She thought they wanted her baby. But they won’t stop there.
Roz is young, penniless and pregnant. All she wants is to be the perfect mother to her child, but the more she thinks about her own chaotic upbringing, the more certain she is that the best life for her baby is as far away as possible from her hometown in Ireland.
Determined to do the right thing, Roz joins an elite adoption service … elite adoption service and can’t believe her luck. Within days she is jetting to New York to meet a celebrity power couple desperate for a child of their own. Sheridan and Daniel are wealthy and glamorous—everything Roz isn’t. Her baby will never go hungry, and will have every opportunity for the perfect life. But soon after Roz moves into their plush basement suite, she starts to suspect that something darker lurks beneath the glossy surface of their home.
When Roz discovers she isn’t the first person to move in with the couple, and that the previous woman has never been seen since, alarm bells start ringing. As the clock ticks down to her due date, Roz realises her unborn baby may be the only thing keeping her alive, and that despite her best intentions, she has walked them both into the perfect nightmare…
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This psychological thriller is about a young Irish girl who finds herself pregnant and can’t tell her best friend who is the father of the child. So, she decides to go on a website to find parents for her baby. Roz finds a diamond couple on the website dedicated to matching would be parents with children. These parents are willing to pay for a baby. Roz’s friend, Dympna, begs Roz not to sell her baby, but Roz says that she isn’t selling the child – the couple will just pay for her expenses, and will be able to offer the child more than Roz could. Roz is estranged from her recovering alcoholic mother, and does not tell her mother that she is pregnant.
When Roz arrives in NYC she finds out that her baby’s parents are celebrity couple Sheridan Sinclair and Daniel Watson. She is thrilled about this as Roz has been a fan of theirs for years.
However, it doesn’t take long for Roz to discover that Sheridan does not really want Roz there – and that she is extremely jealous of Daniel. Additionally, Roz notices that the entire staff seems terrified and subservient. Roz begins to feel the brunt of Sheridan’s meanness, but doesn’t fully realize the extent of Sheridan’s depravity.
Roz feels trapped, needs to protect her child at any cost, and is desperate to escape.
What follows will surprise you. Who is really calling the shots and why will surprise you. Who unravels all of this will surprise you!
I enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more from this author.
#ThePerfectMother #CarolineMitchell #NetGalley
Gripped from the outset and immediately drawn into Roz’s life and dilemma, I read the book in one sitting. The story of a young woman who feels she has no option but to give away her unborn child for adoption turns into something far more sinister when the couple she chooses to provide the best for her baby, turn out to be hiding a dark secret. Even I couldn’t guess how dark that secret would prove to be and I love it when a book surprises me.
Caroline manages to not only suck the reader into Roz’s world but keeps you hanging onto your seat as you bounce around on the rollercoaster of twists and turns and gasp in horror at the darkness that unfolds.
Suffice to say. it’s a whopping five fat stars from me. I loved it.
Roz lives in Ireland and has no money, but she is pregnant. When she comes across a website offering to pair her with wealthy parents for her baby, she jumps at the chance to leave her hometown and move to New York City to live with a celebrity couple. Sheridan is an actress, really a “has been” who still wants to be famous. Her husband Daniel is an actor who is swoon-worthy and totally dominated by Sheridan. When Roz first meets them, she is convinced that they are the answer to all of her problems. She will live with them and give them her baby, in exchange for quite a bit of money. What she did not count on was that Sheridan would treat her like a hostage, moving her to a windowless basement from which there is no escape. The story of Roz is suspenseful and very original. The characterization of Sheridan, Daniel and Roz led me to be sympathetic for Roz, to feel disdain for Daniel and to really hate Sheridan. There were also minor characters, like Roz’s friend Dympna, who was desperate to find Roz, convinced that she is in trouble. There is also Sheridan’s lackey George who does whatever she wants, including taping all of his conversations with Roz. The improbable situation that the author portrayed was very entertaining, especially since she definitely knew how to build suspense and put in twists. Fans of psychological drama and suspense will enjoy this book.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Wow, if you enjoy psychological thrillers, you’ll love this one! Teenage Roz, finds herself pregnant after a one night stand. She decides to register on a private adoption site, and attracts the attention of anonymous celebrity couple,
Sheridan and Daniel. She leaves Dublin for their home in New York, and enters a chamber of horrors.
This well written novel by #CarolineMitchell has all the elements of a great thriller, suspense, and page turning that kept me reading through the night. Her characters are well developed and you can’t help but embrace the young frightened Roz and despise the evil Sheridan and feel confusion regarding the complicity of Daniel.
My thanks to #NetGalley #Thomas&Mercer #Amazon for the ARC This review is my independent opinion!
This psychological thriller was impossible to put down. From the very first page until the last I was hooked! What a great cast of characters. And the end…. so many twists and turns I didn’t see coming! I highly recommend!
boring
It was a bit predictable. I was surprised about The Who the father of the baby was though. I didn’t see that twist coming. Worth finishing.
