Amanda writes dark fiction. Now one fan is bringing her work to life.

Amanda is enjoying her life – she’s a successful author who has finally managed to give up her day job. But then an ex-colleague is murdered in an exact reenactment of a killing from one of Amanda’s books. Even worse, Amanda had publicly quarreled with the dead woman and now finds herself a person of interest to the police.

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Then it happens a second time. Another person with whom Amanda had publicly fought is murdered. And again, the method used to kill is lifted straight from the pages of one of her books. It’s clear that someone is out to get Amanda. But who? And why?

With the police seeing her as the prime suspect, Amanda is desperate to discover the person behind these grisly killings.

As she digs for the truth, Amanda is forced to look into her own family’s troubled past, where she uncovers a web of secrets and lies far more shocking than anything she has ever written…

My Review

I didn’t really get why the police immediately suspected Amanda as the killer of the first victim. Maybe it’s because she has a family history of murder (her mother was suspected of killing her married lover and has been on the run ever since), or that the crime is exactly like the one carried out in her first book – Amanda is a successful crime writer. Personally, I would be more inclined to think someone with a grudge against her (or just a total psychopath) is using her books to recreate copycat crimes. But the police know that Amanda has quarreled and fallen out publicly with the first victim. When a second body is found, it’s also someone Amanda has fallen out with. Bit of bad luck, that.

Poor Amanda, as if being stalked by her crazy ex Matthew isn’t enough, without being accused of murder. Then there’s the woman at the writer’s group where she sits on the panel. She’s a bit unhinged as well. She wants Amanda to read her three novels (or mostly wip) and tell her how wonderful she is. The next big thing. They all want that, these ‘aspiring novelists’.

Then Amanda mets Brandon at the same meeting. He’s rather cute, a bit younger than her, and a gentleman in an old-fashioned kind of way – paying for everything, holding doors, taking her coat letting her go first etc. He’s almost too good to be true and we all know what they say about that. Except he really is, isn’t he?

Amanda is a bit of an unreliable narrator and I love that. She tells us how easy-going she is, but I found her quite confrontational. Who pulls a gun at a writer’s meeting because she feels threatened by one of the members? Who carries a gun to a writer’s meeting anyway? But then it’s America, so maybe everyone does. I also like the way the author has found her ‘voice’. It sounds very authentic.

I read this book in two sittings. I would have finished it in one if it hadn’t been 1 o’clock in the morning. It’s fast-paced and there’s a lot of background that is very important. But it’s not one of those stories where you need a spreadsheet to keep up. It’s quite simple, you just probably won’t guess the truth, though there are tiny clues along the way.

Many thanks to @ZooloosBT for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the Author

Brian R. O’Rourke has been writing stories since he was eight years old. A lifelong, avid reader, Brian believes that fiction has the power to change the world. He enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, playing the violin, and golfing.This is his third psychological thriller with Inkubator Books.

Brian’s Links
Instagram – brianr.orourke

Book Links
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202499063-her-mother-s-
daughter

Buy Links
https://mybook.to/mothersdaughter-zbt