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bobmetal's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review
4.0
Dead Daughters blew my motherfucking mind! It’s twisted and horrifying, and I couldn’t wait to turn the next page. You can feel Meyer laughing at your shock.
Dead Daughters is a story to remind me to be grateful for the boring, mundane, and uneventful life I lead. It’s definitely not something that you want your life to resemble – uncertainty, unimaginable stress, and a worry that your daughter will be taken and end up dead.
The story examines the dynamics of relationships through a microscope. A Couple. A cherished daughter. A photograph that depicts the death of your child. Friends. Strangers. The premise of the story had me immediately hooked. You round up your birthday celebrations and discover a photo has been left in your mailbox by a stranger. An old polaroid of a dead little girl in what appears to be a basement and it looks remarkably like your daughter, in the very same yellow dress that she owns. However, it can’t be her, can it? She is sleeping upstairs and very much alive.
Drew Lowery and his wife, Eve have it all. Great jobs, a home in a safe neighbourhood, and the love of his beautiful daughter, Dinah. Of course, that all changes when he discovers the photo that will change the entire dynamics of his life. They report the incident to the police and things become more convoluted and twisty. More messages are left for Drew, and it becomes apparent that this person is hunting his family.
Life never follows a strict set of plans the universe has different ideas and will let it be known when you least expect it. No matter how much you build scaffolding around your perfectly constructed life something will come along and rock the foundations. Drew made me question why he couldn’t see things that appeared in front of his face. A novel that makes me shout at the characters always tends to be my favourite type of read – it evokes the emotion whether you want it to or not.
Dead Daughters is a staircase – keep walking up those stairs, with each step more is added to the story, tension, a creeping sense of dread, and each precarious step left me questioning whether I was the insane one. Misdirection here, a lie there, a signpost pointing the way in which we should walk but unbeknownst to us readers, the author turned the signpost turning in the wrong direction.
Tim Meyer made it incredibly easy to feel the pressure and the unease of a situation that would break most of us. I found myself frozen by the seeds of mistrust that are scattered throughout the story.
Dead Daughters is a story to remind me to be grateful for the boring, mundane, and uneventful life I lead. It’s definitely not something that you want your life to resemble – uncertainty, unimaginable stress, and a worry that your daughter will be taken and end up dead.
The story examines the dynamics of relationships through a microscope. A Couple. A cherished daughter. A photograph that depicts the death of your child. Friends. Strangers. The premise of the story had me immediately hooked. You round up your birthday celebrations and discover a photo has been left in your mailbox by a stranger. An old polaroid of a dead little girl in what appears to be a basement and it looks remarkably like your daughter, in the very same yellow dress that she owns. However, it can’t be her, can it? She is sleeping upstairs and very much alive.
Drew Lowery and his wife, Eve have it all. Great jobs, a home in a safe neighbourhood, and the love of his beautiful daughter, Dinah. Of course, that all changes when he discovers the photo that will change the entire dynamics of his life. They report the incident to the police and things become more convoluted and twisty. More messages are left for Drew, and it becomes apparent that this person is hunting his family.
Life never follows a strict set of plans the universe has different ideas and will let it be known when you least expect it. No matter how much you build scaffolding around your perfectly constructed life something will come along and rock the foundations. Drew made me question why he couldn’t see things that appeared in front of his face. A novel that makes me shout at the characters always tends to be my favourite type of read – it evokes the emotion whether you want it to or not.
Dead Daughters is a staircase – keep walking up those stairs, with each step more is added to the story, tension, a creeping sense of dread, and each precarious step left me questioning whether I was the insane one. Misdirection here, a lie there, a signpost pointing the way in which we should walk but unbeknownst to us readers, the author turned the signpost turning in the wrong direction.
Tim Meyer made it incredibly easy to feel the pressure and the unease of a situation that would break most of us. I found myself frozen by the seeds of mistrust that are scattered throughout the story.
lloydhanneman's review
5.0
After finishing this book, a few things come to mind:
- Tim Meyer can write one hell of a thriller
- The character choices/interactions were so well thought out and realistic. I think this stuck out to me the most. Too many times I made the wrong assumption that a character would make a stupid decision (because doesn't that always happen?) so it was refreshing to see these scenes play out (i.e. without getting into spoilers: a recovering addict who *doesn't* relapse immediately after having a couple beers).
