Amy’s life is picture perfect. Mess with that picture – you’re going to pay.Amy’s life is close to perfect – two lovely daughters, a wonderful husband and she’s queen bee in her circle of soccer moms. She feels content, like she’s finally put some distance between herself and the terrible events of long ago.The only fly in the ointment is Charlotte, a recent arrival to this affluent suburban … arrival to this affluent suburban community. The shameless way she dresses, the way the men look at her… it’s not right, she’s just not the kind of person they want around here.
Amy spearheads a drive to exclude Charlotte, to make it clear to her that she’s not welcome here. Infuriatingly, Charlotte doesn’t seem to care… And when her daughter joins the soccer team there’s just no getting away from her.
But Amy knows from bitter experience the kind of trouble a woman like Charlotte can bring. And there is no way on earth that her girls are ever going to be exposed to anything like that. The solution is clear – Charlotte has to go. No matter what it takes.
A gripping domestic thriller for fans of Liane Moriarty, T. M. Logan, and Sally Hepworth.
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If Amy had to describe her life in one word, it would be ‘perfect.’ Her marriage, her home, twin daughters. She feels certain she’s the envy of her close-knit circle of friends. Everything was just as she wished it to be—until that shameless woman moved into town and had the audacity to allow her to play soccer on their soccer team. And now her daughter wanted to be friends with that woman’s child? Amy decided right then and there that Charlotte had to go… one way or another.
Charlotte is a photographer, forced to raise her daughter alone after a terrible mistake in judgement stole the little girl’s father away from them. Returning to her hometown was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had nowhere else to go. Everything would be fine. Or so she thought until Amy tries to rally her soccer-mom friends to help drive Charlotte out of town. When Amy’s single-minded mission to get rid of her go from being a mere annoyance to overtly threatening, Charlotte begins to fear how far Amy is willing to go in order to get it done.
The Good Mother was the antithesis of the last book I read—it was SO good! I wish I’d been able to read it from start to finish in one sitting, but the time to do so was a luxury I didn’t have. Instead, I read as much as I possibly could whenever I had a chance to get some reading done, and moaned and groaned more than usual whenever I was forced to stop.
Most of the adult characters in this book aren’t very likable, with the exception of Charlotte. I felt so badly for her, being so ostracized practically from the moment she steps foot into town. Amy took one look at the way she dressed, the way she carried herself, made a snap judgement about what sort of woman Charlotte “had” to be, and proceeded to make her life a living hell. It infuriated me, and I wanted so badly to leap into the book and smack Amy upside the head and tell her to leave that poor woman alone!
There was a pivotal event in Amy’s childhood that shaped the woman she was to become—and tied directly into why she was so outraged by Charlotte’s appearance. The fallout from that terrible event drove everything she did from the moment she met Charlotte, as well as being the reason why she did everything in her life. There were times I felt sympathy for her, only to have it disappear when she did the next vindictive thing.
There’s a subplot that contributes to the overall story, and it’s something all the major characters are aware of, though each of them react to it in vastly different ways. I won’t get into what it’s about, since it isn’t mentioned in the book description. It does tie in to another crucial event in the story in a way that took me by surprise. It perfectly illustrated the mindset of a certain character at that moment in time, adding a greater sense of trepidation to the reader moving forward. I was definitely reading with bated breath from that moment on!
I had an idea of how the story might end, and I’m glad it didn’t end that way because it was something I considered for more than half the book. The way Grant chose to wrap it up wasn’t at all what I suspected, but it was still very satisfying. Hooray for unpredictability!
This is my first book by Cathryn Grant, but it won’t be my last. This was a great introduction to a new-to-me author.
I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Inkubator Books via Netgalley.
Who says mean girls outgrow being mean? The mothers–except for the interloper Charlotte–in this book just get meaner. And they marry weak husbands who overlook or silently condone their meanness.(Weak husbands seem to have become a trope in domestic thrillers). Queen of Mean Amy, especially, makes it easy to like and sympathize with Charlotte, a talented photographer whose camera captures what these suburban moms most want to keep secret. The depiction of group hysteria is well done and makes the climactic scene a little more credible, but Charlotte still comes off too gullible, imo. On the other hand, the conclusion offers no doubt she is a good mother and a good person. A quick, easy read for a kick-back escape.
