The Ferryman's Daughter

Bloodlines #1

by Yasmin Angoe

The daughter of an infamous murderer gets caught up in a copycat’s sick game in this thriller about legacy, self-determination, and corrosive secrecy from the bestselling author of Not What She Seems.

Forensic science teacher Sanaa Karrem buried her past as deep as she could. When her serial killer father, known as “the Ferryman,” disappeared eighteen years ago, she tried to disappear with him. She changed her name, built a new life. And for a while, it all felt like a distant nightmare.

But when bodies turn up with pennies on their eyes, Sanaa recognizes her father’s signature. The nightmare becomes real again. Soon, Sanaa starts receiving threatening messages and increasingly disturbing “gifts.” The killer is toying with her, and she can’t tell anyone—not even her own fiancé, Detective Marcus Morelli, lead investigator on the case.

As the body count rises, Sanaa leans on her expertise as a former medical examiner to close in on the killer. What she finds is a horrific manifestation of her father’s legacy, hitting shockingly close to home. But what disturbs her most is how much that legacy still lingers within her…

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Serial Killer, Suspense, Crime

407 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2026

About the author

Yasmin Angoe is an action and psychological suspense thriller author, Library of Virginia People’s Choice Award Fiction Finalist, and Anthony-award nominee of the critically acclaimed Her Name is Knight and Not What She Seems. Her Knight series has been featured in The New York Times, Oprah Daily, The Guardian, PopSugar, and Woman’s World book club, and the series is currently optioned for a feature. Yasmin is the recipient of the 2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Emerging Writers of Color and has been nominated for the Anthony Awards and the Library of Virginia’s People’s Choice Award. She is a proud member of organizations such as Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color, International Thriller Writers, and the Women’s National Book Association. Hailing from Northern Virginia, Yasmin Angoe is a first-generation Ghanaian American and a former English teacher and instructional coach,
She received a Kirkus review calling Her Name Is Knight, “A parable of reclaiming personal and tribal identity by seizing power at all costs".

Reviews

[Chris C - A Midlife Wife]

3.5 STARS!
Imagine yourself as this child of a murderer. Then imagine yourself trying to hide that throughout your adult life.

All of a sudden, cracks start to appear, and someone knows your secret. That’s the premise for this story.

I love the concept and the way the author tells her story. It’s unique and an interesting take on a serial killer predator that develops throughout the book.

The story is truly engaging, and the writer develops the characters in interesting detail. However, something is missing. In between the rich, graphic descriptions, the author kind of missed telling us the why.

Why is this main character being targeted? Why are there attacks coming in from multiple places and multiple people? Who are they, and what are they hiding?

I get it for the murderer’s character. But there are other intentional attacks on the main character that are glossed over.

Also, when you look at the relationship between the main character and her fiancé, I think there could’ve been so much more depth built in if they had true communication. Protecting your loved one is one thing, but trust is another. Adding that piece would’ve really helped connect the reader to the main characters.

The Ferrymen’s Daughter plot is a solid suspense thriller. The story is unique, raw, and engaging. Angoe loaded up the internal twists and did not disappoint in that area. You did not want to put it down the further you got into the story. It is an imaginative, twisted story.

The author also did a great job with the surface-level checkmarks needed in this suspense thriller. But the lack of a deeper, even psychological connection between some of the characters and the reader is what would make this a 5-star read. The ending, though- so fitting!

* I voluntarily read an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
* Full review - https://amidlifewife.com/the-ferryman...

[suspenseisthrillingme]

Both psychologically driven and emotionally charged, The Ferryman’s Daughter was yet another dark and gritty one-sitting read from Ms. Yasmin Angoe. You see, on top of giving a raw and unflinching look at a whole host of serious topics, it was also a riveting cat-and-mouse game that had my pulse pounding away. A twisty—and twisted—thriller that delivered dark family secrets and generational trauma, I was blown away by both the layered, puzzle-like mystery and deeply unsettling atmosphere. I mean, how could it not be an utterly gripping read with the creeping sense of dread and the constant feeling of being watched? Together with the protagonist’s forensic background and the procedural feel, it was an original thriller that I couldn’t put down until I finished the deliciously twisty last 100 pages.

I do have to say, though, that in spite of how much I loved the slow-burning suspense in this anxiety-inducing copycat-killer tale, the repetitive middle and questionable decisions made it slightly less impactful. Pulling me out of the story more than once, I felt the 400+ page novel could’ve used a tad bit of editing down. That being said, I still couldn’t get enough of this fresh and memorable take on a serial-killer thriller. The first book in a brand-spanking-new series, I can’t wait to see where things go from here. After all, the setup for book two has me wondering about Sanaa and her father’s legacy. So if you love questions about nature vs nurture and the lasting impact of violence, grab this book now. An addictive, binge-worthy whodunnit , Angoe delivered another edge-of-your-seat read. Rating of 4.25 stars.

