Wow. This book was truly incredible. It was a shocking and poignant tale of a mother desperately trying to keep the memory of her daughter alive.
Right from the get-go I was intrigued by the story and as I got further in I found myself caring deeply for the characters and being able to relate to Kate's unrelenting sadness and fear.
This is an intense story with an unmatchable depth and a gripping mystery.
I loved every character and found that they were all very fleshed-out and well-written (I especially loved Iris) and I loved that the author explored the stigma surrounding teen mums in Kate's back-story.
I was engaged throughout and found that, biting my nails and looking over my shoulders, I just had to get to the end!
I also highly recommend reading through some of the information quoted in the Author's Note, it is scarily similar to the story itself while endlessly shocking, but equally fascinating and enraging.
This mystery was so dark and conspiratorial and I just could not get enough! Although I have not read Michelle Francis' other books I will definitely be reading them soon and cannot wait to see what she does next.
I was so impressed by this and highly recommend it to lovers of any kind of thriller really, but also those with an interest in conspiracies; you will not be disappointed!

The Daughter is a really good read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Kate has Becky when she was just 15 years old, her father tried to help her with the odd gift and a bit of money at the start but her mother disowned her because of this Kate has a really strong relationship with her daughter. Kate is going to introduce Becky to her boyfriend, Tim, so Becky leaves work on time but in horrendous weather and unfortunately is killed on her bicycle. Kate is distraught but finds out that Becky was working on a secret investigation and carries on trying to get to the bottom of it.
This was a great read that had me hooked from the first page, I loved Kate she was a good strong lead character and for the time that she was in it Becky was also. Tim seemed to be perfect and I liked that he brought out a different side to Kate.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Will definitely be looking for more books from Michelle Frances.
Great book, was drawn in completely. Kate is a single mum raising her daughter becky. In a terrible twist of fate, Kate stumbles across a story her journalist daughter was working on. There's more to it than there seems. Kate is determined to get the justice for the village that her daughter had set out to do. Now Kate faces the question was what happened to becky an accident?
Thank you for a copy of this ARC!

An interesting idea for a story!
Kate’s daughter Becky works as a graduate journalist for one of the UK’s top broadsheets, she is in competition for a ‘real’ reporters job and thus has a project underway to impress at the interview..
Quite shockingly she is killed in an accident, the same night her Mum’s house is ransacked, randomly...
You see where this is going?
Kate then looks into the accident more and wonders if it could be linked to what Becky was working on...
The book then goes forward as Kate finds out more and more, various people linked to Becky and Kate die in mysterious ways and a massive cover up and scandal is unearthed putting Kate and her new fella Tim in danger
Its all to do with crop spraying and actually the book cites quite poignant info on these poisons and some interesting legal cases are discussed
Unfortunately as much as I wanted
to I just couldn’t believe some of the story, at one point a chap who was seeing Becky ( Adam ) and was meant to meet her the night she died discovers a year later via Kate that she died!, so a girl he was seeing he just ‘forgot about’ for that year when she didnt show!, things like that in the book just didn’t add up
A but Erin Brokovich ish and a cry for the normal folk who take on billion pound corporations but a but unrealistic tbh
Some good characters, loved the neighbour Iris and an easy to read style
Not sure what relevance the cover has to the story at all
6/10 3 Stars

Enjoyed this story of a mother picking up the story when her investigative journalist daughter is suddenly killed. Likeable characters and an enjoyable story! Recommended!

Single mum Kate is doing her best to bring up her daughter when tragedy strikes. Kate throws herself into stopping another tragedy like this happening but soon finds herself embroiled in her daughters last investigation. Was her accident not an accident?

This was a really interesting read. The story builds steadily to a dramatic climax. I did figure out who was behind it all but for a while I thought it was someone else and when proved wrong I was glad. The ending was brilliant and finished the story perfectly. Its heartbreaking at times and yet theres an element of hope throughout and the need to fight for others.

I loved Kate, shes had a rough life but everything she did was for Becky even after she died. Her grief was well written and her fight showed the true depth of the character, I think I loved Ivy the most though, she was such a good character.

My thanks to Pan Macmillan for an eARC via NetGalley of Michelle Frances’ ‘The Daughter’ in exchange for an honest review. It was published on June 27th in an ebook edition and will be published in paperback on August 8th.

In 1995 at the age of 15 Kate had given birth to her daughter, Becky. Largely abandoned by her family she raised Becky on her own though was determined to show her daughter the love she was denied. Mother and daughter have become very close.

