LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER

4 stars out of 5

When I started to write the review for this book, it occurred to me how few I read that are not part of a series. I can't refer to changes in the life of a recurring character or two or compare this one with another or point out inconsistencies. Well, then; it seems I'll have to be straightforward in my approach, which is that I enjoyed the book even though the constant jumps in perspective and time made it a little hard for me to follow without backtracking now and again. 

The story begins when a college student named Cleo comes to visit her mother Katrina for dinner, despite the fact that they're close to estranged. When she arrives, she finds the Brooklyn brownstone trashed, blood all around and her mother nowhere to be found. Immediately, she calls the police, setting off an investigation. Readers then learn that Katrina is an attorney at a prominent law firm - one that has taken on a high-profile client in an even higher-profile class action lawsuit - and that she and her husband Aiden are about to split.

Little by little, clues as to what really happened - and what Katrina really does to earn her substantial paycheck - are revealed by way of chapter those aforementioned shifts in perspectives and time frames. There are some notable twists and surprises, though nothing that reached the "blew me away" level. All in all, though, it was an interesting story that held my attention quite well, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight (Knopf, July 2024); 320 pp.