The Other Daughter

by Valerie Cole

She thought she knew her family. She was wrong.

Behind the manicured lawns and perfect façades of Scarsdale, the Clarke family are everything the town successful, charming, untouchable. But when a stranger moves into the neighbourhood, their carefully constructed life begins to crack—and the truth waiting underneath is darker than anyone could imagine.

Sara Clarke has spent years polishing her home and her reputation, blind to the secrets her husband Dylan has buried. Their teenage daughter, Eliza, is restless, angry, and drawn to Naomi—the magnetic newcomer who shows an unnatural interest in Dylan.

Then Max, Sara’s estranged brother, appears carrying secrets from the past no one wants to hear. His return threatens to rip apart everything Sara has fought to hold together. And the shadows of betrayal and obsession creep closer, the Clarke family find themselves trapped between appearances and survival.

Because in this perfect neighborhood, the Clarke family are about to find themselves living with something far more dangerous than gossip…

Dark, brooding, and impossible to put down, The Other Daughter is a psychological thriller about obsession, betrayal, and the lies families tell to survive.

Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Lisa Jewell, and Shari Lapena.

Genres: Thriller

253 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 17, 2025

Reviews

[Bethany C Hoffman · Rating 2 out of 5]

So many words, so much drama

This is an actual quote:. "because love is a dumb animal that sits when you say stay and runs when you say stay." What does that even mean? The constant metaphors (and similes, and every other cutesy writing trick deployed in this book) are exhausting. The room is blinking at her, anything that makes a sound is complaining or moaning, all objects are personified simply so they can torture her, maybe? They certainly tortured me. These characters talk like they're acting out a crappy crime noir novel. Oh and the big twist is exactly what you think it is.

[Helen Bawden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept me glued to my window on the narrative

From beginning to end I was gripped. Although it was easy to guess where the story was going, nevertheless there was plenty to uncover along its way.

[Mallory · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn’t terrible but wasn’t great. Definitely wasn’t great. I did not enjoy any of the characters and the plot was very predictable. If I had a dollar for every time the author mentioned hydrangeas, I would probably have at least $1000. Why were they mentioned so many times? No idea 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Patricia Elgarten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked all the twists and turns in the story, but found it hard to like any of the characters. Still an enjoyable listen

[Melba · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book title caught my attention and I thought it would be so thought provoking and interesting. I was very disappointed. The writing was so filled with metaphors and analogies that it was tiresome and most of those really didn't add to the story in any way. The main character's problems never seemed to surface so that the reader could understand her behavior. I stuck it out to the end and couldn't believe it had such a lame ending! It seemed that the author just didn't think it through and ended up with something totally ridiculous. This had potential but it failed in so many ways.