Thank you to NetGalley, Cathryn Grant and Inkubator books for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is a domestic thriller in the ilk of Liane Moriarty but it falls somewhat flat very quickly. It wins the award for the least likeable protagonists ever written. It follows the story of Amy and Charlotte, Amy is a popular soccer mom. When Charlotte, an attractive single mother arrives at the school Amy takes an instant dislike to her on the basis of her appearance. Amy is a vapid, vindictive character with a real Madonna/Whore complex who despise this other woman on the basis that she looks ‘easy’. Charlotte is a rather bland characterless counter. Amy has a handful of friends who are as superficial as she is including the POV character Rachel who is as interesting as a wet Wednesday. The plot was OK but the characters acted more like teenagers from Mean Girls than actual adults. I wouldn’t have minded had there been some form of character growth. In the author’s defence she makes a stab at Amy having a moment of redemption at the end of the book but the whole plot left me feeling very uncomfortable. I realise we are supposed to pity Amy’s character but there was a lot of victim blaming in the book and what should have been a powerful message just left me with a deeply unsettled feeling.
I wouldn’t read this again and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. A bizarre book that left me feeling the worse for reading it. The only thing I will say in it’s defence was I did want to know what happened and kept reading until the end.

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

The book cover drew me in. And I was not sorry. The book is fantastic. A wee thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Very hard to put down. It was well written and worth a read

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I was excited to read this book. The premise was really promising. With that said I could not get in to this book. I read the entire thing - but it fell flat. I found myself skipping a lot of the text and going straight for dialogue.

The end was the best part. This was not a psychological thriller. It was honestly a big old mess.

I haven’t been able to put this book down. It’s a great story which has gripped me from the very beginning.
My first read by this author but won’t be the last.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for a fair and honest review.
Cathryn Grant's latest book, "The Good Mother", revolves around the lives of several suburban women. All are wives and mothers, with the exception of the single Charlotte who has just moved to town. Amy takes an immediate dislike to Charlotte's artsy clothing and wonders if there is something happening between Charlotte and Amy's husband. I found the story to be quite banal and tedious. None of the female characters are very likable, so it's difficult to really care about what's happening to them. Overall I was not impressed, and the exciting ending/twist I was expecting unfortunately never came. If you're new to the genre you might enjoy it, but if you love psychological thrillers, this one doesn't live up to the name.

Another domestic drama novel billed as a psychological thriller!

This just isnt for me, I gave up at 47%, it was just dull, the characters aren't at all likeable and I just didn't connect with the writing style.

It just seemed to go on forever without anything happening!

I'm only basing my rating on the percentage I read, it might get better later on but I was so bored by 47% i didn't have it in me to finish.

1*

Thanks to netgalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC.

Lots of craziness within this book, guilt, obsession,paranoia, and they all need air conditioning desperately. I probably would have rated this book higher but it was more like reading about teenagers than adults and that became annoying very quickly. Overall, it was a good story.

This book was not for me, I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable and couldn’t really connect with the book. It was a difficult read and seemed to take a long time with nothing much happening. Thank you @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I feel disappointed with this one

Thank you for free ARC copy.
I really don’t know what to say.
The writing was good and thriller aspect was maintained. But there were certain disturbing things.
Appreciate the effort.

Well, it was just not for me. I really wanted to like it. After reading as much as I could. Everyone was a mess. It was more clique and done again..didn't care for anyone. Nothing stood out. I ended up feeling it was a waste of time

This book was not at all what I expected. I had no clue where it was going at the beginning, but was pleasantly surprised at the direction it took. Very good writing, great character development. Thank you netgalley for the chance to read the ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book as billed as a psychological thriller, but it is actually a domestic thriller (my favorite kind!) The Good Mother gave me “Big Little Lies” vibes.

We all know that I’m a sucker for soccer mom clique drama. Trashy gossip from suburban white moms is my niche, so this book was right up my alley.

This book is about Amy whom I would give the title of “Head Mom”. She’s the number one rich bitch in the community. Amy has a best friend Rachel, and two other friends that make up a little clique of mean moms.

When Charlotte and her daughter move to town, their perfect life is threatened. Charlotte’s entire being contains something each mother is lacking in their lives. This leads to a jealousy spiral and it all goes on from there.

