I was completely drawn into The New Mother by Nora Murphy, a nerve-wracking and bone-chilling tale that presents a fresh twist on motherhood and suburban life. Natalie Fanning, a new mom in a new house, finds herself isolated, lonely, and exhausted, especially with a colicky baby. Her life takes a turn when she meets her neighbor, Paul, who offers her much-needed help and support. But as Paul's intentions become clearer, Natalie starts to wonder if she can trust him. Will she realize the danger she's in before it's too late?

Narrated by Dylan Moore and Lee Osorio, the audiobook brought the story to life in a captivating way. It brilliantly portrayed the struggles of a new mother dealing with postpartum challenges while trying to balance her career. Natalie's journey is relatable, and I found myself empathizing with her as she faced the complexities of motherhood.

The slow buildup of the story adds to the tension, keeping me on the edge of my seat. While some of the twists were predictable, I still enjoyed the overall experience. The depiction of Natalie's struggles and the gripping narrative make The New Mother an audiobook that I highly recommend. Special thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan UK Audio for providing me with this compelling story.

The New Mother does an excellent job of describing life and loneliness as a new mother. I enjoyed that it resonated with me, as I think it will with many other mothers.

I found the book initially extremely difficult to get into. The narration wasn't very engaging and was a bit monotonous. The first 50% of the book was a little bit of a depressing read. I feel like the book went on for too long about Natalies struggles as a new mother. I think this stopped the book from being as suspenseful as I think it was aiming for. I also think that the book was far too long. I often felt my concentration slipping.

After the halfway mark, the book seems to ramp up a gear and was an enjoyable read. I wish there had been a few unpredictable twists to help retain the reader's interest.

I listened to the audio book, the narrators were both really good at reading this story. Both were fluid and easy to understand. Expression for both characters were great and the chapters were well announced.

The first half of the story was slow and boring, telling you everything a new mum book would do, not a thriller. The second half was the better part and kept me listening.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

I just couldn't get into this audiobook. I found the narrator sounded almost robotic, no emotion or reflection in the voice. The characters didn't appear to be interesting or unique. Sorry just not for me.

This is the longest drawn out book I have listened to for ages
Chapters 1 to 40 were all about the new mum and her struggles with a new baby not exactly the thriller it was advertised as
I only stuck with it in hope it would get better and to be honest it did have a good twist near the end but not good enough to get you through the earlier chapters

I loved the author's previous novel The Favour and so was looking forward to listening to The New Mother.

The author's descriptions of what it is like to be a new mother with post partum depression are extremely insightful and well done. However this theme became too intense and repetitive and came at the expense of a gripping plot. I found the narrator to be rather monotone and whiny and this added to the lack of suspense and tension in the novel.

Sadly this was a rather depressing listen due to the combination of narrator and subject matter. However, Nora Murphy is a talented author and I'll definitely look out for her next novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to and review this digital audiobook.

The first half of this book doesn’t read like a thriller, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t enjoyable. I liked the main character and really felt for her throughout the book. The second half was set at a much faster pace and did start to read like a thriller. I thought I had guessed what would happen a couple of times, but I was wrong. I definitely recommend this book. I tend not to like American narrators, but I had no problem with the two on this audio and they kept a good pace. I will definitely look out for more by this author in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers.

This was very much a book of two halves. The start of The New Mother is more akin to a domestic drama than a thriller with the plight of Natalie, struggling to adjust to the loneliness of being a new mother with a baby that does not sleep.

She forges a friendship with stay-at-home dad Paul who seems to be the only one who can understand her plight and comfort her baby. Paul however has an agenda of his own and Natalie is just a means to an end.

The second half of this book picked up pace at speed and became an intricately woven thriller that I could not put down.

The narration was fantastic and I would definitely read another book by Nora Murphy.

I listen to audiobooks all the time. Dog walking, house cleaning, ironing and making meals so whilst I enjoy a good cry along with the most people I’m not keen on feeling depressed. Unfortunately this audiobook was very depressing.
A sad subject matter so I didn’t expect a comedy but for entertainment I’m afraid this completely missed the mark.

This is a tricky review to write. Not a single thing about the book is wrong. The writing is well formed. Our protagonist Natalie is relatable in that she is in the throes of post natal depression, I felt huge empathy for her. There are no qualms about the horrors of dealing with a post birth body with a baby who screams constantly if he isn’t being fed. In fact it seems the only way Natalie knows how to deal with him.

Where it fell down for me was that it’s heavily pitched as a thriller, and it’s really not. Yes there is s murder and the story does somewhat come together in the end. I’m still not sure how exactly I would pitch it honestly. Perhaps a caution on post natal depression and how desperately it can affect even the sharpest minds and leave you vulnerable.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan U.K. audio for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in return for an honest review.

The New Mother is a great listen. It starts out nice and gentle, with Natalie and Tyler bringing their beautiful baby boy, to a new home and a new life for them. then everything, literally everything begins to fall apart.
Nat loves her son unconditionally but he just wont sleep, lack of sleep and the fact that Nat insists she is the only one that Oliver wants. He cries, she feeds him, he cries she tries to soothe him. As the weeks go by this family is beginning to fray at the edges. Nat returns to her high powered role and realises she can't really cope here either. Life is not shaping out how she thought it would. Then in comes Paul, their new neighbour and it feels like he is a great calming influence on Oliver and Nat suddenly relies on him more than she knew.
Who though is Paul? Why is he being so helpful? Is he really the answer to all her prayers? Why though has Nat become so reliant on him? Is she being sucked into something ? Is she developing feelings for Paul?
This book is full of drama and i really enjoyed the slower pace at the beginning so that we really get to know and understand how frazzled Nat has become. The pace picks up brilliantly, at just the right moment and I just had to keep listening until it finished. The ending is superbly done and I highly recommend this audio.
The narrators sets the scene well and keep your attention focused at all times. Great great audio

I really felt for Nat in this audiobook and was gripped especially the last half of the book! Audio was fantastic and just the right tone for this novel. A great read – lots of surprises and an excellent ending. A high-stakes domestic thriller that is utterly absorbing. Twists and turns abound, it will have you locking your doors and checking your windows.

I actually ended up reading this book rather than listening to it, so I cannot comment on the narrator. Natalie, a new mother, is suffering from sleep deprivation and post partum. Paul, a neighbor, befriends her but has his own agenda. As their friendship grows, Paul sets the stage to gaslight Natalie, make her look bad to their spouses, etc. Without giving too much away, Paul reveals his true colors and his agenda. I'm glad the author didn't make the woman look completely stupid. Good book. Better ending.

Three stars from me means that I believe the author has achieved everything they wanted but that I personally didn’t fall in love with it.

In this case, the lead character, Natalie, is just such an interminable moan that it made for a depressing listen. It’s a tricky one, because she has post partum psychosis, so she’s hardly likely to be a barrel of laughs, but honestly there are just so many descriptions of sore nipples, isolation and extreme resentment of her husband, who has received a promotion at work while she, Natalie, is trapped at home with their baby.

The other lead character, Paul, is just very two dimensional and transparent. Again, a thoroughly unlikeable character.

In fact, the only people who come across well, I think, are the mother-in-law Natalie despises and the police detective investigating the murder of which Natalie is a prime suspect.

In short, I’m sure that some people will really love this novel, but it just wasn’t for me. I would recommend it to others who like a good misery memoir as well as murder stories.