DANIELA PETROVA

Author Daniela Petrova

 

 

NOVELIST AND STORYTELLER

 

Daniela Petrova is the author of the critically acclaimed novel HER DAUGHTER’S MOTHER (Putnam, 2019). Her essays, short stories, and poems have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, LA Review of Books, and Marie Claire among others.

“PETROVA’S DEBUT NOVEL IS ABSOLUTELY DREAMY AND SUSPENSEFUL” O, The Oprah Magazine
“AMBITIOUS AND EXHILARATING” LOS ANGELES REVIEW OF BOOKS
“ONE OF THE YEAR’S MOST PROVOCATIVE AND EYE-OPENING NOVELS” — CRIME READS
“A GRIPPING TALE OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF OBSESSION” — PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY
Her Daughter's Mother cover image
Her Daughter's Mother Polish Edition
Her Daughter's Mother Bulgarian edition
Lithuanian edition Her Daughter's Mother

Daniela grew up behind the Iron Curtain in Sofia, Bulgaria. Soon after the fall of Communism, she moved to New York where she worked as a cleaning lady and a nanny while studying English at the YMCA. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Philosophy from Columbia University where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She holds an MA in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from New York University and is a recipient of an Artist Fellowship in Writing from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Daniela lives in New York City with her husband and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.


Her work has been featured in:

PRAISE AND REVIEWS

“Daniela Petrova’s debut novel is absolutely dreamy and suspenseful.” 

— O, The Oprah Magazine 

“[Her Daughter’s Mother] is a fun, unputdownable thriller…The premise is so clever and original, and Petrova totally delivers with juicy twists and characters with real emotional depth. It’s the kind of quick, smart read you’ll devour poolside.” 

— Entertainment Weekly 

“If you read one thriller this month, make it Her Daughter’s Mother.

— HelloGiggles 

“A great choice for fans of The Girl On the Train and The Wife Between Us.

— The Uniontown Herald-Standard 

“One of summer’s most buzzed-about debuts…Petrova has written a consummate page-turner that also manages incredible layers of emotional depth. This is one of the year’s most provocative and eye-opening novels.”

— CrimeReads

“This is a unique page-turner that will have readers speculating how it’ll end from the beginning.

— Ms. Magazine 

“[An] impressive debut…burning questions will keep readers on the edge of their seats…a gripping tale of the consequences of obsession. Petrova is off to a promising start.

— Publishers Weekly 

“A perceptive plot wrapped around how infertility can destroy a relationship fuels the emotional “Her Daughter’s Mother.” The novel also touches on how obsession can overpower one’s sense of self. But Petrova delves deeper in her plot with intriguing twists making even the most benign action and supposed coincidences seem sinister and foreboding.

— Associated Press 

“A suspenseful, contemporary, and twisty thriller…with an engaging and sympathetic protagonist.”

— Kirkus Reviews 

“Daniela Petrova’s Her Daughter’s Mother is a suspense thriller with intricately drawn characters, wily plotting, and a topical story line that draws from the deep well of complexities involving a woman’s desperate desire to give birth.”

— Mystery Scene Magazine 

“You’ll get caught up in two first-person narratives…Petrova is expert at showing how desperate both these women are…its darkness and wild resolution will appeal to many readers.”

— Booklist 

“The clever narrative structure in Her Daughter’s Mother pivots between the first-person points of view of the three parents. Lana, Tyler, and their egg donor, Katya, each narrate their own stories, which grow increasingly layered and intertwined as the plot progresses.”

— Los Angeles Review of Books

“Her Daughter’s Mother had me from the very first page. With a dazzling plot; complex, unforgettable characters; and gorgeous prose that mines the dangerous depths of obsession, Daniela Petrova’s debut is undoubtedly going to be the book everyone will want to read this summer.”

Aimee Molloy, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Mother 

“Taut pacing, relatable characters, and a twisty, surprising plot combine in this tense and poignant thriller. Secrets and obsession leave their mark in this unputdownable story—a remarkable debut.”

Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest

Her Daughter’s Mother has all the hallmarks of great psychological suspense: a compelling mystery, a cast of intriguing and suspicious characters, and plenty of stunning surprises. But it is the journey of the novel’s protagonists—each trying to find family, connection, and redemption—that makes this page-turner a tender, moving story you won’t soon forget.”

Megan Collins, author of The Winter Sister

“Captivating and powerful, Her Daughter’s Mother is both a thought-provoking story about the ethical gray area one woman stumbles into on her quest for motherhood, and a twisty thriller about another woman’s abrupt disappearance. Secrets, obsession, lies, betrayals big and small—they’re all here in this expertly paced novel that will keep readers guessing right up until the very last page.”

Kathleen Barber, author of Are You Sleeping

“This moving, heartfelt thriller surprised me again and again. Lana’s journey to becoming a mother is poignant and suspenseful, even without the added element of her egg donor’s disappearance. The turns of this story ratchet up the intrigue, making Her Daughter’s Mother one of the most gripping books I’ve read in years. Petrova has created an original, smart novel sure to top “Best Of” lists in 2019. A sure-footed, memorable debut.”

Erica Wright, author of The Blue Kingfisher

PRESS

The Best Books of 2019: Debut Fiction– CrimeReads

20 end-of-summer beach reads for 2019– NBC News

11 New Thrillers You May Not Have Read, But Should – BookBub

9 Spine-tingling Psychological Thrillers about Motherhood – BookRiot

12 Books to Read After Watching Big Little Lies – Entertainment Weekly

5 Thrillers to Read This Summer – Time Magazine

An Ethical Matreshka: On Daniela Petrova’s Her Daughter’s Mother – Los Angeles Review of Books

Review: Her Daughter’s Mother– The Big Thrill

Writers Corner Live, Episode 49– Writers Corner Live TV Show

The Best Book Covers of June– CrimeReads

June’s Best Debut Thrillers and Crime Novels– CrimeReads

Perceptive Plot Fuels Emotional ‘Her Daughter’s Mother’– Associated Press

Author Daniela Petrova On the Influences Behind Her NYC-set Debut– amNewYork

Daniela Petrova on Her Debut Novel Her Daughter’s Mother– ArtSake

12 June Books to Add to Your Reading List– InStyle

June 2019 Reads for The Rest of Us– Ms. Magazine

25 New Thrillers and Mysteries to Sink Your Teeth Into this Summer– Popsugar

June’s Best New Crime Novels and Thriller– CrimeReads

The ten best new books to read in June– HelloGiggles

There’s something for everyone on this summer’s reading list– The Uniontown Herald-Standard

The 25 Best Beach Reads of the Year So Far– O, The Oprah Magazine

The 25 Best Beach Reads of 2019 You Need to Pre-order Now– New York Post

The Most Anticipated Crime Books of Summer– CrimeReads

An Inconceivable Friendship: PW Talks with Daniela Petrova – Publishers Weekly 

The Best Psychological Thrillers to Add to Your TBR in 2019 – Book Riot 

Thrillers We Can’t Wait to Read in Spring 2019 – Read it Forward

Want to be the first to hear about news and events? Subscribe to my mailing list.
Copyright 2023 © DanielaPetrova.com All Rights Reserved