Slaughter Daughter

by Eve Langlais

[Berls]

I tend to enjoy Eve Langlais, so when I read this book's description, it was kind of a no brainer for me. I really enjoyed it, for the most part. At one point I was thinking that I was surprised it wasn't a series and was a little disappointed it wasn't. But by the end, I was actually happy it was a stand-alone because I wasn't thrilled with the conclusion and wouldn't want to read more with these characters. It went a direction I was not expecting, I guess.

The premise is really interesting -you've got a daughter whose parents are accused of being serial killers because of a video that surfaces, and she's made guilty by association - nicknamed "Slaughter Daughter." And little things here and there give you the feeling that something paranormal/fantasy is going on but you're not sure what. I really enjoyed that element of the story - did her parents do it? were they framed? It's an interesting mystery that follows her as she moves to new locations trying to run away from her identity, until she lands in a college town where suddenly people are on her side. And that brings up a whole new element to the mystery - who are these people really? Really compelling.

But omg it takes a turn that... IDK, I guess if you really like twists, you got one hell of one. But I really like my twists to make sense and this one just didn't work for me at all. Characters - particularly the main character - suddenly aren't at all like you've known them for the entirety of the book. And it was just a bit of a whirlwind and, well yeah... just didn't make sense. I still give the story 3 stars because the first 3/4ths were so compelling, but I wouldn't really recommend it because nothing like getting to the end and having the floor pulled out from under you.

The narration was solid. I don't think I've listened to Sofia Willingham in the past, but I would happily listen to her again (which it looks like I own at least 3 books with her as narrator, so that's a good thing!). I read at 2x speed with no problem and the characters were well fleshed out and distinct.