Read if you’re a fan of:
- Cat-and-mouse games
- Multiple POVs
- Complex characters
- Serial killer thrillers
- Psychologically driven plots
- Diverse casts
- Generational trauma
- Serious themes
- Slow-burning suspense
- Dark family secrets
- Puzzle-like mysteries

SYNOPSIS:

Forensic science teacher Sanaa Karrem buried her past as deep as she could. When her serial killer father, known as “the Ferryman,” disappeared eighteen years ago, she tried to disappear with him. She changed her name, built a new life. And for a while, it all felt like a distant nightmare.

But when bodies turn up with pennies on their eyes, Sanaa recognizes her father’s signature. The nightmare becomes real again. Soon, Sanaa starts receiving threatening messages and increasingly disturbing “gifts.” The killer is toying with her, and she can’t tell anyone―not even her own fiancé, Detective Marcus Morelli, lead investigator on the case.

As the body count rises, Sanaa leans on her expertise as a former medical examiner to close in on the killer. What she finds is a horrific manifestation of her father’s legacy, hitting shockingly close to home. But what disturbs her most is how much that legacy still lingers within her…

Thank you Yasmin Angoe, Thomas & Mercer, and Over the River PR for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

PUB DATE: October 1, 2026

Content warning: kidnapping, death of a parent, grief, murder, gaslighting, toxic friendship, violence, blood, gun violence, death, abandonment, medical content

[Corinne Soares]

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unpaid review.

I was drawn to this book after watching Patrick Dempsey’s new show Memory of a Killer. I had never heard of the Ferryman before, but after the show — and now this book — I’m well acquainted with the legend. In Greek mythology, the Ferryman transports the dead between life and death, often requiring coins left with the deceased as payment for passage.

The main character, Sanaa, is the Ferryman’s daughter, and now a Mimic has started killing again decades later. Before I get into what I loved (and my loving critiques), I have to say this: I regularly guess twists and endings in books — much to the annoyance of my friends and family. The author did an excellent job of foreshadowing and leaving breadcrumbs without making the twists obvious.

✨ Loves:
• The characters were well developed
• Lots of twists and turns — just when you thought you had it figured out, the story twisted again
• Psychologically, I appreciated the representation of trauma. Some readers may wonder why Sanaa didn’t speak up sooner, but that’s the reality of trauma. It can cause people to freeze, question themselves, and stay silent longer than others expect.

✨ Loving Critiques:
• At times, the pacing felt slow and some characters were difficult to connect with
• Readers sensitive to gruesome content should check trigger warnings beforehand
• A few subplots felt unfinished by the end

Overall, I would recommend this book, and thank you again to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC!

[Amy Marie]

This was AMAZING. I absolutely enjoyed the MC and her story in this book - can't wait to see what the author does with the next book in this series. Finding out about the Ferryman while working on the current day mystery was so interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[SnowDevil]

Read as a September 2026 First Reads pick. I hate to be a dissenter here, particularly as this is a book by a black author with black characters* - and I'd love to be able to elevate such books. But I really didn't enjoy my time with this one.

The premise is fine - it didn't draw me in personally, but I can see why it might be appealing to dedicated readers of the genre. Sanaa, our main character, is the daughter of an infamous serial killer, whose killing spree ended with his disappearance when she was 14 years old. As an adult, she changed her name and has tried to escape any connection with her past. She works as a forensic science teacher in a public high school, though she maintains close ties to the police department homicide unit through her training as an ME, her best friend who is also an ME, and her fiance who is the key detective on this case. When a new string of murders and staged bodies starts happening, the public thinks the infamous "ferryman" killer is back. Sanaa is targeted by the killer and forced to confront the events of her past, and the story attempts to explore the question of the "legacy" that a serial killer might leave to his child.

Unfortunately, the execution falls far short of the premise. The characters feel clumsy, stilted, wooden, or exaggerated. They seem to have unjustified and excessive reactions to things that are said or happen, and in many cases their motivations are flimsy at best. We never do find out the true motivation of one of the early antagonists who eventually ends up a victim (or if their true motivation was actually the one given, it's unsatisfying), and when the killer is finally revealed, the means make sense, but the motives are not really satisfactorily explained (nor, crucially, why they would have waited so long and then suddenly gone on this very public spree). There are not just 1, but 2, creepy and annoying fanatic characters, clearly intended to be red herrings / possible suspects. Neither of their backgrounds are satisfyingly explained in ways that really make their level of interest and intensity in the case, and frankly stalker-like behavior around Sanaa, fully make sense.

As is common with books with this sort of execution flaws, there is a LOT of telling instead of showing. We are treated to a lot of explanation of how Marcus, Sanaa's fiance, is starting to question her love and devotion and their relationship, despite having just been through scenes of arguments and stilted interactions that clearly showed us what was going on. We similarly have a lot of time being told how Sanaa loathes her past, doesn't want to think about it, feels the need to lie in order to hide her past... etc... when all this is clear from the numerous panic attacks and awkward misdirections she provides in conversation. (Frankly, it was hard to sympathize with Sanaa at all, because she constantly makes terrible decisions - constantly lying to people who could help her; wandering into others' property alone despite misgivings; failing to report really creepy and stalker-y behavior she's subjected to.)

