Family binds them together. Lies will tear them apart.Child psychologist Dr. Karen Marks relates well with her young clients when it comes to loss. After all, she’s no stranger to painful life experiences. Despite the adversities she’s weathered, Karen works hard to serve Chicago’s troubled youth. But maintaining the perfect façade becomes impossible when the past crawls from the woodwork and … crawls from the woodwork and threatens the life she’s worked so hard to create.
First come the allegations from former students against her deceased husband. As the vicious and unfounded news goes public, Karen’s counseling schedule dries up overnight and she can’t help but feel like she’s being watched.
But then a new client walks into her office—his appearance so like her missing son’s, that for a moment she thinks her wishes and prayers have finally been answered. But it can’t be… it’s been so long since he disappeared and this angry, violent child behaves nothing like her Luke. Yet, the resemblance is uncanny.
Now Karen’s life is turned upside down as decades of unresolved issues overwhelm her, and seemingly unconnected events begin to reveal someone with sinister intentions. As threats mount, Karen must race to uncover a twisted plot that pits past guilt against any hope for the future.
And the truth? It was better left buried.
This novel contains violence, profanity, and scenes with referenced substance abuse and sexual content.
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What a mother won’t do for her child. In this drama a psychologist is so caught up in finding and getting to know her adoptive daughter that she doesn’t see what is happening in her on house. This is a roller coaster ride all the way through. You can’t see what is going on behind her back. Never pit one child against another. A real spellbinder. I received a copy of this book for an honest review given above.
Another page turner that keeps you guessing. Jo Crow never fails to disappoint and this book sucked me in from the beginning. No spoilers here (because I hate that) but definitely read this one, you won’t regret it. I love how Crow develops characters in an easy manner that allows you to feel connected and relate to them from the beginning.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a well written pyschological thriller that captured and held me fast from start to finish. The characters are strong and the author does a great job developing the story , describing the scenes in vivid detail and moves the story at a steady pace. There’s enough twists throughout to keep you reading right to the end. I would highly recommend this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and freely given.
A Mother’s Loss – This is my first read by this author. I had problems with the way the Epub was formatted – double spacing is not reader friendly, but I stuck in there and found an interesting story.
Full of interesting storylines, this well written book took a bit to get the flow going, but picked up the pace and became intriguing. The characters suited the storylines although I found Karen a bit unstable for all she had accomplished and her chosen field. She seemed too quick to be negative and when she thought she was losing it. I did not believe her. Not enough had happened to cause a stable shrink to lose it that quick. Yes, she did have a rough row to hoe but still….
The last 30 percent of the story was predictable, but it was still worth reading. There is an overview, which I appreciate knowing what a book is about before I read it. I found this book on Hidden Gems. 4*
Anyone who has lost a child could understand the way this type of revisiting would bring back the pain. This is a great story with a very convoluted background of weird happenings and deceptions. So much tragedy. A very engaging story and worth the read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A Mother’s Loss byJo Crow is an awesome story that I have read. This is book number four in this awesome series that I have loved reading. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about thrillers in their stories.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a messed up life, or maybe the life that happened.
I definitely enjoy this book.
The title is a little misleading as she suffered not only as mother but also as wife, woman.
Sometimes you think,how much you can take,how much you can suffer. Lights at the end of the tunnel?
Can’t come fast enough
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Karen is a child psychologist who has buried a son and a husband. Allegations come out against her husband 5 years after his death and she takes on a new patient that looks just like her son. As Karen works to fight the allegations, her new patient brings out a part of her past that she never expected. Her practice begins to fall apart due to the allegations, she is so involved with the new patient, and her daughter drinks too much. Karen is about ready to fall apart.
This was such a great story and that ending! That was an ending that totally blew me away. I didn’t see it coming at all!
Great read!
This story has some triggers in it due to the topics discussed. It’s a brilliantly written psychological thriller that sees Karen, the main female lead character, going through so much turmoil. She’s already had a tough life that she uses for good to help her understand and reach her clients. But someone thinks she needs to suffer some more and sets about making her suffer. The plot is intriguing and kept me guessing. This is a really wonderful book to read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
First, I just want to talk about how the Goodreads description is a bit misinformed. Her son actually died in a car accident and wasn’t just missing. His death actually plays a major roll in this book because she blames herself as do a lot of other people and they aren’t too far off base.
This is my 4th Jo Crow book and I hate to say this but this was my least favorite book. Each one so far seemed to be growing with improvement and suspense. This one I just couldn’t get on board with because of personal issues with the main character. It was really hard to have sympathy for Dr. Karen Marks. She kind of brought a lot of this on herself. I mean had she been a better person I could have been more sympathic.
