Rose O’Connell is barely surviving. Her marriage is rocky; her son isn’t fitting in at his new school, the prestigious Woolf Academy; and their tiny apartment in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood can barely contain her family. As she struggles to make ends meet on her junior bank teller wages, Rose finds that life as the only mom in a name tag and uniform at the Woolf’s shiny school gates isn’t easy.
Not so for those in the elite and secretive Circle—a tight-knit group of wealthy mothers, led by the charismatic and glamorous Amala Kaur—who rule the school. When the mysterious death of one of the Circle’s members creates a vacancy, Rose dares to hope she could fill it and transform her life.
Amala’s shocking decision to invite Rose into her clique provokes resentment among the Circle, especially when her fortunes, self-esteem, and status start to soar. But Rose soon realizes the true price of being on the inside. Far from being a dream come true, the Circle proves her worst nightmare. Unlike the woman she replaced, can Rose escape with her life?

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

Such a Good Mother was such a nasty, twisted little story centring around obsession, privilege and manipulation.

This is a book that is rotten to the core. Every single page is infused with manipulation and ulterior motives. This is a deeply human, flawed and complex book pushing the boundaries of morality in the pursuit of revenge and motherhood. Monks Takhar has a really interesting riff on the theme of family, presenting one aspect while holding a knife behind her back. The book also really delves into trauma and the effect our upbringings can have on shaping our present.

I loved the style of the book and how the narrative was framed around a certain plot device from Rose’s past. Be aware that in every scene, there are several chess pieces and machinations moving that you are totally unaware of. At the same time, I loved the rawness and vulnerability that seeped through the pages. I loved the characterisation and how deeply we dove into these flawed women playing a despicable game. There is a real nuance and fleshed out feel to these women. They are fractured and imperfect, but some part of you still roots for them.

You get pulled right into this claustrophobic circle full of sharks, only for the twists to hit you thick and fast. Those twists were so well-executed and really raised the stakes every time. They peel back layer upon layer of deceit, extortion and blackmail that lies at the heart of this glittering elite. All of this is perfectly paired with the super pacing and tension. You know something is off, but you do not truly know the extent until the very last chapters.

Such a Good Mother is a book that slowly encloses on you until you are unable to escape its nefarious grasp.

This book’s premise of the ambitious mum who will stop at nothing to get her child into a good school piqued my interest. The main character Rose O’Connell is such a mum. She has successfully pushed her son into the prestigious Woolf Academy but now her life seems to be disintegrating. Not only is her son unhappy at the school Rose fought so hard to get him into, but her relationship with her husband is strained and her banking career is going nowhere. Rose is also desperate to break into ‘The Circle’, the exclusive group of mothers centred around Amala Kaur, the founder of Woolf Academy. But what will happen when she does?
Peopled with a whole cast of believable but highly unlikeable characters and giving us plenty of insights into Rose’s chequered backstory, this is a riveting and fast-paced read that I recommend. Thank you to the publishers and to NetGalley for the free ARC that made his honest and unbiased review possible.

This is dark and horrible - so much so that it is a gripping and compelling read. Rose seems so sensible, and understands that all that glitters is not gold. She can see through Amala Kaur, the principal of the feted Woolf Academy. She knows her darling wee son Charlie is being scapegoated until she falls into line - so why does she do it? I spent a while trying to work out why Rose didn't choose the welfare of her family but instead chose to become one of the Circle, and made dubious choices going against her moral compass. I gave up and decided to go along for the ride. The explanation, when it comes is more twisted than I could have foreseen. Well worth persevering, but so devious and sick! #netgalley #suchagoodmother

Sadly I don’t think this book was for me as struggled to connect with the characters. I’m sure it will do well as most other readers seem to have really enjoyed it.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #HQ for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m still not sure if I liked this book. I think the premise is a great one but it’s been done so you do need a new take on it, which I suspect the author thought they were doing but the problem was, as a reader you didn’t care enough about Rosie. I did care about Pete and Jaq, even Amala ironically as she’s got potential as a villain but the book never quite reaches its potential. That said, I did enjoy it ‘enough’ and could see it making it to a tv series (just make us like Rosie for goodness sake)!

After reading this author's previous book (which I loved) I had high hopes for this one. However I'm a bit disappointed.

