Title: THE DAUGHTER
Author: Liz Webb
ISBN: 9780749028800
Publisher: Allison and Busby
Pages: 380
Source: Private Copy
‘I lean in and whisper the question I have never let myself utter in twenty-three years.
‘Dad…did you murder Mum?’
Hannah Davidson has a dementia-stricken father, an estranged TV star brother, and a mother whose death opened up hidden fault lines beneath the ordinary surface of their family life.
At thirty-seven, Hannah is losing her grip on both her drinking and a cache of shameful secrets. Now the spitting image of her mother, Jen Davidson, and the same age she was when she died, Hannah is determined to uncover exactly what happened to her mum, but soon the boundaries between Hannah and her mother become fatally blurred.
Official Summary
29 July 2025
This book found its way onto my TBR when I visited the Exclusives Books Warehouse Sale last year. Sadly, it’s been sitting on my shelf for a year, but I have finally read it.
The Daughter by Liz Webb is an intense, emotionally fraught psychological thriller that dives deep into the murky waters of grief, trauma, and the complexities of family ties. It’s haunting, raw, and beautifully written—less of a whodunit and more of a slow-burning unravelling of buried truths and mental unravelling.
We follow Hannah Davidson, a thirty-seven-year-old woman whose life is fraying at the edges. She’s caring for her father, who has dementia, is estranged from her famous brother, and is struggling with the long shadow cast by her mother’s death over two decades ago. And now, at the exact age her mother was when she died, Hannah is spiralling. She’s drinking too much, clinging to secrets, and beginning to blur the lines between past and present, truth and memory, self and mother.
Webb does a brilliant job of crafting an unreliable yet deeply sympathetic narrator. Hannah’s voice is fractured but compelling, filled with dark humour, confusion, and longing. Her obsession with uncovering what really happened to her mother is chilling and deeply personal—especially as she begins to mirror Jen in unsettling ways. The central question—“Dad… did you murder Mum?”—hangs like a shadow over every scene, and the tension is unrelenting.
This isn’t a fast-paced thriller filled with shocking twists every few pages; instead, it’s atmospheric, psychological, and dripping with dread. Webb’s exploration of memory, mental illness, and family dysfunction is deeply affecting. The blurred lines between Hannah’s present and her mother’s past create a surreal, almost gothic tone that makes the final reveals hit hard. By the time the truth comes out, the emotional toll on both Hannah and the reader is profound. It’s a story about identity as much as it is about loss—about what we inherit, what we hide, and what it costs to dig up the truth.
This book is a powerful, unsettling read that grips you by the throat and doesn’t let go. Liz Webb balances emotional depth with psychological suspense in a way that’s both heartbreaking and utterly addictive. A must-read for fans of dark, character-driven thrillers.
Also By Liz Webb
THE SAVED
She thought his death was the worst thing that could happen, then he came back to life … Nancy and Calder are moving from London to his native island of Langer, off the west coast of Scotland. Nancy might be focused on this new beginning, but there are unsettling things about the island, the people and Calder’s past, which he hasn’t shared with Nancy, that prey on her mind. Then one of Nancy’s nightmares plays out in real life: Calder’s boat upturned in the bay, his body adrift in the icy water. Doctors are able to save his life, but the man who wakes up does not seem to be the same Calder as before. Is there more to his abrupt change in temperament than his brush with death? As secrets, lies, and bodies begin to wash up on the island, Nancy must come to terms with the fact that despite the fresh start, sometimes the slate cannot be wiped clean.
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Liz Webb originally trained as a classical dancer, then worked as a secretary, stationery shop manager, art class model, cocktail waitress, stand-up comic, voice-over artist, script editor and radio drama producer, before becoming a novelist. She lives in North London with her husband, son and serial killer cat Freddie.
This book was a lucky find, and I cannot believe that it’s taken me so long to read it. Okay, looking at my TBR shelf, I shouldn’t be surprised. I enjoyed how unreliable the narrator was; it made me doubt everything. Have you read any Liz Webb books? Please share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you. Until next time…. Happy Reading!
