Item: Like Mother, Like Daughter
Rating: 3.50
Author: quirkycat

by Kimberly McCreight

NATIONAL BESTSELLER! • From the New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia: A daughter races to uncover her mother's secret life in the wake of her disappearance • "A breathless, shocking thriller." —Jodi Picoult

The past never stays buried for too long, and what you don't know can definitely hurt you.⁠

“Deeply satisfying”—Angie Kim • “Gripping and bingeable."—Ana Reyes • “As suspenseful as it is thought-provoking."—Greer Hendricks

When Cleo, a student at NYU, arrives late for dinner at her childhood home in Brooklyn, she finds food burning in the oven and no sign of her mother, Kat. Then Cleo discovers her mom’s bloody shoe under the sofa. Something terrible has happened.

But what? The polar opposite of Cleo, whose “out of control” emotions and “unsafe” behavior have created a seemingly unbridgeable rift between mother and daughter, Kat is the essence of Park Slope perfection: a happily married, successful corporate lawyer. Or so Cleo thinks.

Kat has been lying. She’s not just a lawyer; she’s her firm’s fixer. She’s damn good at it, too. Growing up in a dangerous group home taught her how to think fast, stay calm under pressure, and recognize a real threat when she sees one. And in the days leading up her disappearance, Kat has become aware of multiple threats: demands for money from her unfaithful soon-to-be ex-husband; evidence that Cleo has slipped back into a relationship that’s far riskier than she understands; and menacing anonymous messages from her past—all of which she’s kept hidden from Cleo . . .

Like Mother, Like Daughter is a thrilling novel of emotional suspense that questions the damaging fictions we cling to and the hard truths we avoid. Above all, it’s a love story between a mother and a daughter, each determined to save the other before it’s too late.

Book Summary:

Cleo and Kat are very different people despite being mother and daughter. One is a talented student at NYU; if we’re being honest, she’s also a daddy’s girl. The other keeps her work a secret because she doesn’t really want the world to know she’s a company “fixer.” If we’re being more honest - that’s not the only secret she has.

Those secrets catch up, resulting in Kat going missing. Now, it’s all Cleo can do to delve into her mother’s disappearance and find some answers. Worse, she can’t quite rely on those around her, as it seems like everyone has something at stake.

My Review:

Ohhhh. I love a twisted thriller with multiple perspectives! In Like Mother, Like Daughter, we have two, and I couldn’t get enough of them. I was so determined to find out their whole story—well, stories.

That said, for much of the book, I found myself preferring one character over the other. This had a lot to do with what the daughter did and didn’t know (plus a fair amount of gaslighting from other parties). Actually, I’m not sure that I really liked any of the characters in this book.
However, I did really enjoy the twists that kept appearing out of seemingly nowhere. Two in particular were well done, and they made the book all the stronger for it.

Highlights:
Mystery/Thriller
Multiple POVs
Suspense
Secrets upon Secrets

Trigger Warnings:
Gaslighting
Parental Alienation
Adultery

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Like Mother, Like Daughter

by Kimberly McCreight

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on Sep 8, 2024

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