This thriller had everything you want when reading this genre! Unexpected twists & turns, dual points of view and an ending that made it all tie up together. Really enjoyed this authors writing and i’m excited to read more!

Plenty of twists in this engaging thriller. Read in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Helena is a busy single mother with two grown up daughters who are are anything but alike. Helena wants to be there for each of her children and tries to meet them at their level without questioning their choices. When local girls begin going missing in their small town, Helena can't help but panic as she has a child who lives on the streets, could her daughter end up a victim or even the killer? While we learn about this families dynamic, there is another perspective weaved throughout from a victims point of view of being held captive. It was a nice balance of mystery and ultimately seeing how the paths cross in the end.

This had me chasing my tail, I like the way the author wrote separate chapters for each character.. someone is hiding a secret, or are they??. Helena has 2 daughters Vanessa and rachel. Vanessa keeps disappearing in the middle of the night stating there's an emergency at the care home she manages., but is there? Rachel chooses to live on the streets, an addict.. Helen has tried to get her help, but she won't accept it. Women are disappearing in the local community and their bodies are being found locally to the village. Who is the killer? Can Helena unravel her families problems and secrets?
Great read!

3 stars – Intriguing premise, but struggled to connect.

I was intrigued by the premise of Mother Knows Best and eager to dive in, but ultimately found it a bit of a slow burn that never quite caught fire for me.

The story follows a mother-daughter relationship that’s clearly meant to be tense and unsettling, but I had trouble connecting with either of them. The characters felt underdeveloped—I wanted more depth, more backstory, more reason to care about what happened to them. There were moments of suspense and emotional tension, especially as the daughter's behavior becomes more erratic and the mother begins to unravel, but they didn’t hit as hard as they could have.

That said, the dynamic between the two does take some unexpected turns. There are glimpses of psychological manipulation and paranoia that hint at a more layered story beneath the surface, and the twist toward the end did provide a payoff, even if it felt a bit rushed.

Overall, it had potential, but just didn’t quite land for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Not actually sure yet whether or not I actually enjoyed reading this book. I found the subject content disturbing in places, and I really felt like giving up. I carried on reading to the end as I was compelled to find out what happened in the end to all the various disfunctional characters. I was rewarded by a very positive outcome for them all until the last two pages, and then the final twist. I felt a sense of achievement to finish it, and was glad that I did. It was very well written and transitioned seamlessly from the past to the present. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

A mother worries about her two very different daughters amidst a spate of killings in their home town. As the story develops, you learn how everyone is connected with different points of view and timelines, who we should be wary of and how the twist unfolds!

This was an easy read, with a dark undercurrent!

Mother Knows Best is a gripping read that had me hooked from the very beginning. The way Alex’s past was revealed early on really drew me in- it set the tone for the suspense that carried throughout the story.

J.A. Baker does a great job building tension and slowly peeling back the layers of the characters and their motives. I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that the direction the story took genuinely surprised me. It wasn’t what I expected at all, which made it even more compelling.

I usually love this author and this one will sit in the middle for me. First the good. The story line was amazing and creepy and full of twists and turns. The bay guy was down right eerie and so incredibly well written in. The telling being based on different characters perspective also helped this book quite a bit. Now for the bad. Helena. I could not stand her character and the constant … oh my child might be a murderer.. I’m tired I’ll confront them later. My other daughter is abusing my kindness… repeatedly… but I’ll address it later. So much was pushed to later and it was not plausible. Some of those thing to any real person would have been immediate reactions. Her character brought down my rating. The chapters that were not her were amazing!

J A Baker is a new to me author. I was excited to check out the book Mother Knows Best. The premise of this book sounded really good. A mother who would do anything to protect her own children when there are disappearances and murders of other young women. The story goes back and forth between two timelines which is not big deal for me as many books do this now. The book was a slow build and unfortunately the characters were not that likeable, of course I think this was intentional. ?I did enjoy the book overall and will read more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I have enjoyed JA Baker's other novels but this one frustrated me. I found it hard to keep up with and it was confusing and didn't flow that well. Parts were engaging, but it wasn't consistent.

This one took a little longer for me to get into. I liked it one I got about 50% and I understood where the male character came into play. Wasn’t very fast paced but it was still good.

Thank you to the publisher & netgalley for this arc!

I really enioyed this book. It was my first book by this author. I love a good thriller and this was no different
I was gripped! I was kept guessing till the end

The pace was good and it was an easy read! Will defimitley be reading more from the author!

Mother Knows Best sounded interesting enough to inspire me to read it. Honestly, I became flustered with the characters and overall book. It wasn’t a bad book. I had high expectations of it keeping my interest. In addition, it seemed to go on forever.

I always recommend others to read a book themselves. This one could be paced right for someone who doesn’t mind stories told at a slower pace.

I don’t want to appreciate the opportunity to read Mother Knows Best.

This is the first book I have read by this author and won’t be the last. This is a gripping dark psychological thriller full of twists and suspense that I am sure fans of Valerie Keogh and Diane Saxon and Rona Halsall will enjoy. I read this in practically one sitting as I was gripped from the very first page. It’s told from the points of view of three of the characters.

I am definitely going to seek out more of this authors books

Mother Knows Best follows a mother and her two disappointing daughters and a psychopath in their small town. The story itself was interesting and kept you guessing. But the inner monologues of the characters, especially the mother, seemed to drag on. I had a hard time focusing on the story until the last this of the book which is where I felt the action actually happened. The first 2/3rds of the book felt like a really slow build-up to the climax. So not a bad book, I just prefer books where you feel like the story is moving the whole time. This one was in the character's thoughts a lot more than anything happening in the story.

Absolutely loved this book, a gripping thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. I would definitely read more books from this author

This is my first book by J A Baker. It definitely purely won’t be my last. I really enjoyed the storyline and the intensity of the book. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this.

This was a very slow burn by an author that was new to me. The story is told from 3 different points of view and different time frames. Sadly I did not finish.

A chilling psychological thriller about obsession, secrets, and the dark side of maternal love. J.A. Baker creates an unsettling atmosphere that builds tension with every chapter. Twisty, disturbing, and impossible to put down.