Oh, what a ride of a book!

Roz was broke and pregnant. She knew she couldn't provide the best for her child. So, she went online and tried to find the perfect parents who'd adopt her child for money. And it turned out to be a celebrity couple. Actors Daniel and Sheridan in America seemed to be the best choice, and talks with them made her feel Sheridan would be the perfect mother. But was she?

My second book by author Caroline Mitchell, and it was thrilling and so addictive. I couldn't stop reading it. The moment Roz landed on American soils, I knew there was something dark waiting for her. The characters played to my fears well. They were hiding something, and the need to know what broke down my walls of my patience.

The way the couple treated her at their home had me gasping. I remember screaming - Run, Roz, run away. Wow!! The author's writing built up the suspense with every word, I literally couldn't leave my kindle alone. Just a page more was the litany in my mind which led to me reading the entire book at one go. Tap... Tap... Tap...went my finger on my kindle until I reached the end.

I was asked by a fellow blogger to analyze the ending. I agreed with her observations. Roz's friend was shown worried and actively investigating, yet there was no discovery by her in America. That subplot could have been used well. Nevertheless, the father of Roz's baby was a downright shocker.

My midnight to early morning read. A few pages more became the entire book read. What a book to lose sleep over!! Fun!

With thanks to Netgalley and Amazon for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Twenty four year old Roz had been best friends Dympna since school. After leaving school the girls moved from their small town to live in Dublin together.

When Roz fell pregnant after a one night stand she decided to look into adopting the baby. Roz couldn't reveal the fathers name because it would destroy her friendship with Dympna. However Dympna was thrilled that Roz was pregnant and wanted them to raise the baby together.

Roz registered with an adoption agency in the U.S and was thrilled when a `diamond couple` (a wealthy celebrity or VIP) wanted to talk to her. Roz knew the couple would provide a good life for her baby, when they invited her to New York she readily accepted. Dympna was suspicious of the couples motives and begged her not to go.

In New York Roz found out there were Hollywood stars Sheridan Sinclair and Daniel Watson. Before Roz met them she was warned to keep her off the man in the house and keep quiet. After signing the adoption papers Roz moved into her own basement flat in Sheridan`s mansion. However she soon discovered she was imprisoned in the flat with no way upstairs let alone outside. Sheridan also took her mobile, leaf by Roz isolated in a foreign country. Meanwhile when Dympna failed to hear from Roz she decided to find out the identity of Roz`s diamond coupke.

I have read a number of Caroline Mitchell`s books but this her best book so far. The plot was compelling and I could easily have read the book in one sitting. The book was atmospheric and I could feel Roz`s worry and paranoia stuck in her luxury prison.

Sheridan was ruthless and would do anything to protect her family`s `brand`. Her determination to create the perfect photographic family was sad and a little chilling.

My favourite character was Roz`s first best friend Dympna.

I highly recommend this book.

What a ride this book will take you on, a young girl finds herself pregnant with no money she feels she has no future with/for this child, joins an agency to find ‘the perfect mother’ who would you choose? Money? Fame? The twists and turns in this book kept me wanting more and gasping at the shocking revelations! A must read!

The Perfect Mother is a fast moving; page turning; excellent read from Caroline Mitchell.

The story is told from a number of viewpoints but the author is skilful enough to ensure that the story flies and isn't over-complicated.

Highly recommended

Another great read from Caroline Mitchell.
Roz is struggling to pay her rent and on discovering she’s pregnant realises she needs to get away.
She’s comes across a website that arranges for babies to be given to couples desperate for children and gets drawn in.
It seems too good to be true, and she soon realises she’s in over her head.
Sheridan is desperate for a baby girl and thinks Roz is perfect to give this to her. Unbeknownst to Roz, Sheridan has cancelled the agreement with the website and now has her own agenda.
Roz is living in the basement of their home but when she’s not allowed outside, and has no windows, she feels like a prisoner.
This is a real nail biter as I was desperate to know if Roz would get out of this alive. The final few chapters will have you on the edge of your seat.
This is a great psychological thriller that I can highly recommend.
Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Premise was intriguing, as was the beginning of this book - but it did not hold up, the story got very confused and the POV shifts from 1st to 3rd person didn't help. At a certain point, it felt very foreseeable, and certainly I didn't find the much-vaunted twist so very twisty at all. On the contrary, I got annoyed at the irrationality of the character's actions, they seemed one-dimensional and - in the case of the heroine - too naive for words.

