The Perfect Mother was a read full of red herrings and twists.
Mel is a birth doula and has a good business providing pregnant women support through alternative ways. She has to give her business up when the unthinkable happens and what should have been Alice’s happiest day becomes the worst. The death of a baby is an awful tragedy but Mel is adamant she has done nothing wrong but Alice is set to ruin her. Mel and Alice had become best friends but all that ended when Alice lost everything. Alice then sets about making Mel’s life as awful as possible, posting hate messages online, whipping up forums into a frenzy so Mel can go nowhere without people knowing who she is and judging her. Mel is pregnant and her family have moved away from the area Alice lives in to start a new life but things are happening and Mel doesn’t feel quite as safe as she should.
This was a good psychological thriller that had an ending I didn’t see coming at all. The more I read of this book the better it got, I liked Mel and her family and how realistic the author made it with the tensions of being pregnant, moving house, renovating a house and living in a caravan, never mind the stress from Alice.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Mother is an intense thriller about a woman named Mel who has been blamed for the death of a baby when she worked as a doula. She and her family move to try to escape their past only to find that it seems to follow them to their new home. This is a gripping novel full of twists and turns that keeps the reader engaged. I highly recommend reading this book!!

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read this ebook early. A worthwhile read for those who enjoy psychological drama with a dose of suspense.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC. When Mel decides to be a birthing doula she never expected the outcome of Alice’s labor to be the worst possible outcomes. Almost a year later Mel is pregnant herself and is contending with a barrage of hate after Alice slanders her for why the baby was lost to the point Mel and her family move away. Things certainly don’t get better after their move and all Mel wants is to protect her family. Tho having figured out the ending to the story early on there is a twist to it at the end. This would have been a great novella by cutting out a lot of repetitiveness.

My thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Perfect Mother’ written by Claire Allan in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Mel has her perfect job, supporting mothers and helping them to have a natural birth by practising hypnobirthing. She meets Alice Munroe who insists on no medical intervention, but through no fault of Mel’s she develops complications and her baby Jacob dies. Alice blames Mel and proceeds to make the next year a living nightmare for her by spreading malicious rumours on social media. Mel and her husband Ed have no choice but to move away with four-year-old Tilly to a place where Alice can’t find them but then Mel becomes pregnant and they soon realise that nowhere is safe.

‘The Perfect Mother’ is a chilling psychological family drama where a mother fears for her own safety plus that of her four-year-old daughter and unborn baby. The story is well-thought-out with perfectly described characters, a hefty dose of suspense, drama and twists, and a highly suspicious neighbour who manages to inveigle herself into the household. This novel has had me involved from the first page to the last, and the final chapters were so disturbing I couldn’t begin to guess how it was all going to end. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this novel that’s compulsive reading and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

First off, thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a fast-paced read, and while I guessed about half of the plot correctly, it still managed to surprise me at the very end. Even though some parts were predictable, the story kept me hooked.

As a mom to a one-year-old, I genuinely felt the suspense creeping up on me—it was stressful in the best way, making me deeply connect with the main character. The book is suspenseful, emotional, and an easy read with no overly complicated characters or plots, yet it remains gripping from start to finish.

I’ve read many psychological thrillers with jaw-dropping twists, and while this one doesn’t quite reach that level, it still holds a special place in my heart. I loved the experience it gave me, and I’ll definitely be getting a physical copy as a trophy to remember it.

This was a tense, action-packed psychological thriller that had me doubting everyone! The characters are all believable and I didn’t guess the ending. I highly recommend this book for thriller fans.

"Life doesn't always turn out the way we'd like, does it?"

The story delves into the life of a former teacher, Mel, who changes her career to become a lifetime doula. However, a tragic incident occurs during the birth of one of her clients, Alice Monroe, leading to the death of the overdue baby, which changes Mel's life completely.

The death of Monroe's son, Jacob, turns Mel's life upside down. She and her family face tremendous hatred from the public and receive all kinds of threats from Alice and her husband, Thomas, which ruin her life.

Due to this, Mel and her husband, Ed, decide to move away from the small town Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland, to start a new life, as Mel is also expecting their second baby. Unfortunately, their relief is short-lived, as the threats continue. Will they have a bright future or will the nightmare continues?

The appearance of Sheila, who introduces herself as their neighbor up the hill, is very suspicious. Her nosy nature, frequent uninvited visits, and constant interrogations about their lives make me wonder how this character will shape the story.

