Thank you Netgalley for an early read of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I struggled to get into this book at the beginning as I tried to figure out how the story fits in with the title of the book and also how the three women's stories bind together. There was a LOT of build-up that annoyed me at first but from finishing the book, I realised that it was necessary for the story to be able to conclude the way it did.
However the more I read, the more of a page-turner it turned out to be as I was anxious to read more and know what was gonna happen next.
I wouldn't say that this book was jaw-dropping as the twist was yes unpredictable but not completely shocking - as I had already guessed half of the twist. Not a fantastic read but certainly a book worth reading.

Call me naive, but I was taken by surprise at the ending of this book. All the while wondering were these three storylines would cross...

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

When I first started reading the novel I saw no links between the three ladies but as the story developed there are a few clues leading up to the shocking big reveal at the end. The underlying theme of secret-keeping kept my attention throughout through fear of exposure.

Personally, I enjoyed a triple narrative as it left me desperate to read the next few paragraphs to follow each story. By using realistic characters with stories that many people will have experienced in the past, it creates a relatable novel, which makes you enjoy watching them develop, allowing you to sympathise with their aspirations and desires.

The reason I give the book 4 stars is that although it was gripping there were points where the story didn’t seem to have much meaning, creating a slow pace. However, though some links appeared obvious to me, the entire collaboration at the end was unexpected and explained many of the aspects which didn’t at first make sense.

I really enjoyed the book and would recommend the read to anyone, but it particularly highlights life as a mother and student and the non-typical challenges you may face.

As a student myself, I was drawn to Alison’s story but each chapter provided some turning point, which allowed more connections to be made.

I think this is a great book, but I would recommend reading it in a short period of time, as the narrative can be difficult to follow if you are easily forgetful!

Lucy

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

*thank you to NetGalley and Aria for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

5 stars!!!!
Ohh. My. God!!
I dont think I have ever felt such a powerful emotion from the absolute bombshell of shock that the twist in this book has given me. I am so thankful I was laying down while reading because it was such an intense feeling that I literally felt dizzy. Wow. Pure wow! Im still rather speechless.

I had high hopes for this. After seeing other reviews and taking a look at that cover, I just knew it would be good. It turned out to be so much more. The story is told by 3 different narrators. Its easy to follow and not at all confusing. Except for the fact that each narrator is set in a different year so I would have preferred to have known what year from the beginning, each was set in. But actually looking back now....I dont think that any more. The years should have been left off until further into it. Trust me, it makes sense by the end, with that im trying to say. Wow, sorry im still so 'OMG' about this book. It was just so so so enjoyable and I actually felt physical pain when I had to stop reading, and counted down the time to when I could get back to picking this up again.

If you are considering reading this. Stop. JUST READ IT....NOW! Its worth it, so worth it!

There are three stories here -- a middle aged woman writing to a prison inmate, a college student in a relationship with one of her instructors, and an unhappy housewife taking a writing class. Each woman is living in a different decade and there seems to be no connection between them...except there obviously has to be something tying them all together or they wouldn't all be sharing the same book. Kate, Catherine, and Alison have distinct personalities and I didn't need the chapter headings to keep track of who was who. I was surprised by the twist, but in hindsight I probably should have seen it coming.

What a great read , I loved this and was reading well into the night ! The story is told from three different women , Catherine who seemingly bored starts writing to a prisoner shortly coming up for parole , she hides this from her family and you do wonder why at first , then we have Kate struggling with 2 young daughters and a husband who works too much and has seemed to loose all interest in his young wife , which leads her to look for fulfilment elsewhere ! And then Alison who is studying law at university and is struggling to keep up and fit in , she starts a secret relationship with one of her lecturers and her life spirals out of control . How the weave brought all these stories together was brilliant , I found myself wondering if or how the stories were connected . I didn't get it all only a part but I thoroughly enjoyed it . Fantastic thank you for the opportunity to read this .

