My Daughter's Boyfriend

By: Daniel Hurst

Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard, Harrie Dobby

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

My daughter thought she had found the man of her dreams. But now, her life is in danger....

When Ellie tells me she has a new boyfriend, I am absolutely thrilled and can’t wait to meet him. She finally seems so happy and in love.

But there’s a catch. Ellie has never met him in person. In fact, he doesn’t even live in the same country. Our home is in England, but Daryl is in Los Angeles.

When handsome Daryl invites Ellie to stay with him at his luxury Los Angeles mansion for a few weeks, I insist on joining her. I need to find out more about the man who has my daughter so enamoured.

Daryl welcomes us into his whitewashed house, complete with a stunning swimming pool and sun-drenched patio. But one morning, I discover a terrible secret in his basement that changes everything. He has been lying to us from the start.

I go to confront him, but Ellie and Daryl are nowhere to be found. I call Ellie’s phone, but there’s no answer.

Has something happened to my precious girl? And will I be able to save her?

An utterly gripping psychological thriller that will keep you up all night from the author of the number one best-selling novel The Doctor’s Wife. If you love Gone Girl, The Night She Disappeared, and The Perfect Couple, you’ll be hooked by My Daughter’s Boyfriend.

©2023 Daniel Hurst (P)2023 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Critic reviews

"OMG!!... binge read!... WOWZERS!... Curveballs that made my head just spin?!!... Deserves way more than 5 stars as it is a must-read book!" (Heidi Lynn’s Book Reviews, five stars)

"Gripping, thought provoking, full of twists and shocking reveals.... I was drawn in from the very beginning.... I didn’t put this down." (Open Book Posts, four stars)

Really good reader

A bad reader ruins the entire experience and feeling I’ve wasted my time. This is a good storyline, grabs the readers attention. Overall good entertainmen.

Fun to Listen to

It doesn't matter if you figure anything out with this, Hurst does a great job with the writing of the story and really kept me on the edge of my seat a good deal of the time. I liked it!

Gripping, shocking, and well written!

How well do you know someone you meet online?

Dawn's daughter, Ellie met a man online and knows that he is the one for her. When Ellie tells her mother that she has a new boyfriend, Dawn is happy for her but grows concerned when Ellie informs her that they have never met in person. Daryl, the man of Ellie's dreams, lives in Los Angeles and has invited Ellie to come meet him and his father. Dawn and Ellie arrive in Los Angeles, and everything appears great until a discovery is made in his basement that proves that Daryl has been lying from the very start....

I have enjoyed every book that I have read by Daniel Hurst and this one was no exception. I am always drawn into Hurst's books. His storylines are gripping, thought provoking, full of twists and shocking reveals. Traveling from one country to another to meet someone is a big step. Hurst captures the excitement of taking that leap. He also captures the feeling of something not feeling right.

The audiobook was enjoyable and I thought it was very well done. I was drawn in from the very beginning. I wanted to know what was going to happen and how things were going to turn out. This was a fast read, and I didn't want to put this down.

Not as great as I expected

Started off great, had potential of being a good story but ultimately fell flat. First four hours are suspenseful and interesting then the rest is predictable and boring.

Five Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hmmmmm ..... Well written Intense story. Relationship Drama. The story keeps you on your toes wondering what's gonna happen next. Great characters. The daughter Ellie is kind of pain in the ass, an ungrateful Drama Queen.. The mom is kind of a doormatt to her obnoxious daughter... But that keeps the story very interesting.
I enjoyed it...Thought it was a very well written story, with a lot of suspense. The ending was a surprise!! Onto book number 2....
You dont want to miss this suspenful story!
I loved the Narrators, both are Excellent.
Five stars to the Author. Well written Excellent story.

Spine-chilling!

The king of thrills, Daniel Hurst, returns following, The Bride to Be with his latest gripping psychological thriller, MY DAUGHTER'S BOYFRIEND —From England to LA, a mother-daughter duo gets caught up in an online match-up in a web of deceit, secrets, lies, and MURDER.

Prologue: Opens with a frantic mother, Dawn Andrews, from the south of England with a missing daughter in the US. It all started with her daughter's boyfriend. Their lives would never be the same.

Before America to after. Told from POV: Dawn and Ellie

Dawn, a mother meets her friends for coffee—they are all planning vacations. Not something she would know about. She is jealous that she is a widow (no life insurance when Sean died) and now a low-income single mom with a twenty-five-year-old daughter, Ellie, who still lives at home and does not pay rent. She thinks it is time she gets her life together and moves out. She is currently a waitress with no ambition.

Ellie acts like a teen (far younger than her years), plays loud music, and disrespects her mum. She writes in her diary and is online video chatting with a guy named Daryl from California in the US. Ellie must tell her mom she has a boyfriend, Daryl, in the US (if you can call it that. They have never met or dated). Ellie and her mom get into an argument. Of course, she does not understand why her mom would be worried about a guy she met online who lives in another country.

