Claudia's Shadow
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Daddy's Girl

Island Nation Press

Katharine Marlowe

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From the Sunday Daily News, Halifax, Nova Scotia April 28, 1996

The Toronto-born author has written more than 30 works of fiction but is perhaps best known for her non-fiction work called Daddy's Girl. In this book, readers are presented with a mystery, a drama and a romance novel all in one.

Rowena Graham's younger sister dies, seemingly as a suicide. Claudia had everything to live for: she was young, healthy, beautiful and had a thriving business. After many years of estrangement from her sister, Rowena feels compelled to unravel the mystery of her sister's life and death. On the surface, Claudia was a normal-if not terribly likable-person. She seemed to have no sense of compassion, remorse or even the simplest grasp of the concept of cause and effect.

While undertaking an investigation of her sister's character, Rowena is forced to face some hard truths about herself. And when she does, finally, get to the heart of Claudia's strange personality, it turns out to have a seemingly mundane core. But Allen presents her story so skillfully that we are caught up, completely, in Rowena's quest, and genuinely affected by her discoveries.


Philadelphia Inquirer, June 30, 1992

A very lovely and somewhat reserved librarian named Rowena hears the heart-rending news that her very beautiful but somewhat mean-spirited sister is found dead of apparent suicide. The more Rowena discovers about her sister, the more she is convinced that the handsome doctor her sister may have been seeing might be the murderer of the vamp Claudia. Interesting twists, uncovered secrets. Thrilling, fast-paced. ***