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Daddy Love is another gripping, absorbing and terrifying read from a master storyteller.
I have read so many books by Joyce Carol Oates and each one is unique and original. The focus of Daddy Love is every parents nightmare, a mother walking back to her car holding the hand of her 5year old son when suddenly out of nowhere she is attacked and her child is abducted & driven away leaving her "a broken thing" lying injured on the ground.
What ensues is a truly terrifying insight into the evil and devious mind of a pervert as he manipulates, terrifies and abuses the little boy doling out rewards and punishments arbitrarly ... this is heartbreaking stuff as page by page the personality of the chatty, precocious and exuberant five year old is slowly broken until he is afraid to speak, afraid not to speak, desperate to try and anticipate the changing moods and whims of his captor, desperate to please. This is creepy in the extreme and Oates keeps it up relentlessly right to the last page.
If not for the demands of earning a living I could easily have read this book in one sitting & I highly recommend it but with the proviso that it is probably not the best book to read if you are the parent of a young child. 5/5*

Thank you for the great review.

I didn't read any of her of her books, but may try her. Since I have got my kids, I can't read books about child abuse and the like. This book sounds too close for comfort, so I will pass for now. What other books of her do you recommend?

@gali
I would highly recommend We Were the Mulvaneys, The Gravedigger's Daughter, Carthage & if you like short stories The Female of the Species
or The Corn Maiden & Other Nightmares .... as you can see I'm a bit of a fan of Ms Oates

Fran wrote:@gali
I would highly recommend We Were the Mulvaneys, The Gravedigger's Daughter, Carthage & if you like short stories The Female of the Species
or The Corn Maiden & Other Nightmares .... as you can see I'm a bit of a fan of Ms Oates

Thank you. I will look for those books.