As a mystery, this book is not particularly exciting either. I found it fairly obvious who the killer would turn out to be less than halfway through the book, when the strange messages Sanaa is receiving start getting very personal - it rather narrows down the possibilities to 1 pretty easily, even though we don't know WHY this person is doing this. We then have to spend the rest of the book waiting for the characters to catch up with us, hoping that the reveal will also fill in the why in a satisfying way. Unfortunately, it doesn't. The killer goes from a vaguely unlikeable, somewhat cold protagonist to a violent, brutal, almost comically childish vindictive antagonist in the space of a couple pages.

I hate to recommend avoiding this book, but I have to think there are better mystery/thrillers out there with black representation. At least, I hope so.

*Note there was little to nothing in this book that made the characters' races important. The main character mentions some struggles with identity questions toward the beginning, and in the middle one of the two detectives reminds his partner about how they had to work harder to get ahead in their role against all the white boys... but otherwise... race isn't really a factor at all, and the reader can practically imagine anything for the characters.

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle]

Sanaa’s fiancé is the DETECTIVE LEADING THE INVESTIGATION into murders copied from her serial-killer father, and this woman decides the healthiest relationship move is to simply not mention who Dad is. Marcus is literally being paid to uncover secrets, babe. You are sleeping next to a professional secret finder while privately recognizing the murder signature on his active case. This is not information you casually save for after dinner.

Sanaa Karrem has spent eighteen years trying to make herself into somebody who has absolutely nothing to do with the Ferryman. She changed her name. Built a career teaching forensic science. Previously worked as a medical examiner. Got engaged. Created this whole adult life where nobody looks at her and thinks, oh right, your father murdered people. And honestly, I understand why she guards that life like someone is trying to repossess it. Then bodies start turning up with pennies on their eyes, and the past she buried basically kicks through the front door wearing muddy shoes.

Because the pennies are her father’s thing. Sanaa knows it immediately. And instead of the universe giving her five minutes to process that nightmare, somebody starts sending her messages and disturbing little gifts specifically designed to say, “Hi, I know exactly who you are.” Absolutely not. I would be changing my identity AGAIN. Sanaa starts investigating. Of course she does. This woman has forensic training and unresolved childhood trauma, which is apparently the exact combination needed to convince yourself you should personally handle a serial killer targeting you.

Meanwhile Marcus keeps coming home discussing the case while Sanaa sits there holding enough relevant information to qualify as evidence. Every conversation between them had me stressed because she is doing relationship-level acting. “Wow, murders with pennies over their eyes? Weird. Anyway, how was work?” GIRL. Your childhood is currently on the evidence board.

And the frustrating thing is, I understood why she stayed quiet even while wanting to shake her. Sanaa has spent her entire adult life terrified that the second people know whose daughter she is, they will stop seeing her and start seeing him. Marcus knowing means risking the one relationship where she gets to be Sanaa instead of The Ferryman’s Daughter. That fear makes sense. Unfortunately, murder does not care about your emotional timeline.

Her forensic background also gives her just enough confidence to make some spectacularly questionable choices. She understands bodies, evidence, and the way killers think. She catches details other people miss. Which is great professionally and TERRIBLE when somebody is baiting you personally. Sanaa keeps thinking knowledge equals control, and I kept wanting to remind her that knowing exactly how dangerous a situation is does not magically make standing in the middle of it safer.

Then there is the much uglier thing underneath all of this, which is Sanaa wondering whether her father left something inside her besides trauma. She watches herself stay calm around death and thinks about him. She notices darker instincts and thinks about him. Every piece of herself that does not fit her idea of “normal” gets dragged into this private little courtroom where she is both defendant and prosecutor. That hurt. Being related to a monster is already enough. Spending your life wondering whether monstrosity is genetic is its own kind of prison.

The actual killer starts tightening the circle around her, and I became deeply suspicious of basically anyone who knew Sanaa for longer than three minutes. Somebody knows her past. Somebody knows how to push her. Somebody has clearly built an entire murder hobby around unresolved Ferryman business. I had theories, abandoned them, went back to them, and accused at least one person because their general vibe annoyed me. The justice system should be grateful I am not employed there.

There were stretches where Sanaa spent enough time spiraling internally that I wanted the killer to either make a move or send a scheduling link. We know you are creepy. We know you know things. Let’s advance the meeting. Then the final section basically grabs the book by the collar and starts running, and suddenly all the secrets everyone thought they could manage privately begin detonating at once.

What stayed with me was Sanaa realizing that spending eighteen years proving she is not her father still means letting him define her. She changed her name, hid her history, monitored her own instincts, and built her entire sense of safety around distance from him. But “I am not him” cannot be your whole identity forever. At some point you have to decide who YOU are when he is no longer the measuring stick. That landed. Moving on before I start having feelings near the murder pennies.

