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The Good Daughter
From the author of Remember Mia comes the tale of a young woman in search of her past, and the mother who will do anything to keep it hidden... What if you were the worst crime your mother ever committed? Dahlia Waller’s childhood memories consist of stuffy cars, seedy motels, and a rootless existence traveling the country with her eccentric mother. Now grown, she desperately wants to distance herself from that life. Yet one thing is stopping her from moving she has questions. In order to understand her past, Dahlia must go back. Back to her mother in the stifling town of Aurora, Texas. Back into the past of a woman on the brink of madness. But after she discovers three grave-like mounds on a neighboring farm, she’ll learn that in her mother’s world of secrets, not all questions are meant to be answered...READERS GUIDE INSIDE
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2017
About the author
Alexandra Burt
11 books238 followersAlexandra Burt was born in a baroque German town in the East Hesse Highlands. She moved to Texas, married, and worked as a freelance translator. Determined to acknowledge the voice in the back of her head to break into literary translations, the union never panned out. She decided to tell her own stories. She currently resides in Central Texas.
Remember Mia is her first novel. Her second novel, The Good Daughter, was published in February 2017. Her third novel, Shadow Garden, is forthcoming in July, 2020. She is working on her fourth novel.
Remember Mia is her first novel. Her second novel, The Good Daughter, was published in February 2017. Her third novel, Shadow Garden, is forthcoming in July, 2020. She is working on her fourth novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 279 reviews
February 7, 2017
2.5 stars
This is a story that begs the reader to have patience. The storyline itself is an incredibly slow build, and one that often gets lost among the atmospheric and sometimes overly detailed quality of the author’s writing. There are times it feels like a scattered mess. Trying to decipher how all of the random pieces fit together and what story the author is ultimately trying to tell is quite the task. One that demands the consumption of more than half of the page count before any sort of clarity becomes evident. And even then, I’m not sure the truth is worth meandering through this forest of disillusionment.
What starts with a woman returning home, after fifteen years, to confront her mother and learn the truth about her past, veers left and takes a detour. Out jogging, Dahlia stumbles across the body of woman. She’s alive, but barely, and no one knows her identity. From there, Dahlia sort of obsesses about this Jane Doe and having suffered a fall in the aftermath of the discovery is plagued by strange smells and episodes. Was she completely losing it or was it me, instead? Even now, I can’t figure out what Jane Doe’s purpose was. Her whole storyline felt like a waste of pages that culminated in a boring and predictable outcome.
Eventually, the author veers back to the initial course, Dahlia getting her mother to explain her scattered memories and the reason they spent her early childhood running from one place to the next. The truth unfolds through the eyes of four women and it’s slow, but sort of chaotic, if that even makes sense. With each change in perspective comes a different feel, wavering time period and my ever growing confusion. Akin to standing in the middle of an overgrown forest trying to trace each and every gnarled branch back to the trunk it stems from, it’s a tedious and questionable undertaking. For how hard the author seemed to work at keeping the truth obscured, I was disappointed to find out my theory was correct. Making the BIG revelation not so surprising.
Heed my warning - this is not a fast-paced, on the edge of your seat, flying through the pages, psychological thriller. So, if that’s what you’re craving, I would suggest picking up something else. With that said, there were times I was quite taken with some of Alexandra Burt's words. I just wish she had honed in on a more concise path.
*THANK YOU to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a story that begs the reader to have patience. The storyline itself is an incredibly slow build, and one that often gets lost among the atmospheric and sometimes overly detailed quality of the author’s writing. There are times it feels like a scattered mess. Trying to decipher how all of the random pieces fit together and what story the author is ultimately trying to tell is quite the task. One that demands the consumption of more than half of the page count before any sort of clarity becomes evident. And even then, I’m not sure the truth is worth meandering through this forest of disillusionment.
What starts with a woman returning home, after fifteen years, to confront her mother and learn the truth about her past, veers left and takes a detour. Out jogging, Dahlia stumbles across the body of woman. She’s alive, but barely, and no one knows her identity. From there, Dahlia sort of obsesses about this Jane Doe and having suffered a fall in the aftermath of the discovery is plagued by strange smells and episodes. Was she completely losing it or was it me, instead? Even now, I can’t figure out what Jane Doe’s purpose was. Her whole storyline felt like a waste of pages that culminated in a boring and predictable outcome.
Eventually, the author veers back to the initial course, Dahlia getting her mother to explain her scattered memories and the reason they spent her early childhood running from one place to the next. The truth unfolds through the eyes of four women and it’s slow, but sort of chaotic, if that even makes sense. With each change in perspective comes a different feel, wavering time period and my ever growing confusion. Akin to standing in the middle of an overgrown forest trying to trace each and every gnarled branch back to the trunk it stems from, it’s a tedious and questionable undertaking. For how hard the author seemed to work at keeping the truth obscured, I was disappointed to find out my theory was correct. Making the BIG revelation not so surprising.
Heed my warning - this is not a fast-paced, on the edge of your seat, flying through the pages, psychological thriller. So, if that’s what you’re craving, I would suggest picking up something else. With that said, there were times I was quite taken with some of Alexandra Burt's words. I just wish she had honed in on a more concise path.
*THANK YOU to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 9, 2017
DNF. I feel terrible as I REALLY wanted to like this one. I just struggled with the pacing and could not seem to get through more than 15 pages at a time.
:( Possibly just not a good match between reader and story.
:( Possibly just not a good match between reader and story.
April 5, 2017
The Good Daughter by Alexandra Burt is a 2017 Berkley publication.
This book is not your typical suspense thriller. There is a crime, several crimes, in fact, but this is not a police procedural or detective novel, nor does it neatly fit into any other sub-genre category. However, it is a crime drama or maybe saga is a better word, it’s just not presented in a way anyone could possibly imagine.
Dahlia had an unconventional upbringing, to say the least, but eventually she and her mother settled in Aurora, Texas. Dahlia left home for fifteen years, but has returned only to find her mother is in ill health.
While going for a run, Dahlia discovers the body of a young woman, barely breathing, but still alive. This event, on top of her mother’s ever increasing erratic behavior, and a puzzling health concern of her own, triggers something long buried in Dahlia’s mind, that prompts her to finally insist on finding out the truth about her mother and her own past, as well as trying to press her old friend, Bobby, to look deeper into what happened to the young woman whose life she saved.
This is a very strange tale, and to be honest, I really struggled to get through it. I suspected the truth early on, but never could have imagined the bizarre scenario that eventually unfolded.
The plot is difficult and murky, told from Dahlia’s, and her mother’s, point of view, alternately. The pacing is slow and disjointed, and while I normally hate to see a book end, in this case, I was like a kid on a road trip, constantly asking ‘Are we there, yet?’
The writing style is unique, and the author has a vivid imagination, but once the threads all came together, I was disappointed that some things remained separate from others which left me a little puzzled, but did like the mostly optimistic ending, especially after having survived the oppressive and lurid tale that came before it.
Overall, this one just didn’t do much for me.
2 stars
This book is not your typical suspense thriller. There is a crime, several crimes, in fact, but this is not a police procedural or detective novel, nor does it neatly fit into any other sub-genre category. However, it is a crime drama or maybe saga is a better word, it’s just not presented in a way anyone could possibly imagine.
Dahlia had an unconventional upbringing, to say the least, but eventually she and her mother settled in Aurora, Texas. Dahlia left home for fifteen years, but has returned only to find her mother is in ill health.
While going for a run, Dahlia discovers the body of a young woman, barely breathing, but still alive. This event, on top of her mother’s ever increasing erratic behavior, and a puzzling health concern of her own, triggers something long buried in Dahlia’s mind, that prompts her to finally insist on finding out the truth about her mother and her own past, as well as trying to press her old friend, Bobby, to look deeper into what happened to the young woman whose life she saved.
