The liar's daughter by Claire Allan

Joe McKee is dying of cancer - despite surgery and chemotherapy he has months or weeks left to live.  Returning home, Joe is depending on his stepdaughter Heidi to care for him, but she has her own family to care for, including a young daughter.  Heidi is struggling with more than just the pressures of all she is expected to do, she is also struggling with her relationship with Joe.  To everyone else Joe is the man who selflessly raised Heidi after her mother died, something he was not required to do as he was not her real father.  Heidi wishes he hadn't though because her childhood was not one she enjoyed, not just because of Joe, but also because of his daughter Ciara.  Ciara was angry about her parents separating, and she resented Heidi and made her life hell when all Heidi wanted was her friendship and help.

Now Joe is dying he is trying to meet his end with a clean conscience and having made amends with his two daughters.  When Heidi reaches out to Ciara at Joe's request she hopes that things might have changed, but she quickly discovers that Ciara is just as cold and distant as she was when they were children - maybe even more so, as she has moved on with her life.  With Joe rapidly approaching the end, Heidi invites Ciara and her family to help care for Joe and they come, but Heidi is still under a lot of pressure.  

When Joe dies earlier than expected it seems like a blessing in disguise - until the Police start treating his death as a murder, and those closest to him as suspects.  Already stressed and anxious, Heidi starts teetering on the edge, pushed towards a breakdown and desperate to keep herself safe.  As Ciara and her Aunt Kathleen start dropping hints to Heidi's husband Alex, Heidi's desperation grows - because there are parts of her past that she has never told anyone, especially not her husband.  As the investigation into his death continues, more and more secrets are uncovered - but which was the one that pushed someone to take Joe's life?

The liar's daughter is a crime thriller that tests your ability to sift through the information and clues in the story of Joe - in life and in death.  If you take the book at face value Heidi is unstable mentally and cold towards the man who raised her after her mother died, but as you learn more about Heidi, and Joe and his family, you learn that things aren't that black and white.  There are themes in this novel that are difficult to stomach, even though Allan doesn't drag them out or dwell on them, incest and child sexual abuse are at the core of the story and they make for some very uncomfortable moments in the story.  It is very easy to connect with the characters and what they are going through, and the crime story woven around Joe's death is well written and drags you along for the ride if you want to be or not.  An uncomfortable but engrossing read.

If you like this book then try:

• Cut short by Leigh Russell
• Buried secrets by Lisa Cutts
• The slaughter man by Tony Parsons
• The girl in the ice by Robert Bryndza
• Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
• The edge of normal by Carla Norton
• City of fear by Alafair Burke
• Vodka doesn't freeze by Leah Giarratano
• Eeny meeny by M.J. Arlidge
• One step too far by Tina Seskis

Reviewed by Brilla