Thank you to netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
5*****
Maddie, with three children, two under the age 3, is experiencing memory lapses where varying amount of time are unaccounted for. Then you are introduced to Lydia who did a bad, bad thing but was it done because of nature or nurture?
Let me just start by saying WOW! This was definitely top 5 of the best psychological thriller books I have ever read. This story was heart wrenching and very emotionally charged. It touched on very delicate and disturbing topics but was done in such a remarkable way. It had plenty of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. So many times throughout the book I thought I had it all figured out until a few pages later when another twist would come and I would find myself suspecting someone else right up till the last few pages!!! But really, that ending?! I did not see that one coming!

Oh my goodness talk about a rollercoaster ride of emotions, As a mum myself of three who works I understand how exhausting it can be running a household along with working, us mums are made of strong armour, however sometimes we do need a break and reach out for help to those we trust, because when we leave our children with family and good friends we believe they are in safe hands.... right??

3-4 stars. While I did enjoy this book and get some good thrills, chills, and shocks, I think at a certain point it got to be a bit too dragging and slow paced to love. I think had the author either shortened it or added a few more chilling things or twists, it would’ve been a perfect thriller. Still one that my fellow thriller lovers will not want to miss!
Will make sure to use in a challenge and let the members of Chapter Chatter Pub know to give it a read!

This book takes what becomes an everyday part of a woman’s life and turns it around. What happens when you’re a sleep deprived mother who isn’t completely happy with life as it is. Then something bad happens, or so you think. Are you tired? Crazy? Imagining things?

I can not make up my mind whether or not I like this book. I thought it was a bit too long. There would have been more suspense if it had been a bit shorter. Parts of this book were disturbing and really hard to read. I did not agree with the ending. There should have been treatment of some sort.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Maddie, the mother of three young children, is exhausted. While some babies are easy to care for, her two-month-old isn’t one of those babies. He demands much of her attention. And to make matters worse, Maddie is experiencing black-outs, where she can’t remember clearly.

But not only is she trying to care for her family, but Maddie also runs a charity. With lack of sleep at night, due to feeding the baby, she is feeling less and less capable of handling her daily chores. Her husband has responsibilities at work so he can’t be as much help as he’d like. Maddie finds herself quickly running out of steam and at times even thinking things she’d never want to be spoken.

In the middle of the night, as Maddie sits in a chair feeding her baby, she jolts awake from one of her blackouts. For a moment her heart stops as she realizes she is no longer holding Noah. But she quickly finds that he has slipped from her arms and wedged himself between her and the arm railing of the chair. The red markings on his head make it apparent that something has happened to him, but to admit it to her husband might look like she isn’t able to handle the children.

Since she hadn’t been able to take care of one of her earlier children because of postpartum depression, she doesn’t want her husband to think it’s happening again. She wants to be trusted now. She can’t have him or her mother thinking there is a problem, and she is sure there isn’t. Unless you call blackouts a problem. And that does concern her.

But seeing that the baby is just fine, except for the red streaks on his head, she chooses to tell a little white lie. That she found the baby wedged near the bars of his crib. However, had she known that small lie would come back to haunt her, I’m sure she would have rethought that lie.

You see, it’s only a short while later that Noah, her newest baby, is found dead in his crib. Is his mother going mad? After all, doesn’t madness run in her family?

This page-turner will keep you guessing until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC and for allowing my honest review.


My Thoughts

What Concerned Me: Readers should be aware that at the same time this story is unfolding, there are chapters interspersed about a little girl named Lydia. Lydia experiences acts of violence and neglect by her mother. Though this story is told as gently as possible, it is still somewhat upsetting.

Only later will the chapters about Lydia make sense, so don’t worry. Just read the two stories until they work themselves into one.


What I Liked Most: The twists and turns aren’t totally inconceivable and the book had me flipping through the pages from the getgo. This is a captivating read that gets an easy 5-stars from me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the most perverse story I've ever read. DNF! The intermittent intro of Lydia was distracting and the subject matter distasteful. I do have to say it was well written with well developed characters. I'm sure there are many who enjoy this type of reading but it is not my cup of tea!

There are two storylines in this book and it is a while before the reader finds out how they are liinked. Lots of twists and I thought I had it sussed but I was wrong

I received an ARC of this book from net galley. It is a well written novel that is both easy and difficult to read at the same time. Easy because the writing flows and the narrative moves with pace. Difficult because the characters an events are so realistic. There are a number of suspects for the original event and as the story line opens up more come into the frame. I did guess quite early on the guilty party but there were other aspects of the reveal that I had not worked out. The action continued right to the last page and I enjoyed the ending. It makes the reader ask What would i have done in these situations. It was well worth the read

I have just finished this book and my mind is in a whirl . What an absolutely brilliant read. This book was totally unputdownable . The story had me engrossed from the start. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers this book is for you . A massive 5 star read .