The pace is quite a slow burn and sometimes the plot was a little repetitive. We are told that Rose was known as Rotten Rosie at school numerous times for example.

I found it difficult to connect to Rose. I didn't understand her motivations and felt quite sorry for poor Charlie and Pete throughout most of the book.

There were some great twists in the second half of the book which I appreciated. Overall I'm glad I stuck with it until the end.

I really enjoyed this, first book by this author and it didn’t disappoint. It’s a well written dark domestic read with lots of twists. I loved the characters, the plot and the ending is just brilliant, I was completely shocked and didn’t see it coming at all. It definitely held my interest throughout with themes of desperation, entitlement and jealousy. You will be hanging on every word as the story unfolds. I couldn’t put it down.
Definitely recommend, it’s a great page turner.
Thanks to #NetGallery #HQ #HelenMonksTakhar for an arc of #SuchAGoodMother in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes the school run can be murder. Literally.

Being a mother of 4 myself, I found myself drawn to this novel. It illustrates the pressure of getting your kids into the ‘right’ school, the ‘right’ social circles and the giving them the ‘right’ experiences.

Sadly the narrator gets this all wrong - all that glitters is not good, and when Rose is drawn into the ‘Circle’ at the Woolf Academy, she finds that she has bitten off more than she can chew. Or has she? Perhaps there is more to Rose than meets the eye. Small, mousy and from a background of neglect, Rosie pits herself against Amala and the other Woolf Mothers.

This is a long and twisty novel. Although you start by empathising with Rose you soon realise that there are no heroes in this story and I was left with a profound sense of distaste and sorrow for her poor son Charlie, caught in the middle of Rose and Amala’s nefarious actions and suffering huge losses in the process.

I enjoyed Such a Good Mother and I am sure there are lots of cliques like this one at schools! Rose wants the best for her son, as I am sure all mothers do. However it comes with a price. Everything is ruled by The Circle, a group of mothers chosen for their talents. The head of the Acadamy, and The Circle, is Amala, who is full of her own importance and ambitions.
Rose gets dragged further in until it affects her marriage and her life.
A very good easy read.

✨So this is basically Mean Girls (on steroids) for mum’s. I disliked every single character minus poor old Jacq’s. They were all selfish, shallow, weak characters who only thought about themselves in the long run.

✨I’m struggling to find any words other than ‘meh’ to describe this book. I found it agonisingly slow and felt it didn’t really pick up at all and then sort of just ended.

✨The reveal of what Rose had done in her past with her father was a massive let down. It was played out to be something huge but ended up being nothing.

✨I love an unbelievable storyline but this was something else. It was so far fetched and over the top it was difficult to but into any of it.

✨Whilst I like a twisty book this one was just random twists. It was back and forth between Rose and Amala on who had the upper hand and it just got boring.

✨The only reason this is a 2 star and not a one is because I did manage to finish it….. but only because I knew I’d struggle to pick up another book without finishing this one.

Such a Good Mother is a rather far fetched thriller but a great read!
Rose is desperate to enrol her son in the local prestigious Free school, Wolfe Academy. Her own childhood was blighted by the fact that her father was a hustler, regularly conning local people out of their life savings. Now, as her local area is rapidly gentrified, she wants nothing but the best for Charlie.
However, when she succeeds in getting him in she finds the school is run by the head of the Academy, Amala, and her coterie, a group known as The Circle. Rose quickly realised that joining this elite group is the key to improving her and her family’s life.
From here on in it does get slightly silly, Amala is almost a pantomime villain at times. Just when you think everything is resolved somehow another level is revealed and off we go again.
It’s a great page turner though, I did enjoy it.
Thank you to #netgalley and #hqstories for allowing me to review this ARC.

Rose O'Connell is barely surviving. Her relationship with her husband is on the rocks and their son isn't fitting in at his new school, the prestigious Woolf Academy. Their tiny flat in a rapidly gentrifying neighbourhood = the very place Rose grew up as the daughter of an infamous local con artist - can barely contain her family. Rose can't catch a professional break either, trapped in the same junior bank teller role for years. Life as the only mum in a nametag and uniform at The Woolf's shiny school gates isn't easy. Not so for those in the elite and secretive Circle, a tight-knit group of mothers who rule the school, led by the charismatic and glamourous Amala Kaur.