Yikes. This was a surprising story, and I kept telling the main character to “walk, don’t run” from her situation. Roz was naive, true, but by the time her instincts kicked in, it was too late. She was creative in planning her escape, but Sheridan was one sick lady. This book kept me on the edge of my seat all the way! I recommend this book.
Very good book, was hard to put down.
What a deliciously twisted story written by Caroline Mitchell. What seems like something so outright plain and simple hardly turns out to be that way. There are more twists and turns than a drive on a mountain road. What a great read, a page turner for sure! Thanks so much!
She’s lost her job and she’s up the duff. Wanting a better life for herself and her baby, she agrees to a private adoption. The price she expected was a trap.
This was a fast paced thriller with unexpected twists that kept me engaged and rooting for everyone to get what they deserved.
I just finished The Perfect Mother. This is my first Caroline Mitchell novel; it will not be my last. The book was tense and it had me talking to myself as Roz was sucked into a situation that no one should be. Sheridan, the well-known actress, is a true villain. A quick, scary read! Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
4
Terrifying, thrilling, fantastic. The writing that gives way to the book’s suspense is the purest form of excellence. Following Roz becomes an unputdownable journey. I was in a book slump prior to starting this book, but within a few pages I was hooked. Mitchell outdoes herself with this one.
This was a good thriller with twists and turns, it was also an easy page-turner.
Rosalind Foley 24 is broke and single she’s also pregnant.
Sheridan Sinclair and Daniel Wilson are Hollywoods hottest power couple there also looking for a baby girl to pass off as there own as Sheridan is unable to have children herself.
A perfect fit and when they are put in touch by an exclusive adoption and surrogacy website it seems like all Roz’s prayers for her child’s future have been answered.
But be careful what you wish for whisked away to LA and put up in the couple’s basement flat Roz is a prisoner to Sheridan’s whims and strange moods.
Told mostly in dual format this flips between Roz and Sheridan and the later best friend Dympna also takes a turn centre stage.
This was suspenseful and managed to keep my attention effortlessly a thumbs up from me.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of The Perfect Mother.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
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This is my first book by this author and I found it to be a gripping psychological thriller. You get sucked into the creepy morality and complicity of the benefactors supposedly helping Roz and her troublesome situation. Thankfully Roz has some friends in her corner to help her out. The reveal of the father was rather anti-climactic. It seemed there should have been more reaction to this news than what was portrayed. But I will be looking for more by this author!
I received a free copy from Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.
First, I want to thank Caroline Mitchell, BOTBSpublicity and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.
I absolutely fell head over heals in love with Caroline Mitchell’s The Perfect Mother. This movie read literally like a Lifetime Channel movie that I would be glued to the set for!! I was just blown away by the storylines in the book that just fascinating! This was a book that I was meant to read.
Right off the bat Caroline totally sucked me in to the story. I have always said if you can hook me right away and keep me there-you are a talented writer!! Let me tell you Caroline is a goddess in this genere!! She needs to write more books like this and I need to read more like her!
Anyone who knows me knows I am obsessed with pop culture and all things celebrity. That being said I loved the celebrity spin on the adoption story. I would have acted the same way Roz did when meeting the couple.
There was a name used for a character that I have never heard or read before. I thought it was totally different and unique. I also wanted to know the correct pronunciation as I don’t know if I was saying it correctly in my head.
There were some moments in this book when I laughed out loud. I thought many parts were funny. I also thought parts were creepy.
The book also touches on mother and daughter relationships. That part of the story I felt was sad and felt bad for each daughter.
It appears that Caroline Mitchell, author of the The Perfect Mother and other previous thrillers and works of psychological suspense, made a good decision when she switched from being CID to becoming a full-time author. Her latest release is a tense and twisty novel that offers some good character development and solid plotting to counteract a small bit of predictability and repetition. Roz is living in Dublin with her best friend when she discovers that she is pregnant after a secret one-night encounter. Roz feels unprepared to raise a child at this point in her young life, but is also unwilling to have an abortion due to her religious upbringing. Faced with this dilemma, she explores an option unique to our modern economy- a website offering to anonymously connect wealthy couples with surrogates or those looking for adoption in return for extensive compensation. Her roommate, Dympna, tries to dissuade her from following through with the arrangements, but Roz is dazzled by an offer that will have her pampered in NYC at the behest of a high-profile couple looking to pass off an unborn child as their own. She also believes that this is an incredible opportunity for her child to have the very best that life can offer. Roz is naïve but smarter than she first appears, and the reader may be initially frustrated by her actions but will come to respect her intuition and self-preservation skills. It is a little too late when Roz realizes that her circumstances are suspicious when she finds herself held captive by a celebrity couple who may have already performed some serious misdeeds in the past. Their money and influence have bought the silence of those who abet their scheme, and the woman in the couple seems to be completely unhinged and controlling to the point of abuse. Mitchell writes the character of Sheridan especially well. She manages to be an obvious villain, but still evokes pity and has some surprising attributes and a rationale that rescue her from becoming a caricature. Dympna is also a resourceful person in the story, providing the moral and rational voice that acts as the safety valve in the spiraling action. The novel is told primarily through Roz as the first-person narrator, with occasional guest chapters told from Sheridan and Dympna’s point of view. There are also cleverly placed excerpts from tabloid press “articles” that help flesh out the backstory of Sheridan and her superstar husband. The reveal of the paternity of the baby is not as surprising as it was intended to be, and some of the “Americanisms” are a bit off, but these are forgivable in light of the rest of the book’s overall quality. The Perfect Mother is not a perfect thriller, but it is an entertaining one- a solid choice that will delight those looking for an absorbing new read.