"The Perfect Mother" is the story of Roz, a young Irish girl who finds herself pregnant, and decides to sign up to an exclusive adoption agency. When she is contacted by a celebrity couple from the States who want her to live in their luxurious home until the baby is born, it seems that Roz has landed on her feet. But the reality turns out to be very different than she expected. When Roz finds herself a virtual prisoner in an increasingly volatile situation, she starts to question everything she thought she knew: just who are Sheridan and Daniel really? And why did they choose her over all the other young mothers to be? 

While I liked this book, and there were some genuinely tense moments, I found it on the whole a little too over the top for me. Roz was almost unbelievably naive, and the whole set up with the celebrity power couple just didn't ring true. The author did a great job of building tension throughout, and there were some good twists, but this one was a little too American-soap-opera for my personal taste, although I'm sure many other readers will love it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow!! This is an entertaining and twisty read that will have you on the edge of your seat throughout! It’s a stand-alone psychological thriller from the fabulous Caroline Mitchell that had me hooked from the very first chapter. A pregnant woman in danger?! What could be more terrifying than that? Well, throw in a celebrity couple who aren’t what everyone thinks they are and a mysterious disappearance and you’ve got one of the most sinister pregnancies since Rosemarys Baby!

Roz is living away from home with her best friend but she has, at the age of 24, lost her job and is unexpectedly pregnant. Discovering a website where she can have her child adopted, she is overwhelmed when a celebrity couple get in touch and she jets off to New York to meet them. Yes, I know you have to suspend belief at some of the plot twists and turns but this is fiction and it’s highly addictive entertainment at its best! You won’t be the only one mentally screaming at Roz “what the hell are you doing?!” as she makes decisions that you and I know are going to lead to very bad consequences indeed. But Roz is a plucky heroine of the best kind and she’s determined not to be a victim but the closer she gets to her due date the worse her fears for herself and her unborn child become…because her baby’s birth may be the death of her dreams of a new life or worse.

Caroline Mitchell has written a fabulous rollercoaster ride of a book with characters you will love to hate and twists you just won’t see coming (well, some of them I did but others really shocked the hell out of me!). The Perfect Mother is compelling from start to finish and just a bloody good read! Loved it!

Having read and loved all of Caroline’s previous books I was excited to receive a Netgalley copy of this to read early.
In this story we meet Roz - a naive young girl from Ireland who finds herself pregnant. Having recently been made redundant and not having had the best of childhoods herself she decides she wants to find The Perfect Mother to bring up her baby and signs up to an adoption website. This is how she meets who she believes to be the perfect couple.
Introducing Sheridan and Daniel- Hollywood’s heartthrob celebrity couple. Roz decides to meet them and travels to America.
Before she leaves she confides in her best friend Dympna, who has her concerns
Will things go as Roz plans?
I enjoyed getting to know the characters and was keen to continue reading to discover how things would turn out. It was obvious things wouldn’t go well for Roz in America but would her and her child survive? What secrets are Sheridan and Daniel hiding? Could Dympna save her friend?
Unfortunately I found the ending to be a little too twee and not as good as Caroline’s previous books.
That said it is still a good read

What a surprise in this book.  It was different from what I am used to by Caroline Mitchell and definitely is one you will remember.

The story is great and I really like the plot that you see in the book.  Roz is a really interesting character who seems to have a lot of issues and is a cause of a lot of issues.

Dympna is not a character I really liked it seemed that she was just not for me.  Something about her just rubbed me the wrong way. 

I still am not sure what to think about the book. Did I like it yes but not sure how much I truly liked it as parts in the middle weren't as fast paced as I used to.

Great story though with a plot that really was spectacular.

Roz lives in Ireland and finds herself pregnant and she knows she need to give her baby up. She finds a website that matches her to an incredibly famous couple in America and thinks she has found the best home for her baby. From the second she gets off the plane in America, all is not what it seems and all bets are off.

I admit I did not see that twist coming at the end and enjoyed being surprised but I feel like the book dragged on for too long. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t the best either.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Perfect Mother was my first read of 2020 and it did not disappoint. I had to keep reading to find out what happened. The story about Roz a single and pregnant young woman who lives in Ireland. She decides to put her child up for adoption but in a more unconventional way. She travels to NYC where she meets the adoptive couple who are a celebrity couple. Everything seems perfect, Roz is able to leave Ireland, has a place to live while she is pregnant and will gets a lot of money. Things take many twists and turns and she quickly finds out this is not an ideal situation. Would definitely recommend this book!

