An almost scary story of kidnap and revenge and the impact of historical events on today.
This story explores the student events of many years ago and how these affect the lives of the people that these students grew into. It works through the male/female understanding of these events how they are impacted differently through this understanding.
I enjoyed reading it and found that I was empathising with both sides of the story.
Recommended.

Very good story with lots of twists and turns and limited confidence in there being a good outcome. This story is gripping.

Well, the previous book I reviewed I gave 5 stars and said it was perfection. So I did not expect the next book to hit me the same way. Mother May I is Superb and is Perfection (although the jury is out on the title!)
The book itself is split into 3 parts and as far as I can remember keeps to a strict forward moving timeline with no characters in chapter titles.
Sub-book 1 provided me with one of the most tense reads ever and I never relaxed until I reached Sub-book 2. Sub-book 1 covers the kidnapping, first demand (completed) and second and final demand. I can't really think of a fault in the first Sub-book.
Sub-book 2 covers the search for the kidnapper, confrontation and conclusion(?). This is a very good read although it probably was a little bit longer than I would have liked.
Sub-book 3 brings us the aftermath, conclusion and 3 years on. I have to admit I did not know how the book would end and I did like the twist in the conclusion. What happened to Lexie 20+ years ago is a very sensitive subject but it is handled extremely well and in a thought-provoking manner.
This just has to become a film as there is so much in there and it does need need the end to be re-written

It's every mother's nightmare: someone snatching your baby.

It gets worse when you find out the reasons why and discover the people around you aren't who you thought they were.

"Mother May I" is a compelling thriller with dark undertones that examines what can happen when crimes of the past go unpunished. Without giving anything away, I did wonder how the author was going to resolve one obvious plotline and was disappointed - but unsurprised - that she went for the easiest route. Sometimes, it would be better to have a character have to deal with the fall out of their actions rather than leave them unresolved.

Still, that didn't take anything away from my enjoyment of this book, which had me gripped to the very end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

A good story. A little predictable perhaps. And I think it does muddy the waters - it doesn't clarify if the victim was objecting to it all - or if to being photographed. The story doesn't clarify - although of course you are only getting the version of the attacker who is obviously only going to tell it from his view point. And I suppose that's part of the point of the story - how people can mislead themselves and fool themselves in to believing that they haven't done anything wrong when they have. So yes, a good read if a little easy to guess at times.

This is my first book by Joshilyn Jackson and I loved it. Really enjoyed the story, following Breein finding out what happened to her baby after he is snatched. Definitely one I recommend.

I really enjoyed reading this author’s last book never have I ever.. so I had high expectations for this book, but I was a little disappointed by it. It was a bit on the slow side for me and I didn’t find it a suspenseful enough in my opinion. I will continue to keep my eye out in the future for more books by this author in the future.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

This is a very gripping read. You really feel Bree's panic over her missing child. The plot twists keep you almost holding your breath. It's very topical too. How privileged frat-boys gloss over the casual exploitation of relatively disadvantaged girls. What was just a bit of (often drunken) male fun can scar for life the target of their fun. Hmmm.

Bree, the mother of three children including a baby son, wakes up believing she has seen a witch looking in her window. Wrongly, she dismisses what she sees as a dream. Bree is married to Trey who comes from a wealthy family and is now a lawyer. Another important character in the story is Marshall, an ex-policeman now working in Trey’s firm. From that caste, the story evolves. Trey has a past as a student that comes back to haunt him. The storyline is not particularly original and it takes a long time to reach the end. We do not need to know about the date stamp on the Herschey bar. It is not clear why the title is as it is. That doesn’t seem to convey anything about the story. This is a slow read and has few surprises.

I really enjoyed this. It has a well-paced plot and believable characters. I have read several other novels with the theme of "I know what you did at university", where men who are now living very comfortable lives have their worlds devastated by a dark secret. This one is about very cruel, cold revenge in a twisty plot, which ends badly for both the victims and the perpetrator. The fact that babies are the victims is rather disturbing. Joshilyn Jackson's novels are entertaining even if the plots are only just believable.

Having loved Never Have I Ever, I was excited to read Mother may I. It was a really gripping read. Bree and Trey have 2 girls and a baby boy. Their baby boy Robert is kidnapped and bree must do as she is told to get her baby back. How far will she go?
Lots of twists and turns and revelations from the past.
Definitely recommend.

Bree, after growing up in poverty now is married to one of the richest families, one morning she thinks she sees a witch at the bedroom window but quickly dismisses it, big mistake as later in the day her baby Robert is stolen. The next 24 hours bree has to follow instructions in order to get her baby back. A fast paced thriller which grips you from the start. Bree is a likeable character who proves that a mother will do anything for her children including murder. Lots of twist turns and revelations come out during the story. A very enjoyable read.

I really loved Joshilyn Jackson’s previous novel NEVER HAVE I EVER, so I had high hopes for this one. I’m happy to report that I was not disappointed!

As with NEVER HAVE I EVER, the strength of the story lay in its characters. Similarly to Amy, main protagonist of the author’s previous book, Bree Cabbat seems to be an ordinary cookie-baking and playdate-organising housewife and mother of three. Having married a wealthy husband, she almost came across as a bit sheltered and pampered, but that initial judgement proved to be wrong once her inner mumma-bear was called into action as she is facing a mother’s worst nightmare: her baby son’s abduction during her daughter’s dance rehearsal. What follows is a suspenseful tale of obsession, revenge and the length we will go to to protect our family. As with most mysteries, it is best if you go into this one blindly, so I won’t be giving much away in regards to the plot, other than the advice not to be fooled by its initial sedate pacing. As the tension mounted and Bree must confront all her inner demons, the story marched mercilessly towards its explosive finale.

