This book is about a young couple where the woman starts experiencing memory loss- or so her husband tells her. I thought this was an interesting though not hugely original thriller. There were some characters that I feel could have been developed further (Adams mother and brother). It was well written and I read it very quickly when I started as it was quite gripping.

When strange things begin happening to Lucy, she thinks she is suffering from 'baby brain'. She is becoming forgetful and absent minded and is frightened she is turning into her father who killed himself due to mental illness. She has not long been married to Adam, and her mother frequently tells her he is a 'good one'. However, could the cause for her lapses in memory and concentration be more sinister?
This book was very readable and I raced through it quickly, but I don't feel it offered anything very original. There were glimpses of the woman Lucy had been before she married Adam, and I just couldn't understand why she had let herself become so insecure. I would like to have read some scenes from Adam's perspective to understand why these things were happening, I felt like the reader never really found out a motive for what was going on.

Compelling storyline and interesting characters. I read it in two days.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a fantastic book had me gripped all the way throughout and loved the ending.

Lucy feels like she is losing her mind but puts it down to baby brain. Things just seem to get worse and her husband Adam is not exactly supportive.

I figured out what was going on very early on but still enjoyed this book. It was a page turner and I was just waiting for Lucy to fight back!

Thanks to Harper Collins UK via Netgalley for a copy of this book to read and review.

This is a tense psychological thriller' with a tight, small group of characters that we get to know well. The overall outcome is fairly obvious from the start, but the ending has a few surprises. Sometimes I felt frustrated with Lucy, but I know from reading the news that cases such as this are sadly real. At times I found the book long winded and a little repetitive, so I've taken a star off for that; it would have been better, in my opinion, if it was about a hundred pages shorter.

What begins as laughable situations where Lucy misplaces car keys and forgets bits of conversations soon escalates the further into her pregnancy she gets. It seems that each week she becomes more apprehensive and forgetful. Lucy’s mum is quick to dismiss it as ‘baby brain’ due to the imbalance of hormones, which she says will clear up not too long after the baby is born. Lucy isn’t too sure especially after leaning about some of her family history. The thing is if she raises her concerns with her doctor will he have her baby taken away?
Her once supportive husband is losing patience as the weeks go by and he is trying to deal with his own estranged family. Apprehension is quickly becoming terrifying and forgetulness a real danger.
This is one wicked story and ok you get the feeling of what is happening from the blurb but it doesn’t change the apprehension that I felt. Lucy’s fear and frustration just jumps off every page and as her problem gets bigger her world becomes smaller.
Amanda Brooke, the author, just nailed the characters in this story. The build up was perfect, I at times doubted my own judgement of the people in the story. Loved how both Lucy’s and Adam’s pasts came to haunt them, it really did put the cat among the pigeons.
This is quite a dark topic and one that sort of creeps up on a person without them knowing that it is happening, that is the terrifying thing. The mind tries to make sense of situations and sometimes it fights what is plain to see with outsiders but feelings muddy the water. I truly enjoyed this book from cover to cover.
I wish to thank Netgalley and the publisher Harper Collins UK for this book which I have honestly reviewed.

Actually 4.5 stars.
Lucy is soon to be a mum for the first time. She is understandably a bit anxious about the upcoming happy event but she is also very worried that the is becoming more and forgetful, occasionally dangerously so. She forgets things husband Adams says he has told her, forgets where she puts things and she also, more worryingly, leaves the oven on and doors open/ unlocked. Could it be just a case of her hormones and simply be down to baby-brain, could it be the onset of a more worrying health condition, or could it be... something else more sinister?
To be honest, I twigged what was going on quite early. Not sure if it was me being clever though or of the author meant this not to be a shocking surprise as it didn't actually seem to ruin my overall enjoyment of the book as a whole. It did however make me shout to Lucy on multiple occasions basically for not seeing what I thought was blooming obvious but, hey, you can't always see what's going on in front of you, easier to see at a distance! Her obliviousness to the situation at hand actually made her come across as more vulnerable and I kinda wanted to run in and save her as I really felt for her and what was happening. Her character was so very well described and she acted, mostly, in character for the majority of the book. I mean, who hasn't done some, if not most of what she does in the book themselves? I've left the oven on, I've misplaced things, I've been told by my brother that he's told me things I can't recall and, yes, I've left the house unlocked too. Just not as frequently as Lucy, I hasten to add! This meant that she really did feel real to me. Her fear of what would happen once she became a mother and, indeed ongoing terror once she had that extra life to look after, really did jump off the pages as I turned them. Other characters were just as well drawn although, due to spoilers, I can't really go into detail here but the atmosphere around certain characters did get progressively dark and claustrophobic as the book went on.
The ending, when it came at a rate of knots, had me holding my breath, praying for a favourable outcome but, at the same time, scared at what was happening. I'm definitely not spilling the beans here, you'll have to read it for yourself.
This is my first book by this author but, on the back of what I just read, it will definitely not be my last. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A good mother isn't a danger to her baby. A good mother isn't a danger to herself. You want to be a good mother. But your not. You're the bad mother you were destined to be.