This is a very strange tale, and to be honest, I really struggled to get through it. I suspected the truth early on, but never could have imagined the bizarre scenario that eventually unfolded.
The plot is difficult and murky, told from Dahlia’s, and her mother’s, point of view, alternately. The pacing is slow and disjointed, and while I normally hate to see a book end, in this case, I was like a kid on a road trip, constantly asking ‘Are we there, yet?’
The writing style is unique, and the author has a vivid imagination, but once the threads all came together, I was disappointed that some things remained separate from others which left me a little puzzled, but did like the mostly optimistic ending, especially after having survived the oppressive and lurid tale that came before it.
Overall, this one just didn’t do much for me.
2 stars
February 15, 2017
A childhood filled with secrets about her identity and her life, never going to school, and always on the move until her mother finally came back to Aurora, Texas. That is what Dahlia dealt with throughout her childhood.
Dahlia left it all when she could and didn't return to Aurora until 15 years later only to find her mother still secretive and not in good health mentally or physically.
Dahlia finds out things that now make sense and a lot of things that don't as she remembers how they lived and begins to questions her mother.
THE GOOD DAUGHTER was very well written, had a different but good plot, and is a page-turning read.
There is one mysterious character that didn't seem to have a connection at first, but then everything fell into place for a truly marvelous, unique book.
THE GOOD DAUGHTER is for those readers who like family sagas but a family that is a bit strange.
I enjoyed THE GOOD DAUGHTER because of the mystery and the unconventional characters. 4/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.
February 7, 2017
Dahlia Waller spent her childhood with her mother moving her from place to place without ever giving a reason to why they couldn't settle down and Dahlia attend school like other children. The day the pair end up in the town of Aurora, Texas though Dahlia's mother finally settles down and stays but still guards her secrets about their past.
Shortly after turning eighteen and finishing high school though Dahlia packs up and leaves the town herself to try to have a better life than she did growing up but she soon finds her mother's secrets have her trapped in dead end jobs and on the move without any paperwork or identification. After fifteen years of this Dahlia decides it's finally time to return to Aurora and confront her mother about their past.
When starting off reading The Good Daughter by Alexandra Burt I thought the book had potential but it quickly became apparent this one wasn't going to be a favorite of mine. It's usually intriguing to learn about buried family secrets and the skeletons in their closets but the set up in this story had this reader a bit confused in the beginning. The story changes the POV without much explanation as to what is going on for quite a while but when it did become clear as to why the switching the entire plot became quite obvious to me.
Also, another complaint with this one was bringing in the main character Dahlia finding an unconscious woman towards the beginning of the story which really had nothing to do with the plot about her mother's secrets. This part of the book just seemed like extra filler that got ignored and really had no place in the book and details with this part seemed to take away from the main story.
Overall, this one really wasn't my cup of tea, main story a bit too obvious and a little too much extra thrown in that didn't need to be in the book.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
Shortly after turning eighteen and finishing high school though Dahlia packs up and leaves the town herself to try to have a better life than she did growing up but she soon finds her mother's secrets have her trapped in dead end jobs and on the move without any paperwork or identification. After fifteen years of this Dahlia decides it's finally time to return to Aurora and confront her mother about their past.
When starting off reading The Good Daughter by Alexandra Burt I thought the book had potential but it quickly became apparent this one wasn't going to be a favorite of mine. It's usually intriguing to learn about buried family secrets and the skeletons in their closets but the set up in this story had this reader a bit confused in the beginning. The story changes the POV without much explanation as to what is going on for quite a while but when it did become clear as to why the switching the entire plot became quite obvious to me.
Also, another complaint with this one was bringing in the main character Dahlia finding an unconscious woman towards the beginning of the story which really had nothing to do with the plot about her mother's secrets. This part of the book just seemed like extra filler that got ignored and really had no place in the book and details with this part seemed to take away from the main story.
Overall, this one really wasn't my cup of tea, main story a bit too obvious and a little too much extra thrown in that didn't need to be in the book.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
December 28, 2017
The Good Daughter is a book that I've been putting off reading because of the very varied reactions from my friends on Goodreads, some loved the book, and some ... did not. It's also a thick book, and being unsure about my reaction and seeing the thick book made me read other books instead. However, I braved it (since I'm trying to get through my NetGalley pile) and was pleasantly surprised at how interesting the book was, at first. I was curious to learn more about Dahlia and her mother, and what her mother is hiding. However, the book never turned out to be as good as I hoped it to be...
I have some very serious problems with the book:
Lack of connection with the characters. I ended up not caring what happened to any of them, neither Memphis (Dahlia's Mother) nor Dahlia.
The story was too long. I felt like crying when I finally finished the book, the last 100 pages was agony to get through.
The story had no surprising twists. At the end I was like, "is this it?"
The present story with the Jane Doe could have been skipped completely, felt totally irrelevant to the story.
Quinn's story (the book's flashback story) was not bad, but it was pretty obvious "who" it was all about.
So, read it at your own risk! Perhaps you will like the book...
I want to thank Avon Books UK for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
I have some very serious problems with the book:
Lack of connection with the characters. I ended up not caring what happened to any of them, neither Memphis (Dahlia's Mother) nor Dahlia.
The story was too long. I felt like crying when I finally finished the book, the last 100 pages was agony to get through.
The story had no surprising twists. At the end I was like, "is this it?"
The present story with the Jane Doe could have been skipped completely, felt totally irrelevant to the story.
Quinn's story (the book's flashback story) was not bad, but it was pretty obvious "who" it was all about.
So, read it at your own risk! Perhaps you will like the book...
I want to thank Avon Books UK for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
February 10, 2017
Find this & other reviews at https://reallyintothis.com Happy Reading!
So, I have to do it. I have to review a book that I am Not Really Into. When I saw the description for this book I was excited – as I have said before I am from Texas, and I still get lured by in by its mystique. I really wanted to like this book about a small town mystery. The book was just really hard for me to get into. I struggled to finish and it felt like a chore to read.
The story of Dahlia Ealler and her mother, Memphis, is actually interesting and I think there is a really good book in here, however it is hidden in a mess of a story with incredibly flowery language. There were times I would just skim a page because it contained so many metaphors and not much content. Dahlia’s life is a mystery to her and her mother is going crazy, so she and her friend from high school, a policeman officer, team together to figure it out. But there are times where they miss big clues that left me frustrated, and I felt like I had it figured out fairly earl you on. There is also a side story of Dahlia finding a girl in the woods that seemed to have no relation to the main story whatsoever! I don’t know why it’s was there!
Alexandra Burt is clearly a talented author, and there is a great story hidden in this book – I just feel like it could use a heavy dose of editing before it is published. I wanted to be Really Into, and there were times where I almost was, but at the end of the day it felt like work to get through the book. But don’t count it completely out, it may be something that you are Really Into – especially after it is officially published on February 7, 2017.
Special thanks to Alexandra Burt, Berkley Books & NetGalley for providing my copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.
So, I have to do it. I have to review a book that I am Not Really Into. When I saw the description for this book I was excited – as I have said before I am from Texas, and I still get lured by in by its mystique. I really wanted to like this book about a small town mystery. The book was just really hard for me to get into. I struggled to finish and it felt like a chore to read.
The story of Dahlia Ealler and her mother, Memphis, is actually interesting and I think there is a really good book in here, however it is hidden in a mess of a story with incredibly flowery language. There were times I would just skim a page because it contained so many metaphors and not much content. Dahlia’s life is a mystery to her and her mother is going crazy, so she and her friend from high school, a policeman officer, team together to figure it out. But there are times where they miss big clues that left me frustrated, and I felt like I had it figured out fairly earl you on. There is also a side story of Dahlia finding a girl in the woods that seemed to have no relation to the main story whatsoever! I don’t know why it’s was there!