Ultimately, all characters managed to surprise me, which doesn’t happen very often. Especially Bree, the seemingly privileged housewife, whose own past turned out to be far from sheltered and who soon proved that she could be fierce and fearless when the situation warranted it. MOTHER MAY I is one of those stories where you are being challenged to examine your own inner demons and preconceptions and ask yourself: what would I do in Bree’s situation? How would I react? What should she have done? As Bree goes had on head with her son’s abductor, we also get to know her a bit better, and I really warmed to her. Furthermore, kudos to any author who can make her readers feel empathy for the villains in her story! As the ugly truth was revealed, there were plenty of surprises in store, and no one was quite as black-and-white as they seemed in the beginning.

I love nothing better than a mystery that can surprise me, and MOTHER MAY I did just that. There were many themes that prompted reflection, especially regarding privilege and power and how an event that some may write off as a small misdemeanour has the power to destroy someone else’s life. And whilst some aspects of the ending didn’t totally gel with me, there was also one very decent twist that had me staring open-mouthed at the pages, not quite believing what I had just read.

If you love a good character driven mystery that features family secrets, obsession, revenge and a race against the clock to save your child, then this book is definitely for you. I admit that I was a bit dubious as to whether another story about child abduction would be able to wow, but the author soon moved away from the well trodden paths and carved out her own tracks that made for a cracking good read. I love thrillers that also tackle darker themes that prompt reflection and challenge my own preconceptions, whilst also being utterly addictive and entertaining. I can’t wait to read more from this author in future!

I couldn't put this book down. A loving wife and mother faces 24 hours to save her months old baby son stolen from her as she looked away for seconds. The kidnapper wants vengeance against her lashes husband and his business partner. Nobody knows why and the race is on to save the baby.

Well to be honest after reading her first I wasn’t sure how she was gonna too it but she found a way!!!

A heart stopping and terrifying book for me, god my heart was racing and or in my mouth half the time, it was seriously bloody mental.

The villain (well I kinda felt sorry for her actually in the end- I know 🙈) had more than enough reasons to be doing what she did but all the same poor Bree!

Fantastic array of characters and seriously great plot, twists galore and you’ll not put it down for anyone! Buy it now! Best read this year for me!

I enjoyed this thriller thought Jackson did a great job at building suspense. Although I found there were too many characters with similar names like why do we need to have a Bree, a Betsy and a Blythe. I thought the plot was intriguing but didn't like the weird romantic undertones with Marshall felt like it wasn't really necessary. The back story was quite interesting but a tiny bit predictable but I did find the reading experience fun.

“Revenge doesn’t wait for permission.”

In the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, it has been hard to find joy, hope, an escape… ‘Mother May I’ provided all of this and more. It took me a little longer to finish this one, not because I wasn’t enjoying it but working from home, the day to day mundanities and every day seeming like Groundhog Day has made it difficult to read as much as I’d have liked. Every chapter I read I didn’t want to stop reading, but had to keep putting it down to return to the real world. But my god was this book great.

After reading Joshilyn’s last book ‘Never Have I Ever’ I have to admit that I did wonder how she would top it. But she did, in spade-loads.

‘Mother May I’ tells the story of Bree Cabbat, who as a child, growing up poor in rural Georgia was constantly warned by her overbearing mother about the dangers and darkness of the world. Bree disregarded her Mother’s outlook on life, married into a family with wealth and power. An amazing Husband, three wonderful children. Life has been good to Bree. Until now…

When Bree awakens to find a haggard, grey-haired woman peering into her bedroom window and vanishes as quickly as she saw her. Bree quickly disregards this as a silly dream. That is until she spots the grey-haired woman again in the car park of her daughters private school just moments before Bree’s infant son, asleep in his car seat disappears. With a note in his place, warning her that she is being is being watched and if she wants her baby back, she must not call the police or draw attention to herself in any way from the instructions that will follow.

The woman soon makes contact with Bree, and she discovers that she too is a mother. So why would another mother do this? The grey-haired woman gives Bree one critical task to complete, if she ever wants to see her son again. Unfortunately this task comes with devastating consequences and Bree is suddenly complicit in a tragedy that could rip her perfect family apart. Bree knows what she has to do, and is prepared to do anything to protect her family. But in doing so she begins to unravel secrets that could have devastating consequences on her family.

‘Mother May I’ had me gripped from page one. It actually hurt to have to put the book down so much throughout as I could have very easily devoured it in a matter of days. Joshilyn writes with such conviction, strength and intrigue. The world she has created is so rich in details, plot twists and amazing. The #MeToo theme, which I feel was handled with care, and raises great questions which was done in a really informative and important way which I commend Joshilyn for addressing.

All in all ‘Mother May I’ is amazing, gritty, twisty, and completely unputdownable.

It is released on April 6th.

This is a quick and engaging thriller where the main part of the story basically takes place over a weekend.
I feel there was a lot in this that could have been left like the constant references to Betsy and the fact Bree used to be an actress. They really didn't add anything to the story.
I wasn't a huge fan of the ending which was neatly tied up. As the theme of the book was quite dark I would have preferred the end not to be so cliché and predictable.
Having said that if you're looking for a pacy thriller I would recommend.

This book has been completely and utterly impossible to put down. I have been completely gripped, suspicious of all the characters involved and completely unable to predict where this book was going. This is well-written, completely addictive and all round a wonderful gem. I absolutely recommend this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is quite a scary and thrilling book with tonnes of suspense. I really liked Bree’s character and felt that I could relate to her. The plot was intense and well written. I couldn’t put it down once I started!