Thanks to the author, Thomas & Mercer (Amazon) and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
Another great book by Mitchell. I have read all of her books, and she never disappoints. Roz is a young girl in Ireland that finds herself pregnant after a one night stand. Realizing that she is not capable of taking care of a child at this point in her life, and wanting her child to have a better life she decides to give her baby up for adoption. She goes to New York in hopes of the couple, a famous couple, will be the family her baby needs. However, upon arriving she begins to regret her decision. This book was great. I stayed up too late reading it. #Netgalley #ThePerfectMother
Finding out your pregnant should be one of the most joyous moments of one’s life, shouldn’t it? The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell explores one woman’s journey to provide the best possible life for her child by whatever means necessary.
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I couldn’t imagine having to decide whether I was going to keep my baby and raise my little bundle of joy as my own or give it up. Luckily I’ve never had to give thought to the possibility of abortion or adoption. Unfortunately, for our main character, these were just the unsettling, yet necessary thoughts going through her mind. Young, jobless and impregnated by… well, that detail doesn’t need to come out just yet… Roz was in no way ready to be a mother. Maybe the best way she could be “the perfect mother” was to ensure her baby ended up with a well off family where she’d have the world laid at her feet.
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“They want her baby. Do they also want her life?” – As the tagline suggests, Roz gets in over her head, and by the time she realizes it, she’s left fighting for her life… and that of her unborn child.
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It’s hard to believe that The Perfect Mother is the first novel I’ve ever encountered by one, Caroline Mitchell. The way she portrays her characters and brings them to life is quite utterly brilliant. You can feel their desires and fears; you can feel the suspense dripping through the pages! I felt a sense of dread and downright thrill from start to finish. I did not see this story ending the way it did, so sickly twisted yet satisfying, impossible to put down!
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I would recommend this book to everyone! Seriously, this is one psychological thriller you won’t want to miss!! Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers from Amazon Publishing: Thomas & Mercer, and the author Caroline Mitchell for providing me with a complimentary copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
A one night stand has Rosalind Foley (Roz) to the Miracle-Moms site. An adoption site that connects pregnant women with couples wanting a baby.
Roz believes due to her situation that giving her baby up for adoption is the best outcome for all. The father is unknown to readers, but there are hints that Roz’s best friend must never know.
Roz shares an apartment with her best friend, Dympna. Roz had a rough childhood raised by a single alcoholic mother. When Roz realizes that she is pregnant, she wants her child to not live the way she grew up.
When Roz gets a response from a diamond couple, she is thrilled. Diamond couples are vetted to be in a stable long term relationship and wealthy. When Roz is offered the chance to go to America to meet the couple, she doesn’t hesitate. Dympna is not happy with Roz’s jumping on board and going alone, so quickly, and gives her a phone telling Roz to call her any time.
Roz lands in New York, and taken to a luxurious hotel. There she meets George, the PA, who does a quick makeover and gives her a few heads up. It is through George that Roz learns the identity of the diamond couple, Sheridan Sinclair and Daniel Watson, famous celebrities.
Following Roz signing a contract to allow Sheridan and Daniel to adopt her baby, she is shown to her quarters in the basement. She finds all the comforts, but there are no windows, no utensils, and no glass mirrors. Roz is given a strict schedule to adhere to, and she is chaperoned when she goes out.
Roz soon sees a dark side of Sheridan, whose personality can change on a moments notice. She starts to realize that things aren’t quite what she envisioned them to be, and when she makes the choice to use the phone hidden in her luggage to call her friend and tell her where she is and with whom; the phone cuts off. Roz leads Sheridan and Daniel to believe that she has no one to turn to in her life; knowing her message was not delivered, Roz does feel all alone.
This was an amazing read! There is a back story of Sheridan, where you feel sorry for the little girl growing up under such a demanding mother, but her dark side is terrifying! Sheridan is used to getting her own way. Daniel comes across as kind, often sneaking goodies to Roz. When Daniel is around, Roz feels safer. She wants to believe that Daniel is unable to see Sheridan’s dark side, and Roz starts to appeal to him to be an ally. Readers are left wondering who the father of Roz’s baby is, then going with an assumption by Dympna to an unexpected twist in the end.
I received an ARC from NetGalley via Amazon Publishing UK and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.