Flash forward, Daryl invites Ellie to fly to California (at his expense). Her mother only agrees if she goes along. (at her expense).

So the mother-daughter duo sets off to California to meet Daryl and his dad. Ellie is thrilled to see LA — Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Sunset Boulevard, etc.

Ellie dreams of staying in LA with a future. (again, she has never met him in person and knows nothing about him.) Maybe Mum may be a new person after some sun and vacation.

From England to LA, the two set off. The father, Harvey (wife, Jodie, died from an accident, but we do not know all the story yet), and son, Daryl, arrive at the airport to greet them.

In the car, on the way to their home, there is news about a mother and her missing daughter, about the same age as Ellie, named Aubree. She has been missing for three months—this news disturbs Dawn.

Their beautiful home has the WOW factor with a pool and luxury. They will be there for a week. Miles from home in a stranger's home. Maybe they should enjoy it.

However, they have no idea how intense things would get. Dawn gets an uneasy feeling. She will have to trust her daughter, Daryl, and Harvey.

If you know Daniel Hurst, you know something SINISTER is about to happen, and he does not disappoint.

Daryl and Ellie take off on an adventure before Dawn awakes. Now Dawn and Harvey are in the car looking for them. Dawn sees a gun in the glove compartment. They are driving towards the remote desert in the middle of nowhere, looking for her daughter.

Something weird is going on. Other things give Dawn reason to believe they need to leave now. She does not trust Harvey or Daryl. She sees other evidence that makes her think Daryl and Harvey know about Aubree, the missing girl.

Did Daryl kill Aubree and his dad, covering it up? She must convince her daughter to leave ASAP for their safety. They must devise an excuse to leave so they do not suspect anything.

However, when they think they have escaped—Dawn takes matters into her own hands, and they are back in England. Who will be the next victim? Who is the real killer? How far will a parent go to protect their child?

Daniel Hurst is also known for his jaw-dropping twists—another big one is coming before the end, back in England, that will BLOW YOU AWAY. Will this mother and daughter survive?

Just wait for the spine-chilling Epilogue by Harvey! Revenge. I cannot say more—you must read to find out for yourself! It is a good one!

As always, Hurst entertains and is a pro at ratcheting up the suspense, fear, anxiety, and emotions and knows how to keep you glued to the pages/audio and gives you that last twist with his endings. A cautionary tale - stay away from online dating!

My only con: Ellie constantly whined about being in love when she knew nothing about this guy and did not act her age.

AUDIOBOOK: I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Tamsin Kennard and Harrie Dobby, for an outstanding performance for all voices! Highly recommend the audiobook.

#JDCMustReadBooks

How well do you know him?

The author’s books are quickly becoming a favorite of mine to pull me out of a slump or to just cleanse my reading palette. They are always short, fast paced and twisty. What if your daughter came to you and told you she met the love of her life on the internet, and he lived thousands of miles away in another country? And that she wanted to go see him? Yeah, I am pretty sure that would be thoughts too. I don’t have to watch Dateline to know this is probably going to end badly. And I’ll also add in this one, I figured out what was going on pretty early on, but I was still entertained. Unlikable characters doing stupid things. I’m in as long as I want to know a little more. There weren’t a lot of characters, so not a lot of red herring suspects, but even though I worked things out, I did doubt my choices a time or two.

And while I quite often switch between reading and listening, this one I only listened. Harrie Dobby and Tamsin Kennard nailed the narration by bringing the story to life and keeping my attention. The narration will make or break a story for me and this one was spot on. I was annoyed when life got in the way and I had to hit pause.

The author’s books are good whether listening or reading and this one was no exception. If you are looking for a popcorn thriller, this is a great choice.

Five Enthusiastic Stars!

Daniel Hurst takes "online love" to exciting new levels with this twisty and intriguing relationship drama.

Overall, the book was an unputdownable, fast-paced, and fun read.

I almost always enjoy full-cast audiobooks and narrators Harrie Dobby and Tamsin Kennard did an over-the-top job with the narration.

The book unfolded from two POVs and both narrators were perfectly cast for their roles of mother and daughter.

I am a HUGE Daniel Hurst fan and always look forward to his new releases.

Fun!

If you like Freida McFadden, you'll love Daniel Hurst! I find their writing to be very similar. Quick, easy reads that are always suspenseful! This title is part of a pair. This is book 1 and book 2 is titled- My Daughters Husband. Definitely a direct sequel. The narration on this book was top notch. Smooth and lovely to listen to- she read the title well.

I thought it has potential, but…

I thought this book was going in an entirely different direction.
The story line was utterly unrealistic, the main character acted more like an 18 year old than a 24 year old. She was selfish, lazy and rude to her mother. Her mother, Dawn, was way overprotective for having a 24 year old daughter. Over all, the only redeeming quality was the narration.