‘What a fantastic book, I loved every word on every page… A brilliantly addictive psychological thriller, full of twists and turns and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.’ Netgalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Everyone makes mistakes. But does everyone deserve to be forgiven?She runs past the tinkling of children’s laughter that fills the park. Heart hammering, feet stinging, she reaches the … stinging, she reaches the riverbank, her breath catching in her throat. And then she sees…
Three years later.
Claire has everything she’s always wanted. A new-born baby. A doting husband by her side. A picturesque home in the countryside.
But behind closed doors, Claire’s life is falling apart. Her husband is barely ever home, she’s struggling to bond with her baby girl, and she swears that she is being watched in the remote, lonely cottage.
And when a threatening note is posted through her letterbox, saying she doesn’t deserve her daughter, it’s clear that someone knows about the terrible mistake that Claire made – someone won’t let her forget it. Three years ago, she would have known who to turn to. But now she no longer recognises those closest to her, or the person she’s become. Who can she trust?
An atmospheric, chilling and absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller about a mother’s worst nightmare. Fans of K.L. Slater, Shalini Boland and The Girl on the Train will love the twists, turns and gasp-worthy shocks of this stunning debut from Ruth Heald.
Readers absolutely love The Mother’s Mistake:
OMG… LITERALLY BLEW MY MIND AWAY!!… Ruth’s writing had me enslaved to my Kindle, tapping away at the pages.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘Wow, what a story… Utterly hooked from page one, so glad it was a weekend and I could binge read!… An absolute must-read!! 5 huge stars from me.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘I honestly don’t know where to begin with this review, the book blew me away that much. In a word – WOW!… Not many books leave me with such an impression… In such a way that I pity the next one I open for fear it will simply fall into the shadow of this one. Not many books leave me feeling the next one could never compare. But this one did… Brilliant!’ Confessions of a Bookaholic, 5 stars
‘Wow… I absolutely loved it… Kept me guessing until the end… The best book I have read in ages.’ NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars
‘Wow! What an amazing read! Tons of twists and turns and full of suspense… Can’t wait for more from this amazing author!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘WOW. I absolutely loved this story… I had knots in my stomach throughout wondering what was going to happen next. Brilliant… One of my top reads this year.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘5 big shiny fat stars… This blew me out of the water.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘Absolutely incredible… I was hooked, I just really couldn’t put it down.’ Life & Tea, 5 stars
‘Wonderful… This is another of the best books I have read this year!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘All I can say is WOW.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
’I loved this book!… It was one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘Wow! What a brilliant psychological thriller! The Mother’s Mistake is thought-provoking and chilling with a suspenseful plot and amazing characters.’ Goodreads Reviewer
‘What an amazing thriller!… Stayed up way past my bedtime to find out what was going to happen next.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘A must-read… Has it all: twisty, addictive, pulls you in from page one.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars
‘Perfect… gripped me from start to finish… An amazing, totally unexpected twist… Wonderful.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 starsmore
A real page turner. I highly recommend
Didn’t really care for this book. Not that interesting.
I absolutely loved this story. I enjoyed it from start to finish and couldn’t put it down. I even carried it to the bathroom with me.
OMG Why is this book NOT all over the internet right now? Psychological thrillers are so extremely popular, I’m shocked this one didn’t pop up in my radar long before its publication date. Ruth Heald may not be a household name, but it will be after this book.
This is the story about Claire, married, new baby, trying to get away from the city, trying to get away from the terrible mistake she made years ago that continues to haunt her. She and her husband decide to go live in the country at her in-laws, where they own a cottage on their property. But once Claire gets there, she doesn’t feel the freedom that she longed for, she feels like someone is watching her and that someone is intentionally moving things around in the cottage. When a note is passed through her mail slot saying that she doesn’t deserve her daughter, Claire’s feels like her past has caught up with her, and she has nowhere to turn. With a husband who is never home while setting up a new business, and a mother in law who is extremely judgmental, Claire has no one she can trust, and nobody seems to believe her.
This book was amazing from page one, as soon as you start, you will not be able to put it down because it draws you in so fast. It’s extremely fast paced, and I was able to read it in one sitting. (Part of that was because it was so good, I was completely consumed). There is an alternate voice in the story, approximately every other chapter, and it doesn’t tell you the same story as Claire. In fact, the alternate voice is telling you a completely different story, and you will spend the entire novel trying to figure out who this person is and how these two tales intertwine. I will tell you right now, you won’t find out until the end, and when you do, you will never have seen it coming.
I try so hard with every psychological thriller to figure out who the culprit is before I reach the story’s ending. I will be honest; I had a really good idea who the “bad guy” was and I know most of you will as well. Trust me, having this knowledge does not affect the book at all, because having an idea of WHO this person is; is very different than knowing the WHY. At no point in this novel will you figure out the WHY until the very end. This one was a stumper; I just couldn’t put it all together, but that’s because you really don’t find out all the facts until you finish the book.
The premise behind this story is brilliant. What Ruth Heald did, and how she was able to form a story around these characters while leaving out such simple details about them was amazing. You don’t even notice until the end, when everything comes together, that there were certain things and details that we just normally overlooked and accepted as ok, until we become aware of them. (I would be more specific, but in doing so, I would point out said details, and then you it may spoil things for you). Probably one of the best things about this novel is that it takes the direction of your typical psychological thriller story-line, but ends in a completely unexpected twist that you could not have possibly imagined, truly a shocker. At this point you realize how much thought really went into creating this story, because the backstory is so unique. The suspense in this one is gripping. I can’t say much more about it without telling you the entire awesome story and ruining it for you. What a brilliant debut for this author. It’s not easy for me to give out 5 stars, I am extremely stingy, but The Mother’s Mistake deserves them. I hope Ruth Heald has more like this in her, because I will be first in line for the next one.
Thank You so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of The Mother’s Mistake for an unbiased and honest review.
Wow! What a debut. This is how to get noticed. I can’t express how much I loved this psychological thriller. Perfectly paced, chillingly atmospheric, creepy, disturbing, disorientating – these are a few words which immediately come to mind when I think of The Mother’s Mistake.
We see adverts day in, day out, full of happy parents with their perfectly smiling babies. Babies don’t cry or smell in these adverts. Parents all look perfect, clean and happy. They don’t have baby sick in their hair – we’re sold an illusion. Having a baby is the most life changing act and it isn’t all rosy. Add to the mix, postnatal depression – a common condition that isn’t much spoken about, you know that this book is going to be a cracker. It tackles the subject with authenticity and sensitivity.
I felt Claire’s loneliness bearing down on me as the reader. I wanted to march over to that creepy little cottage and rescue her from her mother-in-law, the mountain of clutter and all her problems. Excellent read! One of my favourites this year. If you’re a psych thriller fan, this has to go on your list. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this one. Loved it!
Wow what a suspenseful page-turner . Each chapter was short and kind of slow paced. Had a couple sleepless nights while enjoying the ride this story took me on. The way the characters come to life in each chapter kept me engrossed and waiting for the next plot twists,
There was alot of plot twists that left you saying omg i didn’t see that coming.I was hooked on the story from the beginning and it kept my attention until the very last page. I found the characters to be interesting and well drawn.Suspense was built up nicely and the end was a surprise. I had to go back and read the last couple of chapters a second time just to wrap my head around what I had just read lol .I Really enjoyed this book . This was my first read by this author, but will not be the last. You can also read this review and all my other reviews on my fb page at Joyce Stewart Book Reviews , my fb Group Stewart Book Reviews Book Club , Good Reads at Joyce Stewart Reviews and instagram at Stewarts_bookreviews.