Book Review: The Favorite Daughter by Kaira Rouda

The perfect home. The perfect family. The perfect lie.

Jane Harris lives in a sparkling home in an oceanfront gated community in Orange County. It’s a place that seems too beautiful to be touched by sadness. But exactly one year ago, Jane’s oldest daughter, Mary, died in a tragic accident and Jane has been grief-stricken ever since. Lost in a haze of anti-depressants, she’s barely even left the house. Now that’s all about to change.

It’s time for Jane to reclaim her life and her family. Jane’s husband, David, has planned a memorial service for Mary and three days later, their youngest daughter, Betsy, graduates high school. Yet as Jane reemerges into the world, it’s clear her family has changed without her. Her husband has been working long days—and nights—at the office. Her daughter seems distant, even secretive. And her beloved Mary was always such a good girl—dutiful and loving. But does someone know more about Mary, and about her last day, than they’ve revealed?

The bonds between mothers and daughters, and husbands and wives should never be broken. But you never know how far someone will go to keep a family together…

Review

This was my first time reading this author and it wasn’t a bad read. This book is supposed to be a psychological thriller but I didn’t find it to be that way for me. Often times I would laugh at the tactics Jane pulled throughout the story. When we got to the ending I really would have liked a flashback of the night Mary died from her point of view and the killer. I would have also liked a point of view from David who is Jane’s husband as well. This story had tremendous potential but it was predictable at certain parts. I did feel the ending was abrupt and a little flat. I would have liked to see the characters a few months later after the dust had settled. Overall, I did like Rouda’s writing style and I am not against reading another story by this author.