The Scientist's Daughter

Silvertree #2

by Marian Dribus

Twenty-year-old Lisa is basically satisfied with her life. She has started college and met a new boyfriend. When she goes home for the holidays, she receives ominous news: Graham, the man who destroyed Lisa’s family, has resurfaced in Silvertree. Lisa’s resolution to put the past behind her begins to crumble when a murder and a kidnapping show her she isn’t Graham’s only victim. Lisa has enough information to ruin Graham, but even if he is apprehended, she knows the true criminal mastermind will still be at large. Terrified of being caught up in a brutal vendetta that has already claimed multiple lives, Lisa must choose between listening to her conscience and surrendering to her fear. Will she have the courage to speak up?

228 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 10, 2021

About the author

I’m from Louisiana, and I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember! On August 1st, I published my first novel, The Patient from Silvertree, which tells the story of a teenage girl who finds herself keeping secrets to protect her father when he gets involved in an illegal medical experiment. It's the first in a two-book series. In addition to writing novels, I run a book review blog for authors of young adult fiction.

My Amazon author page can be found at https://www.amazon.com/author/mariand...

Reviews

[Shreya Rao · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It's gorgeous 😍. Lisa and Josh have been such great characters to read. The characters are no way close to perfect, they are flawed and broken but that is what makes them perfect in a way.
After reading I was curious as to what was the backdrop. This book picked up well and I finished it in no time.

Quick paced and great psychotic characters and a simple ending.

[Nick Iuppa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling romantic thriller about a young woman lost in a world of untrustworthy parents, conflicting families, envy, revenge, the illegal use of experimental drugs, and some extremely murderous women. The author gives us some insightful interior monologues, especially on the part of the young lovers. There are really terrifying moments, some almost unexplainable choices, and characters we care about.

[Maya Grimley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out this review and more on my blog, Maya’s Reviews.

Check out my review of The Patient from Silvertree, the first novel in the Silvertree series.

Thank you to Marian Dribus for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

//TW: death, murder, mention of suicide, violence, kidnapping, mention of kidnapping//

~Quick Statistics~
Overall: 5/5 Stars
Plot: 5/5 Stars
Setting: 5/5 Stars
Characters: 5/5 Stars
Writing: 5/5 Stars
Memorability: 5/5 Stars

~Quick Review~
I absolutely loved the first novel in this series, so needless to say I was ecstatic when Marian Dribus reached out to me about reviewing the second novel in the series, The Scientist’s Daughter. A fantastic sequel, The Scientist’s Daughter left me satisfied and in awe at the end of the story. The novel is a perfect concoction of mystery, danger, and adventure but also happiness. I am so glad to have been able to read this series, as it is definitely one of my favorites.

~Other Information~
Publisher: Marian Dribus
Page Count: 228 pages

If you would like to view my review of the first novel in this series, The Patient from Silvertree, click here. A prequel to this series is being written, so please check that out on Dribus’ website, linked below.

~Book Description (via Goodreads)~
Twenty-year-old Lisa is basically satisfied with her life. She has started college and met a new boyfriend. When she goes home for the holidays, she receives ominous news: Graham, the man who destroyed Lisa’s family, has resurfaced in Silvertree. Lisa’s resolution to put the past behind her begins to crumble when a murder and a kidnapping show her she isn’t Graham’s only victim. Lisa has enough information to ruin Graham, but even if he is apprehended, she knows the true criminal mastermind will still be at large. Terrified of being caught up in a brutal vendetta that has already claimed multiple lives, Lisa must choose between listening to her conscience and surrendering to her fear. Will she have the courage to speak up?

~Characters~
As with the previous novel, The Scientist’s Daughter follows the story of Lisa and Josh, who now have grown apart as the years have passed (sad, I know). The story also features the infamous Graham (and the absolute jerks that he works with) and both Lisa and Josh’s families.

I was very glad to see that the characters characteristics and traits did not change drastically from The Patient from Silvertree to The Scientist’s Daughter. I’ve always had an issue when characters completely change from who they are supposed to be from the first to second novel, but I did not find this issue anywhere within the novel.

~Writing and Setting~
As always, Dribus’ writing is fantastic and perfectly fits the feel of the novel. Descriptive but not too overbearing, the writing of this novel allowed me to visualize everything that was occurring within the story and made the novel even more immersive.

The book takes place again in Silvertree, though there are multiple different locations within Silvertree that are frequently mentioned. One of which is Lisa’s house, which always seems to have at least one crazy event take place. (I mean, who’s house isn’t constantly in a state of chaos?)

~Plot~
The plot of this novel was absolutely bonkers (in a very good way). The constant (but well executed) twist and turns made this novel a mystery like no other. Carrying over from the first novel, Lisa and Josh (and their families) are in constant peril due to the mistakes of Josh’s grandfather, Richard, years ago. This danger hangs over their heads, but also changes the bonds between the families and couples involved in the process.

~Overall Review~
I genuinely enjoyed The Scientist’s Daughter and am so glad that I was given the opportunity to read the series. I highly recommend the Silvertree series if you are a fan of the mystery genre, but also enjoy some romance mixed within.

Amazon | Author's Website

[Julia (Pages for Thoughts) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lisa returns from college on break 4 years after The Patient from Silvertree took place, still attempting to cope with the ramifications of her traumatic experience from Graham and Sophie. Unfortunately for her and Josh's family, the past isn't behind them. Graham, Sophie, and their psychopathic boss reappear in Silvertree with a new agenda and new kidnapping and murder victims. More complicated is that Lisa's boyfriend has close family connections with them. When Lisa and everyone she loves is put in deadly danger again, she must find a way to overcome her fear and speak her truth in order to save them.

Dribus's depiction of Lisa's PTSD was extremely realistic, as was her reluctance to come forward. Victims of prior abuse or trauma are more susceptible to ending up in abusive relationships in the future, and the writing of David was also accurate. While Lisa's mental health and relationships were not the prime focus of The Scientist's Daughter, it is likely the most impactful on the reader and leaves a lasting impression and education on the impacts of trauma and PTSD.

Veronica behaved exactly as a sister should; she loved Lisa unconditionally and was incredibly patient. Veronica stood up for Lisa and took tremendous risks to keep her safe. She defined the hope and love in the tragic story. She was definitely my favorite character. In my review of the first book, I talked about Graham's moral compass. The book, as was the first, is divided in to alternating third-person perspectives of all the main characters. Graham's background story and motivation for his criminal actions are fascinating on a psychological level. Contrary to Sophie and the boss (who's name I won't reveal as that is part of the mystery), he is capable of emotion and love. His love for the boss is partially what drives his actions. While he is just as guilty as the others, in life or death final moments, his capacity for a bit of empathy makes the most game-changing impact.

I am not sure that tragic is the right word to describe The Scientist's Daughter, but describing this book is somewhat difficult due to all the unique aspects. Dribus combined inspirational realistic fiction with a thriller, a mystery, a romance, and even aspects of science fiction into just an action-packed 288 pages! It felt so much longer that that! I might have read some parts in the middle too quickly in anticipation to find out what happens in the end and who survived! (I did go back and read those parts again.)

See this review and more at pagesforthoughts.blogspot.com

[Gwen Hight · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Scientist's Daughter Book Two in the Silver tree Series

This is the second book in this series and two families are affected by the vengeance of the scientists daughter