Amy is married and has twin daughters, Amanda and Alice. When she was a young girl, Amy witnessed her mother being brutally raped and beaten. Her father never had any sympathy for his wife who then went into a deep depression and later committed suicide. This has scarred Amy and made her afraid of being raped or some other disaster that she cannot control. She now is quite paranoid and goes to great extremes to protect herself and her family. Her fears are not helped by the fact that there is a serial rapist on the loose in their area. Her daughters are great fans of soccer and their parents attend all of the games.
Rachel has two young children, Sara, and Trent. She and Amy have been best friends ever since their children were babies. Sara really likes soccer but Trent is not interested in it al all. Instead, he is a very good artist and loves watching snails which he draws all the time. This worries Rachel and she just wants to get him to play soccer.
Charlotte and her daughter, Meadow, have just moved into the area. Charlotte’s husband got caught selling magic mushrooms and is now serving time in prison. Having grown up in this town, Charlotte feels it is a good place to raise Meadow. However, Charlotte’s dress and hair tend to be like that of a hippie.
When Amy sees Charlotte waiting for Meadow after school, she is appalled by the woman and feels she is not welcome and wants her out. She feels she is throwing herself at the husbands and is disgusted by it. Just how far will Amy go to get what she wants?
This book was a slow start for me with way to much emphasis on soccer. I almost gave up on it several times but decided to stick it out. It finally picked up as we see the growth of serious mental illness and how it affects someone. The author was able to give it an acceptable ending. I congratulate myself on finishing it.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Amy is married and has twin daughters, Amanda and Alice. When she was a young girl, Amy witnessed her mother being brutally raped and beaten. Her father never had any sympathy for his wife who then went into a deep depression and later committed suicide. This has scarred Amy and made her afraid of being raped or some other disaster that she cannot control. She now is quite paranoid and goes to great extremes to protect herself and her family. Her fears are not helped by the fact that there is a serial rapist on the loose in their area. Her daughters are great fans of soccer and their parents attend all of the games.
Rachel has two young children, Sara, and Trent. She and Amy have been best friends ever since their children were babies. Sara really likes soccer but Trent is not interested in it al all. Instead, he is a very good artist and loves watching snails which he draws all the time. This worries Rachel and she just wants to get him to play soccer.
Charlotte and her daughter, Meadow, have just moved into the area. Charlotte’s husband got caught selling magic mushrooms and is now serving time in prison. Having grown up in this town, Charlotte feels it is a good place to raise Meadow. However, Charlotte’s dress and hair tend to be like that of a hippie.
When Amy sees Charlotte waiting for Meadow after school, she is appalled by the woman and feels she is not welcome and wants her out. She feels she is throwing herself at the husbands and is disgusted by it. Just how far will Amy go to get what she wants?
This book was a slow start for me with way to much emphasis on soccer. I almost gave up on it several times but decided to stick it out. It finally picked up as we see the growth of serious mental illness and how it affects someone. The author was able to give it an acceptable ending. I congratulate myself on finishing it.
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
A domestic thriller that examines the longlasting effects of trauma, this book had me turning pages to the very end. I thought the author did an excellent job balancing the perspectives of the three main characters, some of whom were more sympathetic and likable than others. I also liked how the author got to the point and didn’t get bogged down on plot points; the action moved right along. I felt like there were a few loose ends, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying the book; I would still recommend it, rounded up to 4 stars for a particular character’s redemption. For a full review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks. This review was written based on a digital copy of the book.
Thank you to Netgallery for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
**** Trigger Warning : Rape ****
I was really hoping I would like this one. It had potential, but fell super short of a true Psychological Thriller. The book was a very slow and sometime boring read. There were no major plot twists that you couldn’t see coming. The characters were either flat or annoying. If I had gotten this book at the library, I would have stopped reading it about 30% through and added it to me DNF list. The only reason I pushed through was because I promised an honest review. I wouldn’t recommend this book to any person that loves Psychological Thrillers. Maybe those that enjoy high drama are more suited for this book.