The cover of this book wouldn’t necessarily draw me in, but as I started to read the blurb I was immediately interested. My mind began swimming with questions. Who were these women? How were they connected? When I was approved an early copy of the book in return for a review I was delighted and started reading straight away. It was one of those books I found difficult to put down and I stayed up until gone midnight on the last night to finish it off!

The first three chapters introduce you to three women, Catherine, Alison and Kate in turn. There is no suggestion they are connected and you don’t know how they are, if indeed that is the case. The sheer fact they are all featured in the story makes you start to draw your own conclusions, which I found rapidly changing throughout the entire book. The plot deepens and thickens and really kept me guessing until the end. The light bulb moment at the end of the story was totally worth it!

I found myself really drawn to the character of Kate but I liked all three women. Kate is a mum to two young children. She is slightly disillusioned with life after ‘losing’ herself since getting married and becoming a mother. These feelings are very commonplace and fresh in my mind. She embarks on a writing course, leading her into a potentially dangerous relationship with her tutor. I also could identify with the feelings Alison had towards her university professor. As a young girl, being blinded to the ‘real world’ and falling under the spell of your first love is a feeling I remember well. Especially when the person is a handsome, older, worldly wise and successful man. I least identified with Catherine although the arguments she has with herself about forgiveness are interesting and thought provoking.

As I have already said, this is a real ‘can’t put downer’ in my opinion. I found it really easy and enjoyable to read and could not wait to see what was going to happen to each of the women. The ending does not disappoint after all the gripping build up, the twists and turns as I tried to guess what was going to happen. Highly recommended by me, especially for fans of psychological thrillers, you will not be disappointed!

This is a great phsycological thriller! The story starts by introducing you to three different women. Catherine is a home maker and does charity work, Kate is a mother of two little girls, and Allison is a college student. As I began to read I couldn't figure out how these three womens lives could possibly intersect. There are so many twists and turns that I would never have guessed the ending. I amm definitely giving this book a five star rating as it so aptly deserves. If you like this genre you really won't want to miss this one.

Fabulous book i really loved it. The story line was interesting and kept me engaged all the way through the book. It was dark in places and full of twists and turns i didnt see coming. Throughly enjoyed it, a solid 5 stars.

This book was amazing!

I don't want to give away the ending so I won't say too much about the plot.

I liked the characters. I was drawn right into Kate's, Alison's, and Catherine's stories. Each of them had a distinct point of view so I could always tell them apart. I was a little confused at first by the time periods. Each of their stories are happening decades apart, but it took a while to figure that out.

I was going to finish this book before bed, but I'm glad I didn't because I would have been up all night if I did. I had just figured out the ending but reading that I was right was very exciting.

This is a very cleverly woven story. It doesn't appear to be a thriller for most of the story, but the ending definitely gives it thriller status. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for an exciting story!

This kept me from literally doing anything else in my life until the end. I don't want to give anything away because this was just that good. The ending though? SO WORTH IT.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

This is the story of three women, Catherine, Alison and Kate. The chapters alternate between the three women in three different timespans.

Catherine is a devoted mother, tireless volunteer and an ordinary middle class wife. One of her voluntary jobs involving corresponding with prisoners. She begins to communicate with Michael, a prisoner due to apply for parole after he committed a murder.

Kate is a young mother stuck in the drudgery of living on the breadline with two small girls and a husband who works long hours and is increasingly distant. She begins a creative writing course and soon finds some excitement outside of her boring life.

Alison is a university student studying law. She struggles with her course load but soon finds help from one of the professors.

How these three women's live are entangled and intertwined is revealed with a dramatic climax. I had actually worked out the involvement but still enjoyed this story. Karen Osman weaves a clever tale and is a talented writer.

