I was given an ARC of this story and I thought it was mind-bending because it wasn't clear who was doing what to whom - nice and twisty.

The past and present collide in this thriller that uncovers the gap between the rich and poor in addition to unravelling a 'not so clear' plot. The characters are intriguing and the sense of place well described.

Throughout the book, there is definite sense of threat from more than one POV. Themes such as entitlement, power, money, blackmail, shame, betrayal and love, which are threaded within the lines, created suspense and suspicion.

The writing style was good, first-person narrative for the most part - my favourite style as it delves deeper into the mind of the character and story as a whole.

Overall, I enjoyed the book despite the disturbing themes.

Recommended.

Life is a struggle for Rose O'Connell - her existence has long been shadowed by the activities of her now-deceased conman father - a master of the long con - and keeping her little family afloat financially and practically is a major effort. (Husband Pete is lovely but doesn't contribute a great deal to the job of keeping the family going day to day.) A place for young Charlie at the sought-after Woolf Academy seems like a certain path to a better future.

It doesn't take long though for Rose to fall into the orbit of the charismatic Amala Kaur, CEO of the school trust, who has taken the Woolf mantra of Magis et Magis (More and More) very seriously indeed, and the inner circle of women she commands.

(I never quite got a grip on how the school operates - if there's a headteacher I don't think we're ever told who they are, and Amala clearly holds ultimate power.)

Rose wants a better future for her family, but after a difficult childhood she also has a powerful yearning to belong and to feel respected by others. An invitation into the inner Circle, with all the status and privileges that bestows, seems like all her dreams come true. But, of course, it's ultimately far more of a nightmare. Nobody except Amala wants Rose there, and the way she's treated by the other women is rage-inducing. Amala herself has her own agendas, and young Charlie is not exactly settling into his new and supposedly better environment.

This was a very enjoyable read. Amala's antics are eye-poppingly over the top and it's hard to believe anyone would have the brass neck to act the way she does (the Pete business!!).

It was predictable at times - the Jacq thing felt inevitable and the eventual ending came as no surprise. I did get a bit confused though at multiple reveals towards the end. Overall, though this was a great read which also has some things to say about women's lives and the harsh realities of inequality.

Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Having a small child myself that will be starting school soon, this story resonated with me. Rose wants what's best for her family, for them to reach higher and her son to go to the best school, The Woolfe, which is free of charge. But does Rose realise what this will cost her and her family? "Such a Good Mother" is an easy to follow captivating read. I couldn't put it down and just had to know what happens next, especially near the ending which I think has the ultimate "AHA" moment! If you like suspense, family drama abd a bit of scheming, you won't be let down!

This is like Mean Girls 2: Back to High School except it's British and mums and Mean Girls 2 actually exists but it was Not Good whereas this is a lot of fun.

All the characters are awful including the MC so if that's a dealbreaker for you especially if it involves women pitted against each other, it's probably better to steer clear. But the thing that makes their awfulness bearable and interesting is the background and motivations of the characters. This novel explores the guilt that working mothers feel about never possibly being enough and the fallacy that exists that they can ever truly do everything that is expected of them. I loved that they were a diverse group of characters bonded only by the fact that were all suffering the same trials and had all succumbed to their darkest impulses in order to be the best.

This is a slow burn thriller with a lot of underlying tension and intrigue but not a lot of wild twists and turns or gratuitous violence. There's a pervasive sense of unease and that everything is building up to something explosive and it does not disappoint on that front. The major twist does rely on the fact that the first person POV character is just not disclosing something to the reader which is not my preferred way to be delivered a twist but I actually think it makes sense here because of the nature of the character and the twist itself.

I think I would have preferred a slightly different ending which is hard to discuss without getting into spoiler territory but that's the only thing that stopped it being five stars for me. It absolutely wasn't a deal breaker or anything I just think there was another direction that I would have personally found more satisfying.

Some other themes explored here were gentrification, isolation and childhood trauma. It all fitted together perfectly until you fully understood Rose's frustration and even why she was doing what she was doing even if you couldn't agree of sympathise with the way she dealt with it.

