Great thriller 👌 fast-paced and suspenseful with mysterious, unreliable characters. I was a little confused at first about the identities of Gina and Riley, but slowly, as the story unfolds, the suspense keeps building up. The short chapters make it very easy to read. The tension escalates after the middle, and the climax is superbly shocking. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

This one is a bit of a slow burn to start off but it soon ramps up the pace along with the twists and turns. This is one listen that will have you suspicious of everyone. Likeable and unlikeable characters that are well developed although Riley’s character came across as naive considering her circumstances. The narrator did a good job of spinning the story and keeping me engaged.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review #TheFosterDaughter

Thanks NetGalley for the free ARC! Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this novel and wasn’t able to continue reading. The synopsis sounded very interesting, but the actual story fell far short. The brief amount I read, I found the novel unrealistic and somewhat boring. This is my honest feedback.

I love this author and have enjoyed every single one of her books. And this one was just wonderful! Absolutely brilliant!

Thank you to NetGalley, Laura Wolfe, and Bookouture for the ebook. This thriller is filled with unexpected twists and turns, creating an engaging unraveling of the plot. The ending will leave you pondering long after you finish!

There are several wolves in sheep’s clothing in this latest novel by Laura Wolfe.
No one is whom they seem to be except the nosy next door neighbor and actually I thought she was the unsung hero of the story.
I was on the fence about Riley, teetering toward dislike. I thought she created a lot of her own drama and then disappeared, leaving lots of debt in her wake.
I didn’t discern what was actually going on until it was revealed but I thought Riley was going to accuse everyone of the crime.
Living a lie and using deceit as a shield is very expensive.

I flew through this gripping psychological suspense novel! I love it because I was invested in the storyline & Riley. She’s a strong protagonist that I was rooting for no matter her secrets. Yet, there were many secrets that other characters harbored and twists right until the very last page.

Thank you, Laura Wolfe, Bookouture, & netgalley, for my early copy! All opinions are my own.

Taken away from her heroin addict mother at age six, Riley Wakefield spent the rest of her childhood in the system, mainly living in rough and tumble group homes until she was placed with foster parents George and Wendy Eckhart as a teen. Living with them, Riley finally had a home. She had a boyfriend named Jacob. A best friend named Harper. A seemingly normal life. Yet, not long after her junior prom, Riley disappeared. Those closest to her thought she ran off to L.A. with a man she met at the mall. Everyone else, including the police, suspected foul play by either her friends or foster parents. But nothing was ever proven, and Riley wasn't seen again. Not until fifteen years later when she knocked on the Eckhart's door, holding the hand of her four-year-old son Noah.

The Eckhart's welcome Riley back into their home with open arms and minimal questions about where she's been. Jacob and Harper are the same way after reuniting with her too. Everyone just seems happy to have Riley back, and she's glad to be back. She's determined not to blow this fresh start like she has the others. However, it doesn't take long for her past to track her down and knock on her door. When the truth about what happened to Riley fifteen years ago tries to emerge, someone's murdered in order to keep it buried. What terrible secrets is Riley hiding to protect her new life with the Eckhart's? What will they do if they find out? Not to mention, someone's after Riley. But who?

A fast paced, immersive page turner, "The Foster Daughter" by Laura Wolfe is a whiplash-inducing thrill ride that constantly keeps you on your toes and finding excuses not to put it down -- not even when dinner has to be cooked (sorry, fam). It's so well written, it feels like it was plotted down to the punctuation. At the same time, it's so riveting that it feels like it's flying by the seat of its pants, taking you along on an exhilarating ride through countless twists and turns. The first big twist comes at 32% (for Kindle readers). It's a shocking jaw dropper -- and it's not the only one. The story never goes in the direction you expect. That's a big part of what makes reading it so addicting.

Written from Riley's first-person point-of-view, it doesn't take long to get pulled in and addicted to the story. Although Riley is likable and empathetic, the other characters raise your suspicions and -- at times -- the hairs on your arms. Riley shares a past with each of them. Plus, she has a past of her own. Between the two, it isn't easy to figure out what she's hiding, what they're keeping secret, and what the truth actually is. When it all comes out in the banger of an ending, you'll be surprised you didn't see it all along. Warning, though. The epilogue ends with a bit of a cliffhanger.

It was enjoyable with a twist that I wasn't necessarily expecting, but I also wasn't surprised. This book was filled with a bunch of shady characters that I couldn't really root for, and I wasn't really a fan of them, but they all had a bunch of secrets that were exposed as the book went on, adding another layer of excitement to the story.

Cody was an interesting choice for an assisting character. It was good that he was always there to help when he was needed, and I felt bad for him at the end. Harper was a whole different story. I don't think she was meant to be likeable at all, which is good because I was seriously not a fan of her. She had her moments, but most of the time, she was unbearable.

The whole thing with the ex-boss was ended a lot easier than I thought it would. I was expecting that to be a little more difficult, since it was built up to be one of the main characters major problems that she was trying to run away from. However, this was still an interesting problem to throw into the book to show a little bit of backstory for our main character.

The ending was also a little disappointing in the sense that there was so much build up throughout the book, but the ending was very short and only lasted a few pages, at most and then we get an epilogue. I feel like this would have been better if it was expanded on, and more information was given to give more background of the villains in this story and what happened to Riley and Pete. The ending also appears to elude to the possibility of a sequel with the introduction of another character that may bring our main character some trouble in the future. If this is the case, I may check out any follow ups.

