Classic psychological thriller set in a spooky run down motel - Single mom Mel is just doing the best she can, trying to out run her past and give her daughter a better life.... So of course when a life changing inheritance falls into her lap she takes advantage of the opportunity despite the strange stipulations attached because what could go wrong? 

I love a good a plot twist, and this book delivered several. Some were a little far fetched but I feel like everything was wrapped up and explained nicely in the end. 
I particularly liked the final twist, it gave me Rose dropping the diamond into the ocean at the end of Titanic vibes. Well played! 

Big thanks NetGalley, Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for an ARC to review!

Actual rating 3.5 stars.

Life is not a bowl of cherries for single mother Mel and her daughter Kate. Struggling financially,  trying to make ends meet after escaping her violent ex Billy and unable to prevent Kate from being bullied at school, Mel is not having an easy time. Getting fired from her job as a carer at The Cedars is the final nail in the coffin. When an unexpected letter lands through her letterbox, claiming Mel is due an inheritance, this cynical woman initially believes it’s a scam, reluctant to see it as a sign that her bad luck could be about to change. With nothing left to lose, Mel swaps  life on the breadline in Birmingham for a life as owner of Moreton Inn hotel located in a small seaside village near Lyme Regis. Viewing this as a chance to escape the past and provide a better future for her daughter, Mel wholeheartedly embraces her change of circumstances. Will Mel and Kate be welcome amongst the villagers having received a mixed reception? Why is there a mysterious atmosphere in this run down hotel and can Mel turn it into a thriving business with or without the locals support? In doing so what secrets might she uncover that will have relevance to her own background? These are just some of the intriguing questions that occupied my thoughts as I read the opening pages and beyond.

Prepare to meet some odd, dubious and damaged characters in a storyline where new beginnings  collide with sorrowful pasts and the shadow of Billy casts a gloom and unease over Mel that she finds impossible to shake off.  A forlorn and haunting air hangs over this neglected hotel, with secrets hidden within its walls that will finally see the light of day the deeper (literally) Mel digs into the history of the place and its previous owner. Expect more than a handful surprises, some more chilling than others as you endeavour to make sense of Mel’s new life. Trust is a recurrent theme throughout the narrative, in the sense Mel can never be sure whom to trust. Should she trust the words of her friends over the words of relative strangers? Exactly who is friend and who is foe?

When discussing characters there are plenty of shady ones and in particular one vile specimen of a human being you will LOATHE. Like Mel, I had trust issues with quite a few of them. You need to sift the bad from the good and that’s no easy task given there are more than a few rotten eggs! The locals vary in terms of their friendliness so that I found myself silently urging Mel to watch her back. You’ve got to feel sorry for Mel, desperately in need of a change in fortune, to find herself in this challenging, unfamiliar environment. Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire! However from cutting a more cynical figure at the beginning, her move seems to transform her into the complete opposite, a woman who is most gullible and naive. Given her background I found this change in character difficult to comprehend. Moreton Inn itself has a ghostly/creepy vibe from the outset, not helped by the presence of the long term Miss Haversham type resident, a character who certainly adds to the mystery and intrigue surrounding Mel’s new  adventure into the unknown. I did struggle at times with the credibility of some of the behaviour of the characters, which for me  is the main downfall of this psychological thriller. If you can suspend belief for the duration of the book then I think you will find it more enjoyable. 

Which leads me onto my overall opinion of the plot line. There’s a great deal going on, with the author throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the mix so that you can be guaranteed of twist after twist after twist, some of which seem to defy all sense of logic and others, such as the brilliant ending where you’ll think OMG I didn’t see that coming! I’m a contrary soul; sometimes I’m not bothered when situations appear to be contrived or scenarios feel implausible and yet on other occasions I am. Sadly, this time around my thoughts and feelings fall into the later camp. My enjoyment came in peaks and troughs, since the storyline starts well, then dips, then picks up momentum, diving downwards once again until the explosive finish. I was excited to read this thriller having previously enjoyed Date Night earlier in the year, believing it to be worthy of four stars but with Single Mother I’m in a quandary! For ease of read (and I did find this difficult to put down) it deserves 5 stars. For credibility maybe only 3 stars and for overall reading experience possibly 3.5 stars.  On balance I have settled for 3.5. Whilst in many ways I’d place this thriller in the mediocre bracket I do think the ending went some way to improving my general impression of the book. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

Single mother Mel working as carer, lives with teenage daughter Kate. She has to work hard to make ends meet. She was sacked from the job with the accusation of stealing money from the old man she was caring for.

An unexpected and mysterious inheritance of a seaside inn in Dorset and a windfall land on her lap. This comes with mystifying stipulations. Seeing this as a godsend opportunity, she uproots her life to Dorset, thus setting a chain of events in motion which puts her family in the path of danger from all sides.

This was my first Hayes book, and will be looking forward to her books. This was a compelling, hard to put it down book which forced me to finish in one sitting as I couldn’t wait to find out who was the mysterious benefactor, how Mel related to them, how they found her. Hayes' beautiful writing hooked from the first page itself. This book is an addictive psychological thriller full of mysteries.

