About the Book
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?
My Review
What a thought-provoking read Not Her Daughter turned out to be. We follow two women – Amy and Sarah – both fairly disturbed in my opinion. Amy appears to be an unfit mother to her daughter Emma, physically and mentally abusing her often. Sarah appears to be a successful entrepreneur who is dealing with a breakup, and perhaps based on her own upbringing, decides to kidnap Emma after seeing her repeatedly abused. There is a lot of moral conflict in this book, and I never decided who I was rooting for. Amy to get her daughter back? Or Sarah to bring Emma a fear-free childhood? Like I said, a very thought-provoking novel if yet a little unbelievable at times. It was still interesting to watch the events unfold and question how the story would end.
4 stars