(3 out of 5 stars) The ending did blindside me though. You’ll never guess who is doing all of this to her cause I sure as hell didn’t. If you have never read a book by Jo Crow this might be the best one to start with but keep in mind that in my opinion anyway this is far from her best work.
While I didn’t have an “OMG” moment in this book, it was a good story. I personally found it hard to believe that Karen Marks didn’t figure some things out on her own being in the profession she is in. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from Booksprout and Hidden Gems.
This was a great thrilling book. I really enjoyed reading and it was hard to put down. It’s very well written. I highly recommend.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Engrossing psychological thriller! This novel has many compelling facets to the storyline – family dynamics, marriage challenges, friendships, and careers. All these threads are tightly and expertly woven into a story that will grab your attention and hold you closely in its grip until the last page. Highly recommend!
Don’t let the title of the book make you think the story is about grief and loss, it’s not. This is a great thrilling story of a mother who gave up her child conceived by rape. She’s grieving the loss of her son in an accident and the loss of her husband from cancer. Child psychologist Dr. Karen Marks can relate well with younger clients dealing with loss. She’s experienced so much of it herself so she works hard serving the troubled youth of Chicago.
Then she has to deal with the past that is threatening the life she’s worked hard to build. First it’s allegations regarding her deceased husband and his former students. When a new client enters her office and looks so much like her missing son, she can’t help but wonder if her prayers have been answered. He behaves nothing like her son but the strong resemblance is hard to miss. And that’s just the start of her downward spiral. There are plenty of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat as read this story. Sometimes the past is better left buried.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Dr. Karen Marks suffered a variety of blows. A date rape at 18. The trauma of surrendering the result of that assault, rather than aborting her as her father had demanded. Discovering that her husband Graham was gay. Their mutual affairs. The loss of a son, while his twin sister survived.
Yet someone has decided that she has not suffered enough. Sudden rumors come up about Graham and assaults on female students. A former friend admits an affair with Graham, and that her son is their son. Karen hears voices in the house. She doubts her own self and her mental stability as things pile on.
So is Karen losing her mind? The stress does seem to wear on her.
Is she really at fault for the pain she is accused of causing? Likely also no. She seems to be surrounded by fairly unstable folks, and her guilt probably leads her more astray – those who allege faults against her are likely as guilty or even more guilty for being self centered.
Lessons learned? Also likely no. Narcissists do not seem to be at the top of the learning curve for changing their behavor, unless it somehow benefits them.
A KU creepy suspense / psychological thriller.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Although this isn’t my favorite book by Jo Crow, it was still a good read. It really points out how every little decision you make in life can have a ripple effect for years to come. I don’t really like the ending of the book. I just think after all the build up of the story, there should have been a harsher ending. It’s amazing how the characters went so far to seek revenge. I don’t like spoilers, so please excuse the generic review. If you want to read a book that makes you want to skip to the end just to see who was responsible for everything that happened to Dr. Karen Marks. By the same token, I found it a little tough to believe if all that happened to someone, they couldn’t have done a better job and realizing why. I guess some people just take everything for granted and trust those around them.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Holy cow, what amazing twists! This was a page-turner to say the least. A Mother’s Loss is a psychological thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.. no lie. check it out!!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
H.O.L.Y. C.O.W!!! Karen, a child psychiatrist in Chicago, lost her son in a car accident 10 years ago, and her husband to cancer five years ago. She has a nice quiet life and a thriving practice, and her daughter lives nearby. When her deceased husband is accused of sexual misconduct involving former students, her life heads into a downward spiral. The bright spot is when she reconnects with the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was 18. Stranger things begin to happen, and Karen begins to doubt everything she knows about her life. This is a first-rate thriller – lots of twists and turns – as a reader, I didn’t know who to trust, and then a completely surprise at the end. This is my first read from this author, making plans to read her other books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Thanks to Booksprout and Jo Crow for providing me with an ARC of A Mother’s Loss in exchange for an honest review. This is the second book by Jo Crow that I have read, and I enjoyed this book so much more than the first. This book focused on Dr. Karen Marks, a child psychiatrist whose past life and mistakes are starting to catch up to her. An affair that she blames for the death of her son, and a rape at 18 that resulted in her giving up the child weigh heavily on her. Now, it seems as if someone is trying to destroy her. This thriller will keep you guessing until very close to the end, when some things happen to give you an indication of what the resolution to the story may be. I think that there were too many tells at the end, the author could have kept it suspenseful for a bit longer. I think the writing style improved from her last book, and I would consider reading more from this author. #AMothersLoss #JoCrow #Booksprout I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.