Rose is a mum who would sacrifice everything for her son, The mothers in the Circle are all horrible characters. The circle is an exclusive club that can make or break a family. When a member mysteriously dies, their is an opening for a replacement and Rose hopes it will be her. This is a well written dark read has plenty of twists. I don't know what I expected when I from this book, but I wasn't disappointed. I like how the story ended.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HQ and the author #HelenMonksTakhar for my ARC of #SuchAGoodMother in exchange for an honest review.

Enthralling, chilling, compulsive, other reviews use these words and I am struggling to describe how apt those words are.

In short, this is an amazing book that keep the reader gripped from start to finish, an absolute must read for fans of thriller books.

It's hard to say much about this book without giving stuff away. I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out why Rose was doing what she was doing. But then I decided that I really needed to let go and just enjoy the ride, trusting that all would be revealed at the end of the day. So I did, and it was, and I started to enjoy the book more.
Rose is married with a child. A child that she is determined will go to the Woolf Academy. Irrespective that they really aren't the type of family to darken those hallowed halls. But determined she most certainly is and is shocked and surprised when all her hard work comes to fruition when Charlie is accepted. Although she is devastated when he appears not to be fitting in. But then there's a vacancy in the Circle - a solid group of mothers, by invitation only, who basically rule the school. The price is high for inclusion, as Rose finds out when she is elevated in status. But status for her also includes status for Charlie, but, as we start to find out, what will this ultimately cost them?
This is delightfully a bit bonkers. Full on and a smidge implausible. But all jolly good fun along the way. Head of the school Amala is a delightfully crafted character and I'd love to wax lyrical all about her here but you really do need to meet her as the author intends, and get to know her, warts and all, at exactly the right time for maximum impact. Other characters are just as well described and all act their parts well. I struggled initially with Rose, for reasons already mentioned, motive and all, but once I gave up second guessing, she kinda grew on me.
Plotting was sublime and so very well executed. Pacing matched the narrative all the way through and the ending was perfect.
All in all, another cracker from an author now firmly on my watch list - if you haven't already read it, I'd also recommend her debut book - Precious You. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Such a Good Mother started off well and I could feel myself getting drawn in to the plot. It had characters you love to hate and the story moved on quite well for the first half of the book. However I found the second half to be somewhat predictable in places and the plot stalled. I know others have love this book but for me it was just ok. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

This was a well written book with some interesting characters. However, in the end it felt a slightly formulaic telling of a well worn story about a chosen group of women with secrets who were flattered to be central to the running of a school before everything falls apart.
thank you to netgalley and HQ books for an advance copy of this book

This is a good read.
Rose is still haunted by thoughts of those who bullied her at school and is determined that her son, Charlie won't suffer like she did.
Rose wants him to go to The Woolf Academy, a prestigious school that claims to give children the perfect education, but soon learns that the school needs money.
Rose and Pete are in debt, but she is determined to get Charlie into the school.
Rose is soon given the Golden Circle badge and feels like she's part of a wonderful clique. It comes at a price though with snide comments from some of the others but Rose will do anything for her child. Or will she?
This is a good family drama.
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The book really begins with Rose O'Connell, the mother of Charlie and her visit to Woolf Academy - now a prestigious free academy - formerly the middle school that Charlie's mother attended and hated. The Woolf Academy is ruled over by 'the circle' - a small, seemingly, perfect and elite group of Woolf mothers. No-one can ask to join the circle - you have to be asked to join... and before long Rose, a bank cashier, very much not the usual 'Woolf mother' becomes one of the circle. The price of being one of the circle is, however, a high one ... and once she's in the circle it soon seems that Rose's life is about to spiral out of control, her marriage end and her relationship with her nearest and dearest be tarnished. This was a great easy, summer read, which pulled me in - I wanted to know what would happen in the end - and which had an interesting plot twist at the end. The author highlights from the start that all mothers who also work can struggle to be that 'good mother' and may feel guilt that they can't put 100% into both work and family life - I suspect many would agree - the lengths this mother goes to do seem a bit extreme but it didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book. A big thank you to netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

All of us who have seen children through school can relate to the IT crowd!! Those perfect mothers with perfect lives etc. Far fetched but a good read