DANIELA PETROVA

A gripping suspense novel about two strangers, one incredible connection, and the steep price of obsession.

She befriended the one woman she was never supposed to meet. Now she’s the key suspect in her disappearance.

Lana Stone has never considered herself a stalker—until the night she impulsively follows a familiar face through the streets of New York’s Upper West Side. Her target? The anonymous woman she’d selected through a donor-egg agency, the one who’s making motherhood possible for her. Hungry to learn more, Lana plans only to watch her from a distance. But when circumstances bring them face-to-face, an unexpected friendship is born.

Katya, a student at Columbia, is the yin to Lana’s yang, an impulsive free spirit who lives life at the edge. And for pragmatic Lana, she’s a breath of fresh air and a welcome distraction from her painful breakup with her baby’s father. Then, just as suddenly as Katya entered Lana’s life, she disappears--and Lana might have been the last person to see her before she went missing. Determined to find out what became of the woman to whom she owes so much, Lana digs into Katya’s past, even as the police grow suspicious of her motives. But she’s unprepared for the secrets she unearths, or their power to change everything she thought she knew about those she loves best…

Best Books of 2019: Debut Fiction — CrimeReads

Best Beach Reads of 2019 — Oprah Magazine and The New York Post

Best Psychological Thrillers of 2019 — BookRiot

Best New Books of the Month — HelloGiggles

Best New Thrillers and Mysteries of the Month — CrimeReads

Best New Books of Summer — Popsugar

"Daniela Petrova's debut novel is absolutely dreamy and suspenseful."

— Oprah Magazine

"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

"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

"[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

"Lana is an engaging and sympathetic protagonist…a suspenseful, contemporary, and twisty thriller.”

— Kirkus Reviews

"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

"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

All the Missing Girls and The Last House Guest

“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

"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

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