Book 1: Roz, young, broke and pregnant in Ireland, looks to an elite adoption service in hopes of providing her unborn child a better life. When selected by an anonymous celebrity couple to come to NYC to move forward, Roz believes she’s hit the jackpot. That is, until she moves into the couples’ basement — without any contact to the outside world.

This book started out a bit slow to me, but based on the previous reviews I was determined to keep going. I’m glad I did! This novel will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat, with twists that you want see coming. Needless to say, after I got through the the first few chapters, I devoured this book in one sitting!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It was a very insightful novel, with a strong cast of characters. I enjoyed the story line very much and would definitely recommend this book.

A slow burner as it takes 30% of this book before Roz even leaves Ireland to go and meet the famous couple to whom she wants to sell her baby. However once it gets going there's enough to keep the reader's interest. In contrast to the start the ending feels a little rushed however the middle is paced very well. Recommended.

I have mixed feelings on this book. The storyline was interesting yet nothing new. The characters were one dimensional and nothing kept me drawn in. I wanted to like this book, hence the mixed feelings.

Rosalind Foley shares a flat with her best friend. They are very close but this day in particular Roz is reluctant to share her news. Roz knows she must, but she still dreads imparting this piece of news. Dympna must know though because she cannot hide it from her friend. The task seems even worse than going to her local Priest to confess her sins, but it must be done. So she takes a deep breath and tells Dympna that she has fallen pregnant after a drunken night of passion. What she point blank refuses to divulge though, is the name of the man that is the father of her child. Soon the deed is done and Roz explains how she intends to keep her secret and find a perfect mother for her baby without anyone knowing she has given birth.
Roz has been busy and now has a solution that seems the only way out for a good Irish girl. She has contacted an elite adoption agency with a difference. She has been contacted by an anonymous ‘Diamond Couple’, rich and famous beyond belief soon after downloading her information. She is very excited as it has happened so quickly and their situation seems ideal. They are talking about their offer of discretion and a solution to her thorny problem. Roz will tell everybody that she has landed an exciting but temporary job in New York. The couple will house her and keep her well-fed and healthy until the baby arrives, when they will pass off the child as their own and send her home with an amazing gift of an eye-watering amount of money to set her up for the future. Dympna is suspicious and tries to talk her out of the arrangement, but Roz is determined and is buzzing with energy. Very soon she sets off to a prearranged meeting in a posh New York hotel. She is well impressed and raring to go.
This is Roz’s story of what happens next in this thrilling and totally bizarre story. I have followed Caroline Mitchell eagerly through her two series of police procedural thrillers, but this novel is totally different. It’s a standalone domestic noir thriller with so many twists and turns you will feel dizzy! Her storytelling is faultless but the storyboard is complex and scary. The characters she has envisaged and developed are eclectic and interesting, but some of them are truly mean, deceitful and totally amoral. There are criminal acts, deceitfulness, broken promises and lies aplenty. But to counteract these dark, wicked characters, I loved the story of two friends who were loyal and supportive, even though Dympna did have an axe to grind when the father of Roz’s baby is revealed. I sped through the novel, never knowing what was going to happen next. It was tense, misleading and thought provoking.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Thomas & Mercer through my membership NetGalley and I would like to thank them for my copy, sent out to me in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed this novel and award it a well-deserved 4*.

How far would you go to give your baby a good home? And what would you do to bring a baby into your good home? The Perfect Mother answers both these questions. A tempting website, offering money and luxury accommodations in exchange for a newborn, intrigues young unwed mother Roz. Against the warnings of her best friend Dymphna, Roz travels from Ireland to New York to meet the mysterious couple who want to adopt her baby.

The couple are soon revealed to be Daniel Watson and Sheridan Sinclair, Angelina and Brad types, although his career is on the rise while hers has stalled. Here the story goes off the rails and devolves into a barely believable plot with a surprise ending that has little relation to the rest of the novel.

Still, I am giving The Perfect Mother four stars. What is lost in a disappointing plot is redeemed by strong character development. Roz and Dymphna’s friendship feels real. Roz’ developing love for her baby is touching and Dymphna’s concern for her friend rings true. These two women outshine the flawed storyline and will keep you captivated.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK and Caroline Mitchell for this Advanced Reading Copy.