Alexandra Burt is clearly a talented author, and there is a great story hidden in this book – I just feel like it could use a heavy dose of editing before it is published. I wanted to be Really Into, and there were times where I almost was, but at the end of the day it felt like work to get through the book. But don’t count it completely out, it may be something that you are Really Into – especially after it is officially published on February 7, 2017.
Special thanks to Alexandra Burt, Berkley Books & NetGalley for providing my copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.
November 8, 2016
I’m afraid this book just didn’t work for me. Dahlia returns home to Aurora, TX, after fifteen years to get answers to why she and her mother, Memphis, spent the first twelve years on the run. Her mother never enrolled her in school until they returned to Aurora. Before that, her mother took jobs working as a maid in hotels so they could get housing and get paid under the table. The excuse her mother always gave for why Dahlia couldn’t enroll in school was they lacked “paperwork.”
Dahlia leaves Aurora at the age of eighteen, but she doesn’t apply to college because she still has no identity. Instead, she does exactly what her mother did—she flits from one low-paying job after the other as long as it pays under the table. At the age of eighteen, she should have figured out some way to claim an identity. It’s very hard to believe she’d wait fifteen years to return home to get answers.
When she comes back to Aurora, she meets up with Bobby, her childhood friend, who became a cop just like his father.
Early on, Dahlia finds the body of woman who has been beaten into a coma. The discovery in the woods so surprises Dahlia, she slips into the creek and hits her head.
While the Jane Doe remains hospitalized in a coma, Dahlia now tries to figure out her own past as well as the identity of Jane Doe. Memphis seems to be going crazy, so it’s not easy to get the truth out of her.
Also, in addition to alternating points of view of Dahlia and Memphis, we get chapters from the points of view of Aella, who knows how to help people with solves and potions and chants, Tain, and Quinn, a woman who was brutally gang raped as a teenager, and we have to read the gruesome details of this rape over and over again, which is simply not my idea of an enjoyable read.
The link between all these characters with weird names does come together eventually, but it’s confusing at first.
Also, Dahlia and Bobby stumble on a huge clue that is obvious to the reader (not the details, but what the clue indicates) and they don’t investigate at all. Really? A police officer and a woman obsessed with discovering the identity of a woman she doesn’t know can’t be bothered to dig into this (literally, dig into the clue).
None of these characters are likeable in any way.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.
For more of my reviews, please visit: http://theresaalan.net/blog/
Dahlia leaves Aurora at the age of eighteen, but she doesn’t apply to college because she still has no identity. Instead, she does exactly what her mother did—she flits from one low-paying job after the other as long as it pays under the table. At the age of eighteen, she should have figured out some way to claim an identity. It’s very hard to believe she’d wait fifteen years to return home to get answers.
When she comes back to Aurora, she meets up with Bobby, her childhood friend, who became a cop just like his father.
Early on, Dahlia finds the body of woman who has been beaten into a coma. The discovery in the woods so surprises Dahlia, she slips into the creek and hits her head.
While the Jane Doe remains hospitalized in a coma, Dahlia now tries to figure out her own past as well as the identity of Jane Doe. Memphis seems to be going crazy, so it’s not easy to get the truth out of her.
Also, in addition to alternating points of view of Dahlia and Memphis, we get chapters from the points of view of Aella, who knows how to help people with solves and potions and chants, Tain, and Quinn, a woman who was brutally gang raped as a teenager, and we have to read the gruesome details of this rape over and over again, which is simply not my idea of an enjoyable read.
The link between all these characters with weird names does come together eventually, but it’s confusing at first.
Also, Dahlia and Bobby stumble on a huge clue that is obvious to the reader (not the details, but what the clue indicates) and they don’t investigate at all. Really? A police officer and a woman obsessed with discovering the identity of a woman she doesn’t know can’t be bothered to dig into this (literally, dig into the clue).
None of these characters are likeable in any way.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.
For more of my reviews, please visit: http://theresaalan.net/blog/
February 10, 2017
A tale of family, loss, and coming to terms with ones identity in this richly complex and well-written second novel from international bestselling author of REMEMBER MIA.
Alexandra Burt weaves a haunting story that grips you, shakes you, and won't let you go. As a kid, Dahlia Waller remembers being shuttled across state lines from one seedy motel to the next, never formally attending school, and always wondering why she and her mother, Memphis seemed to be on the run.
Years later, Dahlia's all grown and has returned to her (longest running) hometown, rural Aurora, Texas and the dilapidated farm that holds secrets upon secrets. Something's off, something's always been off--her mother now anxious and paranoid, agitated, and secretive. She's always been on the brink, but why is it worse now?
Told in alternating POVs with lush, poetic writing, the story slowly unravels. Keep in mind that THE GOOD DAUGHTER is not nearly as fast-paced as Burt's debut, REMEMBER MIA and has more of a literary, supernatural element than her earlier work. At times, there was a bit of reader confusion as it felt as though several plot lines were loosely tied together.
Still, I loved the old motel, the abandoned farm, the supernatural elements, and the present-day mystery. THE GOOD DAUGHTER felt like a mash-up of several of my favorite authors--reminiscent of Lisa Unger's fictional town The Hollows (in her books, CRAZY LOVE YOU and INK & BONE, others), Elizabeth Brundage's ALL THINGS CEASE TO APPEAR as well as Mary Kubica's PRETTY BABY, Lori Rader-Day's PRETTY LITTLE THINGS with magical elements of Alice Hoffman interspersed. For me, I enjoyed piecing it together; others may feel frustrated with the loosely connected plot lines.
I especially felt the quotes at the beginning of each section poignant; the overarching story to be horrific and haunting. I promise, you'll remember the sensory details, the strong prose.
For all of my reviews, including author interviews, please see: www.leslielindsay.com
See my interview with the author here: https://leslielindsay.com/2017/02/08/...
I'm grateful to be an early reader and share my gratitude to the author and her publicist for this review copy. All thoughts are my own.
Alexandra Burt weaves a haunting story that grips you, shakes you, and won't let you go. As a kid, Dahlia Waller remembers being shuttled across state lines from one seedy motel to the next, never formally attending school, and always wondering why she and her mother, Memphis seemed to be on the run.
Years later, Dahlia's all grown and has returned to her (longest running) hometown, rural Aurora, Texas and the dilapidated farm that holds secrets upon secrets. Something's off, something's always been off--her mother now anxious and paranoid, agitated, and secretive. She's always been on the brink, but why is it worse now?
Told in alternating POVs with lush, poetic writing, the story slowly unravels. Keep in mind that THE GOOD DAUGHTER is not nearly as fast-paced as Burt's debut, REMEMBER MIA and has more of a literary, supernatural element than her earlier work. At times, there was a bit of reader confusion as it felt as though several plot lines were loosely tied together.
Still, I loved the old motel, the abandoned farm, the supernatural elements, and the present-day mystery. THE GOOD DAUGHTER felt like a mash-up of several of my favorite authors--reminiscent of Lisa Unger's fictional town The Hollows (in her books, CRAZY LOVE YOU and INK & BONE, others), Elizabeth Brundage's ALL THINGS CEASE TO APPEAR as well as Mary Kubica's PRETTY BABY, Lori Rader-Day's PRETTY LITTLE THINGS with magical elements of Alice Hoffman interspersed. For me, I enjoyed piecing it together; others may feel frustrated with the loosely connected plot lines.
I especially felt the quotes at the beginning of each section poignant; the overarching story to be horrific and haunting. I promise, you'll remember the sensory details, the strong prose.
