Reviewed by Rod McLary
As he did with his previous novel Playing Nice, JP Delaney confronts the intricacies of the child welfare laws. This time though, through telling the story of Anna, he deconstructs adoption law in England and adopted children’s right of access to their birth parents’ history through what is called a ‘Later Life letter’.
Anna is fifteen and was adopted by Ian and Jenny Mulcahy. Her birth mother Susie is now married to Gabe and both are in the music industry – and relatively successful. They live in a converted farmhouse just outside London and have reached – as Gabe says – ‘a fragile contentment’. Anna is less content with her life – she feels constrained, overly supervised, and hints at something more sinister occurring within her adopted family. Her way out of this situation is to locate her birth mother and to establish a relationship with her.
‘It all starts with a message on social media’ [1] and the family life so carefully constructed by Gabe and Susie is challenged in no small way.
Told anecdotally chapter by chapter by Susie, Gabe and Anna [and the various names she gives herself as the story progresses], the narrative takes the reader through the ramifications of that deceptively simple social media message. However, this is not a happy story about an adopted child reuniting with her birth mother and creating a second family. The author has crafted a psychological thriller which at times is as chilling as it is heart-wrenching. Elements of the story serve as a frightening reminder that the past is no longer a foreign country where they do things differently; what any one of us may have done in our earlier lives can surface at any time with devastating consequences. The novel’s subtext may well be the insidious way in which an allegation made on social media can all too readily become ‘fact’ and lead to consequences which no one can predict or even desire.
Gabe was once a member of a boy-band with the rather unfortunate name of Wandering Hand Trouble – and this hints at the nature of the allegations which now surface about him. These allegations are all too readily accepted by Gerry Castle from Children’s Social Services and the police. Gerry Castle – ‘a tall, thin man in jeans and a suit jacket’ [225] – is somewhat like the spectre at the feast: a reminder of something unpleasant.
To assist the reader to better understand adoption law and the right to information in England – some explanation is offered by Gabe’s friend Marcus; and further exposition regarding the psychological impact of adoption from Gabe and Susie’s counsellor. This temporarily slows the narrative arc but it does assist in a fuller understanding of the legal and psychological context in which the story takes place.
As Anna reveals her intentions through her first-person narrative, the novel gains momentum and both Gabe and Susie begin to lose control of the situation. Allegations about Gabe’s behaviour towards his young female fans when he was in the boy band begin to circulate on social media. Gathering momentum and, at the same time, gathering credibility, these allegations lead to unfortunate consequences for Gabe, his erstwhile fellow band members and ultimately the relationship between Gabe and Susie. The author has skilfully created a situation which even the most innocuous actions on Gabe’s part will be misconstrued to his disadvantage.
There is an unexpected ending to the novel which challenges the reader to reconsider her/his understanding of what has taken place so far. It is foreshadowed in an early conversation between Gabe and his friend Marcus but can be easily underestimated in its significance.
Again, JP Delaney has crafted a clever and tense psychological thriller which relies not on a crime but the cumulative consequences of a simple social media message. Secrets – believed to be securely in the past – are suddenly exposed to all. The reader, as much as Gabe and Susie, is buffeted by the exposure and changing perceptions of their past actions.
My Darling Daughter is a fine read for all readers who enjoy psychological thrillers. It contains twists and turns which are largely unpredictable adding to a tense and thrilling read.
My Darling Daughter
[2022]
by JP Delaney
Quercus
ISBN 978 152942 329 7
$32.99; 368pp