Read this for: mums behaving badly, frenemies, intrigue and one total gut punch.

Unfortunately, this wasn't for me. The very low self esteem of the main character was making it too bleak to enjoy. I gave up at about 35 per cent through. Definitely aimed at a female audience in my opinion so maybe that's why I couldn't get into it.

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The politics of the school gate and the PTA, I’ve been there!! Rosie is from a low income family with a con artist for a father. She is married to Pete and is the mum of Charlie. As does every mother, Rosie wants the best for Charlie and enrols him into a private school they cannot afford and they don’t really fit in to either.
Following the death of a member, Rosie is invited to join the Circle, the school group that all “the” mums belong to. After joining the Circle, their lives head in the direction Rosie always dreamed of … Charlie gets special privileges at school, business opportunities open up for Pete and she becomes the envy of the other mums. However, Rosie isn’t exactly what you’d call Circle material and rather clearly, The Circle is not your average PTA group! A good read with a couple of twists to keep you on your toes.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for this advance copy.

I was looking forward to this book but sadly disappointed.
The characters were written well in that they were very unlikeable and i guess that was the idea.
Other than that i found the whole story unbelievable and far fetched.
I do not like giving such negative feedback but I'm afraid on this occasion i have to.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy and i have left my honest review..

A story of modern parenting / motherhood.
Rose is from a low income family but wants the best for her soon,she has a chance to send him to a prestigous school. but she cannot afford all the extras involved .
The book is good with great twists a thrilling read.
I have not read this authors work before ,so was a very interesting read and style of telling this tale of a mum trying her best for her son in very challenging circumstances.
Thank you netgallery for sending me this book to read .
i will definitley look outfor more of helen monks takhar books.

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 and 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 mom in a name tag and uniform at Wolf’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 glamorous Amala Kaur
I really enjoyed this book totally recommend I couldn’t put it down
Thank You NetGalley and HQ
I just reviewed Such a Good Mother by Helen Monks Takhar. #SuchaGoodMother #NetGalley

I looked forward to reading this book as the story line appealed to me and I could see how it could be built up in to a suspenseful tale but I struggled with it, it was farcical to say the least

A very well written story, captivating & easy to read.

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy I received free via NetGalley.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it turned out to be a good choice. Every single character is loathsome but well drawn and believable. The idea of getting your child into a school such that you'll do anything to achieve it doesn't really resonate with me but as a premise for the rest of the book it worked well. The best thing about this book was that I really didn't see the ending coming but thought it was great. Very different I feel from other thrillers and much more interesting as a result
3.5 stars/5

I’m afraid I didn’t really enjoy this book. It has a great premise but I found the characters completely unbelievable and two- dimensional and the plot erratic and disjointed. Apologies that I can’t be more positive, but I thank the publisher for access to this ARC.

Rose and Pete live an ordinary, hardworking life. Along with their son Charlie, they make the most of what life sends them. Rose has aspirations for Charlie, she is desperate for him to have a better life, filled with opportunities to get out of the rut they are in. When a place at the prestigious Woolf school becomes available Rose puts Charlie’s name down, despite her reservations and those of the rest of the family.

Halfway through this book I did consider it a DNF, but persevered and I’m happy I did as the last half of the book, although very far fetched, improved considerably. The problem with the book is that it is too repetitive (yes, we know old Charlie had a hurrah!) and long winded. A good edit would really help.

The characters must have been well written as I disliked them all! Jacq was the moral compass of the book, but sadly ignored, Pete a weak, lily-liveried individual, Amala a woman to be reckoned with, and her acolytes obnoxious. Our protagonist, Rose, was a surprise, but not always in a good way!

This is a 3* for me, but with a few tweaks would be a good 4*.

Thank you NetGalley.

This is a cleverly contrived story soundly based in modern times. Rose wants the best for her son, now of school age and chooses the Woolf, a select privately run school across the road. She suffers from feelings of being not up to scratch among other mothers not least because of a paternal inheritance she is trying to hide. She is stunned to be invited into the inner management circle but then discovers there is a price to pay. The running of the school is not honest. The story deals well with parental angst. It keeps revealing another twist designed to keep the reader’s attention. I recommend it as an easy read.

