Someone Else's Daughter

By: Linsey Lanier

Narrated by: Kristin James

Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

Book #1 in the exciting mystery-thriller series from best-selling author Linsey Lanier. 

The searching mother

Miranda Steele.
Feisty. Independent. Skeptical.
Thirteen years ago her abusive husband stole her baby and gave it up for adoption. 

She comes to Atlanta to find her daughter. 

The PI 

Wade Parker.
Ace detective.
Wealthy owner of the Parker Investigative Agency.
The most eligible 44-year-old bachelor in Atlanta. 

Still mourning the death of his socialite wife, he must solve a disturbing murder case. Before the killer strikes again. 

The murderer

A serial killer strangling young girls in a bizarre ritual. Why? 

She doesn't need a man. 

He needs to find a killer. 

Together, can they save a 13-year-old girl? 

You'll love book one in this exciting mystery-thriller series from best-selling author Linsey Lanier, because listeners say they can't put it down. Get it now.

©2011 Linsey Lanier (P)2018 Linsey Lanier

Critic Reviews

"An empowered and formidable heroine." (Kirkus Reviews) 

"Highly charged and emotional.... Read it with tissue[s] from the very beginning." (Pamela Mason)

Mixed message mystery

Given the subject matter of this book (a missing child, domestic abuse, a serial killer), I expected this mystery to be much darker than it was. The opening reveals Miranda in desperate straits as her abusive policeman husband kicks her out of their house on a snowy night after putting their 3-month-old daughter up for adoption (without Miranda's permission). This prologue is followed by Chapter 1 with Miranda winning a hot pepper eating contest to shut up one of her fellow construction workers. This jarring shift from Miranda as a skittish abused wife to a boisterous kickass woman who does manual labor is the first of many contradictions that made this story not work for me.

The story unfolds with, in my opinion, events contrived for the sake of the story and which are simply implausible. Miranda is contacted by an adoption organization that matches adoptees with their biological parents only to be told they can't help her and have no info other than a letter written several months ago by a 13yo girl seeking her adoptive parents. However, the girl's letter contains no contact info or identifying info other than stating she lives in a Buckhead. (Question to author: If the young girl asks for help, why doesn't she provide a way for the agency to contact her?)

Miranda essentially "steals" the letter from the adoption agency worker, quits her job and heads to Buckhead in search of this anonymous young girl who might/maybe/possibly/could be her daughter. Her plan to locate this young girl is to drive around the wealthy neighborhoods. This lack of cohesive, credible motivation is a big part of why I could not immerse myself in the story.

Another contradiction to the dark tone of this mystery was the introduction of Wade Parker - playboy PI extraordinaire, He is attending an upper crust society affair, tracking a jewel thief, but the author describes how he eyes and is eyed by the beautiful women in attendance (despite still mourning the death of his beloved wife). The narrator's vocal characterization of Wade Parker makes him sound comic because of the heavily affected Southern accent. After nabbing the criminal, Wade is called in to help solve the case of a missing young girl.

In the meantime, Miranda has overheard a conversation between young people hinting about a young girl (who happens to be adopted!!!!) who is sneaking out to meet her boyfriend because her terrible parents have forbid her to do so. For Miranda, this is sufficient information to believe this unhappy young teen might/maybe/possibly/could be the same unhappy adopted teen who wrote the letter to the adoption agency who might/maybe/possibly/could be Miranda's missing daughter.

The lack of a tightly woven plot driven by more than convenient coincidence and inconsistent characterization made this story difficult for me to enjoy.

The narrator affects several different vocal personalities, making it easy to differentiate between characters. Some of them were a bit extreme, which again contradicted the dark tone of the subject matter contained in this story.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Read

This book is fabulous! The narrator is spot on. I read the book prior to listening to this and narrator gave the characters some real personality and made them seem real. I am more interested than before I reading the other books in the series!

Good Mystery

Someone Else's Daughter was a good read overall. The pacing and world building were both strong. The characters were relatable. The narrator did a great job bringing the story and characters to life. I would definitely read more in this series and from this author.

INTERESTING MYSTERY/THRILLER! GOOD STUFF.

I really enjoyed this book. I like the basic idea, woman abused comes full circle and kicks some butt. Love that! I liked the twists & turns, great writing, great narration, all in all a great job. I'd definitely recommend this one, and look forward to additional installments in the future! :)
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A long listen but so worth it

I settled into this listen right away. The opening paragraph dealt with domestic abuse but after that, the abusee became a 'take no prisoners' femme fatal (after her dirtbag husband threw her out, of course - and gave her baby up for adoption),

Miranda learned how to take care of herself (and take a punch.) She also became a crusader for abused women. Her 12-year effort to find her daughter puts her right smack on the path of a serial killer.

This was an intense and interesting mystery. I don't think the romance between Miranda and Wade (the owner of the detective agency she found a job with) was realistic. It feels like it was just thrown in but there was no real connection, or reason for the connection. It didn't deter too much from the mystery though.

I loved the narrator! James was the complete package!

I won't give away the ending but it sets up nicely for book two.

Romance is formulaic, predictable and tedious

This "she doesn't need a man" trope gets very tedious very quickly. The formulaic, predictable romance in this story is insufferable. The suspense is good and would have been even better without the romantic interruptions. And unfortunately, the characters are very cookie-cutter. Hopefully, future books in this series will focus on the mystery and not romance.

Kristin James' delivery is overly dramatic and her accents seem artificial and somewhat forced. She does give distinctive voices to the characters.

NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great Listen!

I was pulled into this book from the very beginning. The premise of the book was original. I wasn't certain what direction the story was going to take, but really enjoyed it. I thought the imagery in the book was very well done. The story does great combining romance, suspense, murder, and mystery into one. Linsey Lanier is a new author to me and I enjoyed her writing style. Kristin James did a great performance with her distinguishable voices for the characters. I thought she added to the story with the expressions and emotions. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. Without giving away spoilers, I really enjoyed the ending.

Finally the romance is realistic <br />

I gets boring when characters get into these highly intense sexual romantic relationships but in this book they are normal! Thank you I'm ready for the next book.