The Madman's Daughter (The Madman's Daughter #1)
by Megan Shepherd
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: January 29, 2013
Source: Bought from FullyBooked
Author's website | GoodReads

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect.

Haunting, suspenseful, and full of mystery, The Madman’s Daughter follows Juliet Moreau as she ventures into a journey to a remote island in order to find and discover the truth about her father—years after rumours about her father’s experiments ruined their life. Together with his father’s assistant and a secretive castaway, Juliet uncovers the truth about the island, the experimentations, and her own past. But when she finds out the truth about everything, Juliet starts to question herself why she came in the first place.

I almost decided to put this book off for a while. The pacing in the beginning was slow for me, and I was patiently waiting for the “spine-tingling thrills”. BUT, thank the book gods I turned one more page! I couldn’t stop reading afterwards. Full of twists & horrifying scenes, it kept me reading until very early in the morning (4 am?), under the blanket, shuddering in suspense. Add to it the descriptive but not-tedious writing style that eases you easily in the setting and lets you experience the story in 4D. I haven’t read The Island of Doctor Moreau, but I bet Madman’s Daughter was a great retelling! 

Juliet is one of the most inquisitive protagonists I’ve read about, stubborn (in a good way), and altruistic. She clearly was not irritating in any way. I liked the complexity of the other characters in the story as well. Kudos to you, Mrs. Shepherd! 

The love triangle was clearly there, but not overpowering. The foundation of the love triangle was firm so you could empathize with those involved. It talked about the boundaries of love and what it truly means to genuinely love a person. I also thought it was predictable at first but it sure wasn’t!

The themes of the book gave its appeal to me a boost! The topics on humanity—what it takes to be human and what it takes to be not, human dignity, human morality, and family bonds were disconcerting yet true. It really gives you another perspective of things. 

In her debut novel, Megan Shepherd managed to (1) take me by surprise and (2) seem like a veteran writer.

THE NUB AND GIST: 4 STARS

Buy the book from: Amazon US / The Book Depository UK / Kindle