Somebody Else's Daughter

By: Elizabeth Brundage

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne, Mark Bramhall

A taut, complex psychological thriller from the author of The Doctor's Wife

Like The Doctor's Wife - which The Boston Globe called "a compelling read"-Somebody Else's Daughter is a literary page-turner peopled with fascinating and disturbing characters. In the idyllic Berkshires, at the prestigious Pioneer School, there are dark secrets that threaten to come to light. Willa Golding, a student, has been brought up by her adoptive parents in elegant prosperity, but they have fled a mysterious and shameful past. Her biological father, a failing writer and former drug addict, needs to see the daughter he abandoned, and so he gains a teaching position at the school. A feminist sculptor initiates a reckless affair, the Pioneer students live in a world to which adults turn a blind eye, and the headmaster's wife is busy keeping her husband's current indiscretions well hidden. Building to a breathtaking collision between two fathers-biological and adoptive, past and present- Somebody Else's Daughter is both a suspenseful thriller and a probing study of richly conflicted characters in emotional turmoil.©2008 Elizabeth Brundage; (P)2008 Penguin

Critic reviews

“A deft balancing act of taut plot and richly drawn characters... I didn’t so much read this novel as devour it. Brundage is a storyteller supreme.”—New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb

“Gripping… [Brundage] captures the nuances of class and generational perspectives, from brothels, pit bull fights and a Pittsfield battered women’s shelter, to the horse barns and cocktail parties of Stockbridge.”—The Washington Post

"[A] well-turned thriller... Brundage writes with startling clarity."—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A terrific, fast-paced summer read. Brundage avoids stereotyping her eclectic characters, from an abused wife and creepy headmaster to a novice writer/teacher and an ex-porn star.”—Library Journal

“What happens when you know the clues but no the whole story? Every detail is imbued with meaning and complex motivation… A taut tale of suspense rounded out with sharp observations on parenting, adoption and the fraught business of keeping up appearances.”—New York Observer

“The language is tantalizing and tortured, brash and brilliant… you can’t stop reading because you want to know what comes next; you can’t stop reading because the words are so beautiful… The novel is set in the Berkshires, and Brundage captures the subtleties of the region in a way few writers have managed.”—The Berkshire Eagle

“A brilliant novelist with an unfailing eye for the detail or word that will make a moment resonate and expand in the mind… I couldn’t put it down. You won’t be able to either.”—Richard Bausch, author of Something is Out There

I live in the town the story takes place in!!

Loved listening to this book. Knowing the area well was a big plus but not essential.
Loved the character development. Since you knew the characters intimately it was thrilling to figure out this thriller!!

Crass Language

This book was loaded with crass/vulgar language that I found it to be distracting. If you can get past that, the actual story was somewhat good. I enjoyed the characters and I really enjoyed the last quarter of the book when it turned into more of a thriller.

GREAT!

A great listen and Bernadette Dunne, as usual, is an excellent narrator.

I didn't give it 5 stars due to intermittent audio quality problems.

Worth the $$$!

too graphic, not what I expected

Story hard to follow, gratuitous sex throughout, everyone making stupid decisions. Not really about adoption.