Not Her Daughter
by Rea Frey
Emma Townsend. Five years old. Gray eyes, brown hair. Missing since June.
Emma is lonely. Living with her cruel mother and clueless father, Emma retreats into her own world of quiet and solitude.
Sarah Walker. Successful entrepreneur. Broken-hearted. Kidnapper.
Sarah has never seen a girl so precious as the gray-eyed child in a crowded airport terminal. When a second-chance encounter with Emma presents itself, Sarah takes her—far away from home. But if it’s to rescue a little girl from her damaging mother, is kidnapping wrong?
Amy Townsend. Unhappy wife. Unfit mother. Unsure whether she wants her daughter back.
Amy’s life is a string of disappointments, but her biggest issue is her inability to connect with her daughter. And now Emma is gone without a trace.
As Sarah and Emma avoid the nationwide hunt, they form an unshakeable bond. But what about Emma’s real mother, back at home?
❃❃Not Her Daughter releases August 21st❃❃
Kobo
Momma Says: 3 stars⭐⭐⭐
Not Her Daughter is well-written and the story has a building tension that keeps the pages turning. The story is written in dual points of view, alternating between our kidnapper, Sarah, and Emma's mother, Amy. We also get before, during, and after chapters to give some perspective into the characters and their frame of mind. All of this should've added up to a high-praise review. However, there were a few things throughout the story that niggled at me. Amy is unlikable from the start, which is kind of the point, and Sarah makes a rash decision to kidnap Emma, thus freeing her from a bad home life. Why Sarah chose kidnapping over calling authorities is explained, but suffice it to say that her emotions and mental state weren't exactly where they should be. Okay, I can get with that. My problems started from there. I don't want to give spoilers, so I'll just sum it up with either Sarah is extremely lucky or everyone involved is completely inept at their jobs because her name is never brought up. Not once. The ending, while unexpected, was unsatisfactory at best. I understand that this one is in the works for the big screen and maybe it will work better in that format, but for me, there were just too many things that required a suspension of disbelief. On the whole, the story had great potential, but fell a bit short of that wow factor.
❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press
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