THAT OH-CRAP MOMENT…

When they realize someone let a MOM in.

—”The Doctor, The Widow, And The Wardrobe”, Dr. Who S7E0

We’ve all heard the stories about them—mothers who are willing to fight, kill, or die for their child.

• Real life moms who take on wild predators like this Canadian mother who—armed only with a cleaning rag—fought off the cougar mauling her child. Or mothers who lift a car to save a child like these moms. Or mothers who fight off kidnappers, or even kill in defense of their child like this 18-year-old Oklahoma mother guarding her newborn son from intruders, just a week after her husband’s death from cancer.
• Historical moms such as fifteenth century queen Margaret of Anjou, a French princess who led an army in the Wars of the Roses, holding a kingdom for her teenaged son. Or warrior mothers like Boudica, the first century British queen of the Iceni Celts, who—when she and her daughters were raped by Romans and their kingdom stolen—led a revolt that ultimately failed, but not before 80,000 of the Roman forces were killed.
• Literary Moms such as Penelope, wife of Odysseus, who kept a hundred suitors at bay and preserved her husband’s kingdom.
• Movie moms like Almost Famous SuperMom Frances McDormand’s  epic telephone tongue lashing.

• Or Magic Soccer Mom Molly Weasley from Harry Potter who slays the Big Bad’s evil sidekick in defense of her daughter.

• I’d even like to say a word in defense of much-maligned Mrs. Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. As foolish as her husband and daughters saw her behavior, she was the only one who fully grasped the desperation of her daughters’ futures if the marriages she sought for them didn’t occur.

The superhuman strength of the bond between mother and child is a theme that runs through Linda Huber’s psychological thrillers, and especially in her new release, Daria’s Daughter.

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Daria’s Daughter by Linda Huber

If you like Diane Chamberlain you are going to love Linda Huber’s latest gripping psychological thriller

’I have read books by Linda Huber before, but this has taken her into another league! Just get ready to have the stuffing knocked out of you on every page.’ Susan Hampson, Books From Dusk Till Dawn

A mother and daughter torn apart

An explosive accident on the way to Glasgow airport leaves Daria hurt, bereaved and confused. Her daughter has vanished without a trace and nobody is telling her what happened. Evie’s gone. That’s all. Gone. What does Daria have left to live for?

A mother and daughter reunited

Margie can’t believe it. Bridie is hurt. Bridie needs her. They manage to escape the smoke, the noise and the confusion. They are together, that’s all that matters. Everything will be better in the morning, Margie tells Bridie. And it will.

The bonds that never break

Will Daria ever be able to put the pieces of her tattered life back together after the loss of her daughter? Is it possible that things aren’t quite as they seem? Can the unimaginable turn out to be the truth?

Linda Huber’s brilliant novel is a compelling and moving tale of motherly love, loss and redemption which you won’t be able to put down.

 

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My Review: 5 stars out of 5

What if the enemy threatening your child is the overwhelming love of another mother? In her latest psychological thriller, Linda Huber continues her exploration of the themes of mothers and daughters, and of the bonds that tie them together.

Daria’s Daughter tells the story of three mothers and daughters in Glasgow, Scotland. First is Daria and her four-year-old daughter Evie, off to a much-anticipated holiday in Spain, where they’re due to be joined by Noah—a husband and father who is both physically and emotionally distant. When traffic forces their taxi to an alternate route, the bad weather and driving conditions result in a collision with a petrol truck. A badly injured Daria is thrown from the vehicles before they’re consumed in explosion and fire.

Daria’s arms opened in search of her girl, but she was pitched across the car, twisting in the air as metal screeched and tore around her and—

Margie, alone and elderly, is losing ground in her attempts to remain independent, while still caring for herself and her beloved cats. At the sight of a horrific wreck, she falls and injures her head. Dizzy and confused, she struggles to make sense of the horribly familiar scene in front of her, and to save the life of the child trapped in the wreckage.

Her head, oh, her head. The world was swaying around her. She pushed herself up to her knees, rubbing her eyes and fighting to regain clarity. Where was this? A speeding car… the screech of brakes… her own voice shrieking, ‘Bridie, Bridie, where are you?’

Young single mom Liane has already faced the nightmare of losing her child in the dozens of times she rushed her fragile daughter Frith for emergency treatment. Caring for Frith has meant a life of poverty, constant fear, and quiet desperation. Now she gives thanks for the pathbreaking treatment and care that has resulted in Frith’s recovery.

Would she ever get used to having a well child? It was the best feeling ever.

But there’s more than love for a daughter that ties the three women together. Each, in her own way, has been left by the child’s father. Daria’s husband blames his injured wife for their daughter’s death as their marriage and relationship collapses. Margie misses her long dead husband, her absent children, and their poor but happy life as young parents back in Ireland. And Liane resents her daughter’s father, Tony, a narcissistic man-child who couldn’t handle a sick baby or any form of responsibility.

Her car had been the first thing she’d given up when Frith was born and it became clear she wasn’t going to be able to return to work any time soon. The second thing had been the West End flat. The third thing had been Tony.

Each of these women must, for love of their daughters, become SuperMom. As Daria struggles to accept the unacceptable, a life without her daughter Evie, she reconnects with her old school friend Liane, and begins to care for Liane’s daughter Frith. Liane quits the dubious security of her job in a posh dress shop because it interferes with her ability to care for Frith, an act of courage and defiance that leads to a job, a new relationship, and a wonderful new place to live. In her new home, Frith makes a new friend, Bridie, and they make their own play world of gardens and cats.

Despite her own injuries and devastating loss, Daria struggles to rebuild her life. Margie’s health is failing, but she’s determined to take care of her precious Bridie. And Liane vows to change her life for Frith’s sake. All they each have to do is become Superwoman.

Bummer. No hot water was a regular occurrence, but no water at all was a new low. Liane made do with a lick and a promise at the basin, vowing to find a new flat as well as a new job as soon as was humanly possible. She could do Superwoman at the same time as Supermum, couldn’t she?

For me, the setting of this book among the Glasgow streets I know was particularly compelling. It can be a magic city, full of serene parks, ancient buildings crowded along narrow lanes, and surprisingly modern or even quirky touches. It can also be threatening. I’ve made that scary taxi run to the airport, where suddenly appalling weather turns a 15-minute drive into an hours-long slog. Linda knows her Glasgow, and its ability to turn from gray stones to shining towers.

With the narrator’s point of view alternating between the three mothers, the book could have been confusing. But each mother has such a distinctive voice and different view of their child that I was never in doubt about who was speaking. My only disappointment was at how thin the character of Daria’s husband was. I can’t decide if that was deliberate, a way to show how her all-absorbing relationship with her daughter had diminished him, or if his presence was really the afterthought it seemed. Either way, it was realistic to show how such a devastating blow could destroy their marriage, although I felt the resolution of that was a bit too pat.

Daria’s Daughter is a different kind of thriller. The enemy each of the three mothers faces is the loss of an adored daughter, and it was thrilling to watch each mother bring her own superhero strength to the battle.

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Want to find out if you’re a SuperMom? Take the Supermother Quiz in Life Begins When The Kids Leave Home And The Dog Dies.