Sarah is a doctor working as a GP in a local practice and is married to Nick. On paper Nick is the perfect husband, adoring, attentive and always making gestures to show Sarah just how much he loves her. But Sarah is not in love with Nick, marrying him on the rebound, she was caught up in his loving whirlwind. Sarah is psyching herself up to tell Nick how she feels when he announces they should have a baby. Sarah goes along with Nick’s proposal but doesn’t cope well with her pregnancy, it lays her low and she suffers severe morning sickness, which lasts all day.

Moving forward to Nick and Sarah having a beautiful baby girl, the family decide to take their first trip together. A parent’s worst nightmare then plays out when baby Kyla is kidnapped. Nick adores their little girl and is beyond distraught at her disappearance. Sarah never really connected with her baby and has formed no bond since she was born, so shows some indifference, her feelings are vastly unlike her partners. As the police investigate what has happened to her baby, Sarah begins to learn some self- truths as it slowly dawns on her what her real feelings are for her baby girl. As the search for Kyla continues, secrets are revealed and the plot twists spiral, leading to a shocking yet great conclusion.

Valerie is one of my ‘go to’ authors whose books I don’t even bother reading the blurb on before picking them up. I find her stories to be original with relatable characters and realistic plots. She has a great talent in setting the tone of a story to make it interesting from the start and become more gripping as the pace picks up, the further on you read. I absolutely loved this book, so another easy 5 stars from me!

I have read and enjoyed previous books by this author and "The Mother" has the same fast pacing and twists and turns I expect from Valerie Keogh. Sarah is a doctor married to Nick who works in finance. Sarah met Nick when she was on the rebound from another romance and he quickly won her over with his declarations of love. Sarah comes across as a cold person and Nick seems overly smothering. Nick wants to have a baby and without really thinking it through, Sarah agrees. I really have a problem reading about people who hate their children or children being harmed, so I was hoping that this would go in a different direction. Sarah doesn't care about her baby girl Kaya at all and does the minimum to take care of her while Nick showers her with attention. Then one day while on vacation, baby Kaya is kidnapped. The rest of the book is through the eyes of Sarah and two police officers who are trying to get the baby back.

The book has a lot of suspense as the police get closer into figuring out what happened and Sarah and Nick face danger from this person who wants a baby at any cost. The author explores issues of parental love and women facing expectations toward motherhood that men don't have to face. I figured out one of the twists even though it seemed unbelievable but the author had a few more surprises up her sleeve. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC to review.

Sarah is an unhappy marriage to her husband, Nick. He wants a baby bust she knows she will be forever tied to him. She has the baby. And is convinced she is a bad mother. The baby disappears and suddenly everything is in question. I enjoyed the fast paced narrative. It definitely kept me turning the pages.

Sarah is married to Nick. She loves her job as a G.P but now realises that she doesn’t love Nick anymore and she wants out. Her dream job is to get a job in Scotland but, she can’t do that if she is still married to Nick. Nick is a devoted husband and will do anything for his wife. So, before Sarah tells him how she feels about him. Nick tells her that he wants her to have a baby and Sarah reluctantly agrees.
But Sarah doesn’t realise how quick she got pregnant and baby Kaya arrives. She finds it hard to juggle the job and baby Kaya and she thinks that she doesn’t love her. She gets Nick to do all the hard work looking after Kaya. But when she is abducted, she seems to have a change of heart. Where is my baby?
I have read several books from Valerie Keogh now and I have enjoyed them immensely. The story of the mother started quite slow to begin with and at times I thought the story was a bit farfetched. But it made me want to carry on reading and it had a quite a surprise twist at the end. 4 stars from me.

This book started off a bit slow for me. You have Sarah, the unhappy wife, and Nick, her clingy husband. During the first few chapters the book kind of dragged for me. Then Kaya goes missing and I couldn't put the book down. I was certain at some points that I knew exactly who had done what, but I was wrong. The twists in this book were great. I was suspicious of everyone. I didn't love how things tied up with Sarah's best friend, but the rest of the book was so good that I wouldn't take anything away from the book based on that alone. Well done, Valerie Keogh. I look forward to more books from you.

I’m not quite sure how to feel about this book. It definitely kept me guessing the whole time but was a little confusing and I’m not sure it was a believable storyline. Overall, it was ok but not my favorite.

