Excellent domestic mystery - keeps you guessing and and throwing curves until the end. Hepburn keeps the interest and as the plot thickens pulls you in with some new twists and surprises. Not the typical domestic mystery, but a captivating thriller you will not want to put down. Highly recommended!

Meet Nicola. She grew up in foster care. Her childhood and early adulthood years were full of unthinkable trauma and hardships.

She’s trying to move on from all of that and live happily with her husband and son. Bizarre things start happening and she feels like her past is coming back to haunt her. Can she keep the secrets of her past hidden? How far will she go to protect her son?

I couldn’t stop reading this! When all of the secrets from her past start spilling out everything falls into place like a twisted puzzle. There are some really intense parts which left me holding my breath! More secrets come to light in the last few chapters that I didn’t see coming! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for this advanced reader’s copy!

This book is gripping.

Nicci has put her troubled past behind her and lives with her son and new husband in a lovely house. But can she really escape her past?

I found this book very slow at the start, but it did pick up in pace. I didn’t really understand Ian as a character- he was so clearly a bad guy from our first meeting of him. I think it would have been better if his gaslighting had been a touch more subtle. It all gets a bit far fetched once Nicci approaches Logan for the money, but it was still a good read and I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Wow I loved this book.
A Good Mother started off a little slow but that did not matter as the story was fantastic. It had interesting, well written and well developed characters. It had exceptional twists and turns throughout and I could not put it down - In fact I stayed up into the early hours to finish it as I was eager to know the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

First I have read from Sam Hepburn and will not be the last. This is a face pace, exciting read.

Nicola grew up in foster care after her mum commuted suicide. She was then forced to do things just to stay alive and survive her time on the streets.

Fast forward some years later and Nicola lands herself a job as a receptionist, and falls in love with the dentist. She and her son Finn move in with Ian where he makes her the happiest she has been for a long time however Nicola gets stronger as the story develops and will do anything to protect her son from her past.

You will be kept on your toes throughout. This book you will love to read.

Thankyou netgalley for advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

The beginning of the book was a little bit slow for me. By the middle of the book you were dying to finish it to see what was going to happen. The ending had twists you didnt see coming. I have already recommended this to so many people!

** spoiler alert ** A Good Mother by Sam Hepburn is a hard sell for me. I am clearly in the minority here looking at other reviews. The hardest part for me to swallow was the clear intention to gaslight the lead character. Gaslighting requires a subtle, almost imperceptible, effort made to make another feel they are going crazy, insane. What went on in this novel was relentless and consistent and constant. Thus, ridiculous. It also had no logic behind it. Even at the resolution it didn't justify the relentless shaming and ridicule Nicci endured. I think this novel would have been so much better if Ian had been more likable. I don't think it would have hurt the plot line at all. Secondly, the lengths to which Nicci goes to attain the ransom is ridiculous. Again, the reader isn't given the logic behind her just not coming clean. Surely telling the truth, paying off her blackmailers would be far easier than the lengths she goes to. All of this taints the very enjoyable synopsis I was looking forward to when selecting this title. But maybe it's just me. Probably is. Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

This is my first book by this author but it won’t be my last. It was well written and dark and intense. It’s definitely not for everyone as there are triggers and the characters are all cold, manipulative and out for themselves. But if you’re looking for a domestic thriller, this may be for you.
Nicola grew up in foster care after her mother’s suicide and while there made friends with some less than ideal girls but they were the only family she knew. As a result of choices made with her friends, her life was a giant series of bad decisions that affected not only her but those around her forever.
Now an adult, she is married to a charming, rich dentist she met while working as a receptionist for him and living an enviable life with her son, who her husband has taken under his care as if he were his own. Her husband doesn’t know much about her past and she prefers to keep it that way until one day her past comes calling back and sets in motion a series of events that spins faster than a carousel.
This was fast paced, loaded with twists and characters that you will loath one minute and cheer for the next.
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.

My heart was in my throat through the whole book! Right from page one the undercurrent gave me a sense of foreboding and chills. You just know
Something isn’t quite right. You hold your breath to see what will happen next. Fast paced, suspense galore and some terrific characters that you can’t help but root for. There were also some pretty major plot twists and turns. This was gritty and dark and awesome. When your protagonist is not always as good at heart as they seem you know you have a book with many layers. Like an onion each page is a layer peeled away to revel something new. This was a heck of a ride.

Thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.
5 Stars!
This was my first book by Sam Hepburn and will definately NOT be my last.
I had a hard time putting it down once and had to know what the next secret was as the characters were full of lies. This truly is a psychological thriller.

The story of Nicci and Donna and their awful experiences growing up in the care system was sensitively dealt with and interweave well with nicci's seemingly perfect marriage. A gripping read.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I absolutely love Sam Hepburn's books and couldn't wait to read this! This book was a great read and is a psychological thriller. I wasn't able to put it down and stayed up way too late into the night reading this as I was dying to find out what happened. . I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves psychological thrillers that are fast-paced and well-written with many unexpected twists and turns. I highly recommend you read this as soon as it's published.

