NetGalley Top Reviewer

NetGalley Top Reviewer
NetGalley Top Reviewer

Monday, September 30, 2024

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight

 Mother and daughter conflict and drama with a mystery.


Cleo and her mother, Kat, do not exactly get along these days. They've become estranged. Cleo chafes under Kat's controlling manipulations and she tries to escape that influence while attending college nearby. Finally agreeing to come home for dinner to discuss their relationship, Cleo finds the food burnt, blood on the floor, and her mother gone. 


Although there were some interesting diversions, this is basically the usual trope where the amazing, well-meaning mother who has her daughter's safety and best interests at heart is misunderstood and treated badly by the ungrateful daughter -- who soon realizes her mother was right about everything. Along with Cleo finally realizing that mother knows best, there's some legal stuff going on as a side plot that was likely included to make the story a bit more interesting and, indeed, that whole aspect of the lawsuit and drug company coverup was far more compelling to me. The backstory about Kat's time at Haven House and the ridiculousness of the boyfriends really turned me off to the plausibility of that part of the book. In short, there was just so much going on all over the place.  And, the truth was, I didn't like any of the characters. The conclusion was anticlimactic. 


I was able to listen to the audiobook while following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The two female narrators did an adequate job of voicing the characters; they were certainly dramatic, when necessary, but the production would have benefited from having a male reader as well.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre - drama, domestic, mystery

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