Hayes throws twist after twist when I thought it all wrapped up nicely, she expertly throws another one. There are many twists, turns, shocks, and I didn’t know whom to trust, who was telling the truth. Hayes presents two kinds of mothers, where one is like a lioness who fiercely protects cubs, on the other end, who puts their children's life in danger.

My heart went out to one particular character for all the suffering they had gone through from the people who were supposed to protect them. These parts were distressing and gut-wrenching to read and made me furious. Strongly connected with Mel's protectiveness and optimism despite going through a rough patch.

All in all, I strongly recommend this chilling, utterly engrossing, and refreshing read with full of suspense.

Thank you Bookouture for giving me an opportunity to read this.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for allowing me to read this Arc.
I absolutely loved Single Mother. Full of twists and turns throughout. I've read all of Samantha's books and loved every one of them. Single Mother didn't disappoint. And that twist at the end.....Wow!!!! Can't wait for the next one.

#SingleMother #NetGalley
Thanks NetGalley, Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for an ARC to review.
I read Date Night and The Happy Couple before and loved them, Samantha's writing style is engaging.
A single mother Mel struggles to make ends meet for her and her 12 years old daughter Kate after escaping an abusive marriage. Her little life consists of her daughter, her job and her lifetime friend Michael. Or does it?
A mysterious letter, a setup at work and the knowledge that her ex is out of prison pushes Mel to accept an out of the blue inheritance, taking into consideration that she was a foster kid who knew nothing about her family. 
In a small seaside hotel, Mel begins a new chapter of her life surrounded by a peculiar group of locals including a one particular resident she seems to have inherited with the hotel.
An engaging, full of plot twists thriller that will keep you fully hooked till the end.
I loved Mel's character as she wasn't that typical damsel in distress who kept whining about fate's bad dealt hand, she stood up for herself and her daughter turning to a true mama bear when any danger approaches her daughter or the ones she cares about. She doesn't hold a grudge, she can forgive and change opinion when she understands.

I loved this book it was filled with loads of twists some I could see coming but mostly I was taken by surprise and I love that. A typical psychological thriller it was as addictive as hell and I read it in just over a day and I have to say I couldn’t put it down and that’s due to the wonderful writing of Samatha Hayes who again will I’m sure have another winner and so she should !!
The storyline is excellent we have single mother Mel who gets a strange letter from a solicitor  informing her of an inheritance although there are some weird conditions and Mel also has no idea as to who would leave her a hotel and money, it all seems like a dream come true but maybe not all is quite what it seems !
From then on we are plunged into mystery and suspense and a fine cast of characters, occasionally I felt things in the book were a little too easy but it never spoiled the read for me and I’m sure all good mystery thriller addicts will love this as much as I did.
My thanks to Samantha Hayes, NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a good old fashioned Psychological Thriller. You have no idea what is going on, what is going to happen, nor who to trust!
There is a lot thrown at you in this as there are quite a few characters that have a lot of depth. This really intensified the mystery surrounding everyone as any could have been doing things for any reason! 
The protagonist, Mel, was written superbly. So often, women who don’t have anyone to turn to can end up being relatively weak and pathetic. However, no matter what was thrown at Mel, she stayed strong and determined. There was an odd occasion where her actions were questionable, but not enough to ruin the story. Kate, on the other hand, was quite frustrating, but then again, I don’t have any dealings with teenagers to know if this is normal behaviour. I wanted to give her a good shake, though to stop her from keeping secrets.
There are lots of shocks and twists at the end, and even when you think the story has been concluded, there are more to come. I didn’t see any of the outcomes coming and was shocked at every turn.
The storyline itself was refreshing as I’ve not read anything like this before. I was even getting quite excited at the thought of renovating the hotel and was coming up with all sorts of ideas. I wanted to jump into the pages ad help!
Overall, a really gripping and exciting book that I devoured way too quickly!

This book is rather good for twists and turns! While a bit far fetched, it was also rather good and kept me wanting to know what would happen. 
I felt myself rooting for Mel and felt genuinely concerned for her. 

Won’t change your world but an enjoyable read that kept me quite invested to the end! 

Read through netgalley

Wow! Tears spilling like a torrent! I cannot help! Those mother and daughter were incredible! I truly loved them ! I just got lost the depths of emotional characterization of the story as soon as I got this book into my hands! 

  This book is not only great mystery reading, it was also great written, extremely heartfelt, tear jerker! Three generation’s story: the suffer, the pain, the abuse, the bullying they endure broke my heart several times! 

  It starts with poignant story of Mel and Kate. Mel is single mother, barely makes ends meet, taking care of her daughter after ending her relationship with the abusive bastard who called himself husband grabbed his jail card and got out of the picture. 
  
  She works at care house for elderly. But her boss is cutthroat Nazi bitch who scrutinize each move she makes to find a mistake to dumb her ass and finally she finds a chance to sack her by blaming Mel for theft! 

  Mel is already exhausted not to give a proper life for her daughter even though how hard she tries! And her daughter Kate has been bullied in school for a long time, rejecting her mother’s attempts to talk to the principal because talking will make things worst for her! 