Imagine your fishing and your hook get's stuck in a really tough fish and it just doesn't want to let it go, that's what happens when you start reading this brilliant, twist filled psychological thriller, it literally hooks you from the get go. The characters all work together well and I was thinking some really cruel thoughts when I got to know Ian, Nikki's husband who is a complete bullying arse by the way., but the book would not have been the same without him. Nikki and Donna both have really troubled childhoods and they go through some tough times, but fortunately Nikki comes out on top and I was really rooting for her and little Finn who I thought was adorable. The plot was fantastic and the twists definitely have the shock factor, which I love and they kept me turning the pages. It's a truly brilliant work of fiction and I can't wait to see what Sam writes next because this book is by far her best. LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT!.

4.5 stars for A Good Mother by Sam Hepburn

Nicola had to grow up in the foster care system after her mothers apparent suicide. She was forced to do things no one wants to do, but thinks they have to do to survive on the street. So years later when she gets a job as a receptionist at a posh dentist office and falls in love with the dentist, she feels like her life is finally headed in the right direction. She and her son Finn move into Ian's lovely home and begin the job of trying to make him happy and that is hard to do! I thought this was going to be another book about a victim, a poor controlled woman, who allows everyone else to make decisions for her. Boy was I wrong. Nicola just gets stronger and stronger as the story goes on and will do anything to protect her son from the people from her past and from this controlling new husband and situation that she has found herself in.

This was an exciting, fast paced read. I felt so connected with both the characters and the story. You will love this book!

I would like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A Good Mother starts slow but the pace soon picks up and it doesn’t stop! So many twists and turns.
I loved Nicola, she’ was so complex and I felt really sorry for how people in her life treated her.
4/5

A big thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an early copy of this book a Good Mother by Sam Hepburn.
Starts off a bit slow but definitely picks up and keeps going at a fast pace.
All she ever wanted was to keep her son safe.
She married the perfect husband and built the perfect home she wants to give Finn her son the life she always wanted but never got.
Everything was going so well,until now.
Just how far will she go to protect her son?
I found the adults very unlikeable I just didn't know who was telling the truth plenty of twists and turns kept me gripped so if you love psychological reads this is a must.
Another winner from Sam Hepburn.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book which was my first read by this author. I thought it was very well written and I was drawn in right from the start and the book held my attention all the way through. I liked the main character Nicola who has a past her husband knows nothing about which returns to haunt her years later. She is a protective mother who will do anything to keep her son safe. I loved how the book moved from past to present so easily and that the author really built up the tension and suspense at times which made me feel very uneasy when reading and wondering what would happen next. The author has created a mix of characters here, some I liked and others I loathed and I loved the twists in the plot, some I’d guessed, others I didn’t. Overall, a book which was a real page turner for me and one that became a cracker of a read. I would definitely recommend this book and will look at others by this author.

4 stars

Sam Hepburn writes great cautionary tales. In A Good Mother her underlying message is a plea to all women to hold on to their self-esteem, have confidence in their decision-making abilities, and avoid turning control of their lives over to someone else.

The protagonist of Hepburn’s story, Nicola, is bullied, undermined, and preyed upon by almost everyone in her life growing up, and as an adult her husband is arguably the worst offender. Her lack of self-esteem and faith in her own judgement is skillfully explained in her back story, which gives us empathy for her actions throughout the book. Though I understood the psychology behind Nicola’s passivity, I waited anxiously for her to enact the furious revenge her antagonists deserved. There was one scene involving Nicola’s son that didn’t sit exactly right with me, but that would require a spoiler to explain, so I’ll leave it to other readers to decide.

A Good Mother is a compulsive read that had me turning the pages at warp speed. There were plot twists I never saw coming and the plot lines were expertly woven together. Loved this one. A great read! Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing an ARC to read and review.

Bayside Book Reviews will post this review on May 25, 2021 at https://baysidebookreviews.com/ and also on Instagram at https://www.Instagram.com/baysidebookreviews

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/57214985

“Every day my past creeps closer and I don’t know how much longer my wall of lies can hold it back.” Sam Hepburn has managed to take the concept of motherhood and marriage and weave in all the lies and deception that you didn’t realize go on. What you think is going to be a simple story about a mother and her son take twists and turns into the world of foster care and prostitution. Who is lying and who is telling the truth? You won’t know the full severity that Nicola’s past can has on current life until you get to the very end of this amazing read!!

I couldn't put this one down! I don't know where to begin with this thriller thrill ride. Twists and turns, surprises to keep you on the edge of your seat. Sam Hepburn knows how to keep readers engaged and on a wild ride.