Although it is a thriller, it has not many plot twists and for me, you will not find much suspense. The story starts at a good pace but drags somewhat with Mel's trauma. Yet, the ending feels quite rushed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. This went a little slow for me. I did get confused sometimes at certain parts, but overall, it was a scary plot to imagine happening to someone.

The Perfect Mother
By: Claire Allan
Pub Date: February 5, 2025
Publisher: Boldwood Books

This was my first by this author and love this thriller..
Alice Monroe hires Mel to be her doula and they begin a friendship. Sadly things turn tragic and Mel’s business is impacted. Mel and her family decide to move to another area for a fresh start while they await the birth of their next child.
Will they be able to have a fresh start or will her past come back to haunt them? I enjoyed this one and the characters are flawed.
Thank you Boldwood Books for the advanced e-ARC. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Not the best thriller I've read but overall a good suspenseful read with an ending I didn't even suspect 3.5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this although it was a real eye opener as to how cruel internet trolls can be. The storyline was set over a short period of time with flashbacks to a year ago. I found it quite traumatic in places, but it was never out of context. I initially thought it was going to be slow but I soon found myself very engaged.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for allowing me to read this ebook early.A worthwhile read for those who enjoy psychological drama with a dose of suspense.

The Perfect Mother is about a Mel being hired as a doula by Alice. They become best friends but then things turn sour. The events of a year ago continue to haunt Mel, driving her and her family away from their old life, only to have their past follow them. Mel becomes quite annoying with her really poor decision making.
The storyline was somewhat predictable and the narrative felt slow and repetitive which made it difficult to engage with. Unlike other psychological thrillers, I wasn't hooked straight away but it was a quick read.
The book is deeply emotional and some readers may find it triggering.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of The Perfect Mother by Claire Allan. This book started out really strong and I was really enjoying it. Then at some point it started to slow down and became very repetitive. It was as though the author was trying to make the book longer. The storyline was a good one, but perhaps this should have been a novella, and left out the repetition. It was a 3 star read for me.

Mel was a teacher, who decided to have a career change when she decided she wanted to be a doula and help women having their babies. Alice was a client, and was adamant that she wanted no medical interference when she gave birth, no doctors, midwives, drugs etc. Mel had a few misgivings at first, but Alice was young and healthy, and no problems were noted with her pregnancy, so Mel agreed. Mel and Alice and their husbands became friends, and all were looking forward to the birth.
The birth started off fine, then suddenly everything went wrong, Alice ended up in hospital, and lost her baby son. The parents were devastated, and Alice blamed Mel for the loss of her baby. Alice put posts about Mel on social media, warning everyone Mel wasn't to be trusted, so Mel lost a lot of clients. Things got so bad, that Mel decided to move away with her husband and little girl, in the hopes things would improve away from Alice.
However, after the move, things got worse.
This book started off quite slowly for me, but picked up the pace, and I didn't see the ending coming. I enjoyed the book and read it at one sitting.
Highly recommended.

Absolutely gripping. Full of twists and turns.

Thank you Claire Allan, Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC

Mel was hired by Alice to help her with what should be the happiest day of Alice’s life, the birth of her baby. But when that day turned into a nightmare; she blamed Mel and wants to ruin her reputation.
A year later Mel moves away and is pregnant. Alice sends her a message, she knows where she is. Since Alice wasn’t able to be a perfect mother, will she let Mel be.

I enjoyed this book and read it in a day or two. It is definitely an easy read. I did manage to guess most of the twist but I still enjoyed it and thought it worked well. There were some parts that felt a bit slow but then it picked up quickly, I think I only felt this as I’d been reading a lot of fast paced thrillers recently. I enjoyed the aspect of not knowing who to trust and would be interesting in reading some more of Claire Allan’s books.

Please look at trigger warnings before reading as I this could be very triggering for some people, but the author deals with it well.

Mel, a doula, befriends her client Alice. The two become very close until tragedy occurs. Alice then makes it her mission to destroy not only Mel's reputation, but also her business. A year later, Mel is pregnant and decides to move with her husband and daughter for a fresh start. However, things begin to happen that makes Mel think that her family, and her unborn baby, may not be safe.

The beginning of this book drew me in, but then it definitely lagged in the middle. While I suspected what was really happening, I still liked the ending. Overall, it was a slow read and a little hard for me to forge through the middle. But, with that being said, I would still give one of Allan's other books a try.

Claire Allan has combined a story line that engages her audience with multifaceted characters with many twists and turns in her novel The Perfect Mother her new domestic thriller.
This riveting psychological thriller delivers both suspense and emotional complexity. The twists are well-placed, guaranteeing that the plot remains both engaging and unpredictable.


Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.