  At the right time she gets a letter from a law company about unknown relative! She thinks it’s a scam but her best and only friend Michael forced her to connect with them and he is right: it’s not a scam. Actually it is an answer to solve for entire financial problems. 
  
  She does not only inherit a quiet satisfying amount of money but she also inherits a hotel which comes with one full time resident who is living there rent free and as long as she works she has to serve(including meals, laundry, cleaning) for that woman! She needs to renovate undertake renovation work and rebuild the floating hotel business. She is not allowed to sell the place! 
 
  But beggars can’t be choosers! Of course she accepts the offer! It can be clean skate for her and daughter but she has no idea what kind of troubles await them. The unfriendly staff who sabotage her is not the main problem she needs to deal! She accepts the offer for presenting her daughter a better life but somebody kidnapped her! She is missing! 

  As she starts looking for her she will also find the great mystery about her childhood which will shake her to the core and force her rethink everything she believes in her life! 

I’m rounding up 4.5 to 5 stars because the last twist is well played and the dramatic depth of the characters, their heart wrenching stories are perfectly crafted! 

Special thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for sharing this reviewer arc copy with me in exchange my honest opinions!

This psychological thriller certainly had me reading late into the night, determined to finish it and find out what was going to happen. An interesting plot and lots of interesting characters but maybe a little too hard to believe but I am willing to forgive that.


>Single parent Mel is struggling to get by while bringing up her daughter Kate, so when she receives an inheritance letter she can hardly believe it. 

Mel has inherited a small seaside hotel, left to her in a strangers will. Could this be the chance to escape the money problems and the threats of her dangerous ex Billy. The hotel needs an over haul and Mel is keen to throw herself into the hard work in an effort to escape her past troubles. But everything is not perfect and Mel senses the whispers from locals and an uneasy feeling that her daughter is hiding something from her. Things start to improve but are brought to a sudden halt when a disturbing discovery is made under the foundations. The police are called and Mel's problems just seem to escalate.

Lots of twists and turns in this one and probably a few too many for me but still a good read from an author I plan to read more of.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Bookouture for supplying  a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was very good! Couldn’t leave it alone, had to keep reading.  Mel, mum to Kate, is a carer at a residential home and is struggling with money and life in general.  She adores her daughter and relies heavily on her best friend Michael.  Mel and Michael met when they were children in foster homes together.  There is an abusive partner, Billy, in the background, no money to spare and Kate is being bullied at school.  Then an anonymous inheritance changes everything!
Whilst the book is a little predictable and the storyline is quite involved, the premise is good.  The ending is unexpected  and a real twist.  Single Mother is a very enjoyable read and I would recommend.  A good 4.5 stars.  Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

Another hit from the author.  The author keeps getting better and better.  A fun book filled with a lot of mystery and suspense.  And with a few twists thrown in, it made this book an enjoyable read from beginning to end.

Single mother is a strangely twisty chilling read that tells the tale of struggling single mum Mel, living hand to mouth month by month with her young daughter Kate trying to stay off the radar of her ex billy who had been in prison! A very mysterious but welcome inheritance suddenly provides Mel with an opportunity to escape Birmingham snd start a new life with her daughter by the coast! However this inheritance of a hotel, lump sum of money and a permanent resident doesn’t quite live up to mels expectations of a new life! Hotel life is fraught with unexpected occurrences,chilling discoveries, realisation and surprising twists.
Thank you netgalley for this early read.

Single Mother by Samantha Hayes is another addictive read from this not to be missed author.  This one will have you hooked from the very beginning and will not let go.

Mel is a single mother to a daughter, Kate.  Money is tight, and Mel struggles to make ends meet, but it is all worth it if they can only stay out of the clutches of her abusive ex, Billy.  When Mel receives a surprise inheritance of a seaside hotel, along with a significant amount of money, she thinks that her prayers have been answered.  It is a chance for her to start a new life with Kate, and to finally leave Billy in the past where he belongs.  When she arrives at the hotel, a mysterious and permanent guest, and a series of unfortunate events will have Mel questioning if this inheritance has been a blessing, or if her problems have only multiplied with the windfall.

This is a twisty thriller that will keep you guessing, and I couldn't put it down until I got to the bottom of it all.  4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

#SingleMother #NetGalley 
I couldn't put my kindle down. 
Mel and her daughter Kate step inside the small seaside hotel left to her in a stranger’s will, Mel allows herself a rare moment of hope. Could this be the new start away from the school bullies that her little girl so desperately needs? Could they finally be out of reach of Mel’s dangerous ex?As Mel starts restoring the building to its former glory – ripping up carpets, giving the rooms a fresh lick of paint – it’s hard work, but the place feels a little more like home each day; she’s even made a few friends. If only she could ignore the locals whispering behind her back and the uneasy feeling that her daughter is hiding something from her. Is she reading too much into the threatening messages left around the hotel? Are the glimpses of her ex’s battered red truck real, or imagined?When the police are called to a disturbing discovery buried under the foundations, 
Bookouture's Hit machine is back with a twisty psychological thriller. 
I'm going to promote it among my fellow Authors Bloggers Family Friends and Followers. 
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advanced copy of this psychological thriller.