#BookReview | #TheLiarsDaughter by @ClaireAllan | #Blogtour with @AvonBooksUK

‘There’s a monster in this family…‘
-The Liar’s Daughter

[ About the Book ]

No one deserves to be taken before their time. Do they?

Joe McKee – pillar of the Derry community – is dead. As arrangements are made for the traditional Irish wake, friends and family are left reeling at how cancer could have taken this much-loved man so soon.

But grief is the last thing that Joe’s daughter Ciara and step-daughter Heidi feel. For they knew the real Joe – the man who was supposed to protect them and did anything but.

As the mourners gather, the police do too, with doubt being cast over whether Joe’s death was due to natural causes. Because the lies that Joe told won’t be taken to the grave after all – and the truth gives his daughters the best possible motive for killing him…

A gripping suspense novel about deadly secrets and lies. The perfect read for fans of Clare Mackintosh.

[ My Review ]

Today I am delighted to be joining Claire Allan on tour with my thoughts on her latest novel, The Liar’s Daughter. Just recently published on January 23rd with Avon Books, The Liar’s Daughter is described as a ‘a gripping suspense novel about deadly secrets and lies…a twisty new thriller that will leave you guessing’ It is a story about family secrets and the frightening and disturbing truth about what really goes on behind closed doors. (Note – May contain emotional triggers for some due to the nature of it’s content and the subject matter)

Joe McKee was a very respected member of his local community in Derry. A church-going man, a self-educated man, a trusted man. Following his marriage break-up many years previously he lived with his new partner Natalie and her daughter Heidi. But Natalie was unwell and following her tragic death and on her request, Joe remained in the home to care for Heidi. His neighbours were in awe of this man and his ability to carry on after such sadness in his life. His acceptance of the responsibility and care of Heidi was seen as a wonderful act of love and kindness. But Heidi was a young child. Traumatised by her mother’s death Heidi wanted to live with her grandparents. However, it was not to be and Heidi’s life spiraled out of control into a very dark place indeed.

Joe McKee had a daughter, Ciara, from his marriage. Ciara was very upset when her father left them and when she found out about Natalie and Heidi her upset escalated. Older that Heidi, she began a long period of bullying and vitriolic behaviour toward Heidi making her teenage years a nightmare. Ciara rebelled but could never ever find peace.

When Joe’s health takes a turn, with a terminal cancer diagnosis, it is left to Heidi and Ciara to care for him. Heidi is on maternity leave and with Ciara taking some time away from work, they manage as best they can. With the assistance of Kathleen, Joe’s sister returned from England, they establish a rota of sorts.

There is no love lost between Ciara and Heidi. They carry a past history with an ingrained bitterness that constantly gnaws at them and has a serious impact on their relationship in caring for Joe.

But when Joe is unexpectedly discovered dead in his bed, the past can no longer remain in the past….

The Liar’s Daughter is an uncomfortable tale. As the truth slowly reveals itself, the disgust unfurled in my gut. Although the subject matter is very sensitively handled with nothing graphic in it’s description, Claire Allan fuels the imagination and it’s that clouded image that gets into your head.

“It challenged me more than any other I’ve written because I wanted to do the subject matter justice“
~ Claire Allan on writing The Liar’s Daughter

The Liar’s Daughter is a harrowing read, a heartrending portrayal of evil at it’s most depraved. It is a shocking read that will grip the reader. Can justice ever be achieved in circumstances like this? Can peace ever be found for those involved?

With a note of suspense throughout, The Liar’s Daughter is a menacing tale with some very flawed personalities and an abhorrent core. A dark and disturbing read folks!

[ Bio ]

Claire Allan is a Northern Irish author who lives in Derry~Londonderry.

She worked as a staff reporter for the Derry Journal for 17 years, covering a wide array of stories from court sessions, to the Saville Inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday, health and education and human interest features.

She wrote her first novel in 2006, to mark her 30th birthday and it (Rainy Days and Tuesdays) was subsequently published and became an instant bestseller in 2007.

Claire wrote seven further women’s fiction novels between 2007 and 2015. In 2016 (when she turned 40) she decided to change genre and try her had at domestic noir. Her first domestic noir novel, Her Name Was Rose was published by Avon/ HarperCollins in 2018 and became a bestseller in the UK, Canada, Australia and was a USA Today bestseller.

It was subsequently nominated in the Dead Good Reader Awards in 2019.

Claire has followed up on the success of Her Name Was Rose with Apple of My Eye and Forget Me Not. Her most recent novel, The Liar’s Daughter, was published on January 23rd 2020.

She is working on a fifth psychological thriller at present.

Claire still lives in Derry with her husband, two children, two cats and a very spoiled puppy. (Bio courtesy of Amazon UK)

Twitter ~ @ClaireAllan