- This needs to be made into a movie, ASAP.
Tim, I can't wait to read everything you write. Keep it up!
- Tim Meyer can write one hell of a thriller
- The character choices/interactions were so well thought out and realistic. I think this stuck out to me the most. Too many times I made the wrong assumption that a character would make a stupid decision (because doesn't that always happen?) so it was refreshing to see these scenes play out (i.e. without getting into spoilers: a recovering addict who *doesn't* relapse immediately after having a couple beers).
- This needs to be made into a movie, ASAP.
Tim, I can't wait to read everything you write. Keep it up!
pbanditp's review
4.0
Drew is a former drug addict that has turned his life around. Now he has a wife of 10 years and a young daughter(Dinah), the perfect life. Until he gets a Polaroid picture sent to his house of his daughter dead and bloodied and chained to a basement wall. But his daughter is fine, home and alive. Then they find out about her nightmares and the Shadow Man that visits at night and has threatened to kill her.
Tim Meyer engages you very quickly, especially if you are a parent. Tense, nerve wracking, you know the fear and uncertainty that Drew and his family are submerged in. The spiral downward continues until the very end. Very compelling
Tim Meyer engages you very quickly, especially if you are a parent. Tense, nerve wracking, you know the fear and uncertainty that Drew and his family are submerged in. The spiral downward continues until the very end. Very compelling
johnlynchbooks's review
5.0
Sometime ago on social media, one of my favorite publishers made an announcement with an author who I’ve enjoyed reading, but I’m ashamed to say, still have much of his work on my back catalog. That author is Tim Meyer, and Dead Daughters is masterwork that this publisher and author duo have released upon us.
Drew Lowery is living the proverbial American Dream, that is, until one day his life is turned upside down and he’s living every parents nightmare. To make matters worse, the cops can’t figure out what’s going on and Drew must take matters into his own hands before it’s too late.
I’m being vague for a reason here, I didn’t even want to reiterate what’s on the back cover of this. I don’t want to potentially spoil a single thing.
What I do feel confident in telling you is that of the works I’ve read from Meyer, this is not only my favorite, but it’s also the best written. Everything flows perfectly. The story moves buttery-smooth, the characters are well developed and the first person narrative keeps you absolutely engaged in the book. I blew through the last 150 pages of this book and when I finished reading it all I could think of is how could I possibly pick up another book after that.
When the book came to its white-knuckled conclusion, I was absolutely satisfied. There were a few times I thought that Tim had shown his hand too early and I knew what was going on, turns out I’m an idiot and was completely wrong. Or maybe I’m not an idiot, Tim’s just a genius. Regardless of the state of my mental faculties, YOU’RE the dummy if you pass this one up.
5/5
Drew Lowery is living the proverbial American Dream, that is, until one day his life is turned upside down and he’s living every parents nightmare. To make matters worse, the cops can’t figure out what’s going on and Drew must take matters into his own hands before it’s too late.
I’m being vague for a reason here, I didn’t even want to reiterate what’s on the back cover of this. I don’t want to potentially spoil a single thing.
What I do feel confident in telling you is that of the works I’ve read from Meyer, this is not only my favorite, but it’s also the best written. Everything flows perfectly. The story moves buttery-smooth, the characters are well developed and the first person narrative keeps you absolutely engaged in the book. I blew through the last 150 pages of this book and when I finished reading it all I could think of is how could I possibly pick up another book after that.
When the book came to its white-knuckled conclusion, I was absolutely satisfied. There were a few times I thought that Tim had shown his hand too early and I knew what was going on, turns out I’m an idiot and was completely wrong. Or maybe I’m not an idiot, Tim’s just a genius. Regardless of the state of my mental faculties, YOU’RE the dummy if you pass this one up.
5/5
scottneumann's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
rock_n_reads's review
5.0
I’ve been on a roll with reading some solid 5-star thrillers lately, and DEAD DAUGHTERS is no exception. This is only my second read from Tim Meyer, and while I never had doubts I’d be seeking out more, reading this novel just confirmed that fact and bumped his other books higher on my TBR pile.
It’s always great to discover authors who can write across genres, and I’ve definitely noticed that is one of Meyer’s strengths. His novel THE SWITCH HOUSE was a heart-pounding story with my favorite triple threat—horror, humor, and heart. I was pleased to discover that DEAD DAUGHTERS offers up the same experience in a slightly different package. It’s a dark thriller with elements of horror, full of disturbing images that I won’t forget any time soon.
