Stories about mothers and daughters are everywhere, but the endless nuances of this intense relationship are fertile ground for thriller writers. Many of my novels address different dynamics of this relationship, but in my new thriller When She Was Gone I look at the tricky role of the estranged mother. My protagonist Rose has been denied access to her child by the cruel actions of her ex-partner, however, she has taken up the cause for other women in similar scenarios and has worked as a police officer, a hostage negotiator and with domestic violence victims. So when Rose finds out that her grown-up daughter Louisa has vanished from a remote Australian beach with the two young children in her care, she knows it’s her moment to step up and push her way into the investigation, in the hopes of discovering what’s happened and recovering the missing trio.
Researching this story made me think of other outstanding thrillers where different kinds of mothers have needed to fight for their daughters in order to keep them safe or to discover what has happened to them. Here are five of the best:
What Happened to Nina by Dervla McTiernan
In this ripper of a story, Nina’s hard-working mother Leanne is left desperate to discover what happened to her daughter when Nina suddenly goes missing after a weekend away with her boyfriend Simon. The problem is that Simon’s mother Jamie is just as determined to protect him, no matter what he did, and decides to employ a reputation management team to direct the attention back onto Nina’s parents. McTiernan cleverly plays with plot and reveals in this nail-biting story, which leaves Leanne struggling to keep her life together as she fights for answers, while trying to protect her younger daughter from the fallout too.
The Push by Ashley Audrain
In this brilliantly executed, chilling thriller, a struggling mother becomes increasingly convinced that her young daughter is displaying sociopathic behaviour. But is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband Fox seems to think so, ensuring Blythe begins to question her own judgement – and her abilities as a mother – more and more. As her life enters freefall, things take an even darker turn when Violet’s behaviour worsens – and Audrain delivers both chills and heartrending scenes with an equally unforgettable punch.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
When Hannah Michael’s husband Owen suddenly disappears without warning, he leaves behind a cryptic message asking Hannah to protect her teenage stepdaughter Bailey. Although Bailey is initially wary and hostile to Hannah, it soon becomes clear that Owen isn’t who they’d thought he was, and the two women work together to uncover the reasons why the man they love has disappeared.
The Crash by Freida McFadden
Pregnancy is often used in thrillers to up the stakes around a character’s physical and mental vulnerability, but also because the fierce, primal urge a mother has to protect her child means she’ll fight back against every kind of danger. In The Crash, McFadden’s character Tegan is 8 months pregnant when she ends up having a car accident in a blizzard, which leaves her with a broken ankle. She’s rescued by a mysterious couple who take her to their cabin, and things only get worse from there.
Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
Right outside her front window, Jen witnesses her son Todd murder a total stranger on Halloween, but when she wakes the next day she has gone back in time and the murder has yet to happen. As she continues to wake up at different points in their past, she realizes that somewhere in these revisitings lies the trigger for Todd’s crime – and it becomes her mission to find it and stop these this terrible event from happening. I love this premise, and McAllister delivers a clever and unique read.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
A young girl goes missing after a house fire, and the story travels back in time to flesh out the details of what happened. There are three centralized mother characters here, and more in the background, all fighting for their daughters in different ways – with their various states of prosperity playing a huge part in the choices available to them. This book is a beautifully fleshed out social commentary on status and wealth as well as an exceptional mystery.
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