This will be the caption on my Instagram post for “Such a Good Mother” by Helen Monks Takhar. The primary image for this post will be of the book itself. It will be published no sooner than one month before release unless otherwise suggested.

Every mother only wants what is best for their children. For Rosie, this means ensuring her son attends the best school in the district, that she does nothing to endanger his social acceptance and does all that she can to belong and support him. When she is selected to join “The Circle”, the clique of Instagram perfect mothers who run the school, she feels her talents are finally being seen, but sometimes the past has an unexpected way of catching up with us.

This book reads like “The Sopranos” but with mums, unexpectedly dark and twisted the author has perfectly captured the way that “Mummy shame” is weaponised by society at large, but particularly by other women. The characters, including Rosie herself, are all deeply toxic and it is fascinating to watch as Rosie morphs throughout the book, leaving us with a final scene that in its own way is deeply chilling.

The story itself is written with depth and precision, capturing perfectly the current culture which many women have to navigate motherhood through. The characters all clearly have their own histories and the story blends them together well. Peter’s sister, Jacq, provides the perfect contrast to the women of the school gate. The plot is cleverly done however I will admit I did find certain elements OTT, for example, the story line with Peter. This did take from the story for me a touch, as I felt that the plot would have held without it.

Overall though a highly enjoyable read.

My thanks to @netgalley and @HQSTORIES for this E-ARC. I very much enjoyed it.
This section will appear as a slide on my Instagram post. (First image will be of the book, 2nd slide image will be what is contained below).
“Such a Good Mother”
Helen Monks Takhar.

Read it if you like:
• The sound of fiction that is “The Sopranos” but with toxic mothers.
• Books that appreciate the nuances of “mummy” culture and how elements of that can be weaponised against people as a means of control.
• Characters that are beautifully written, with a decent amount of depth and high-level of dysfunction.
• Books that capture how much emotional labour we do, with our partners, with our children and the frustration that can build when communication breaks down.
• Books that twist in a way that you don’t necessarily see coming.

This was a fun and entertaining book. To begin with. It takes a dark and twisty spin towards the middle and it is fantastic. There are some awful characters in this book it works. It is highly recommended.

Wow! This was a novel that resonated with me in part - and probably will do a lot of mums. Haven't we all stood at the school gates watching the little cliques and feeling 'unworthy'?

This is Rosie. The elite Woolf Academy where she sends her son is a school that promises excellence for its pupils but expects/demands much more from its parents. Rosie works in a bank and in her polyester bank uniform feels very much an outsider amongst the mums in their designer labels, their gold jewellery. It brings back memories of her schooldays when she was 'Rotten Rosie', and plagued by memories of her background. Even though she is married to Pete who sounds so nice and mum to Charlie who is adorable, she feels that they could do so much better.

The Circle, a group of select mums, rule the school and are responsible for fundraising, keeping the profile/image high all led by Amala Kaur who is everything Rosie longs to be and when after the death of one of the members of The Circle Rosie is invited to join, to take her place she is thrilled. She finds that being part of the the Circle has benefits, Charlie gets special privileges and business opportunities open up for Pete and she becomes the envy of the other mums. for the first time she feels accepted and revels in the adulation she receives. But everything comes with a price and the more involved Rosie gets the more she realises what a dangerous and horrifying environment she has entered.

I loved this, at times feeling so sorry for Rosie and at other times wanting to scream at her. The characterisations were strong and the even on the page, Amala Kaur is an intimidating woman and the other women are delightfully awful. Pete just wants the simple things in life and becomes almost a pawn, but his sister Jacq. How I wish that I had been blessed with a sister like her - as much as I love my brother. And as for the twist - even though the thought did cross my mind, I never saw it coming.

I loved this and would recommend that you read the afterword by the author as well, which is really enlightening.

well written with a gripping storyline and well developed characters. It was twisty and unpredictable and the ending was a shock. An enjoyable read.

I enjoyed this book but feel it had so much more to offer and so much more could have been done with it if you know what I mean but all in all a good read ..