I was gripped by this story from the beginning, fully invested as I learned more about the characters and watched their experience unfold. This author does an excellent job creating characters that the reader comes to care about. The empathy came easy for me—it never felt like I was searching for relatable or redeemable elements about these characters. I even found myself conflicted about my feelings for the antagonists later on in the story. The dialogue, details, and insight into the characters’ experience all work together to gain investment from the reader.
I mentioned that this story had a hold on me from its early pages, and this only intensified as I moved further into the book. I felt a slow, creeping dread from the moment things begin to go south for Drew and his family, and this continued to build throughout the novel. By the time I reached the last 100 pages or so, I had to force myself to put the book down. Once I picked it back up, I couldn’t flip through fast enough—I just had to know what was coming next. There are many twists and turns in this story—I thought the mystery and the anticipation of what was coming were so well done. Meyer kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading this, and just when I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong.
It’s tough to say more about this one for fear of giving away too much—no spoilers here! I’ll just sum this up by sharing that I am excited to see what Tim Meyer writes next, and to catch up on his previous work that’s on my shelf. I’m starting to see a pattern here. Not only does Meyer’s work contain the elements I’ve listed above, but it also exudes authenticity, and that’s something I’ll always show up for as a reader.
It’s always great to discover authors who can write across genres, and I’ve definitely noticed that is one of Meyer’s strengths. His novel THE SWITCH HOUSE was a heart-pounding story with my favorite triple threat—horror, humor, and heart. I was pleased to discover that DEAD DAUGHTERS offers up the same experience in a slightly different package. It’s a dark thriller with elements of horror, full of disturbing images that I won’t forget any time soon.
I was gripped by this story from the beginning, fully invested as I learned more about the characters and watched their experience unfold. This author does an excellent job creating characters that the reader comes to care about. The empathy came easy for me—it never felt like I was searching for relatable or redeemable elements about these characters. I even found myself conflicted about my feelings for the antagonists later on in the story. The dialogue, details, and insight into the characters’ experience all work together to gain investment from the reader.
I mentioned that this story had a hold on me from its early pages, and this only intensified as I moved further into the book. I felt a slow, creeping dread from the moment things begin to go south for Drew and his family, and this continued to build throughout the novel. By the time I reached the last 100 pages or so, I had to force myself to put the book down. Once I picked it back up, I couldn’t flip through fast enough—I just had to know what was coming next. There are many twists and turns in this story—I thought the mystery and the anticipation of what was coming were so well done. Meyer kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading this, and just when I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong.
It’s tough to say more about this one for fear of giving away too much—no spoilers here! I’ll just sum this up by sharing that I am excited to see what Tim Meyer writes next, and to catch up on his previous work that’s on my shelf. I’m starting to see a pattern here. Not only does Meyer’s work contain the elements I’ve listed above, but it also exudes authenticity, and that’s something I’ll always show up for as a reader.
catra121's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this...I think Tim Meyer may be a new favorite author for me. This one is more thriller than horror...but it does have some creepy/spooky elements to it. Very well done.
jojoe72's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you for the ARC
this was a good read, kept you on edge of seat, made it interesting when the author brought in the multiple personalities and that no one knew
this was a good read, kept you on edge of seat, made it interesting when the author brought in the multiple personalities and that no one knew
wellwortharead's review
This is only my second venture into the creative mind of Tim Meyer but he is now officially on my very short list of must read authors. This book came to me on a day when I was in the middle of reading something else. I meant only to take a quick peek at it out of curiosity but was drawn like a high powered magnet into the depth of character building and the blood chilling plot. The author conjures such a sense of dread and anxiety in the reader over what may happen to Drew Lowrey's daughter that I actually had to ask him if he had children because I felt so strongly that only a parent could know this fear. (I was right by the way, he is a dad.)
I am not going to get into the story line too much but I have to tell you that no author in the history of.....ever has been talented enough to give me goose bumps from something as simple as a to do list until now.
This is my first 5 star read of the year.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
I am not going to get into the story line too much but I have to tell you that no author in the history of.....ever has been talented enough to give me goose bumps from something as simple as a to do list until now.
This is my first 5 star read of the year.
I received a complimentary copy for review.