The Ferryman’s Daughter gets 3.5 stars from me. I wanted the middle to tighten the screws a little more, and I definitely spent several chapters yelling TELL MARCUS at a fictional woman who could not hear me. But Sanaa’s particular combination of intelligence, secrecy, fear, and absolutely terrible self-preservation kept me hooked. And since this is book one in the Bloodlines series, apparently family trauma has sequels now. Fantastic. I’ll be there.

Whodunity Award: For Being Engaged to the Lead Detective on Your Serial-Killer Father’s Copycat Case and Still Thinking “I’ll Tell Him Eventually” Is a Relationship Strategy

Huge thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC of The Ferryman’s Daughter, and for confirming that if my missing serial-killer father’s signature suddenly reappears on fresh corpses, I will not be protecting that secret with dignity. I am telling my fiancé, the police, my neighbors, the Amazon driver, and whichever woman happens to be beside me in Target. Everybody is getting briefed.

[Beau]

*Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for a complimentary arc of The Ferryman’s Daughter. All opinons expressed are my own.*

As a lover of twisty psychological thrillers, especially ones involving a serial killer capable of keeping me on the edge of my seat, the synopsis for the Ferryman’s Daughter caught my attention immediately. And while I worried I might end up disappointed, Angoe absolutely nailed this one.

My favourite aspect, was immediately the way the author drew from greek mythology to create the MO and ‘serial killer identity’ for the Ferryman. The entire premise was deliciously addictive, and the copycat aspect added an ominous layer of suspense from the very beginning. I found myself constantly overthinking my own theories, going back and forth over whether I was looking at a serial killer who had somehow returned from the grave or someone else entirely within this well-written cast of characters.

The multiple POVs worked incredibly well, adding depth and layers to the story while allowing the cat-and-mouse game to build slowly and naturally. Each perspective gave me just enough to keep questioning my theories without giving me the answers I was desperately looking for, and that suspense carried right through to the end.

I did find the ending slightly more rushed than I would have liked, especially considering the buildup we were given throughout the story. Some of the miscommunication between Sanaa and Marcus also felt a little unnecessary to me. But aside from those minor frustrations, I had an absolute blast reading this.

Twisty, ominous, and absolutely addictive, the Ferryman’s Daughter gave me exactly the kind of psychological thriller I came looking for - and now I’m already looking forward to whatever Angoe brings next.

[Michael]

Oy. I go into every reading determined that I will find something positive to say about the book. That never happened with Bloodlines Book I. The Ferryman's Daughter came very close to being the first book I ever listed as Not Finished.

Exhibit A: The characters. The characters seemed taken from a series of television scripts that ended up in the chucker. The two detectives were cardboard, the main character showed not a single sign of any competence in her chosen profession, and one of the early villains may as well have had a mustache to twirl at both ends. The main character seemed thrown into a tizzy any time someone spoke to her about any subject, which leads me to:

Exhibit B: Cliched actions/reactions. I believe each character went through multiple instances of "their stomach dropped," or "their blood froze," or "they could not sleep." I got the distinct impression that no one slept at all throughout the duration of events in this story. I cannot speak for everyone, but if I don't get at least ten hours of sleep, I'm grouchy all day. Perhaps these characters were too busy spouting:

Exhibit C: Inane, cliched dialogue. The text actually included a sentence in which a character "stuck out like a sore thumb." The editor should have caught that one. In many places, the dialogue seemed recycled from rejected teleplays of Dragnet. Finally, mercifully:

Exhibit D: The ending, stolen straight from Dexter, and infused with a sequence of actions borrowed clumsily from The Phantom of the Opera.

I hate being a party pooper, I really do. But the flaws in this book stuck out like a sore thumb almost immediately. I understand that a Bloodlines Book II is in the works. If it's all the same, I'll pass.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

I really enjoy Yasmin Angoe's books and this was no exception. The Ferryman's Daughter is a procedural and a psychological thriller that felt a bit like His & Hers by Alice Feeney (a favorite of mine) in that it featured a couple at odds on a case: the husband in The Ferryman's Daughter was a police officer investigating a series of possibly copycat murders while the wife in was hiding some BIG secrets, namely that the notorious murderer who inspired this new killer was her father, The Ferryman. Well then! I did guess who the killer was but had a lot of fun waiting for Sanaa's big secret to be revealed and finding out if my guess on the killer! I didn't realize that this is the first book in a series. This book did wrap up the mystery, though I guess there is more story about this couple to be told!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[Shannon Hickey]

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Unfortunately this one went into "predictable and slightly flat" thriller for me. I think the idea was strong but it ultimately, I wanted more.

The premise of this one is fairly straightforward. Sanaa is a daughter of the "Ferryman" a serial killer. When a mimic of the Ferryman appears again decades later, and killings start up again, Sanaa has to confront her past.

