women in the town. Is the town’s history with a witch trial hundreds of years ago related to the present?

I enjoyed getting to know the characters and really enjoyed the descriptions of the town. The setting and atmosphere really worked with the dark tone of the story and kept me feeling unsettled and on guard. The dual timeline and pacing worked well. The past storyline, in particular, kept me interested. The current timeline didn’t work as well for me. I felt that Genevieve is a bit too naive and unquestioning of people’s motives, given her age and life experience and the ending felt a little over the top. Having said that, this is a fast-paced and engaging read that certainly kept me entertained.

You might like this book if you:

💜 Are interested in the witch trials of the 18th century
💜 Enjoy a dual timeline
💜Like books that have serious atmosphere of the spooky kind

Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for an ALC in e change for my honest review.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big thank you to Goodreads and to The Mysterious Press for an ARC of this book as a GR giveaway!

I am a bit at a loss for words about how I feel about The Daughters.

Not sure if it is fair to judge it on how I thought the book was going to be based on the historical aspect of the plot versus what the story actually became and how it finished.

I thought the archivist story would be more fully explored and connect the history of the witch trial, the story of the very past and present characters and the Wilton family curse with the current mystery of the disappearing women. And while some of that did work, I was just disappointed that the story ultimately went in an utterly different direction and seemed to have little to do with completing the circle of justice for the women of the Lowell/Wilton families. I also wished that we could have learned more about Genevieve’s own alluded past.

Despite my personal hangups, the book is definitely a thriller at heart and written well with fast-paced chapters. I adored delving into the past through documents and letters and seeing that the author was a historian made me appreciate that story line all the more.

[Blaiz Ferrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of The Daughters pulled me in immediately — dark, haunting, and impossible to scroll past.
The synopsis promised buried history, missing women, and whispers of witch trials… and I was instantly intrigued.

I was so excited to receive a gifted early audio and the narrators did an incredible job creating that eerie, creeping atmosphere that makes a mystery feel even more immersive.

Set in a fading Victorian spa town with secrets layered deep in its archives, this one is fast-paced, twisty, and full of unsettling discoveries.
Following Genevieve as she digs into centuries of records — uncovering a pattern of disappearances and tragedies surrounding the women of Wilton Springs — had me completely hooked. The deeper she searched, the darker the town’s past became.

I did find myself wishing the story leaned even further into the witchy history hinted at in the premise and I was definitely questioning Genevieves decision making skills but the tension, mystery, and slow unraveling of long buried secrets kept me listening late into the night.

Small towns remember everything… even the things someone tried to erase.

[lori pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks for NetGalley and High Bridge Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Shaina Summerville does a great job narrating this story.

After the deaths of her father and fiance, Genevieve Tompkins drops out of her PhD program in New York City and takes a job as an archivist in the small town of Wilton Springs in upstate New York. While cataloguing all of the papers of the prominent Wilton family, who trace their lineage back to the founders of the town, she begins to unravel the Wilton family secrets.

This is a well written story with likable characters and a strong "witchy" vibe. I liked how the author wove in the theme of the coven of witches and the witch trial that was conducted in the prior century. The story flows with good pacing but I found its a bit long in the middle and could have been shortened. 3.5 stars rounded up.

[Crystal Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Daughters by Joanna Margaret is an atmospheric gothic mystery set in upstate NY. Genevieve Tompkins drops out of her PhD program and secures a job to catalogue the history of a prominent family who can trace their heritage back generations. While she is there, she learns about the history of witch trials in the town and uncovers several mysteries. I don't want to spoil anything so I will leave that there.

I enjoyed this book a lot! I kept thinking while I was listening to this, that it would make a great TV series! There were lots of interesting characters and the twists were crazy - would definitely recommend this! 4.25 stars

Thank you to the author, RB media and NetGalley for this ALC!

[dianas_books_cars_coffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up

This was my 1st book by the author but I will most definitely be reading more. She's a historian and you can tell when reading her book. I absolutely loved that and loved this book!

Genevieve Tompkins decided to drop out of her PhD program and move from NYC to the small, charming Victorian spa town of Wilton Springs upstate to get a fresh start after losing her father and ex-fiancé. She's an archivist and has been hired by the prominent Wilton family to catalog their papers. The family lineage can be traced back to the town's founders. As she starts her work, she uncovers dark secrets and a history of family tragedies. She also uncovers mysterious disappearances and deaths of women in the town. Wilton Springs has its own dark past. It was the site of a brutal witch trial that someone has gone to extremes to erase from history. But there seems to be a connection, and Genevieve is determined to find it even though someone doesn't want her to. Could she be the next to mysteriously disappear?

This book had all the elements I love; it was dark, haunting, and atmospheric. The mystery kept me fully engaged, and the gothic vibes had me captivated. Wilton Springs is loosely based on Saratoga Springs, NY, and I absolutely loved that. I loved the historical aspect and the witchiness of the book. There were buried secrets, a curse, and danger around every corner. It was twisty, and the ending was a shock. It was well-paced, and I really enjoyed it! I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR🩷

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this audiobook as the premise sounded like something I would enjoy. Unfortunately I found it almost read like two separate books. One storyline was very prominent during the first two-thirds of the book and then a storyline that was running alongside became the prominent portion in the last third of the book, making it feel quite disjointed.
I also found the narrator sounded similar for quite a few of the characters, even the male and female characters often sounded the same.
Sadly it was not what I had hoped for.
Thank you to Netgalley and Highbridge Audio for the audiobook arc for review.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Daughters by Joanna Margaret is an engaging gothic thriller that weaves together a bit of everything—a historic town steeped in secrets, mysterious deaths, deception, conspiracy, superstition, and a haunting legacy connected to the witch trials.

The audiobook, narrated by Shaina Summerville, is especially impressive. Her performance vividly brings the story to life, making it a truly immersive listening experience. Overall, the production quality is exceptional.

Thank you to NetGalley & HighBridge | Highbridge Audio for letting me read this ARC.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley.

This is a mystery/thriller with a bit of literary fiction mixed in. I really enjoyed the story and the writing. I was only hoping there would be more of the historical fiction element because the main character is digging into the history of a founding family and town. The ending was surprising though and the story kept me on my toes!

[Arielchayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up to 4 for Goodreads. Thank you to NetGallry for the advance reader copy of this book. I really enjoyed the author’s first book, the Bequest, so was excited to get an early copy of this. Although I didn’t enjoy this book at much as her previous work it was still enjoyable. Given the plot, there are a number of times you have to suspend belief and side eye the main characters judgement. I felt this went a bit off the rails at the end, but was still enjoyable.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick paced listen. Thank you to Highbridge Audio and NetGalley for the ALC. I think the narrators did a great job of setting the witchy vibe and the gothic setting. If you enjoy a historical mystery, give this a try. I did enjoy the plot twist.
4 star

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Daughters is an atmospheric gothic mystery. Joanna Margaret did a great job conjuring the gothic setting and witchy vibes.

If you like historical mysteries you will enjoy this.

Thank you edelweiss for the DRC.

[Margaret Balwierz]

DNF - Very dialogue heavy and it’s very awkward dialogue with lots of over explaining. Seems more telling versus showing, which makes the pacing clunky. Main character seems to lack common sense. I got about halfway through and had to give up because the dialogue was so off putting.

[Beth Mowbray · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved The Daughters! Full of atmosphere and plot twists that I didn't expect at all! A great read for lovers of Gothic fiction and mystery!

[Sarah-Louise Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book, it was more of a modern take, I did hope for more historical elements. Great book if you enjoy gothic thrillers. Full of twists and turns.