I received a free digital copy of this book from Netgalley and Aria for an honest review. This was a great suspense story by a debut author. The book is written from the point of view from three main female characters each telling their story during different time periods. Each character is well written. The book is paced well and the suspense builds up throughout the book. Catherine is the oldest of the three women. She has begun corresponding with a convicted killer as he nears his release from prison. She is involved in a program where the goal is to help prisoners integrate back into society easier upon their release. Kate is a young mother of two small children in a disconnected marriage. We see her as she goes through life and recovers from feeling overwhelmed and depressed to a confident and happy wife and mother. Alison is the youngest of the women and is a college student. She finds out in her first year that college isn't what she imagined it would be. She also enters into a romantic relationship with her much older professor. None of the woman are connected to each other in the majority of the book. I thought this was a great book and it kept me engaged in the story throughout. Looking forward to more from this author.

Had I not been advised by the blurb that the three women in this novel have a connection, I might have set it aside about 1/4 of the way through. I am so glad I stuck with The Good Mother. In the beginning of the book, the three women are well defined, interesting characters. The challenge of discovering how their stories will be woven together was a great incentive to continue the story. I really appreciated that every time I though I had figured everything out, Karen Osman would take me in a very different direction. If you are a fan of well written psychological suspense, The Good Mother will keep you guessing til the end.
I would definitely read more from Karen Osman.

Loved this book! Start to finish it had me!!!
Absolutely incredible!!!!

Really enjoyed this book. Just perfect for a lazy, rainy day off. I barely moved all day. Told from three perspectives you kind of gather how they'll connect. Then you find out you were right, but oh so wrong. Well played. I'll definitely be looking for others books by this author.

Keeping secrets from her husband is not usually something Catherine would do but when she begins writing to Michael, a convicted killer, she knows her family would not approve. In another part of the country, Kate is trying to bring up two children with an out of work husband and a severe lack of money. When she meets someone who begins to recognize her talents, she knows she is playing with fire. Lastly we have Alison, a university student who has managed to gain a place on her dream course. University life is not what she hoped for, however, and she finds herself lonely and unhappy. That is until one of her professors takes an interest in her. All of these women have secrets which threaten to come to the surface once Michael is released from prison…

First of all, I would like to say how much I loved this book! Told from the perspective of three women, it took a few chapters before I fully engaged with the characters but once I’d got a handle on who was who, I couldn’t wait to find out how each of their stories progressed. Often in books written in this style, I find myself wanting to read about one of the characters more than the others, but The Good Mother had me hooked on all three story lines.

One of the underlying themes running throughout the book is the impact keeping a secret has, whether it be Catherine’s reluctance to tell her husband about her prison pen-pal, Kate’s growing friendship with her tutor or, more seriously, the toxic relationship Alison has with her professor. Although I could see why Catherine and Kate kept their secrets, I was willing Alison to speak out about what was happening to her and had a sense of foreboding throughout the chapters dedicated to her story. It was Alison who had the most impact on me whilst I was reading and I was desperate for her to have a happy ending.

Throughout the book, it is obvious that the women’s lives were going to collide at some point and, although I was right about some of the connections, there was one part of the story that I did not see coming at all. It is great when you read a book and you get that ‘Eureka’ moment when all of the pieces slot into place. The Good Mother certainly had one of these moments and provided the story with a satisfying, if heartbreaking, conclusion.

It is hard to say too much without giving away the plot, so my advice is to grab a copy of this well-written, emotive book and read it yourself!

Three women, three different view points, three different sides to the story. How far would YOU go to protect your children? As parents, do we really need to give an answer to the question? Is it blatantly obvious or would some of us not know until the situation ever arose? Catherine is an extremely organised person. Her home is run to perfection with every day knowing exactly what she is doing and when. But, Catherine is hiding a secret from her husband...need I say more? The second woman in the story is Kate. A young mum with two young children and a husband who is wouldn't know how to be selfless if it came up and bit him on the toosh. Finding herself stuck in a rut, Kate vows to make slight adjustments to her life...whilst also keeping her husband in the dark. Once again, need I say more? Lastly is Alison, a university goer who has their whole future ahead of them. Independence. Exciting new prospects. A professor who isn't sticking to the curriculum.....
I have to say, I struggled with this book at the beginning because I found myself getting confused due to the lack of information surrounding each viewpoint. The time span wasn't always clear which meant I had slight difficulty in keeping up with the storyline as it wasn't clearly set out. Now, all three woman bring something completely different to the story. Not only are they at different points in their lives, their characters and personalities stand out in their own individual ways. Did I find myself warming to any of the three main characters in particular? Not really, but that's not to say that I didn't like them. Granted I didn't like some of their choices, but who does like everything someone else does? I had absolutely no idea where the storyline was heading, at all. The further into the book I read, the more comfortable I became with each viewpoint, yet I still couldn't full guess what would become of 'The Good Mother'.