Berkley MI (Detroit)

This book was so suspenseful, and I can’t even tell you all about it! All you get is what we know from the synopsis: Wendy and George Eckhart fostered Riley for about a year when she was a teenager, along with many other troubled teens. Riley was able to leave the awful group home she was in and live in a real home environment - but something happened. She ran away, and was never seen again. The Eckharts, who had done so much for the community, lost their permission to foster children after that, and everyone always wondered what happened to Riley.

Fifteen years later, Riley shows up at the Eckharts’ door with her four-year-old son Noah. She apologizes profusely for scaring everyone and running away, but she had gotten caught up with an older man. He took to her Los Angeles, and turned her into a sex worker/drug addict. When she became pregnant with Noah, she got clean, and has tried to put the bad decisions she made behind her. She refuses to mess up and let her son become a member of the foster system, just like his mother.

Wendy welcomes her back with open arms, and she and George let Riley rent the apartment above their garage, which isn’t much, but is fine for now. Riley just needs to stay hidden; some of the things she got herself involved in may have put her in danger. The plan is going well until at a barbecue, a local news station shows up to do a story on the foster child lost for fifteen years coming back home. Now Riley is really scared about her past catching up with her…

This is all really a small part of the book; early on there is a huge twist that changes EVERYTHING for the reader. That twist is followed by many others, until the jaw-dropping ending and epilogue. Every time I thought I knew what was happening, everything would change again. If you love twisty (and twisted) psychological thrillers, this one is for you! 4.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Bookouture, Laura Wolfe and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is alters to be released on October 11, 2024.)

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I love a good suspenseful novel and The Foster Daughter kept me guessing until the very end. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen there was a swerve that kept me glued to the book.

This is my first Laura Wolfe novel, but if they are all as great as this one, it will be far from my last

Wolfe does it again! I’m a big fan of this author. Her books no matter what always keeps me so entertained and eager to flip the pages.
The Foster Daughter by Laura Wolfe is a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. With complex characters and a gripping plot, this book will leave you on the edge of your seat.
This book is one that most mystery books fans will really enjoy.
I just absolutely adore this author and every one of her books is a four/five star read.

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Big thanks to Bookouture for a copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I’m an avid reader of Laura Wolfe’s entertaining psychological thriller.
Her latest intriguing read is The Foster Daughter.
A praiseworthy and jaw dropping tale.
After an incident, Riley and her four year old son Noah arrive back to a town from her past.
Needing a place to stay she calls on her foster parents Wendy and George.
Fleeing fifteen years prior, Riley has some explaining to do.
Her arrival creates tension, suspense, secrets and mystery.
And that’s all I’m going to say…… except read this book.
A great plot with numerous twists and a cast of sly characters that leads to a clever ending and a smart epilogue.
I had an inkling about something and I was correct but there was so much more to the reveal than I expected.
Another clever book from a talented writer.

Riley my foster daughter left with no word and now out of the blue she has shown up on my doorstep but she is not alone. I can't turn them away! Well shut the front door! This book came speeding down on me like a jet ski and it is soooo good! There is so much suspense... I couldn't get it in fast enough. Wowsers!

Another solid psychological thriller from Laura Wolfe! Well-developed characters who you cannot really figure out until the moment the author clues you in.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Quite enjoyable but didn’t get quite interested in the characters as they weren’t very relatable. Quite enjoyable but didn’t get quite interested in the characters as they weren’t very relatable.

Definitely an emotion driving read.
What do you do when your foster daughter vanishes?not only does you lose your daughter but then the fallout, and no longer being able to foster ever again.
Then one day over a decade later this lookalike knocks on your door asking for help...

More twists and turns to come. Not all unpredictable but not annoyingly so.
Great read.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for the book #TheFosterDaughter by #LauraWolfe. I loved this roller coaster ride of emotions and deception. Riley has returned to her foster home 15 years after she ran away. She now has a son and they have no place to go. When her foster parents take her and her son in again, some things just don’t add up? What’s Riley hiding?

The Foster Daughter is a gripping, suspense-filled psychological thriller. Fifteen years ago, Riley Wakefield disappeared from her small hometown, leaving her foster family, friends, and boyfriend worried. No one has heard from Riley since. Now, a woman closely resembling Riley has returned to town with a four-year-old child; she claims to be Riley. Is this stranger truly Riley? If not, what does she want? As friends and family reunite to celebrate Riley's return, a few individuals remain suspicious. Then, someone who was once close to Riley turns up dead.

The Foster Daughter is well-paced with plenty of surprises. While some of the twists were quite predictable, others were unexpected. I did find that there were a few storylines that were left unresolved. First, Harper's story arc was never really concluded. Her storming out because of a 15-year-old prank-gone-wrong being discussed wasn't really a resolution. Second, the vengeful brother storyline was never developed or really concluded. I do not count the ending "twist," which was completely unnecessary and took away from the epilogue. With that said, I did find the book to be gripping, and I was surprised by some of the reveals. While not my favorite thriller, I'll still be recommending it.

This was a very suspensful read overall, it had me hooked straight away. The twists and turns definitely kept me reading!