My Lost Daughter

Lily Forrester #4

by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg

Following her success with The Cheater, Nancy Taylor Rosenberg returns to her most memorable character, Lily Forrester. Lily is a tough judge in Ventura County, California, who has overcome adversity and heartache to achieve a position of power to help those who can€™t help themselves.  Like the current case before her, the sensational murder trial of a woman who tortured and killed her beautiful two-year old son. Lily is determined to see justice done but she€™s thrown for a loop when she receives word that her own daughter, Shana, months away from graduating from Stanford Law School, is on the verge of dropping out.  Lily rushes north and what she discovers causes her to fear for her daughter€™s mental state.  She must get back to the trial and decides that she will take Shana to a facility where they can evaluate her and if needed give her some counseling or medication.  Which is when things go horribly awry.  For the

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Legal Thriller, Thriller, Audiobook

480 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 30, 2010

About the author

With a BA in English and 5 years as a photographic model behind her, Nancy Taylor Rosenberg studied criminology. She served in the Dallas Police Department, New Mexico State Police, Ventura Police Department and as an Investigative Probation Officer in Court Services for the Country of Ventura where she handled major crimes. She lived in California.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise was good; however, the characters (Lily and her daughter Shanna) are over the top...prone to outlandish behavior, histeronics and very little self-worth (extremely codependent on men, any man for that matter). The FBI segment didn't even mesh with the storyline, just plopped in there to be able to incorporate the characters from her previous book. Very contrived. I also felt that the "suicide club" didn't relate at all to Alex's issues and found it difficult to believe he was the murderer in this seemingly unrelated storyline. Nancy Taylor Rosenberg has always been a favorite author of mine but she needs to retire these characters with this book and move on.

[Lesley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am just going to say that the reviews that are 1 and two stars, what they say are all true!

[Donna Kass]

This book bothered me on many levels- the most glaring being: who would pick a mental hospital from the internet without checking it out first (especially if you're a judge). Speaking of the judge- I cannot imagine this woman actually putting this job in front of the well-being of her child- especially since the head judge despised her.



The mystery as to who the serial killer was was also very thin. It actually did not make sense in the end. I think it was a way of bringing the new FBI characters in.



Book took me too long to read because it kept pissing me off.

[Amy Werling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was an easy read and I felt like I wanted to keep reading it but there was a lot going on. Shana bugged the crap out of me! Poor Lily!!

[Diane T · Rating 2 out of 5]

A series of stupid choices made this novel painful to read!

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

The storylines didn't really come together well (the whole FBI thing was kind of out of left field) and the dialogue wasn't too great. Not a terrible book, it passed the time and the story kept moving well. The ending felt very forced though, overall there was too much going on and the story didn't feel cohesive.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes I wonder why I persist and finish books that I don't love. Hmmm. I had a great deal of trouble with the writing in this one - much of the dialogue seemed forced and unnatural. I think this is the last book by this author that I will try. Too bad.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This entire series for Lily Forrester is nothing but a series of train wrecks. This woman is stupid and has no sense whatsoever. There is very little in these stories to show anything about her careers. Everything is about her personal life and what a mess it is. Her daughter is no better.

I would never recommend this series of books. It was a waste of time to read them. I have others from this author but I may never read them.

[Dani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Would give this zero stars if I could. Too many story lines each one more convoluted and unbelievable than the next. Every character unlikeable, selfish and dumb. So many great books out there - this one a complete waste of time. Recommend avoiding.

[Alicen]

its good so far, kind of weird how noelle wanted to get pregnant with Marks baby because she is obsessed with him, but Mark can not have babies because he is sterile so that is kind of messed up. then she ended up killing her one year old toddler geez.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this author. Books are set in my hometown so it is especially fun to be able to visualize exactly where things are taking place. This story was a page-turner, full of mystery and twists. It is suspenseful and heart-rending. I loved it.

[Deb Noack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this one to be a bit disjointed.

[Connie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars. Nothing much happened in this book.

[luisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

so in den letzten 150 seiten wurde endlich mal spannung aufgebaut aber allgemein war die story etwas langsam & die charaktere nicht wirklich sympathisch

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read as always!!! Nancy Taylor one of my Faves, always a great Story Line!!!!

[Sarah]

DNF. Not my type of book.

[Laurel-Rain · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this exciting, page-turning book, we follow the travails of Lily Forrester and her daughter Shana. We met them in a previous book, "The Cheater," and learned a little bit of their troubles—Lily's unhappy marriage to Shana's father; a night (after the divorce) when Lily and Shana were both raped; and then the murder of Shana's father some time later.

Now they are still dealing with the aftermath all these years later. Lily's career is about the only thing she can be proud of at this point: she is a superior court judge.

Shana is almost ready to graduate from Stanford Law School, which should make Lily happy, but despite how she has jumped through hoops to make up for the past, her relationship with her daughter is strained at best. And she just keeps sending more and more money.

So when Shana calls for her help one day, Lily feels like she might just get the chance to make up for things.

But what happens next is like a bad nightmare in a series of bad ones. Shana's place is a mess, she looks like she's on the edge, and she is obsessed with a boyfriend that dumped her three weeks before.

So when Lily takes Shana to a psychiatric hospital, just hoping for some medications to help her daughter sleep, she has no idea what dark hole she'll be entering.

From the point that Shana is admitted into Whitehall until several weeks later, it is almost as though Shana has fallen down the Rabbit Hole. Meanwhile, Lily resumes her work life (on the advice of the psychiatrists), oblivious to the scene unfolding.

The story takes us back and forth, from the present to the defining moments all those years ago, reminding us of the very horrific events that created this scarred relationship between mother and daughter.

What does Shana discover behind the walls of the "Snake Pit," and how will she begin to save herself? What will Lily do when she finally learns of her daughter's plight? And once Shana is free, will the horror end?

I enjoyed "My Lost Daughter," just as I have enjoyed previous works by this author. However, this particular story seemed a bit convoluted at times, instead of the usual seamless plotting and characterizations. There was a subplot involving an FBI agent that seemed there just as a convenience. Then I kept thinking there should be more to the story of Shana and her father: that unhealthy relationship must have had a few more layers than what we saw. And Lily...I just wanted to shake her sometimes. For such a smart woman to make so many bad choices there had to be a backstory for her, too.

For this one, I chose to award four stars. For Rosenberg fans, they will enjoy a thrill ride; for newbies, perhaps another one of this author's books would be a better place to start.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lily races to save her daughter from a lunatic serial killer

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lily Forrester is a tough judge in Ventura County, California, who has overcome adversity and heartache to achieve a position where she can help those who can’t help themselves. The current case before her is the sensational murder trial of a woman who tortured and killed her beautiful two-year-old son. Lily is determined to see justice done but she’s thrown for a loop when she receives word that her own daughter, Shana, is on the verge of dropping out of law school. Fearing for her daughter’s mental health and pressured by the looming trial, Lily takes Shana to a supposedly prestigious treatment facility.

Which is when things go horribly awry. The institution is far less interested in treating patients than it is in bilking the insurance companies out of extravagant fees…and they are less than scrupulous about patients’ rights. Lily has to use all her intelligence and street smarts to find a way to free Shana. And time isn’t on her side, for there is a sociopath who is using the hospital to stay safe

Good Reads


How appropriate during BBAW I'm in the midst of my first Blog Tour. My blog is devoted to Fiction of all types and genres. I've been reading tons of Paranormal Fiction and with Halloween coming up Horror. So My lost Daughter was a nice palate cleanser for me. My lost daughter is the sequel to The Cheater, featuring Judge Lily Forrester. This book is a stand alone read.

From the opening Prologue this book draws you in, a mysterious stranger is performing a mercy killing on another man. Though the sadistic pleasur this Mystery Man takes in the death outweighs the supposed good he is doing for the victim.

The book then moves into it's main plot points. Lily is in the midst of a major trial when she receives distirbing news about her daughter Shana. Months away from graduation from college Shana is considering dropping out. She is also behaving strangely. This leads to Shana having an extended stay in a psychatric hospital and a source of obsession by a dangerous stalker.

