Somebody's Daughter by David Bell

Somebody's Daughter by David Bell
Berkley Publishing Group/New American Library, July 10 2018
Psychological suspense/Thriller
Review copy via NetGalley, thank you!
My review of author's work Somebody I Used to Know by David Bell (2015, 5 stars)

In this pulse-pounding novel of psychological suspense from the USA Today bestselling author of Bring Her Home and Since She Went Away, a man must save the life of a little girl who just might be his daughter....

When Michael Frazier's ex-wife, Erica, unexpectedly shows up on his doorstep, she drops a bombshell that threatens to rip his family apart: Her ten-year-old daughter is missing--and Michael is the father. Unsure whether this is the truth but unwilling to leave the girl's fate to chance, Michael has no choice but to follow the elusive trail of the child he has always wanted but never knew he had.

After Michael departs, his wife, Angela, learns shocking news about Erica and fears for the safety of both her husband and the endangered girl. When a stranger, a man who claims a connection to Erica and her missing daughter, knocks on the door, Angela is drawn out into the night--and deep into the tangled web of Michael's past....

Over the course of one night, lies that span a decade come bubbling to the surface, putting Michael, his wife, and his whole family in jeopardy. And as the window for a little girl's safe return closes, Michael will have to decide who can be trusted and who is hiding the truth....

I really enjoyed reading David Bell's novel in 2015 (my review of Somebody I Used To Know) and I was eager to see what 2018 brought with the novelist's first hardcover published. Full of twist and turns, Somebody's Daughter does not disappoint as one night unfolds for over 400 pages. Isn't that crazy?! I thought that was wild, and it was so well done I had not even noticed that until I started writing this review.

The story revolves around that of a young girl's disappearance. On the outside it looks that Michael and Angela Frazier are living their perfect life with their perfect house and their squeaky-clean routines until the ex-wife shows up asking for help about her missing daughter. At that point everything Angela thought she knew about Michael goes out the window because this is the first time Angela hears about the existence of the pre-teen daughter Felicity. We kind of sort of don't know if Michael knew about Felicity either as the story progresses so that was a good twist.

 'Who is the bad guy here?' is the obvious thread, and quite surpisingly it could have been the sister, the mom, the ex-wife, the music teacher and the ex-wife's ex-boyfriend. Throw in a babysitter or a neighbor and we've got ourselves a twisted tangle of a hot mess. I loved the fast paced writing and how it truly kept me guessing. The part played by the lead detective was also well written-- so many angles and this is how we get that one crazy night spilling into over 400 pages. Oh and there's a dog, too. Every aspect you expect from a thriller is here for our enjoyment - five stars all the way to the bank.

If you like Ruth Ware, Gillian Flynn, Mary Kubica then add David Bell to your want-to-read list.
The absolute best part is that David Bell has several other titles for me to investigate. Sad though that my local library owns just one. Get with the program, Rockwall!


I turned off commenting long ago on the blog but I welcome comments at the Facebook page here.