For all of my reviews, including author interviews, please see: www.leslielindsay.com
See my interview with the author here: https://leslielindsay.com/2017/02/08/...
I'm grateful to be an early reader and share my gratitude to the author and her publicist for this review copy. All thoughts are my own.
August 26, 2017
This had the potiential of being a 5 star book but the pacing made it a 3 star book. There were several mystery plot lines going in this book at once. Most of them were clear and easy to follow but some were confusing and convoluted. Dahlia had an unconventional upbringing where her mother, Memphis, moved them from place to place and would not allow her to go to school because they did not have paperwork. Finally they move to Aurora, Texas and settle down and Dahlia is allowed to go to school. But as an adult, Dahlia has questions about her past and returns to Aurora to get answers from her mom. But then she finds a woman half buried in the woods when she is on a jog and starts having visions about this woman, Jane Doe who is in a coma. And her mother also starts to slowly lose her mind and starts telling Dahlia stories about a woman named Quinn who lived in Aurora a long time ago. I kept reading because I wanted resolutions to all the mysteries in this book. But I think a rewrite to make it easier to follow and read would be very beneficial. Looking forward reading more by this author because I feel that she does have a lot of potential.
I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
I received a free advanced readers copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.
I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
I received a free advanced readers copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.
February 5, 2017
For all my reviews, check out Clues and Reviews
www.cluesandreviews.wordpress.com
Dahlia has grown up knowing her childhood was different; nights in seedy motels, constantly moving and no real connection with anyone aside from her mother, Memphis. She returns to Aurora, Texas to finally have her questions answered and stumbles upon much more than just a mother’s secret….
The Good Daughter, the upcoming suspense novel by Alexandra Burt, is a story of the relationship between families and their secrets. This one left me with mixed feelings. Let me explain:
The novel opens with Dahlia returning home to Aurora, Texas to visit her mother. As soon as she arrives, she goes jogging in the woods and stumbles across a woman buried in a ditch. Dahlia feels a strange connection to this woman so she stays in town while the woman recovers at the hospital. Dahlia takes this as a perfect opportunity to find out some answers about her shady childhood from her mother. Her mother begins to explain to her through narratives surrounding a woman named Quinn. The entire novel is narrated in small sections: we hear from Dahlia (searching for answers), Memphis (struggling to reveal her secrets to her past) and Quinn (a woman dealing with infertility issues and a husband who puts crickets in a jar).
Strange? I think so.
What I Liked:
The Characters: I found that Burt did an excellent job at developing her leads to the fullest extent. Memphis, Quinn, and Dahlia all had interesting qualities that allowed me to connect with them. Dahlia and Memphis were especially interesting for me!
The introduction of Southern Voodoo: this was the most fascinating part of the novel; Quinn, struggling with infertility, sets her sight to see a “witch doctor”, who lives in a trailer park on the edge of town; moments with her were creepy. I wanted more of her.
The Overall Plot: I did like the general story. A daughter searching for answers and a mother hiding secrets. This intrigued me and did propel me enough to continue reading.
What I Struggled With:
The Pace: The build up for this one took too long; the characters seemed completely unrelated until the last chapter. I understand that a novel needs to build, however, it happened entirely too slowly.
The Narrative Style: This book becomes downright confusing at times. I found it very difficult to follow the characters and the timeline of the story. It was very jumbled and jumped back and forth in time. This made it difficult to easily understand the plot.
Secondary Characters and Plots: I didn’t feel any connection to any of the secondary characters. They were so underdeveloped; I would have preferred not to have them at all. I also felt that Burt added too many subplots that were not necessary. For example, the girl in the woods? I don’t even feel like that was needed to push the plot. It seemed like an unnecessary addition.
If you want a fast-paced thriller, this will not be to your liking. However, if you enjoy a slow burning family saga, this one could be enjoyable. I gave it a 3/5 stars on Goodreads.
THANKS TO THE PUBLISHER, THE AUTHOR AND NETGALLEY FOR THE DIGITAL VERSION OF THIS NOVEL; IT WAS MY PLEASURE TO PROVIDE AN HONEST REVIEW.
www.cluesandreviews.wordpress.com
Dahlia has grown up knowing her childhood was different; nights in seedy motels, constantly moving and no real connection with anyone aside from her mother, Memphis. She returns to Aurora, Texas to finally have her questions answered and stumbles upon much more than just a mother’s secret….
The Good Daughter, the upcoming suspense novel by Alexandra Burt, is a story of the relationship between families and their secrets. This one left me with mixed feelings. Let me explain:
The novel opens with Dahlia returning home to Aurora, Texas to visit her mother. As soon as she arrives, she goes jogging in the woods and stumbles across a woman buried in a ditch. Dahlia feels a strange connection to this woman so she stays in town while the woman recovers at the hospital. Dahlia takes this as a perfect opportunity to find out some answers about her shady childhood from her mother. Her mother begins to explain to her through narratives surrounding a woman named Quinn. The entire novel is narrated in small sections: we hear from Dahlia (searching for answers), Memphis (struggling to reveal her secrets to her past) and Quinn (a woman dealing with infertility issues and a husband who puts crickets in a jar).
Strange? I think so.
What I Liked:
The Characters: I found that Burt did an excellent job at developing her leads to the fullest extent. Memphis, Quinn, and Dahlia all had interesting qualities that allowed me to connect with them. Dahlia and Memphis were especially interesting for me!
The introduction of Southern Voodoo: this was the most fascinating part of the novel; Quinn, struggling with infertility, sets her sight to see a “witch doctor”, who lives in a trailer park on the edge of town; moments with her were creepy. I wanted more of her.
The Overall Plot: I did like the general story. A daughter searching for answers and a mother hiding secrets. This intrigued me and did propel me enough to continue reading.
What I Struggled With:
The Pace: The build up for this one took too long; the characters seemed completely unrelated until the last chapter. I understand that a novel needs to build, however, it happened entirely too slowly.
The Narrative Style: This book becomes downright confusing at times. I found it very difficult to follow the characters and the timeline of the story. It was very jumbled and jumped back and forth in time. This made it difficult to easily understand the plot.
Secondary Characters and Plots: I didn’t feel any connection to any of the secondary characters. They were so underdeveloped; I would have preferred not to have them at all. I also felt that Burt added too many subplots that were not necessary. For example, the girl in the woods? I don’t even feel like that was needed to push the plot. It seemed like an unnecessary addition.
If you want a fast-paced thriller, this will not be to your liking. However, if you enjoy a slow burning family saga, this one could be enjoyable. I gave it a 3/5 stars on Goodreads.
THANKS TO THE PUBLISHER, THE AUTHOR AND NETGALLEY FOR THE DIGITAL VERSION OF THIS NOVEL; IT WAS MY PLEASURE TO PROVIDE AN HONEST REVIEW.
February 9, 2018
A novel narrated from four different female viewpoints: the central character Dahlia, her mother Memphis, farmer's wife Quinn and witch-woman Aella. However, it's more than halfway through the book that we begin to get a glimpse of what connects the former two to the latter.
The book is written in a quite endearing semi-poetic style and some of the place descriptions are beautiful. Alas, there is a distinct lack of narrative punch and the plot does tend to wander off into tangents. The denouement is somewhat predictable too.
In all, I feel Ms. Burt is a very talented author who'd greatly benefit from having a more ruthless editor.
The book is written in a quite endearing semi-poetic style and some of the place descriptions are beautiful. Alas, there is a distinct lack of narrative punch and the plot does tend to wander off into tangents. The denouement is somewhat predictable too.