I think the pacing could have been sharper for this, it dragged then escalated at the very end. I also was able to guess the ending, which wasn't really an issue, but it took away from the suspense. My other issue is when the "reveal" happened I didn't get enough input on why and the motive.. It felt a bit unfinished and unanswered (though not sure if there will be a sequel).

I wish there was more depth to Saana because i liked her, but I felt I didn't get to know her and her trauma enough. Unfortunately I think covered the surface level. Then, similarly, Marcus (Saana's fiancé who has the other dual POV), was likeable, but still felt a little one-dimensional, and unfortunately I didn't feel the chemistry between them.

I did like the scenes in school, and the forensic science spin on this (Saana is a forensic science teach in high school). I also enjoyed the ties to mythology and the story of Charon. I hadn't known about the Greek mythology behind "The Ferryman" so I enjoyed learning about something new in a thriller setting.

Although this wasn't totally for me, I'm sure it will be enjoyable for others.

[Thalia]

I received a copy of this book for free via Amazon First Reads.

I really debated back and forth between 1 and 2 stars for this because I try to reserve 1 star reviews for books I truly just hated. And while I wouldn't say I hated this book, there was just so much that made me feel frustrated and annoyed with the characters and the writing. The writing is practically condescending in how repetitive and hand-holdy it is throughout the entire narration. Whole interactions happened multiple times with multiple characters. It could have been half as long if it had a good line edit to cut through the fluff. I'm not a voracious reader of thrillers and I guessed the "who-dun-it" very, very early on, so it was frustrating to watch everyone dance around something that felt so obvious. Key bits of information were totally left out until just the right moment to make them relevant, leaving me feeling like I could never really know the characters or their motivations. The whole thing felt like a cookie freshly taken from the oven that still needs time to set on the pan and cooling rack before it's served.

Because this novel hasn't released yet, I'll put the remainder of my review in spoilers since I will use some quotes and talk freely about everything in the novel. I will not spoil the overall mystery, though, so read on at your own risk. If you usually read my reviews for content warnings, this book contained no open-door sexual content (there was one fade-to-black scene as I recall, and very, very minor). It had quite a lot of cursing, particularly the F-word. It also gets quite violent at the climax (including a faux-attempted suicide, so if you are squeamish in that regard, you'll want to check more specific warnings.

On to the specifics:

My main complaint with the novel is that the writing was painfully repetitive. On an actual line-by-lane basis as well as scene-by-scene. Near the end of the book, Sanaa goes to meet the killer and brings a large kitchen knife with her. The "bring a knife to a gun fight" comparison is made on three separate occasions - when she picks up the knife in the first place (She was bringing a knife to what likely would be a gunfight), then one chapter later when she shows up to the location (She adjusted her jacket and the knife she'd taken from her kitchen. The thought of bringing a knife to a gunfight mocked her), and then AGAIN when she finally takes it out to use (You weren't supposed to bring a knife to a gunfight, but this was her last play) It was funny/clever the first time. Awkward the second. Annoying the third.

It begs the question of whether anyone actually read the book all the way through as a complete work before hitting the publishing green light. There were so many similar instances of this (same specific words or phrases used multiple times in the same page or two [such as the phrase "wrong, very wrong" used twice is as many pages, or "Don't bother," she said quietly. "I need to be alone." She had to be alone.] or a specific descriptor or metaphor used several times as the example above, etc.) that it felt like a big bucket of buzzwords.

This happened with whole scenes as times as well. The killer leaves a child's bike on Sanaa's porch during one scene, and Sanaa discovers it in the presence of two neighbors - a kid and an older woman, Mrs. Hay. Mrs. Hay and Sanaa have an entire conversation about whether Mrs. Hay saw who dropped the bike off. Mrs. Hay describes that she saw a woman fussing with the bike on the porch, and Sanaa asks for a description. Mrs. Hay gives a very vague description that gives almost no information. That's on page 123 of my electronic copy. Then on page 247, Sanaa seems to forget that we already hashed through all this and tells her friend that she wants to check in with Mrs. Hay and ask some questions, "Because she might have seen who put the bike on my porch. She's always checking the street for the kids when the bus comes. She usually sits by the window knitting, so she might have seen who dropped the bike off." Begging your finest pardon, but we already KNOW that she saw who dropped the bike off. Sanaa was given specific information about WHO dropped the bike off, and that information is NEVER used to determine who might actually be messing with her. Is it because the author genuinely forgot that we were given this information? Because we were supposed to believe Mrs. Hay was just describing someone she saw WITH the bike but not dropping it off? Or because remembering it and doing anything with it would give away the killer even faster? I genuinely can't tell.