This book is most definitely not for the lighthearted. It starts of with a brutal rape whilst a young child watches and only gets more difficult from there. Amy who is our protagonist is unstable and unwell. Charlotte is a newcomer who is just trying to live her life and Rachel, well... Rachel is the most reliable character in this book. Unsure of what to do, of herself, of what is right or not. The book definitely doesn't shy away from family dysfunction, from deteriorating mental health, from suburban warfare between housewives. It's very interesting also how violent acts are perceived by different types of personality. Which are morally right or wrong. I highly recommend it, but proceed with caution as the book is very graphic in the violence described.

Trouble in the neighborhood! I’m pretty sure we all know someone like Amy. She is picture perfect and her good looking children have perfect manners. Her husband is a handsome, hard-working guy who lavishes attention on his wife. She has everything she has ever wanted and more. Nothing ever goes wrong in this family. Their house is beautiful, even outside each blade of grass is in perfect formation.

In The Good Mother by Cathryn Grant, the pretense of perfection can’t last forever. Or can it? What happens when this so-called perfect mother’s carefully designed life takes a turn by way of a new mom in the neighborhood, one that doesn’t quite live up to a certain standard?

Here’s the scoop with The Good Mother:

Amy’s life is close to perfect – two lovely daughters, a wonderful husband and she’s queen bee in her circle of soccer moms. She feels content, like she’s finally put some distance between herself and the terrible events of long ago.

The only fly in the ointment is Charlotte, a recent arrival to this affluent suburban community. The shameless way she dresses, the way the men look at her… it’s not right, she’s just not the kind of person they want around here. Amy spearheads a drive to exclude Charlotte, to make it clear to her that she’s not welcome here. Infuriatingly, Charlotte doesn’t seem to care… And when her daughter joins the soccer team there’s just no getting away from her.

But Amy knows from bitter experience the kind of trouble a woman like Charlotte can bring. And there is no way on earth that her girls are ever going to be exposed to anything like that. The solution is clear – Charlotte has to go. No matter what it takes.

This is an entertaining story and I can see how it would all play out in real life. Kids aren’t the only ones that deal with bullies and drama!

Get this book on January 5, FREE with Kindle Unlimited or 99 cents without.

Amy thinks her life is perfect. She is the helicopter mom to twins, first to volunteer at their school, and a doting wife to Justin. In reality, she is self-absorbed, anxious, possibly anorexic and haunted by a traumatic childhood event. She is NOT a character you want to like.

However, Charlotte is. A single mother, a photographer, and an independent, strong-willed woman, she crosses paths with Amy with disastrous results. Amy becomes obsessed with Charlotte and uses her weak-willed friend Rachel to help ostracize Charlotte from their close knit soccer mom group.

A criminal targeting their neighborhood, the death of a close friend, and Charlotte’s failure to yield to Amy’s escalating attempts to have her move from her home drive Amy to frightening levels of delusion concluding in a shocking surprise ending.

The Good Mother is what Amy thinks she is and what Charlotte actually is. The novel deserves four stars for its excellent characterizations and plot. However, I did not think Amy’s descent into jealousy and madness was believable. That said, you’ll read The Good Mother quickly and it will make you wonder what your neighbors are really like.

Thanks to NetGalley, Cathryn Grant and Inkubator Books for this ARC.

Talk about books that hook you from page 1. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it reminds me of some high school drama except the drama is between the moms. All 3 women in this book have issues and the way they interact with each other is all written well. Though I wouldn't say this is a proper thriller or suspense, it is a good read.

I could not get into this book. It felt like I was reading about a high school clique. This book was not my cup of tea. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Amy’s life is pretty much perfect. She has a handsome husband, lovely home, and two adorable twin daughters. When Amy and her group of friends are at their kid’s soccer game, Amy takes notice to a new mom to the neighborhood. How could she not notice? The way the woman dresses alone, she’s just asking for the attention of everyone around, including the husbands. Well, Amy just isn’t going to stand for that. She’s not going to let someone compromise her perfect world - no matter the costs.

First thing, I wouldn’t label this as a psychological thriller. I’m not going to lie, this isn’t as fast paced as I normally go for, and wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but I found it was still a good read. Some of it did drag on for me, but I think it has a really good representation of the stress and expectation mother’s hold over themselves. It shows that bullying goes beyond childhood and can carry into the adult stage. The story is told from three point of views, Amy, Rachel, and a Charlotte. I found Amy’s obsession with Charlotte frustrating, but it just goes to show how unstable she really is. I wasn’t too surprised by the ending, but I’m satisfied with it.

Oh my what a book! I didn't want to put this one down. Loved it from the start.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.