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The Trophy Child
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
10 posts | 9 read | 14 to read
Paula Daly is acclaimed for her distinctive voice, masterful plotting, and terrifying depictions of ordinary people whose everyday lives are turned upside down through deception and murder. In her unsettling new domestic thriller, "The Trophy Child," Daly digs beneath the serene surface of the idyllic suburban Lake District community where families strive for perfection, delivering a suspenseful, surprising story of motherhood and fallibility. Karen Bloom is not the coddling mother type. She believes in raising her children for success. Some in the neighborhood call her assertive, others say she s driven, but in gossiping circles she s known as: the tiger mother. Karen believes that tough discipline is the true art of parenting and that achievement leads to ultimate happiness. She expects her husband and her children to perform at 200 percentno matter the cost. But in an unending quest for excellence, her seemingly flawless family start to rebel against her. Her husband Noel is a handsome doctor with a proclivity for alcohol and women. Their prodigy daughter, Bronte, is excelling at school, music lessons, dance classes, and yet she longs to run away. Verity, Noel s teenage daughter from his first marriage, is starting to display aggressive behavior. And Karen s son from a previous relationship falls deeper into drug use. When tragedy strikes the Blooms, Karen s carefully constructed facade begins to fall apartand once the deadly cracks appear, they are impossible to stop. A thrilling tale of ambition and murder, Daly s richly imagined world of suburban striving and motherly love is an absorbing page-turner about the illusions of perfection and the power games between husband and wife, parent and child."
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review
Teipu
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
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Mehso-so

This book sounded so promising but disappointed a bit. Karen, tiger mom and main point of friction, remained very flat. I would have loved more background, more history, but instead just a lot of things were hinted at and not really explained.
Also I really didn't like Noel, the husband.
#thriller #marchfinish

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Teipu
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly

Not really what the blurb promised... I hoped for a psychological thriller about a crazy mother, but it seems it's just a kidnapping story. We'll see how this goes on.
(Currently page 126)

RaimeyGallant I hate when that happens. :) And welcome to Litsy! #LitsyWelcomeWagon Some of us put together Litsy tips to help new Littens navigate the site. It's the link in my bio on my page in case you need it. Or if you prefer how-to videos, @chelleo put some together at the link in her bio.
6y
Teipu @RaimeyGallant Thank you so much 😊 i'll definitely look at the Litsy Tips! 6y
RaimeyGallant I hope you find them helpful. :) 6y
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Jess7 Welcome!!! 6y
Simona Welcome to the board❣️ Enjoy in bookish heaven and I wish you a lot of fun 😘 6y
Kaye Welcome 🌸 6y
Scurvygirl Welcome!! 6y
16 likes7 comments
review
Elsuttie
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
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Mehso-so

It got better as it went on but the story didn‘t seem to flow that well. A good premise, but not that well executed.

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JillR
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
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Mehso-so

I thought this would be about the psychology and family dynamics of a "tiger mother" but it just turned into a whodunnit. It had potential but then just didn't quite go there. The mother was intensely irritating but with no real back story and the father was pathetically weak, but this wasn't really developed. There was some snarkiness, particularly on the part of some minor characters, that I enjoyed but overall I couldn't quite make this a pick.

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JillR
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
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Here is my husband's bedtime reading for our Trophy Child... Ha! Only joking 🙊. I'll admit I've got #lowexpectations of this, but after Alias Grace I felt like I needed something quick and light... Typo on Page 5, not off to a good start... 🙄

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Skeebies05
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
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I just bought this one. I'm still in BN waiting for my boo thang (old school). My first book from this author.

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LisaD0115
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
Mehso-so

This story was good, the writing was good. Character development was a little lacking. You might or might not figure out the who done it part early on. I'm on the fence with this one for 3 or 4 stars. We'll call it 3.5.

2 likes1 stack add
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hwheaties
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
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Oh hey #bookmail aren't you pretty?! I hadn't heard of this one, but the description, of a mom who believes "achievement leads to ultimate happiness" and "expects her children to perform at 200 percent" is definitely intriguing!

Alfoster It's good!!😍😍😍 7y
hwheaties @Alfoster good to know! 7y
52 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Well-ReadNeck
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
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Pickpick

I love a good mystery, and this definitely qualifies. My first Paula Daly, but it won't be my last. Great characters, a missing child, blended family with crazy dynamics, unfaithful spouses and a murder, of course. What more can you ask for?

89 likes4 stack adds
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Alfoster
The Trophy Child | Paula Daly
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Pickpick

This is Daly's 4th novel and I have loved them all! What happens when a parent is too caught up in an offspring's advancement and what might the repercussions be for that child? It's a great mystery: there's a disappearance and a murder...lots of twists and turns! Highly recommended!

24 likes1 stack add