The Liar’s Daughter By Claire Allan

‘The Liar’s Daughter’ is the latest book by Claire Allan.

Joe McKee – pillar of the Derry community – is dead. As arrangements are made for the traditional Irish wake, friends and family are left reeling at how cancer could have taken this much-loved man so soon. But grief is the last thing that Joe’s daughter Ciara and step-daughter Heidi feel. For they knew the real Joe – the man who was supposed to protect them and did anything but.As the mourners gather, the police do too, with doubt being cast over whether Joe’s death was due to natural causes. Because the lies that Joe told won’t be taken to the grave after all – and the truth gives his daughters the best possible motive for killing him.

Claire Allan is back a new thriller that had my attention gripped throughout. Set in the maiden set of Derry, this psychological thriller is a twisted story of lies and deceit. To the outside world Joe McKee, is the perfect man, God fearing Catholic who took over the care of his partner’s child when she died. But there is another side to Joe, that the only people closest to him know about. So when Joe finds out that’s he’s dying, he expects everyone to rally around him, but everyone is actually counting down until he dies and when he suddenly does die, everyone is a suspect.

The story is seen primarily through the eyes of Heidi and Ciara, the daughter of the dead partner and Joe’s biological daughter. They hate each other, Ciara hates Heidi for taking away her father and Heidi hates Ciara for the bullying and pain Ciara inflicted on her whilst going up. But unknown to both of them, they have more in common than they had ever known.

Both women are interesting. Heidi is a new mother who is fiercely protective of her baby, she’s meek and has struggles in her life, whilst Ciara, I found to be quite a dislikable woman. She’s brash, harsh and is always turning on Heidi, who I found myself quite protective off.

The story is written in past and present tenses and really helps with characters development and shows the reader why both women behave in such a way. I despised Joe, Claire really achieved an instant hateful man who’s slime and sleaze oozed off the pages. So when he’s killed, it’s understandable why there are so many suspects!

Bleak and atmospheric, this book is a tough book to read, touching on abuse and mental illness, this pacy thriller really gripped my attention. With unreliable characters and suspicious situations and a menacing plot line that really pulls the reader in, ‘The Liar’s Daughter’ is a taunt and twisty story that will have you guessing throughout.

You can buy ‘The Liar’s Daughter’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.