The repetition of the conversations in the police department were just as infuriating. We would go around and around several times, sometimes dozens or a hundred plus pages apart, about information we already know. Nobody does anything to advance the suspicion forward. Nobody does anything to find out WHO is actually killing people, they just sit around speculating about the Ferryman ideology and the ideology of the copycat without ever making steps towards an actual suspect. There is exactly one false arrest that is so laughably a red herring because there is literally zero evidence. The repetition of these conversations (with the police, with Sanaa's inner dialogue, with EVERYONE) made me feel like the reader was being treated like an idiot who couldn't be bothered to remember anything that had happened up to that point. (Speaking of being treated like an idiot, don't get me started on the number of times characters did something inexplicably stupid for the sake of the plot. I'm looking specifically at the cleaning maid who just lets Sanaa into a hotel room because she claimed her key wasn't working. Sanaa didn't even HAVE a hotel key, she was using a credit card. And I'm supposed to believe a random maid is going to stake her job on not insisting a guest needs to go to the lobby to have a key replaced??)

That brings me to my last point. There were several moments when key information was deliberately withheld from the reader that could have very well advanced the plot and the characters' suspicions if we had just been given the information earlier. The killer is someone that we have absolutely no idea even KNEW Sanaa when she was still with her father. We're first made to believe that nobody knew about Sanaa's father except her; then it's revealed at a random moment that her aunt and uncle know; then it's revealed literally DURING the climax that the killer was also around during this period of Sanaa's life. We are never given that information, despite how circular Sanaa's thinking is about "who could this possibly be????"

If you went through the book and cut out everything we've already been told once and just replaced it when actually new information or suspicions, this could have gone somewhere really cool and interesting. I chose this book because the premise was the most compelling and creative. I don't go into any book wanting to hate it (well, okay, maybe once in high school lol), so it's frustrating and disappointing to be so excited about a premise only for it to fall so short of where you'd hoped it would. I also realized that I picked another book by this author for First Reads back in January that I hadn't read it, so I'm torn on whether to give it a try still or just not bother and move on... I'm hoping that this really was a rushed publication because the structure is there enough that I believe the author CAN write a good story; this just wasn't it, not for me.

[Yvonne (It's All About Books)]

Finished reading: September 24th 2026

"A memory, a shovel biting earth. Held breath. Peering through the dark wet leaves into hell. Feeling horror. Disbelief. Betrayal. Agony. The memory receded. And then the anger resurged, pumping hot blood. Tomorrow everything would begin anew."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

REVIEW

WARNING: it's yet another unpopular opinion!!

Oh yes, it's that time again! It seems that Fickle Frieda loves turning up unexpected to ruin the day... I honestly wasn't expecting this reaction, because on paper The Ferryman's Daughter should have been a perfect fit for me. I love a dark thriller with a serial killer angle, and the premise of this first book of a new series sounded absolutely fantastic. I fully expected to love my time with this story, so imagine my surprise when the complete opposite happened instead... I confess that I struggled considerably to even make it to that final page.

There is no doubt that the premise itself has SO much potential. The serial killer father, Sanaa being a forensic science teacher with a LOT of secrets, the detective fiancé, the new murders... I'm still surprised that I wasn't able to enjoy The Ferryman's Daughter better, because it sure ticks all the boxes in theory. I think my reaction partly had to do with the writing style itself. There was just something about the writing style that I clashed considerably with; everything was just too drawn out, too much telling instead of showing and the pace was surprisingly slow during much of the book.

I can't say that I was a fan of the characters themselves, who felt mostly one-dimensional or at least very hard to connect to. A lot of the reactions of the different characters in play were just too exaggerated and there was something about the interactions that felt haltered. The possible motives for certain characters were very underwhelming as well, if they were even there... And then I'm not even talking about the many stupid decisions some of the characters keep making. I can't say that I ever warmed up to any of them, which of course made it even harder to convince myself to keep reading.

Between the writing, the slow pace and the characters, The Ferryman's Daughter quickly started to turn into a fail for me. The fact that the identity of the killer was quite obvious long before it was revealed put another damper on things for me... The ending doesn't even give us all the answers (especially relating to the why), and it just was all quite an underwhelming experience for me. I literally had to force myself to sit down and keep reading, which is never a good sign... As you might have already guessed, I won't be continuing this series.

[Rosio]

If you love serial killer thrillers then you need to pick this one up. I did take a guess at who was doing everything but that did not take away from having to keep reading to see if I was right and knowing how and why they were doing it. Great story with lots of twists. And it looks like this is a series so I’m definitely reading more!

[Mike Hazel]

Great concept, weak execution

The idea behind the plot is solid and compelling. The development of the plot is inconsistent, contradictory, and confusing. It’s as though the author kept taking breaks while writing and forgot where she left off when she sat down again.

[Kerri Samson]

Underdeveloped plot and characters. Feels forced to tell you how the characters are rather than developing their story. Also, many awkward sentences and phrases. Lots of duplicate scenes.

[Michael Fronczak]

The idea behind this book is intriguing, but the execution is lacking in a couple of areas.

The biggest issue is that I have a pet peeve about main characters that do something stupid in order to advance the plot. I think it's lazy writing. This book is full of situations like that, including two - two! - where the character in question said "this is the dumbest thing I've ever done"...and then did it anyway.