There were a lot of plot threads going on in this book and I wasn't initially sure how they all would be tied together. Rosenberg does a deft job of balancing the plot, shining a light on the abuses in the mental care center, and creating an action packed ending.

This was a quick and interesting read for me and I enjoyed reading a different genre.

Thanks to the folks at Tor/Forge I have two copies of this book to give away!!

[E Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out so well. There was the premise that a serial killer
was taking advantage of people who signed up as members of a suicide clubs. The main character,
Lily, is a judge presiding over the case of a beautiful, young, single mother accused of locking her toddler in the trunk of her car and causing his death. (Right out of the Casey Anthony headlines?). Lily hasn't heard from her daughter, Shana, who is attending law school. She
flies up to see her and finds her to be distraught and somewhat irrational. Lily takes her
to a mental health hospital that she located online. It is a very shady place where they
trick Shana into signing herself into the facility. Then they lie to Lily saying Shana
doesn't want her to call or visit. So now we have the situation of a sane person locked into
an asylum, unable to escape, contact their family, or convince anyone that they don't belong
there. It all promised to be an interesting and exciting read.

What happened??

Mary, an FBI agent, has some theories about the serial killer, suicide club connection and is gung ho to follow up. Then she, and that side of the story is just dropped until the end of
the book.

The case of the mother and the baby in the trunk abruptly ends when the defense lawyer
produces tests that show that the mother is actually retarded. Seems that her father was so
rich that she just paid other people to do all her school work in high school and college and no one ever noticed that she only had an I.Q of 70. Not the police. Not the court.

Meanwhile, Shana is held hostage at the mental hospital run by an evil doctor who's
sole purpose is to extract as much money from the patients insurance as he possibly can.
Shana becomes friends with the other inmates and falls in love with one of them , Alex. Shana's ordeal in the facility and her attempt
to free herself is by far the most interesting and intriguing part
of the story, and then two thirds of the way through the book presto
chango a sympathetic nurse lets her use the phone to call her mother and she's out.

So the rest of the book turns into an anti-climatic and boring
tale of Alex stalking Shana.

Oh, and this is picky, but "stewardess"? Come on. Move into
the 21st century.

[Michelle]

Had I realized that this was a continuation of a story, I probably would have bypassed My Lost Daughter. It would have saved me the time it took for me to speed read through this rather blah story. There is something about a character who has survived being raped, two divorces, murdering the wrong man, the murder of her ex-husband, and the politics to get a seat on the Superior Court of Ventura County that is more than unbelievable; it becomes a bit unbearable as well.

The story itself is extremely repetitive. Told in two parts - Lily's and Shana's experiences - Ms. Rosenberg flashes back to all the evils done to Lily and Shana and then some. Not only that but she then revisits these flashbacks by continually mentioning them. This does nothing but bog down the story while doing nothing to further it. Lily's story consists of nothing more than her memories of the past, worries about Shana, and fretting about her relationship with her fiance.

Shana's story is only slightly better. Her experiences in the mental hospital are truly awful but a bit too awful. While there is no doubt that such places do exist solely to cheat the insurance companies, one gets the impression that Ms. Rosenberg was trying to drive home the point a bit too forcefully. Not to mention the fact that the entire storyline is rather predictable. Even the sloppiest of readers will be able to discern how the book will end well before the ending.

My Lost Daughter remains one book that was better left unread. Lily and Shana are not the most impressive of characters. They are both whiny, self-centered, and just plain stupid about their decisions. The story itself is poor and poorly written with too many repetitive scenes and phrases to provide the much-needed continuity good mysteries need. While the message about our health care system is an important one, the entire story is too heavy-handed to be effective, unfortunately.

[Lieta Sutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

After listening to and enjoying this author's "The Cheater", I searched for other books of hers to listen to. I was only a couple of chapters in before the repetition became annoying. She retold many details of their past the same way she did in "The Cheater"; however you almost have to listen (or read) because she adds just a little bit more. I don't feel the need to read the first two books featuring Lily Forrester because the recaps seem to tell the whole story.

