I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I loved that it was set back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. A story that really burrows deep into feelings of belonging and rejection, and the importance of attachment. I didn't actually guess who the third party narrator was until almost the end. A fantastic read.

This book is pretty much impossible to put down. Or indeed describe without spoilers.
The voice in the book is what gives it its tension. We hear of Christopher's life but we do not know who knows him so well to be able to tell the story. We also gradually realise that something terrible has happened and cleverly the author reveals the conclusion in small and increasingly gasp out loud segments
Great.

Great story! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

A really gripping quality read. I'll be keeping an eye on this author.

DNF. I don't think this is my type of book. I had a weird foreboding that the main character was just going to get creepier and creepier and it didn't sit well with me.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for allowing me to have a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Having never read anything by S.S Lynes prior to this I was simply taken with the synopsis of the book. On starting the book, I was immediately immersed in this apparently simple tale of an adopted son seeking his birth mother.

What occurs throughout this book is a rollercoaster of a story which will leave the reader wondering how they hadn't foreseen the events as they happened.

The ending is so explosive and I was so disappointed when the story came to an end as I felt as if I knew these characters. I had watched them evolve and grow.

An amazing book. I am waited with bated breath for the new release.

a thriller based around a boy who finds out he is adopted which sets out a passage of events which have consequences....there have been rave reviews to this book, I liked it but not as much as it had been talked about!!

This is my first time reading this author but it will not be my last. This is a story about a young man that was adopted and eventually finds his birth mother. What transpires aftert this finding is intense. This is written from someone telling Christopher's story, so I did find myself trying to figure out who the narrator was. Although the book's ending was a bit predicatble, I still found this to be an enjoyable read enough to read more from the author. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Where do I start. This was a thrilling read about a young man in Yorkshire who sets out to find his birth mother. On finding her he feels as though his life is now complete, but insecurites, lies and secrets lead this man down some dark avenues. His obsession with the Yorkshire Ripper makes the reader think ths man is maybe a copycat killer or linked to the Ripper in other ways.
Not wanting to give anything away I would highy recommend this book. Once you are over the first couple of chapters you will find it hard to put down. It is gripping, frightening and opens your views when, in desperation you want that mother-son bond. Well done to the author for writing a book with great twists and turns.

There were things about this book that I really liked, but the POV was never one of them. In a book like this, where you have an obsessive main character, it just seemed like it would have made more sense to be inside his head. I felt like this book was not as good as it could have been because as a reader I constantly felt like I was struggling to stay connected to the character. The unknown narrator just didn't do it for me.

Still, this was fascinating and creative and definitely a good psychological thriller. It has all the ingredients to keep you up at night wondering what is going to happen next. You might find yourself still up in the wee hours of the morning reading it, if you are anything like I was.

I recommend this book to those who want something a little different.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Gosh this book was a wonderful read. It is wrote to perfection and it's an author I don't know and a genre I don't read. To mix up my reads I changed to this and couldn't put it down. It pulled at my heart strings I can tell you. You could immerse your feelings into this and sit there and cry. I sure did.
Loved it.
Thank you netgalley

Mother by S.E. Lynes is a mystery, and the first book I have read by this author.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one makes you think!

Christopher Harris grows up without ever really fitting in with his family. He is a loner, spending most of his time in his room, and his social skills suffer. It is not until he is ready to leave for university that he discovers he was adopted. His life suddenly makes sense. He now has his purpose in life. To find his birth mother. This purpose will become an obsession.

His room-mate at university, Adam, teaches him how to dress, how to drink, how to talk to girls. They become friends. Meanwhile, the Yorkshire Ripper is stalking young women in the area, and Christopher secretly becomes consumed by the events. He doesn’t share that information with Adam, nor does he share the fact that he was looking for, and has found his mother. He is getting really good at keeping secrets. But his search is over. He has found her, and everything seems too good to be true. Even Christopher questions the results sometimes. Perhaps he should, because something isn’t right. Is he fooling himself? Is he fooling others? Is the truth in there somewhere?

The question remains….how far will you go to have the perfect family?

The story is told by an unknown source, but still from Christopher’s perspective. It makes you wonder who the narrator is right to the end. (I tossed a couple of ideas about before I reached the correct conclusion). Occasionally, the story is told by Ben, which definitely had me confused for a bit.