This is a gripping edge of your seat read that's a tense roller coaster ride, full of suspense, even though the reader of the book can see where this story is going. This is a quick, page turning read but it still messed with all my emotions.

I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and the author Amanda Brooke .for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a huge fan of Brooke's work since I first read Another Way to Fall many moons ago. With every new book I read I fall more in love with her ability to tell a tale, regardless of the content. This book is a bit different from her previous books that have had me ugly crying whilst devouring the words on the page. This book left me cold and filled me with rage and i still couldnt put it down, which is a testament to the skill involved in writing these characters.

When we first meet Lucy and Adam, she is climbing over years of accumulated stuff that her mum has kept hidden away looking for the cot she used to sleep in as a baby in the hopes she can recycle it for her own precious baby she is currently growing. Everything seems normal until Adam mentions how Lucy has been a bit forgetful recently and that it's worrying her....

From the very beginning I did not trust Adam. I think i'll even go as far as saying I hated him. And in the beginning there wasn't really an awful lot to base my feelings on. But as the book unfolded I really could feel the rage building, as time after time Lucy would second guess herself, or Adam would suggest an alternative... But then every now and again something would be said, or something would happen and I would doubt my own mind and wonder if perhaps my anger had been misplaced.
It really will keep you guessing until the very end. Brooke has done an amazing job with this book.

The Bad Mother by Amanda Brooke is a psychological thriller about a married couple awaiting the birth of there first child. Lucy is anxious and confused because she is getting very forgetful and blames her hormones for this. Her husband is worried that she will be unable to copy with the new baby. Their situation rapidly goes downhill and this story becomes dark and alarming and things are not what they seem. I would like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've read a few Amanda Brooke novels, this is not one of my favourites. I knew immediately what was going to happen and couldn't believe Lucy couldn't see what was going on! It's still a good read, I just think some of Amanda Brooke's other books are better.

I was hooked from the getgo to the end. Plenty of twists and turns. I was so immersed in the story I wanted to shake her and scream at her. I look forward to her next novel. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to review it.

This was amazing! Easy one of the best books in this genre I’ve read for a long time. Right from the start I (the reader) could see where things go the wrong direction for Lucy. How could she not see what was happening? I wanted to scream, shake her, slap somebody (it didn’t had to be Lucy, there are a number of potential people in danger of getting slapped). I couldn’t see how this story would ever have a happy ending. I won’t give away the ending, but I encourage everybody to grab a copy of this book and start reading. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins!

Lucy is married to Adam, she is expecting a baby in a couple of months but she also has become very forgetful. Her mum tells her she has baby brain but Lucy fears she is suffering from the same kind of mental illness which caused her dad to commit suicide.

Adam is seriously concerned for Lucy, he agrees her forgetfulness is putting them at risk but is he playing mind games with her or is she really suffering from a mental illness?

Bad Mother is a tense psychological thriller which throughout has you unsure whether Lucy is unhinged or whether something more sinister is going on. It is fast paced with plenty of twists which keeps you gripped until the last page.

Lucy is pregnant with her first child. This should be a time of pure joy and excitement but it's anything but for Lucy and her husband, Adam. Because Lucy is becoming increasingly forgetful. She forgets conversations or turning off the gas hob and often loses or misplaces things. Surely this can't all be blamed on baby brain?

It's actually quite obvious from the start what's going on, which I'm going to assume was the point. Many times I felt like grabbing Lucy by the shoulders, urging her to open her eyes and realise the truth. As it is, this story offers a fascinating insight with realistic and believable characters and it's utterly terrifying! It's incredibly devastating to even try and imagine what it must be like to feel so lost and confused all the time.

From the opening page, Amanda Brooke had me on the edge of my seat. This is one amazingly gripping story and I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to see where things were headed. It's a tense ride, full of suspense. I got incredibly invested in it and went through a whole gamut of emotions. From frustration and anger to sadness and disbelief.

While I thought the conclusion was completely satisfying, I can't help but feel I needed more answers. More of an explanation as to the "why" of it all, even though I fully accept there isn't a reason most of the time. All in all, a brilliantly executed, well-paced, chilling and highly addictive psychological thriller that had me hooked from start to finish!

Another excellent book by Amanda Brooke. Full of twists and deeply emotional, this had me gripped right from the start. I loved it

A good psychological thriller, with the reader trying to decide who is telling the truth. Is Lucy's mind playing tricks on her or is her husband manipulating her in a very cruel way?
Unfortunately there seems to be many novels of this ilk around at the moment, and so, for me, it felt a little stale.

The Bad Mother is a brilliant read ,the story of Lucy who has become seriously forgetful and is also pregnant ,she is married to Adam .The story continues at a fast pace at times I wanted to shout out at Lucy so she could see what was happening .The last few chapters I was practically holding my breath ! Fabulous but chilling story