In all, I feel Ms. Burt is a very talented author who'd greatly benefit from having a more ruthless editor.
setting-aside-for-now
January 28, 2017I was hoping that this story of a daughter and her dysfunctional childhood with her mother would be like White Oleander. But the pace of this was slow and it just didn't grab my attention.
DNF.
DNF.
March 1, 2017
This is a strange one for me as I actually cried when I finished this book which is not something that happens that often. And it wasn’t because it was sad or that it hadn’t ended as I expected but I was suddenly hit by a wave of emotion at leaving this book. I didn’t want to leave the characters, I wanted to stay there with them, hovering in the background, so I could continue watching them! It was a strange feeling of loss that I hadn’t been expecting and rounded off a book that I had found incredibly moving and involving right from the start.
This isn’t a fast-paced book but the slow and claustrophobic build up is perfectly in keeping with it’s atmosphere. The first few pages require your concentration but once you become invested in the story of Memphis and her daughter Dahlia you physically won’t be able to put down and it pays off. Theirs is one of the strangest relationships between mother and daughter I have ever read and it is obvious that their lack of paperwork is the tip of the iceberg in discovering their family secrets. Their account of their early life and their return journey to Texas is entwined with the heart breaking story of a woman called Quinn. Quinn’s narrative was so difficult to read at times, there were some very disturbing scenes that made me feel like I wanted to go and shower away the words and images conjured up.
Although this was a slow burner, it had me thoroughly engrossed in its darkly atmospheric setting whilst gradually hinting at the mystery hidden at its heart. I wanted to take my time and slowed my reading right down as I worked through my suspicions, trying to work out the connections between the women. I loved Dahlia and felt sadness at the childhood and experienced, I felt very protective of her and wanted her to find a way out of the life she was unable to escape from and that followed her to adulthood.
This book felt very different to the authors debut Little Girl Gone and for me, I thought it a much superior novel and I enjoyed far more than I had expected. A rare of case of the second novel blowing the debut out of water! It’s dark and creepy, complex and harrowing but bloody brilliant! I don’t compare many authors to Gillian Flynn but if you enjoy her books you will love this.
This isn’t a fast-paced book but the slow and claustrophobic build up is perfectly in keeping with it’s atmosphere. The first few pages require your concentration but once you become invested in the story of Memphis and her daughter Dahlia you physically won’t be able to put down and it pays off. Theirs is one of the strangest relationships between mother and daughter I have ever read and it is obvious that their lack of paperwork is the tip of the iceberg in discovering their family secrets. Their account of their early life and their return journey to Texas is entwined with the heart breaking story of a woman called Quinn. Quinn’s narrative was so difficult to read at times, there were some very disturbing scenes that made me feel like I wanted to go and shower away the words and images conjured up.
Although this was a slow burner, it had me thoroughly engrossed in its darkly atmospheric setting whilst gradually hinting at the mystery hidden at its heart. I wanted to take my time and slowed my reading right down as I worked through my suspicions, trying to work out the connections between the women. I loved Dahlia and felt sadness at the childhood and experienced, I felt very protective of her and wanted her to find a way out of the life she was unable to escape from and that followed her to adulthood.
This book felt very different to the authors debut Little Girl Gone and for me, I thought it a much superior novel and I enjoyed far more than I had expected. A rare of case of the second novel blowing the debut out of water! It’s dark and creepy, complex and harrowing but bloody brilliant! I don’t compare many authors to Gillian Flynn but if you enjoy her books you will love this.
February 7, 2017
This took a lot of patience to get through. I was almost a hundred pages in before I really got into it. It's a very slow building story that is very confusing at times. It's different, but I still liked it. Definitely not something fast paced that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. It's more of a slow, haunting story. If you don't have the patience to really immerse yourself in something without a lot of action, it's not for you. It wasn't what I expected at all, but it was well written and interesting once I got into it.
Dahlia had a very unusual childhood. Her mother moved them around and traveled constantly, never accumulating much. When they left, it was quickly. She never knew where she was going next. She doesn't even remember being called Dahlia until she was older... didn't start school when other children did either. They eventually settled in a small Texas town, but she's never understood her mother. Memphis would never answer her questions.
Ten years after she left that small town as soon as she became an adult, she returns. She wants to understand her mother and her past. She's determined that she'll only to be able to move forward with her life when she does. That may prove difficult... and may even be something she'll come to regret.
This book is filled with several stories from different perspectives from different times. They are all intricately woven to come together at different points in the book. It can be hard to keep track of, but gets easier as the book goes on.
Dahlia had a very unusual childhood. Her mother moved them around and traveled constantly, never accumulating much. When they left, it was quickly. She never knew where she was going next. She doesn't even remember being called Dahlia until she was older... didn't start school when other children did either. They eventually settled in a small Texas town, but she's never understood her mother. Memphis would never answer her questions.
Ten years after she left that small town as soon as she became an adult, she returns. She wants to understand her mother and her past. She's determined that she'll only to be able to move forward with her life when she does. That may prove difficult... and may even be something she'll come to regret.
This book is filled with several stories from different perspectives from different times. They are all intricately woven to come together at different points in the book. It can be hard to keep track of, but gets easier as the book goes on.
February 15, 2017
33-year old Dahlia’ memories of an unconventional life growing up are scattered and spotty. She is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery of her old life with more urgency now that her mother Memphis is in declining mental health. Dahlia wonders if it is already too late to uncover the secrets kept from her all of these years. An interesting premise. This was a choppy read told from multiple perspectives yet ultimately the bits and pieces fall into place for a satisfying ending. Be forewarned there are disturbing scenes.
February 7, 2017
This was definitely a different book. At first, I couldn't tell who was crazier, the mother or the daughter. I started with the mother and why she kept driving around the country. Her poor daughter didn't go to school until the 8th grade. Then she didn't know her name until about that time as well. This poor girl had a strange life to begin with. And what was up with all the goings on about crickets?
Then after they got to Aurora and Dahlia had gone to school, had left Aurora for 15 years, came back and then she started smelling things and seeing things, then I thought she was going crazy.
This poor mother and daughter were spending their lives working for minimum wage under the counter cleaning hotels, houses or whatever they could find. This was all because the mother hated paperwork. Dahlia didn't even know whether she had a birth certificate or even a social security number. When she asked her mother about it, her mother would change the subject.
All Dahlia can remember from her childhood is leaving in the middle of the night to go to yet another motel, or living above a gas station, or car garage or living in the backseat of her mother's car. She remembers that her mother did buy her a Columbia Encyclopedia because she kept asking so many questions. She almost wore that thing out.
And then . . . after one tragedy after another, her mother sits her down and tells her the truth. It is unbelievable and shocking. Definitely one I did not see coming.
I found this be a highly entertaining and mesmerizing read. I really felt for the characters at least one point or another during my reading of this book. Sometimes more than one point. The author did a great job with the story and definitely with the ending.
Thanks to Berkley Publishing for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
Then after they got to Aurora and Dahlia had gone to school, had left Aurora for 15 years, came back and then she started smelling things and seeing things, then I thought she was going crazy.
This poor mother and daughter were spending their lives working for minimum wage under the counter cleaning hotels, houses or whatever they could find. This was all because the mother hated paperwork. Dahlia didn't even know whether she had a birth certificate or even a social security number. When she asked her mother about it, her mother would change the subject.
All Dahlia can remember from her childhood is leaving in the middle of the night to go to yet another motel, or living above a gas station, or car garage or living in the backseat of her mother's car. She remembers that her mother did buy her a Columbia Encyclopedia because she kept asking so many questions. She almost wore that thing out.
And then . . . after one tragedy after another, her mother sits her down and tells her the truth. It is unbelievable and shocking. Definitely one I did not see coming.