In 2017 Becky is working as a trainee at a newspaper with aspirations to become an investigative reporter. She is very excited about a story that she has been working on in her own time hoping to secure the coveted reporter job though she tells Kate that it is secret. When tragedy occurs Kate’s world is changed forever. As time passes she becomes curious about Becky’s secret research and follows it up.

The narrative moves between the present and the days leading up to Becky’s accident with the occasional flashback to Kate’s earlier life with Becky.

This was a skilful combination of a thriller and women’s fiction with Kate’s investigation the former and the exploration of the mother-daughter relationship the latter.

While I don’t wish to mention anything about Becky’s secret investigation in order to avoid spoilers, it does focus on an important subject. In the Author’s End Notes she outlines the real life issues that informed her narrative.

‘The Daughter’ is strongly plotted with well drawn characters and interesting twists that felt very organic. I found Kate just wonderful and wanted the best for her.

I felt that the combination of an engaging story and characters plus the importance of the subject matter linked to Becky’s (and later Kate’s) investigation warranted an unreserved 5 stars.

A modern day Erin Brockovich tale, based on real life situations. Well written with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. A young journalist is accidentally killed - or is she? When her mum decides to look into the last story she was working on she is drawn into a world more dangerous than she realises. Will she uncover the truth behind her daughters’ death and tell the world the story .... or will she be thwarted at every turn?

When an accident leaves journalist Becky unable to finish her top secret report, her mother Katie picks up the reins to get justice. But what was she researching and what dark consequences did it ultimately have?

The Daughter was an interesting story and had a very different topic from other thrillers I have read recently. It’s quite a unique premise and one I enjoyed reading more about, I certainly didn’t expect the subject matter of the book going in! I liked that it switched perspectives between Kate and Becky to give you just enough flashback info to fill in the gaps as you found out more in the present day.

However, I did feel on the whole that the story felt padded out, especially as the plot itself was quite simplistic when you look back over it as a whole. I could see about 100 pages that could easily have been cut with no adverse effects on the story. There’s a lot of over description of food and drink in particular which I found a little odd, there’s also too much backstory into Becky and Kate’s past which although added a little colour in the beginning, got a little samey towards the end. There’s a lot of trips made that don’t go anywhere and a lot of money spent that I got a little confused as to where it was all coming from, as the plot reiterates again and again how poor Kate is. There’s a lot of time spent waiting for characters to catch up with what the reader already guessed many pages before – there’s never really a point where the plot catches you on the back foot and makes you gasp at a change in direction – most of it can really be guessed from the outset. I’m also not a fan of books that give you an epilogue where they tell you exactly what happened to each character as if it was a real story.

Overall I thought The Daughter was an interesting concept but was a bit too padded with an easily guessable plot. Thank you to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for a chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having enjoyed Ms Frances's previous novels I was taken by surprise by quite how gripping and addictive this one was. Her books are part thriller, part women's fiction, but I usually avoid these type of books because I'm not a fan of chick lit. However, I have made an exception for Frances, as just like here, there are so many surprises to keep you entertained that it's hard to resist.

Kate is a single mother to daughter Becky, a trainee journalist who she is endlessly proud of. But when Kate stumbles upon profound injustice and a cover-up she keeps it a secret because of the powerful and wealthy people involved. Naturally, a tragedy ensues and Kate, as the strong, admirable woman and mother vows to discover the truth about what happened to her daughter and get justice for her no matter what it takes. It's the same David and Goliath story the courts see all of the time. A company with unlimited capital to spend on representation against a mother with little money but a fire burning inside her.

It grips you from the get-go with the author throwing you right in at the deep end and before long I was engrossed enough that I was able to ignore the usual chaos going on around me. It's well written, powerful and very, very twisty and with ease, I feverishly whipped through the pages wanting to find exactly how it resolved. It moves at a steadier pace to some domestic thrillers but that gives readers the time to get to know the characters and invest in them.

It's a real page-turner and has three aspects I enjoy most in a thriller: emotion, unexpected surprises and thought-provoking topics. Emotional and captivating. Many thanks to Pan for an ARC.

Michelle Frances does it again !! I have read both ‘The Girlfriend’ and ‘The Temp’ and loved them so was hoping I would love this one too, I definitely was not disappointed.