Another problem is that the main character is extremely unlikeable. I have no reason why her fiancée is with her - she lies, doesn't tell him anything and then gets angry when he asks what's wrong. That happens probably ten times in the first 60% of the book.

[Artemiz]

The idea behind this book is very good, but the execution leaves much to be desired.

Unfortunately, one logical error follows another throughout the story, and the resolution leaves out several important points that would have made the narrative feel complete and cohesive. Yes, I know that in reality a murderer often needs very little reason to take someone's life, but in a novel you need that initial trigger to understand why everything began at that particular moment and in that particular place. At the same time, countless questions arise while reading, yet the author leaves them unanswered, while repeatedly revisiting certain points that do not need to be repeated.

Other authors have explored the theme of serial killers' children as well, such as Rachel Caine in her Stillhouse Lake series and Freida McFadden in The Locked Door. This book has the potential to be a worthy successor to those works, but it still needs more development. In its current form, it feels rather weak.

[Kristin (Always With a Book)]

Thank you Over The River PR, #partner, for the advanced copy of The Ferryman’s Daughter in exchange for my honest review.

Somehow this is my first time reading Yasmin Angoe and I clearly need to change that. Luckily this book is the first in a trilogy and I am all in! This book completely hooked me from the prologue and despite being just about 400 pages, I read it in 2 sittings…I just couldn’t put it down! ⁣
⁣
I love a good serial killer story, but when you add in characters who are medical examiners and coroners and also some law enforcement characters…it’s such a compelling, addictive read. And then being in the mind of the serial killer is always the chef’s kiss! While it does make for some chilling, dark reading — this is what I love most &and boy is this book dark and haunting! The way the serial killer, possibly a copy-cat, plays with our FMC was so unnerving and unsettling but at the same time I loved her tenacity to keep trying to figure things out. She thinks she knows more than everyone else…but does she?⁣
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I cannot wait to see where the next installment takes us…⁣


My reviews can also be found on my blog: Always With A Book

[DesReadit]

This was everything I needed before I knew it was needed. A black serial killers journey. The author’s mind was so imaginative and detailed in her work. I definitely want to look into others. This book took me through so many emotions and I found myself yelling at the at the FMC, Sanaa. Even when I guessed the plot, there were still so many other twists that I didn’t see coming.

This story follows a lore of a serial killer through decades. The Ferryman. While he has his own agenda and disappears for decades, conspiracy theorists, murder fan clubs or even murder mimics tries to pick his brain on what’s next through his Heir (so they believe).
Although, a work of fiction, this read as real! I love a book that makes me want to go down a google hole to find out more 🤣

Anybody could be behind your next killing spree: Your neighbor next door, your coworker or even the Ferryman himself.

** the only thing that I would say I needed more of was the last victims demise and/or closure. They spent a lot of their lives looking for answers. Did the ever get them?

[Anne]

Probably a 2.5.

This one had all the right bones, but missed some connective tissue for me. I think with some more edits, this could level up. There were whole paragraphs of detail that felt dropped in, rather than flowed with the plot, details that didn’t do anything for the plot but I think were intended to develop the characters (lots of telling instead of using the character’s actions/words to do that work), and the biggest bummer was the pinnacle scene where we face off with the serial killer but don’t get as much time or detail there as I was hoping for. I ended up skimming the last 50%, mostly just reading the dialogue (and I didn’t feel like I lost anything because of that), because I wanted to learn the why, but I wish it had more depth. It wrapped pretty quickly. Lots of time building toward it but wanted more psychological and behavioral detail there.

A few inconsistencies in the story as well. Just missed it for me.

[Kimberly]

3.5 stars

This book caught my eye because: serial killer father goes missing years ago. Fast forward to his daughter that is now an adult. She has changed her name and seemingly erased any connections to her father, "The Ferryman." However deaths with similar MOs are popping up everywhere and her investigator fiance is tasked with finding answers.

I was truly intrigued and wanted to solve the mystery (which I did approximately 2/3 of the way into the book - I think it was meant to be this way). I then pivoted to wanting to know the "why."

Overall, it was enjoyable. I did reduce the rating mostly because it seemed to drag. I can usually finish a book in a day and a half...this one took me 5, so definitely a slow burn of a read.

If this premise and a slower pace interest you, I'd definitely recommend you read this one!

eARC courtesy of NetGalley

[Tammy Lunsford - Escape to Books By Tammy]

A buried past is about to come back and haunt Sanaa Karrem. When bodies start piling up with the signature of her serial killer father's kills, she is chilled. Then the gifts and messages start arriving for Sanaa. Someone knows who she is, and this is enough to give you the creeps. This one is best read in the daylight hours.

This serial killer thriller has it all with plenty of twists, a very twisted game of cat and mouse and a whole lot of intrigue built into the story.