I found this be a highly entertaining and mesmerizing read. I really felt for the characters at least one point or another during my reading of this book. Sometimes more than one point. The author did a great job with the story and definitely with the ending.
Thanks to Berkley Publishing for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
October 5, 2016
This book was such a mess that I don't know where to begin. I got an unexpected digital ARC from the publisher since I have liked books like I Let Go and Watching Edie in the past. Also, Remember Mia by this author has been on my reading list for some time, so I was excited to read this. I hope (fingers crossed) that some of the problems will be ironed out before publication, but the digital copy I just read was more like a bunch of messy outlines than a cohesive novel.
Dahlia gets by cleaning hotels, being paid under the table. She doesn't have any way to prove her ID as far as she knows, despite the fact that she has pestered her mother about it for years. Although Dahlia left her small Texas town of Aurora when she was eighteen, she is now 33, and decides to move back there for reasons that are only vaguely explained. (Basically, she lost a job.) Once she is home she discovers a body while jogging in the woods, and becomes interested in learning the identity of the woman. Out of nowhere her mother, Memphis begins acting oddly, setting off a chain of events that leads Dahlia and Memphis back to a farm on the outskirts of Aurora that Memphis seems to know well. Once they move into the farmhouse Memphis begins telling Dahlia the story of Quinn, the woman who used to live in the farmhouse with her husband. In the midst of this drawn-out story Dahlia begins experiencing seizures, possibly related to her strange connection to the Jane Doe she discovers in the woods. She also finds a job at a hotel in town that is run by her former, sinister classmate, and begins an affair with another former classmate, Bobby, who is now a police officer in Aurora. Memphis is anxious for Dahlia to hear her story, Dahlia doesn't think hearing it is that urgent. Is anyone able to follow this synopsis? Are you as confused as I am?
Unfortunately, your confusion will not be cleared up by reading this insanity. It's like being handed a clump of yarn and being told to unravel it, and as you do so you discover other pieces of yarn knotted up within it. The story just doesn't make sense the way its written. Looking back on it after reading the whole thing I can sort of get a vague sense of the greater story. It's basically the story of why Dahlia had such a crazy upbringing. I have no idea why all this garbage about a Jane Doe in the woods, and a tiny bit of a mention of other women disappearing over the years made its way into that story though. It's two completely separate novels that just happen to be part of the same book. With the same characters. In the same town. And sort of, kind of linked together because of the same characters, in the same town.
I wish I could write a better, clearer review. This book was such a mess that it's maddening to me. What was the author thinking? What were the editors and publishers thinking? I'm really hoping what I read was a rough draft because I can't imagine people being able to make sense of this.
Dahlia gets by cleaning hotels, being paid under the table. She doesn't have any way to prove her ID as far as she knows, despite the fact that she has pestered her mother about it for years. Although Dahlia left her small Texas town of Aurora when she was eighteen, she is now 33, and decides to move back there for reasons that are only vaguely explained. (Basically, she lost a job.) Once she is home she discovers a body while jogging in the woods, and becomes interested in learning the identity of the woman. Out of nowhere her mother, Memphis begins acting oddly, setting off a chain of events that leads Dahlia and Memphis back to a farm on the outskirts of Aurora that Memphis seems to know well. Once they move into the farmhouse Memphis begins telling Dahlia the story of Quinn, the woman who used to live in the farmhouse with her husband. In the midst of this drawn-out story Dahlia begins experiencing seizures, possibly related to her strange connection to the Jane Doe she discovers in the woods. She also finds a job at a hotel in town that is run by her former, sinister classmate, and begins an affair with another former classmate, Bobby, who is now a police officer in Aurora. Memphis is anxious for Dahlia to hear her story, Dahlia doesn't think hearing it is that urgent. Is anyone able to follow this synopsis? Are you as confused as I am?
Unfortunately, your confusion will not be cleared up by reading this insanity. It's like being handed a clump of yarn and being told to unravel it, and as you do so you discover other pieces of yarn knotted up within it. The story just doesn't make sense the way its written. Looking back on it after reading the whole thing I can sort of get a vague sense of the greater story. It's basically the story of why Dahlia had such a crazy upbringing. I have no idea why all this garbage about a Jane Doe in the woods, and a tiny bit of a mention of other women disappearing over the years made its way into that story though. It's two completely separate novels that just happen to be part of the same book. With the same characters. In the same town. And sort of, kind of linked together because of the same characters, in the same town.
I wish I could write a better, clearer review. This book was such a mess that it's maddening to me. What was the author thinking? What were the editors and publishers thinking? I'm really hoping what I read was a rough draft because I can't imagine people being able to make sense of this.
March 26, 2020
Burt's attempts to pen a mysterious novel fall flat in the execution. Chapters are told from differing points of view, and while it soon becomes obvious to the reader (not to the characters) who is who, the telling of the tale is incredibly convoluted and confusing. The pacing is overly slow and the characters are not sympathetic; there is nothing about them that helps the reader to form a connection. Some of the more suspenseful portions of the storyline don't even seem to fit in with the narrative, and overall the tale is a mess, and it is very difficult to decipher what is even going on until the ending. Looking back, one can piece together the core story, but it is so difficult to do so throughout that it isn't worth the effort.
Dahlia has never been able to attend school or hold a real job due to lack of "paperwork." Her young life is spent traveling with her mother from one place to the next, and all attempts to get information from her mother, Memphis, come up void. Now in her 30s, Dahlia has returned to the town of Aurora, Texas, to finally settle the questions of her past. She finds Memphis scattered and secretive, but finally Dahlia is able to get Memphis to start talking. She tells a story of a woman named Quinn and events that occurred in the past, and Dahlia is able to start investigating how this story might have ties to her own past and even things happening in the present.
January 3, 2017
ARC for review - expected publication date, February 7, 2017.
Dahlia is back in her small hometown of Aurora - she and her mother, Memphis have always lived an odd life, no Social Security numbers, no birth certificates, no identifying information at all. Her mother seems mentally ill, but Dahlia needs answers - answers to the story of her life and answers about the young woman whom she found nearly dead in the woods right after her return. So there are mysteries within mysteries in this book, but the reader always has much more information than the characters (in fact, one of the blurbs for the book gives an awful lot away) so we're really waiting for Dahlia to discover the truth.
Therefore the mysteries are few and far between, but they were enough to keep me interested. The main characters are well-drawn (the secondary characters less so - I had no sense of Bobby whatsoever) and Burt made me understand their motivations. I think a number of people will be drawn to this book.
Dahlia is back in her small hometown of Aurora - she and her mother, Memphis have always lived an odd life, no Social Security numbers, no birth certificates, no identifying information at all. Her mother seems mentally ill, but Dahlia needs answers - answers to the story of her life and answers about the young woman whom she found nearly dead in the woods right after her return. So there are mysteries within mysteries in this book, but the reader always has much more information than the characters (in fact, one of the blurbs for the book gives an awful lot away) so we're really waiting for Dahlia to discover the truth.
Therefore the mysteries are few and far between, but they were enough to keep me interested. The main characters are well-drawn (the secondary characters less so - I had no sense of Bobby whatsoever) and Burt made me understand their motivations. I think a number of people will be drawn to this book.
January 14, 2019
I didn’t like this book by Alexandra Burt as much as I did Remember Mia, but I did enjoy it. The plot is extremely slow building and requires way too much patience. However, I did enjoy the story and trying to fit all of the pieces together. The suspense and wanting my questions answered kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. I ended up liking most of the story, except for one part that I don’t think was necessary. Overall, it’s worth the read though if you can be patient for a bit.
March 15, 2017
This is a slow-burning crime novel, written very differently to Burt's first title, Little Girl lost. I enjoyed this a lot more, but it's a very hefty tome (500+ pages).