The Perfect Mother is the latest psychological thriller from Caroline Mitchell. It tells the story of Roz, young, broke and pregnant and how one decision changed her life…
anticipation and fear about what I was about to uncover in the pages ahead. Two women, Roz and Dympna, best friends but poles apart in terms of their background. Dympna comes from a stable and loving home while Roz’s background was at best chaotic and at its worse verging on abusive. When she discovers she is pregnant, Roz confesses to Dympna that she doesn’t think she is able to offer a baby the love and protection it needs. Her strict Catholic background means she cannot consider a termination and a dark secret she is keeping from her friend leaves her unable to face giving birth to the child in Ireland. And so comes her connection with Miracle Moms, a website which appears to offer Roz the very solution she is looking for.
The premise of this book was disturbing, babies for sale and the brutal truth that all that glitters is most definitely not always gold as Caroline Mitchell hammers the assumption that just because someone is rich or famous then they are good people.
The Perfect Mother lays bare the power and the ugly truth of the internet where anything is for sale. And when Roz decides to go through with her plan, things begin to spiral in a way that she could have never have imagined!
Sheridan and Daniel are the golden couple, a life of fame and luxury. But the narrative forces you to just look beneath that surface where you find something much darker, much more tarnished.
The novel is full of intriguing and well-rounded characters, Roz and Sheridan both stood out for me. My feelings for Sheridan batted back and forward between empathy, fear and hatred. And as I watched Roz beginning to doubt herself as events take a sinister turn, my heart was about to explode out of my chest! These characters were written so well, that despite the dark and sinister turn of events, it was impossible not to relate to each of them. I witnessed a vulnerability in each of the characters alongside an impressive display of strength and control. Cold hearted but fragile, watching these characters play out their role was like watching a car crash in slow motion.
The pace is perfect with each and every twist delivered just at the right time; it left me breathless but also probed away at my mind as I imagined myself in a similar situation…that old, what if scenario came into play many a time!
In a step away from police procedurals, Caroline Mitchell offers a well-drawn out, tension laden psychological thriller, it has all the elements required to make it a "just one more chapter" kind of read. Well drawn characters, a dark and intriguing and thrilling plot which was perfectly paced. It had all the twists and turns required to make me gasp! I really could see this play out on the big screen!

This review will appear on my blog as part of the blog tour in January.

I'm a big fan of Caroline Mitchell's books and I always look forward to a new one... I was sold soon as I first read the blurb for The Perfect Mother and I have been looking forward to read it ever since. And now I've had the chance to read it, I think I might just have found a new favorite title! From start to finish, this story is everything I look for and more in a psychological thriller. I was hooked from the very first page, unable to put down my kindle until I reached that final page, and I literally finished it in less than a day. This might sound like one of those review cliches or oneliners, but it is 200% true when it comes to The Perfect Mother!

There is a lot to love in The Perfect Mother, and I'm struggling a bit to decide where to start. The beginning maybe? The premise of the story is without doubt fascinating. We start with a young and broke Irish woman with an impossible dilemma as to how to solve her current situation. Some of her options might not be orthodox, but there are underlying secrets in play as well that will influence her decision. Conflicting opinions about her decision aside, it without doubt makes for one heck of a story. I'm not sure if I would have trusted the offer as it simply sounded too good to be true, but I guess being desperate makes you overlook the details... Once the story starts taking place in New York, things are getting truly interesting and I just couldn't believe my eyes when I started discovering what was really going on at the celebrity couple's house and what secrets they were hiding.

The story is told with the help of multiple POVs and two different settings (Ireland and New York). Focusing mainly on Roz and Sheridan, we slowly learn more about both their past and how the current situation came to be... Multiple plot twists and secrets are hidden along the way to keep you on your toes, and the plot will definitely have some surprises for you in store. The different POVs and settings also give this story a multidimentional feel and definitely enhanced both the plot and the suspense. The Irish setting was well described and really came alive for me; both through the characters and descriptions themselves. The New York setting mostly focuses on the celebrity couple's house, but those chapters are by no means dull and will definitely satisfy your need for suspense and shocking plot twists.

As for the characters... Even if you don't agree with what Roz decided to do, she is still quite easy to like and connect to. Her best friend is likewise easy to like and it was interesting to discover what role she played in the story as a whole. I wasn't a big fan of the celebrity couple, but I guess they are ment to be that way for the story to work and they are intriguing characters to try and decipher. Other New York characters were easier to like, including George, but the most important thing is that each character added a little something extra to the plot and played the role he/she had to play to turn The Perfect Mother into the little masterpiece it is. This book is definitely right at the top of favorite 2020 releases so far, and it is a story that will stay with me for quite some time... If you enjoy a well written, suspenseful and twisty psychological thriller, you should definitely add The Perfect Mother to your wishlist!