A psychological thriller with touches of the domestic noir books but this one is so much more. Once I started reading this book I found it impossible to put down, hence I was tapping my kindle faster and faster late into the night. A two month old baby dies from a suspected cot death but then the mother is under suspicion. So many secrets and lies and as for the ending WHAM definitely not what I was expecting. This book is very emotional in places, it has had me holding my breath, shouting at it and putting it down until I had gathered myself together. Be warned in some places it was difficult to read. Personally I think that this will be a must read in 2019. Can someone be born evil, and how far would you go to protect the ones you love ?????. A gripping, atmospheric and chilling read. So highly recommended and an easy five stars.
I would like to thank the author, Avon Books UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review

Picture of Innocence is a book full of twists. I really thought I had this story sorted but I was wrong. Just when I thought I knew the culprit something else was thrown in to the mix!

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy.

My favorite read of the year so far!

Thanks #NetGalley for this roller coaster of a book.

Dark disturbing thriller that will break your heart.

Will be on all the must read lists!

Oh my goodness, what a great story. When Noah dies, Maddie his mum is distraught and begins to suffer a breakdown from her grief. Or does she? Nothing is all it seems to be, is her husband gaslighting her? Is her sister in law the one who hurt the children? Or was it actually Maddie herself? This thriller has lots of little twists and turns that keep you thinking, everytime you think you know who is behind Noah's death something will make you change your mind.

Complex story with many twists and turns along with lots or moral questions along the way. Ms. Stimson has done an admirable job with the areas of Nature vs. Nurture and redemption. Compulsively readable, could not put down type of psychological thriller. Will definitely be on the lookout for another book from this author!

THIS BOOK!!! SO MANY TWISTS AND TURNS I DID NOT SEE COMING! This book was literally impossible to put down. I was reading it on the Kindle app on my phone and I was literally reading it at every single moment I could (I even had some sneaky glances whilst at work because I just couldn't leave it alone). T.J Stimson honestly had me guessing the whole way through the book and I just as I thought I had an idea of who the culprit was, something would happen that would make me question absolutely everything. Maddie was definitely my favourite character, my heart just went out to her because she was going through so much all at once yet had no one that she could trust to even speak with and seeing everything get on top of her had my heart breaking on her behalf. Every other character had me suspicious and I just didn't know who to believe. I really couldn't recommend this book enough!

*I received an eBook copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon Books UK in exchange of an honest review so I'd just like to take this time to thank them for that*

What constitutes classifying a book with five stars? To me, it is when I start a book and do not want to put it down, when I can't wait to start reading again, and when, upon finishing, I think to myself "Wow, that was such a great book"! Those are all things I experienced with Pictures of Innocence. I was captivated right from the beginning and eagerly read as much as I could in each sitting. I read while in line at the drive through of Dunkin Donuts, I read while on the elliptical machine at the gym, and even secretly while at work! I am not normally a big fan of mystery or suspense, but am a huge fan of familial psychogical relationships, which is the primary focus on this novel, so I was intrigued and hooked, and even welcomed the suspense that was dispersed throughout. It livened the already alluring plot and kept the story fresh and exciting. I loved this book!

This is a story with a great deal of tragedy and covers some pretty bleak genres. The story is split into alternating sections told by Maddie and Lydia. Obviously there is a link between the two stories but it took a while for me to put them together properly! The book was gripping and had an interesting plot, but I felt that some of the red herrings that created such a twisty-turny story line were quite contrived, and although I did like that I didn't guess the ending straight away I felt that some aspects of the revelations were too far-fetched. Overall I would read more by this author because I mostly enjoyed the book.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Uneven but interesting. The culmination of the relationships and fight for self-preservation is often intense but there is a lot of redundancy in the writing.

Picture of Innocence is a riveting read. The story follows the lives of two women: Maddie and Lydia, and the theme is nature versus nurture.

Maddie's baby son Noah dies in unnatural circumstances while she is suffering from extreme tiredness and blackouts. Every character is suspect in the baby's death: Maddie herself, her husband, her sister-in-law and her mother. When the killer is revealed at the end it is shocking in the extreme. Lydia's story is compelling in its brutality and is a strong piece of writing. How she and Maddie are connected didn't come as a complete surprise to me but I won't give away any spoilers.

Picture of Innocence is an excellent example of the domestic/psychological genre and I'm sure will be a great success. Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read and review it.