The writing is lyrical, the prose beautiful, the description is lengthy and the theme immersive, authentic, and very well written. This is a story of light and dark, where shadows hide beneath the warmth, and terror behind a smile.
The writing is lyrical, the prose beautiful, the description is lengthy and the theme immersive, authentic, and very well written. This is a story of light and dark, where shadows hide beneath the warmth, and terror behind a smile.
February 23, 2017
The Good Daughter is Alexandra Burt’s second novel and like her first explores motherhood and memory. This time the focus of the narrative is Dahlia, the daughter, whose relationship with Memphis, her mother, is complicated. She loves Memphis, but harbors anger and resentment over the many secrets her mother keeps and their effect on her life.
Dahlia’s earliest memories are of life on the road, a transient existence as her mom traveled from dead end job to dead end job, of being “home-schooled” with the Columbia Encyclopedia, of moving always onward but never forward. Her mother called her Pet until they moved to their final stop, Aurora, Texas. From then on they were no longer Mom and Pet but Memphis and Dahlia Waller. They stayed in Aurora until Dahlia left after high school, frustrated that she could not go to college for the same reason their jobs and lives were so transient. Paperwork. More precisely, the lack of paperwork that doomed Dahlia to low paid under-the-table jobs.
Determined to finally wrest her mother’s secrets from her, Dahlia returns to Aurora after fifteen years. Her mother seems to be coming undone. To add to the tension, while out jogging, Dahlia discovers a woman who had been left for dead. Her discovery saves the woman’s life, but arouses questions about a possible serial killer. Worse, she begins to have visions, hallucinations, or seizures depending on whom you’re talking to. They are either brought on by psychic ability, schizophrenia, or a blow to the head, again depending on whom you are talking to.
Meanwhile, Memphis is falling off the edge, but at least she begins to start talking, though not about Memphis and Dahlia. Instead she tells the story of a young woman named Quinn, her marriage and her friendship with a childlike young woman named Tain. There’s a lot of pain in those stories, those memories, but perhaps they will reveal more than Dahlia ever expects.
I very much enjoyed The Good Daughter. It explores how trauma can travel from one generation to the next and how far someone may go to protect their child–and how the bonds of mother love can be forged in steel. Burt explores many ideas. This makes for a richer story, but Burt wove in so many threads that some of them were tied off quickly and summarily, making me think they were not needed in the first place. For example, you could pick out and unravel the serial killer story thread and still have a whole cloth.
It is odd, but the character with whom I most identified is Quinn. She’s a bit ruthless, a lot damaged, and yet she perseveres. She has grit. Dahlia seems a bit obtuse at times. She’s looking at all the threads and never makes manages to loop them together. Solutions are handed to her by Bobby and Memphis while Dahlia refuses to let the penny drop. That’s the best interpretation and I will stick with it, because I think she is smart enough to have seen the penny, seen the direction it was traveling and known where it was going to land, but could not face the pain of it landing on her heart.
There is so much to think about in The Good Daughter. I imagine book groups across the country discussing Quinn’s actions, Memphis’ choices, Dahlia’s dawdling and how their stories come together from all sorts of perspectives. It’s just that kind of book, the kind you want to talk about. The main characters are deeply developed and we care about them. There is a curiously languid mood for the story. Curious because after all, there is a serial killer out there and Dahlia really needs to get a birth certificate and a social security number one of these days so she can get a real job. Nonetheless, I don’t know if it’s the Texas heat, the slow moving cycles of rural living, or just the pace of Memphis recollections, but there is this deliberate, unhurried, languor that only heightens the tension as Dahlia, slowly, slowly, slowly comes to understand her mother.
The Good Daughter will be published on February 7, 2017. I was provided an e-galley by the publisher through NetGalley.
★★★★
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Dahlia’s earliest memories are of life on the road, a transient existence as her mom traveled from dead end job to dead end job, of being “home-schooled” with the Columbia Encyclopedia, of moving always onward but never forward. Her mother called her Pet until they moved to their final stop, Aurora, Texas. From then on they were no longer Mom and Pet but Memphis and Dahlia Waller. They stayed in Aurora until Dahlia left after high school, frustrated that she could not go to college for the same reason their jobs and lives were so transient. Paperwork. More precisely, the lack of paperwork that doomed Dahlia to low paid under-the-table jobs.
Determined to finally wrest her mother’s secrets from her, Dahlia returns to Aurora after fifteen years. Her mother seems to be coming undone. To add to the tension, while out jogging, Dahlia discovers a woman who had been left for dead. Her discovery saves the woman’s life, but arouses questions about a possible serial killer. Worse, she begins to have visions, hallucinations, or seizures depending on whom you’re talking to. They are either brought on by psychic ability, schizophrenia, or a blow to the head, again depending on whom you are talking to.
Meanwhile, Memphis is falling off the edge, but at least she begins to start talking, though not about Memphis and Dahlia. Instead she tells the story of a young woman named Quinn, her marriage and her friendship with a childlike young woman named Tain. There’s a lot of pain in those stories, those memories, but perhaps they will reveal more than Dahlia ever expects.
I very much enjoyed The Good Daughter. It explores how trauma can travel from one generation to the next and how far someone may go to protect their child–and how the bonds of mother love can be forged in steel. Burt explores many ideas. This makes for a richer story, but Burt wove in so many threads that some of them were tied off quickly and summarily, making me think they were not needed in the first place. For example, you could pick out and unravel the serial killer story thread and still have a whole cloth.
It is odd, but the character with whom I most identified is Quinn. She’s a bit ruthless, a lot damaged, and yet she perseveres. She has grit. Dahlia seems a bit obtuse at times. She’s looking at all the threads and never makes manages to loop them together. Solutions are handed to her by Bobby and Memphis while Dahlia refuses to let the penny drop. That’s the best interpretation and I will stick with it, because I think she is smart enough to have seen the penny, seen the direction it was traveling and known where it was going to land, but could not face the pain of it landing on her heart.
There is so much to think about in The Good Daughter. I imagine book groups across the country discussing Quinn’s actions, Memphis’ choices, Dahlia’s dawdling and how their stories come together from all sorts of perspectives. It’s just that kind of book, the kind you want to talk about. The main characters are deeply developed and we care about them. There is a curiously languid mood for the story. Curious because after all, there is a serial killer out there and Dahlia really needs to get a birth certificate and a social security number one of these days so she can get a real job. Nonetheless, I don’t know if it’s the Texas heat, the slow moving cycles of rural living, or just the pace of Memphis recollections, but there is this deliberate, unhurried, languor that only heightens the tension as Dahlia, slowly, slowly, slowly comes to understand her mother.
The Good Daughter will be published on February 7, 2017. I was provided an e-galley by the publisher through NetGalley.
★★★★
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December 19, 2017
A Magical World Of Words
(Thank you so much to Jonathan Ball SA for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.)
WOW: I thought there would never be a thriller to rival The Girl on the Train. This book is a gut-load of despicable pain and tragedy, but it is so, so good.
The language, the writing, is where the book truly comes alive. It is incredibly emotive, bursting with sensory details. The vocabulary is astounding, the writing raw and real, and the tone gorgeously atmospheric. It's so rich and literally tangible, and I was completely sucked into the breathless, horrifying world.
It's exciting. Creepy, horrifying, dark and terrifying, but so gripping. It's clever but not remarkably so, and I did guess the twist a while before it was revealed, but I must admit I didn't actually mind. The story's strength is in its characters and writing, not its mystery. It's not so much about the destination, it's about the journey. And it works fine that way - even for a thriller.