I had my suspicions about this killer, but I must say I was still more than a little shocked at the actions and the way the story played out.

I wanted to stop reading it, but I simply could not put it down. The secrets Sanaa had been sitting on for years were bubbling to the surface and I had to know who, why and how she got where she was today.

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[KDRBCK]

The Ferryman's Daughter by Yasmin Angoe is the first book in the Bloodlines Series. The book is published by Thomas & Mercer, is a thriller/ mystery.
I read the blurb and was intrigued by the story.
I started reading and soon I was confused. I couldn't really connect with story and characters. The fmc is the daughter of a wanted man. For 18 years there was no clue of him. But when bodies show up, she recognizes his handiwork. Ummm yes, no joke. So in a race against time and family bonds she's hunting her father.
This book has me torn, the writing is ok, but I just couldn't connect.

[Stacey]

3.5 stars rounded to 4. I was loving this book until very near the end when a chapter began with Sanaa feeling like she had to explore doubts she had about the killer (trying to keep vague so as not to spoil it). The issue I had with that was the fact that she had NOT expressed doubts about this person at all!! It felt like a chapter was missing where she should have been thinking through everything and then started to have questions about this person. That just stopped the momentum for me as my brain was screaming "WHAT QUESTIONS??? WHAT????"

Then there is the fact that she DOESN'T tell "everything". I get that there was a feeling of protecting someone (again, I will be vague), but Sanaa could have told everything - just took on the other's role. I don't think it was fair to leave a very important piece of information out. In fact, by leaving it out, she makes her life, and those of others, distinctly more difficult as the whole book is about secrets don't stay hidden.

[Susan Ingraffea]

It’s basically unheard of for it to take 10 days for me to finish a book. And considering this is about serial killers, how could it possibly move so very slowly??? I figured out who the killer was super early on.

[Catrina Shafer]

Victim or Heir

I’ve read multiple crime/thriller books throughout the years. The dance around the constant victimization of the main character dragged onto the end, never resolving any issues for her. Also, it was very easy to guess the killer when the obvious personality change in a generally stoic friend flips and she becomes this outgoing and helpful character. The storyline was decent but character and story development was lacking for any of them beyond Sanaa who was also incomplete and random at times.

[Bethan Davies]

This book should have been much better, great premise, started well but it was clear who the baddy was and then it got very boring

[Melissa]

Okay I have been trying to get into this book but I just can't. It could be that I'm a mood reader or it could be that it just wasn't my type of book. I'm sure there are readers out there that will love it. I am not the type of person that will bash a book or an author. The plot sounded interesting but I ended up quitting it early.

[Louise]

Rounding up to 3 ⭐


This started well. Setting the scene of serial killers daughter, hiding big truths from everyone around her.But didn't really get beyond that.
It was at times super slow.
I didn't ever feel tension, and when the murderer started talking it all felt a bit as if I'd heard it all before.

Didn't get beyond ok for me unfortunately.

Thanks to netgalley for the free digital copy

[Mona Sami]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of *The Ferryman’s Daughter* before publication. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

*The Ferryman’s Daughter* is a dark and gripping psychological thriller about family legacy, buried secrets and the fear that the worst parts of the people we come from may somehow live on inside us.

Sanaa Karrem has spent eighteen years trying to escape the truth about her father, an infamous serial killer known as the Ferryman. She changed her name, built a completely different life and buried the past as deeply as she could. But when bodies begin appearing with pennies placed over their eyes — her father’s unmistakable signature — everything she has tried to leave behind comes crashing back.

I really liked Sanaa as a main character. Her background in forensic science and her previous work as a medical examiner make her involvement in the investigation feel believable, but what makes her interesting is how personal everything is. She is not simply trying to work out who the killer is; she is also terrified of what her father’s legacy means for her and what will happen if the people she loves discover the truth about her past.

The relationship with her fiancé, Detective Marcus Morelli, adds another layer of tension because he is leading the investigation while Sanaa is hiding information that could potentially help him. I could understand why she was afraid to tell him, but at the same time there were moments where I wanted her to just be honest. That secrecy creates a lot of the suspense, particularly once the killer begins sending her disturbing messages and gifts.

I also really enjoyed the cat-and-mouse aspect of the story. There are plenty of twists and moments where I thought I had worked something out, only for the story to move in another direction. The forensic details added interest without becoming overwhelming, and I liked that the book focused just as much on trauma, identity and family as it did on the murders themselves.

The pacing did slow slightly for me in the middle, and I think some sections could have been tightened. I also would have liked a little more time with the ending because, after such a strong build-up, the final part moved quite quickly. But those were relatively small issues compared with how invested I was in Sanaa and in discovering who was recreating the Ferryman’s crimes.

Overall, *The Ferryman’s Daughter* was dark, tense and very addictive. The serial-killer legacy premise immediately grabbed me, but it was Sanaa’s complicated relationship with her own past that made the story stand out. A strong start to the *Bloodlines* series, and I would definitely read the next one.