I think both Lily and Shana need counseling. Lily made several mistakes that were uncharacteristic for such a supposedly intelligent judge. One minute we're supposed to believe she's so smart and resourceful. The next, she up and drives her daughter to a mental institution that she knows nothing about just so they can give her something to help her sleep?! Are you kidding me?

Lily seems to be validated by being with a man. She goes from man to man to man. Sadly, Shana could follow in her footsteps - but at the end, Shana seemed to snap out of her codependent tendencies and I hope she will break the cycle.

I can see how the author is trying to tie story lines and characters together, but they're not meshing very well. The way Lily becomes connected with Mary the FBI agent and the killers Mary is chasing in this book and in "The Cheater" just doesn't seem logical.

I will likely still give other books a try. I like her writing style.

[Orchid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second half of My Lost Daughter was by far the best part of the book, after the prologue that is, the web the author had woven up to that point made it quite hard to put down until the very end.
Some of the best written parts of the book were after Lily had her daughter, Shana, committed to Whitehall; and how she was in danger of losing her sanity and her life, but also how she come to both loathe and enjoy her time there, so good.
If I had to pick a favorite character from this book, I would have to go with Mary, even though she was barely in the book I found her to be an interesting character.
My favorite part of the book would have to be the prologue, it was just flat-out thrilling and creepy, but just so well written that I had to read that part, like, twice. .
The biggest complaint I have about My Lost Daughter is that there was entirely too many pages that I had to skip due to questionable content that I was uncomfortable reading about. I was also quite dismayed that there was so much swearing.
Final verdict on My Lost Daughter, good book, but could have been better if it was a little more…well clean. Other than that it was very suspenseful with a satisfying end.

My Lost Daughter earns 3 ½ pineapples. I would have given it a higher score, but there were just too many pages that I had to skip.

[William Bentrim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Lost Daughter by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg

A willful spoiled and deeply scarred daughter must come to grips with both her own self identity and her feelings for her mother. The confines of law school and a mental institution, together with the cast of someone flew over a cuckoo nest provide the setting for Shana Forrester’s explosive experiences.

The dual story line was a bit weak. The primary focus was on Lily and Shana Forester. There was not enough written about FBI agent Mary Steven’s and her part of the story to consider this a dual plot. My take would be to beef up Mary Steven’s role and give a little more credence to the FBI involvement. That said, the tension between Lily and Shana was hard to take. The friction was flat out painful but well demonstrated. Lily’s involvement with Richard Fowler seems like an unnecessary aside. I have mixed feelings about the book, the story line was convoluted enough to be interesting but there seemed to be too many areas that just didn’t seem to fit the overall scheme. I did like the book, in spite of the fact there were a quite a few scenes that were difficult to take. Lily did illustrate an astounding level of mothering behavior and she seems to regain control of her own life. I liked the wrap up in the epilogue as well.

I recommend the book.

[Elaine Cramer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book kind of mysteriously ended up on my player, so I was not aware until just now that I started with the 4th book in a series. That could be a big reason why I am not liking this book. Major happenings in the character's lives just seemed to be thrown in at random, but now I realize the author had written in depth about them in previous books. But still, coming in from the outside as I have, I have to say a lot of things seem illogical. I have certainly been unable to suspend my disbelief for this book.

I'd been listening to it on a trip with my guy, and he wants me to tell him how it all ends up. I'm at the point in the story where the judge has just admitted her daughter into the drug treatment facility. I feel like reading the spoilers so I can tell Johnny how it all turned out without having to finish!

I may stick with it, however, because the narrator is doing a fine job with this material.

so... It turns out, the last disc didn't get onto my player. I really don't know what happened. I'd had some technical issue with it, so it was unused for a prolonged period. I don't feel inspired to track down the book to copy that last disc, so this goes on the DNF shelf.