The suspense is thick and intense, but it's a bit of a love-hate thing for me. I felt like the author kept dangling the climatic answers to the many secrets right in front of me, and then snatching them away to prolong the revelations for yet another chapter. It's not a deal breaker, just a bit frustrating and worth mentioning.
{She} was a strong woman; strong but damaged. Those are the dangerous ones.
The story is heartbreaking. The horrors experienced by the characters are twisted, vile, agonising, and intense. It's dark and extremely sad, with deep internal and moral conflict festering beneath the surface. I think the author is talking as much about justice as she is about relationships.
The characters are fascinating and realistic. They're elusive, complicated, and hurting. The changing points of view (I think there are at least three women who get the chance to tell it from their perspective) do get a bit confusing at times, but as the story processes and the perspectives get limited to Quinn and Dahlia, it's fine; just the getting there is a bit bumpy.
I didn't love any of the characters, but I ached for them. I loved all the different, diverse relationships because of their depth and twisted dynamics, and I adored how the layers of each character's personality slowly get peeled back. Each person is unique and three dimensional, and Burt gets inside each individual mind brilliantly.
The romance of the story can hardly be called a subplot, but I have to mention it because I loved it. I loved Dahlia and Bobby's relationship. I loved their relationship arc, their individual storylines that effect each other, and that their romance never once distracts from the main plot. It's a surprisingly mature and realistic romance, and I adored it.
The Good Daughter is a standout of the genre. With its excellent, extremely evocative writing and vivid, dynamic, painfully flawed characters warped in darkness and brokenness, it's as much about human nature as it about secrets. It's a story that digs deep - literally and metaphorically - and has forever made an impression on me.
February 5, 2017
The great thing about books is you never know what you’re going to get when you pick up one. We leave it up to the author to draw us in to their story and to entertain us for hours.
I don’t believe I’ve read a story by this author before so I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. However, the further I got into this book, the more interesting the stories got.
And this book is a combination of stories. We read about four women that combine together into a mystery of sorts. Much of it has to do with Dahlia as she delves through her childhood memories and tries to figure out her mother, whom she has been estranged from for 15 years.
The intersection of these four women create a story that is compelling and engrossing, even though you know where the story is going, you still have that compulsion to get to the truth and find out what’s really going to happen.
The author did a fabulous job crafting a complicated story. It’s unique and definitely not boring. The Good Daughter combines a little bit of mystery, some thrills, and even a little suspense for a tale you won’t forget.
I don’t believe I’ve read a story by this author before so I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. However, the further I got into this book, the more interesting the stories got.
And this book is a combination of stories. We read about four women that combine together into a mystery of sorts. Much of it has to do with Dahlia as she delves through her childhood memories and tries to figure out her mother, whom she has been estranged from for 15 years.
The intersection of these four women create a story that is compelling and engrossing, even though you know where the story is going, you still have that compulsion to get to the truth and find out what’s really going to happen.
The author did a fabulous job crafting a complicated story. It’s unique and definitely not boring. The Good Daughter combines a little bit of mystery, some thrills, and even a little suspense for a tale you won’t forget.
couldn-t-finish
December 28, 2016DNF so no rating I really tried to like this book. It starts off somewhat promising. By the time I got to "Part 2" it had only mentioned on introductory character (and the one I liked best) once and seems to have forgotten her since. I feel like there's a lot of repetition in the story lines for the other two characters mentioned and while the beginning of Part 2 starts to show some cohesion, I just don't care enough to continue.
January 2, 2017
this one took quite a while to warm up — there wasn't any tension, barely any reason to keep going, until around the halfway point — but from then on, it was a feverish page-flipping-fest.
it starts off as two confusing stories from two seemingly unrelated narrators, but as it goes on, they converge, in a way i didn't see coming. while i preferred burt's first novel, REMEMBER MIA, to this one, it was still an engaging, atmospheric read and a great way to fill time on a plane or at a beach.
it starts off as two confusing stories from two seemingly unrelated narrators, but as it goes on, they converge, in a way i didn't see coming. while i preferred burt's first novel, REMEMBER MIA, to this one, it was still an engaging, atmospheric read and a great way to fill time on a plane or at a beach.
February 3, 2017
So slow & very confusing. Some facts didn't seem to pertain to the story at all.
December 4, 2018
Dahlia has spent most of her childhood constantly moving with her mother, Memphis. She's always full of questions as to why they have to move so much and why she's not allowed to go to school. Her mother, remains elusive in her answers. What secrets is she keeping?
Finally, they settle down in the town of Aurora, Texas. But, her mother's skittish behavior continues. Despite this, Dahlia does manage to finally get to go to school and makes a friend, Bobby.
Fast forward 15 years later, and you find that Dahlia has left Aurora, only to return again. Her relationship with her mother is still strained because of the secrets she keeps, and her paranoid behavior. Dahlia wants answers. Will she ever get them?
While out jogging one day, she discovers the body of a woman, buried, but still alive. The woman is a Jane Doe who ends up being in a coma. Dahlia feels a connection to her and becomes obsessed with finding out who she is and how she ended up in the woods. This only further agitates Memphis, who remains in a state of paranoia and odd behavior. This behavior eventually leads to her wandering off one night.
Her disappearance and then being found leads Dahlia into investigating how her and her mother's past intertwine with Jane Doe. Who is this woman? And who are Memphis and Dahlia really,that Memphis is trying so hard to hide? What secrets does the town of Aurora hold?
If you want the answers, prepare for a very slow read. Every time you think you're close to solving a part of the puzzle, a new clue appears and drags any chance of uncovering the entire truth towards the end of the story. In fact, you'll probably piece much of it together, but have to wait for Dahlia to "catch up". By the time the story lumbers to its conclusion, you may find yourself dissatisfied with all of the answers and wondering why you invested your time reading this book.
Finally, they settle down in the town of Aurora, Texas. But, her mother's skittish behavior continues. Despite this, Dahlia does manage to finally get to go to school and makes a friend, Bobby.
Fast forward 15 years later, and you find that Dahlia has left Aurora, only to return again. Her relationship with her mother is still strained because of the secrets she keeps, and her paranoid behavior. Dahlia wants answers. Will she ever get them?
While out jogging one day, she discovers the body of a woman, buried, but still alive. The woman is a Jane Doe who ends up being in a coma. Dahlia feels a connection to her and becomes obsessed with finding out who she is and how she ended up in the woods. This only further agitates Memphis, who remains in a state of paranoia and odd behavior. This behavior eventually leads to her wandering off one night.
Her disappearance and then being found leads Dahlia into investigating how her and her mother's past intertwine with Jane Doe. Who is this woman? And who are Memphis and Dahlia really,that Memphis is trying so hard to hide? What secrets does the town of Aurora hold?
If you want the answers, prepare for a very slow read. Every time you think you're close to solving a part of the puzzle, a new clue appears and drags any chance of uncovering the entire truth towards the end of the story. In fact, you'll probably piece much of it together, but have to wait for Dahlia to "catch up". By the time the story lumbers to its conclusion, you may find yourself dissatisfied with all of the answers and wondering why you invested your time reading this book.
September 16, 2017
Alexandra Burt stworzyła doskonały dreszczowiec w atmosferze prażącego, skwierczącego lata, wypełnionego chmarami przenikających wszystko świerszczy oraz burzami, które otumaniają swoją gwałtownością. Thriller, w którym chłód lasu wcale nie daje ukojenia, rodzinna farma nie buduje poczucia bezpieczeństwa, a więzy między kobietami splecione są niewidzialnymi nićmi, które łączą kłamstwa i prawdę, zbrodnie i odkupienie, miłość i nienawiść. Aby oddzielić jedno od drugiego potrzeba siły, potrzeba wiary i nadziei, a być może wtedy nad miasteczkiem-jutrzenką zawita nowy świt.
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