As a parent myself, I related to the lioness elements with the constant worrying about making sure your child/ren are okay. My daughter is four yet she acts like a fourteen year old and already I worry about her. We wouldn't be parents if we didn't worry! 

Without giving too much away, 'The Good Mother' contains some rather uncomfortable themes, eye-opening situations, as well as various antics which are most likely to make your skin crawl, whilst also becoming incredibly angry. Trust me, I became angry whilst reading certain parts. I felt sick to my stomach as well, I'm not going to lie, yet I just could not stop reading. Who on Earth was this monster?

The pace of this book overall was quite slow. There seemed to be a lot of background work and scene setting, before the nitty-gritty parts took over. At first I didn't really appreciate that about the story, yet when 'The Good Mother' reached its conclusion, I appreciated the pace a whole lot better. Well, I did once I put my jaw back after it reaching the floor. Oh my god, seriously, what an ending! No I didn't see it coming at all, but by golly was it worth the wait! Hats off to the author for such a nail-biting final part to the book. Brilliant craftsmanship.

Overall, 'The Good Mother' kept me intrigued and wanting more, whilst also igniting multiple emotions deep within, all at the same time. The storyline did keep me interested, but I did often find the pace to be a bit too slow burning. However, whilst each of the women had a lot of drama coming to light in their viewpoints (some more grittier than others), I did appreciate why the slow burning pace had to be like that.

Intense, suspenseful, and heart-breaking; 'The Good Mother' is a read that is guaranteed to keep you guessing until the very last moment, whilst also being unable to forget the storyline for a while upon completion. With the best conclusion I have read in a very long time, 'The Good Mother' may have a slow pace but it is certainly worth the wait when you come to that ending. A suspenseful showstopper in the ending alone. Definitely a well crafted part of the novel.

Thanks Aria.

I couldn't rate this any less than 5 stars as it held my attention all the way through and was well written. I also can't believe that this is Karen Osmans debut thriller!!
The story is split into chapters told from one characters point of view, there are three main characters and when you start to read this I think like me you will question how these three women link together but they do and at the end when I was pages from the big reveal I still had no clue.
The three main characters are:
Catherine.... She is mum to Helen who is looking for a job after qualifying to be a teacher. Married to Richard who works hard while she keeps herself busy by cleaning, cooking and helping out wherever she can in the School or village, until she decides to write to a prisoner who is up for parole soon, this is to get the prisoner used to conversing with people on the outside. Although for some reason Catherine decides not to tell hr husband she is an inmates pen pal.
Alison is at university studying law and finding keeping up with coursework and the speed of the lectures hard and as she has always been top of the class is finding it hard to cope until one of her professors offers to help her at lunch, one thing leads to another and she finds herself in love with a man twenty years older than her and having to keep it a secret due to university rules on teacher pupil relations.
Kate is mum to two beautiful girls who feels she landed pregnant and got married far too young. She has had to cope with raising two young children, a husband who was unemployed for months and then gets a job miles away leading to tension in their marriage from tiredness and lack of money and feels she does everything for everyone else but has no time for herself. This changes when she signs up for an evening class in writing and she starts to taste a little bit of freedom.
The only thing in common with these women as far as I could see was that they all had a secret. There were I suppose a few clues along the way but I didn't latch on immediately to them and I rather enjoyed the big reveal at the end.
I would like to thank netgalley and Aria for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent book. I adored the storyline and the characters. A real page turner. I would this recommend this book.