"Amy Engel berättar med okuvlig optimism, en sammanbi­ten livsglädje mitt i alla katastro­fer, som gör 'Alltid en dotter' ovanligt fascinerande. Det finns ju en större historia att berätta, om solkig fattigdom och en värld där barn inte alltid går att skydda." Lotta Olsson, DN

"Alltid en dotter är en tuff historia att följa, ingenting hålls tillbaka eller förskönas. Samtidigt är det här så bra skrivet och mitt i all den ödesmättade svärtan (med klara associationer till True detectives) finns naturligtvis en spänning som inte släpper för en sekund. Det här kan vara en av årets bästa - och värsta - läsningar i genren." Gunilla Wedding, Norra Skåne

"Engel masterfully creates a milieu in which women struggle against all odds to provide the best lives possible for their daughters. . . . A stunning conclusion." Booklist, starred review

"From its gripping beginning to its sobering finale, Amy Engel's The Familiar Dark never fails to enthrall with surprising twists." Associated Press

"[A] harrowing thriller. . . . Without sacrificing any of the narrative’s ferocious urgency, Engel gradually discloses a few of Eve’s own guilty secrets — on the way to some gut-wrenching final revelations. This rural noir stakes Engel’s claim to that dystopian terrain somewhere between Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects and Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone." Publishers Weekly, starred review

"In this heart-rending tale of motherhood and murder, Amy Engel takes us into the heart of the Ozarks. . . .The Familiar Dark promises to be a gripping new novel about the lengths to which we go for family." CrimeReads, "The Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2020"

"[An] uncompromising and absorbingly written new novel . . . . Not just a fine thriller but a fine character study, plumbing family and particularly mother-daughter relationships and showing Eve, her mother, and Izzie’s mother, too, as women unbendable as oak." Library Journal

"A dark and beautifully written thriller with a haunting ending that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page. Engel’s ability to conjure the harsh beauty of the Ozarks is spellbinding. An emotional and powerful read." Catherine Steadman

"The Familiar Dark is a blistering rural noir brimming with dark secrets and the harsh realities of survival in a hardscrabble town. As Eve Taggert seeks vengeance for her daughter’s murder and descends into the depths of her own jagged past, we are reminded that a mother’s love is a fearsome thing. A powerful, gripping, heart-stopping read.” Laura McHugh