The Daughter by Jane Shemilt

Hi, readers! Today I'm part of the TLC book tour for Jane Shemilt's debut, The Daughter.

On the second to last night of her performance in West Side Story, Jenny's daughter, Naomi, is supposed to be out at an after party with her fellow cast members. But when Naomi doesn't return home , Jenny discovers there was no party. Or at least not that night anyway. Naomi has vanished, seemingly without any trace.

As time passes, Jenny refuses to give up hope but as more and more of Naomi's secrets begin to come to light she realizes she knew very little about her daughter.  

I was a little worried about reading this one pretty much back to back with Lacy Eye. Fortunately, even with some similarity in themes, the two books are very different. The most outright differences right off the bat were the voice and style of the narrative. The Daughter is told from Jenny's perspective, first person, and the reader gets a very clear sense of her personality and her emotions immediately.

Chapters alternate between 2009 and 2010/2011 with Jenny reexamining (as our lead in Lacy Eye did) the events leading up to her daughter's disappearance. As it turns out, Naomi wasn't the only one with secrets. Jenny's world essentially falls apart as she discovers that those around her - those she thought she knew better than anyone else - have all been hiding things.

The Daughter is as much a family drama as a thriller. More so, perhaps. It's really a wonderful blend of suspense and emotion. And full of really lovely imagery. Shemilt's style is lush with description! Honestly, this doesn't read at all like a debut. Shemilt has an assurance to her writing that seems to come naturally given this is her first release.

Rating: 5/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here. For more on Jane and her work, you can follow her on Twitter.