Kate is a single mother, who at the age of 15 gave birth and was abandoned by her family. Her daughter Becky, is now a trainee journalist and has come across a big story that she is keeping a secret until she has all the facts. But one afternoon there is a tragic accident and Kate’s life will never be the same again. Kate stumbles across the story that Becky was keeping secret and decides to investigate the story herself.

This is a brilliant story about one Mother’s determination and love for her only daughter and the ends she will go to to finally reveal the truth. This is yet another fantastic book from this author. If you haven’t read any of Michelle’s previous books you need to read them all !!

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

This book centres around Kate and her daughter Becky. Finding herself pregnant as a teenager Kate vows to give her daughter every opportunity which she has missed out on. Her families abandonment was heartbreaking to me personally and I was willing Kate and Becky to prove to them how they could both pull through.

When Becky gets a first class honours degree an a job as a trainee journalist it seems all Kate’s dreams are coming true. Becky tells her mother she is working on something too secret and that is when the unimaginable strikes!

Kate vows to find out the truth about Becky’s top secret story and fight for the rights of everyone who has been affected by the corporate bosses who put profit before people.

This story demonstrates the immense love between a mother and daughter. The strong bonds of protection and justice are evident throughout.

Overall a fantastic read with a great ending . Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this page turner.

Painfully raw, well written story of grief and recovery that also exposes a serious real life problem. I really like the non chronological style in this book, even though I’m not usually a fan. Fabulous central character who pursues her quest even though she feels scared and inadequate. A great read.

This was a bit predictable in places and the ending was rushed but I finished it in a couple of days so enjoyed the story and writing enough to keep picking it up in my spare time.
If you are at all familiar with the Monsanto trials in the States you’ll know the environmental aspects but also that it takes years to try these things and despite courtroom victories the companies themselves barely suffer; they just keep appealing forever. For this reason I felt a little impatient about the plucky heroine storyline but we all love an underdog, plus it’s hard not to be moved by the mother daughter dynamic in this novel.

The first couple of chapters of this book really drew me in. It certainly is a book that throws you straight into the action with a punch to the gut.

As the story unfolds, we follow a mother trying to uncover the truth about her daughter’s death. What ensues is an Erin Brockovich-style battle with a huge company in the quest for justice.

Whilst it’s not a pacy-thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat, it certainly is a page turner that poses some real questions about the farming industry.

I haven’t read The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances but after enjoying this book, I’ll check it out. Overall, it’s an interesting read.

Kate and her Daughter Becky are incredibly close, it has ever only been the two of them. Becky has worked hard at school and university and is just starting out on a career as a Journalist when she is killed in a road accident. Kate is left bereft and starts searching for answers to her daughter’s death which leads her to the journalistic story her daughter was working on.

I cannot rate this book highly enough. Kate and Becky are wonderful characters. Their personalities shone through every written word and their love for each other really lifted off the page.

The interaction between Kate and her next-door neighbour is beautifully told and also added a bit of light relief to this dark tale.

My admiration for Michelle’s ingenuity and plot lines and the little red herrings dropped along the way grew with each chapter and, for the first time in a long time, I did not guess the culprit. Superb!!

A powerful portrayal of a mother's love for her daughter, her grief and determination to save other families from heartache. Kate's a great character who develops during the story, growing in self-confidence and even risking her life as she turns sleuth, taking up the investigation that Becky can no longer see through. I loved the relationship between Kate, Becky and Iris. Although the writing style is quite light and gentle the environmental issue at its heart is very serious

What a thoroughly engrossing thriller….Kate was pregnant as a teen and brought her daughter, Becky, up alone…..she worked so hard to earn enough to ensure Becky could have the best start and education.

She is so proud when Becky gets a job as a trainee journalist….Becky tells her she is working on something but it’s secret at the moment…..but then tragedy strikes and Kate is left to discover just what happened to her daughter.

What follows is a tense, dramatic thriller of a mother determined to get justice and recognition for her daughter…..a David and Goliath story with a mothers love at its heart…...it’s “not just because of the chips”...

I would like to thank the Author/the Publishers/NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review

It was an interesting read and I did enjoy it. Although I found some bits of it a little too good to be true and a little unrealistic in places. But all in all, not a bad read, and one that certainly entertained.

Sorry I only got 25% into this book , I was bored with it . I guessed what was happening and I skipped to the end and yes I’d guessed right. . Maybe it’s because I’m more used to a more psychological thriller but I found this novel hard work .