Really, there were too many incongruities and illogical sequences and unbelievable situations given to characters with no consistency. I will not change my star rating.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily Forrester is preparing for a really high profile case. Lily is a judge. Though, Lily is really busy, she is worried about her daughter, Shana. Shana is not attending her classes and avoiding her calls. Lily rushes to Shana’s aid. Shana is having a mental breakdown. Lily can’t stop what she is doing to watch and care for Shana, so she admits Shana to Whitehall, a psychiatric hospital.

While Lily is occupied with the trial case, Shana is in hell…literally. There is something not right with the doctors and nurses at Whitehall.
My Lost Daughter is the first book I have read by author, Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. I can now report that Nancy is going on my list of authors to read more books from. This book will get your adrenaline pumping. The moments where I found that I was most intrigued was when the storyline would focus on Shana and what was happening to her. The rest of the story was good but just not as interesting. The ending was a surprise to me. I did not see it coming. This is very rare as I read a lot of thrillers and am usually not surprised anymore. I can guarantee you that My Lost Daughter will not be lost as you will find a permanent place on your bookshelves for it!

[Lenore Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reading My Lost Daughter by Nancy Taylor Rosenburg, my fears were put on paper. But of course here we had a kick ass woman to make sure all became right again. You know you don't cross a woman and never by hurting her family.

Lily Forrester is the main character here. She is hard ass judge who tries to help those in need. While trying to focus on her courtroom she is thrown for a loop when her own College Girl, Shana starts having wild erratic behavior. Looking like she is going to drop out of school, finances going askew and her home in disarray, life is not looking like it is going well. Shana pushes her mother away. Thinking of only helping her daughter she puts her in a treatment facility. There life really goes wrong. Now, the worst happens. A sociopath has fixed on Shana and Lily finds her hands tied in trying to get her out. You could only imagine the frustration and fears that circle a mom who is trying to protect yet finding her hands tied at every turn.

I loved reading this one. My mommy instinct was on super charge. Topped with the thrill of intrigue and mystery, this was a massive one night read.

[Sharon Mackay · Rating 3 out of 5]

First review but feel I need to do so. I absolutely love almost everything that Nancy Taylor Rosenberg has written. However, I was disappointed in this book. I did get it on audio - and I'm glad I did, as I had to fast forward often because it was some of the writing (literally, verbatim!) from her last book and I didn't care to rehash what I had already read previously. I was surprised that it what was written in another book would literally be "copied" into what I was expecting to be a new book. That part was disappointing - I could understand if she would have written a little about what had previously happened (sometimes necessary to explain to people who read books out of order) but it was exactly the same words that were written (and read by me!) in the previous book. It was weird and definitely not enjoyed. If all of that would have been left out, I seriously would have given the book a rating of 5 stars!!!! I hope I don't see this happen in future books. Made it look like she just copied pages from her previous book to meet a required page quotient!!

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love great legal thrillers, you'll love the continuing series of Lily and Shana Forrester. Lily's in the middle of the head-lining case, straight from the news, when she's worried about her daughter Shana and the distant gap between them. Things still haven't been the same. Shana's life is falling apart. When Lily visits her, she's worried about the mess she made and the lies Shana told. Convinced she needs help, she sends her to Whitehall, when things aren't what they seemed for her medication. While Lily's on trial, Shana learns the secrets between Whitehall and the obsessive nature on one of her "friends", when drugs make you crazy and strange. Worried for her life, she calls for help, when things gets in tense, once she's out, and more into danger, which only brought Lily and Shana together and closer than before. What a good one!

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lily is a tough, and a bit abrupt when it comes to dealing with her daughter Shana. She does love her and is hard pressed to know how to help her when she beomes concerned enough to fly out to see her after hearing how distressed she is on the phone. Her concerns become magnified after seeing her daughter in person, and she makes a bad mistake in stopping in at a mental health hospital for what she hopes will be some medication to calm her daughter down. Her daughter was undeniably stressed and sleep deprived but did not deserve to be placed in a mental hospital and a very shady hospital at that. Lily thinks her daughter checked herself in, her daughter is told her mother committed her and the story takes off from there. Suspense, but not much of a mystery.