This is the second book that I've managed to read by the author and since the first one had me mesmerized I just couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. This book is all about our main character Sara who is married to a man named Nick it seems just as a rebound and to help cure her broken heart. While Sara loved the attention she got from Nick and it helped her bruised ego she never really felt any strong romantic feelings towards him at all and unfortunately Nick sensed that. The whole time there is a disconnect so Sarah decided it's time to end things however when Nick says they should have a baby instead of voicing her concerns she agrees with him. Now this was when all of the frustration and yelling started on my part and this was also the point where I knew that I would not be able to put this book down. With a terrible pregnancy and continuous feelings of disdain towards Nick, Sarah tries everything she can think of to bond with her new child, Kaya but is very unsuccessful at it. How do mother's make it look so natural? I loved the characters in this novel because I loved to hate them. I also loved how this was told through Sarah's eyes you really get the frustration at her whole situation and when she is unable to form any resemblance of a bond with her new baby you know things are going to get worse. When the unthinkable happens and young Kayla is abducted at only two weeks old this should be unthinkable for both parents or is it really? The plot is very fast moving because you just have to see what is going on and how everything is going to turn out. I couldn't get enough of this story. I loved the characters and I loved trying to get to the bottom of what really happened before it was revealed. This book will have you on the edge of your seat and everyone is a suspect. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see what really happened. The ending was amazing and left me completely speechless. I never saw any of that coming. Valorie really knows how to weave a good story full of mystery, tension, and lots and of deceptions. Great read and I'm so glad that I got the chance to check it out. With so many plot twists this is one that will get everyone talking and if you want to be part of it check it out you won't be disappointed. This book is made for all book clubs but mostly for huge thriller readers.

The Mother, by Valerie Keogh is a slow burn thriller that follows new mom, Sarah, and her search for her kidnapped infant. This twisted tale takes you through a mother’s worst nightmare, the disappearance of her newborn- or is it? While not the most reliable character, Sarah bounces back and forth over her complex feelings of motherhood, her marriage, her friendships. I found this book to be a slow go until 3/4 of the way through when I audible gasped! Overall, the story is a solid 3.5⭐️. I enjoyed the way the chapter flowed without demanding you to keep going, but the constant questioning of what happened kept me moving forward.

Another gripping thriller from the queen of the plot twist, Valerie Keogh!

This plot revolves around Sarah, who regrets her rebound marriage to the smothering Nick. When Nick suggests the couple try to conceive, Sarah is torn but ultimately her biological clock wins out. With a horrendous pregnancy and increasingly resentful feelings towards Nick, Sarah struggles to bond with baby, Kaya. Only a few weeks into Kaya's young life, the unthinkable happens and she is abducted. What follows is dark twisty and utterly readable!

While characters aren't exactly likeable, they are certainly interesting and this sets the novel up well - I was gripped from start to finish. 100% recommended reading!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.0

Sarah becomes pregnant after doubts about her husband. Once baby Kaya is born, Sarah’s doubts get even worse until the unthinkable happens. In this novel, Sarah tries to find what happened to her daughter uncovering secrets from everyone in her life. The middle of this novel was repetitive with little originality on the standard course of “who did it.” The twist was expected but the character is hard to feel badly for. I would read another of this author’s work!

"The Mother" is a solid mystery/suspense read, and I chose it for the trope of the mother who who has a difficulty bonding with her newborn. The plot doesn't seem very complicated at first, but develops and has some enjoyable` twists and turns. Recommended for readers who enjoy domestic suspense novels. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
#TheMother
#NetGalley

Buckle up for this wild ride! This book was so good. I thought i had it all figured out a few times but I was so wrong.

The Mother starts out a little bit too slow for me but it does pick up a little bit.
Valerie Keogh does a nice job with all the twists and turns and it is very well written. Sarah, the main character, is very unlikeable in my opinion, but all of the characters are well written.

Although some of the protagonist's actions seemed unrealistic at times, this was a fantastic thriller with great twists and turns!
I loved Sarah's growth. Her character development surprised me. She's a character in the beginning and someone more mature with a different perspective on life by the end. Speaking of the it, what a great ending that was! I loved the twists and the risks Keogh took. The proganist came full circle and no questions were left unanswered.

I was interested in this book because I love the author. She never disappoints.

Sarah Westfield regrets marrying her perfect, doting husband, Nick. She met him as a rebound from a serious 3 year relationship, and now she can’t stand him. So surprisingly, when Nick suggests they try to have a baby, Sarah agrees. She struggles to bond with their baby, but when Kaya goes missing she realizes that maybe she did love her, after all.

This is a very well thought out book filled with twists and turns and a storyline I did not expect! Emotions run high, and trusts are forsaken in this brilliant twisted tale of unrequited love saturated in loss and betrayal.

Thank you #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for the opportunity to read this arc!

A brilliant thriller that kept me wanting to keep reading, loved the twist in the book, I haven't read many books by this author definitely looking forward to reading more.

Another crazy ride of a read from Keogh. I gobbled this up in one sitting. Sarah, as a harried doctor is carefully drawn and based I’m sure on a combination of medics Keogh has known over her long nursing career.. As a nurse too I know play hard party harder is a doctor’s mantra and so it is with Sarah until an obsession and baby skew the mix.

Valerie smashes it out of the park again. This book is definitely going to be another big hit for her.
Emotions run high when iffy Sarah and Nick's baby Kaya is stolen from under their noses.
Suspence, obsession, love,turmoil & twists a plenty.
A real page turner.

Great thriller based upon a respected GP and wife who becomes a mother but things don’t go according to plan. Their baby is kidnapped and the turmoil and lies that u fold makes this book difficult to put down great read

This was a who done it mystery, On the slow side.
The main character, Sarah, is very unlikeable. She is really off, I can’t picture her being a doctor.
The has a few twists in the end, very far fetched in my opinion.