I admit to finding the beginning rather slow (and that’s the only reason for my 4 instead of 5 star rating), but once the story started unfolding, the book was hard to put down. The characters and relationships were mesmerizing. I really felt I understood where Christopher was coming from, and his need to belong – until I didn’t. As much as I wanted him to have a good relationship with his new mother, I hated the way he left his old family behind. And then there was the closeness he felt with his new mother. That was a little creepy. It actually didn’t take too long to determine that Christopher was a little more messed up than I had originally thought. The author really got deep into the characters, and since Christopher sometimes questioned his actions, I found myself questioning a lot of things.

Loved the book, and highly recommend it. This is actually her second novel, and it looks like I’m going to have to go find her first – Valentina.

--I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are purely my own and not influenced in any way.--
Well, this is a great way to start a new year of books! This story was very subtly creepy (my favorite kind of thriller!) that I call "little too" books: meaning Christopher was a "little too" close to his mother, a "little too" interested in the Ripper murders, and a "little too" blind to social norms and cues. Nothing overtly creepy, but an unsettling theme that persisted throughout the book until it's explosive end (that I did call around halfway through, but I don't think it was ever intended to be a twist ending).
The writing is really good, the mood and unease was masterful, and even though our main character, Christopher, was a sociopathic jerk, I DID actually care about him.
The last two chapters fell a little flat for me, which is why I'm giving it a 4 instead of a 5, but I definitely want to read more books by her and will definitely read Valentina!
4.5/5

As I wrote to the publisher that I have always loved the books from this publisher and the reviews were incredibly great. But for me, I found it to slow moving, very confusing at times and tedious to read. I am sorry but for me I couldn't finish it. When I love a book, I cannot put it down. It appears that most reviewers do not agree with me, but this is my honest opinion.

Christopher has never felt like he fit in with his family. One day he finds a letter, and discovers he is adopted. He decides to find his birth mother... she will love him and he will finally have somewhere he belongs.

This story was told by an anonymous third person, but from Christopher's point of view. I found this, and the time line, to be a little confusing.

At the beginning of the novel, Christopher turned eighteen and was soon off to university. The primary story was about Christopher wanting to be with his mother, but there was also a side story about a serial killer targeting local women.

A slow psychological thriller set in England in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It took a while for me to get into this book. I was about a third in before I started to get interested in what was happening and where it was all leading.

I have to be honest here. After reading Valentina, and absolutely ranting about it like a mad woman to anyone who’d listen, I was sceptical as to whether Mother would be as good. Let me make this simple. IT’S BLOODY BRILLIANT! It’s also, for one reason or another, the only book I’ve managed to finish since April. Go figure.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I can’t say that the book is keeping you in real suspense, but the story is quite interesting. The story is about a boy, then young man Christopher who is trying to find a place where he belongs. I think many people can relate to him. The secret he learns about opens up the whole new life and new opportunity of life for Christopher.

The book is about a young man who feels lonely in his own family. What will he do with this new truth he found out? How will it all turn out?

Without any spoilers, this book is about motherhood, a relationship between a son and a mother, about family relationships in general and how much it can mean to a person.

I really enjoyed the book, despite being a bit slow at the start. To me this book is a bit of a drama than a thriller/suspense. Some things I got straight away. The final twist is good but I am a little bit in denial. I actually liked Christopher’s ‘version’ of events. Or preferred it more.

Like they say, you don’t choose your family. Well, some people do.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. This book was not what I thought it would be. I thought it would be a thriller but it was just too dark for me and I did not like the writing style at all.

This is the first book I have ready by Susie Lynes, but definitely won’t be the last. She makes her characters multi-dimensional, with something you are not sure about with Christopher – even he wonders about what he is capable of at times. Set against the backdrop of the fears running through the country as the Yorkshire Ripper was murdering again and again, and the determination for Christopher to build a relationship with his real mother, this is an excellent book, with unexpected twists and turns and an ending which left me wondering if I’d really read that, and retracing my steps to get my own thinking straight. A powerful and disturbing book, which I really enjoy and have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers Boukouture for their advance ARC in return for an honest review.

This novel is described as a psychological thriller. The plot revolves around Christopher (never Chris) who discovers when he is moving to University that he was adopted. For him everything fits into place in that the adoption gives him reasons for feeling like an outsider within his family.

The first half of the book explores in detail the relationship between Christopher and his birth mother. This part of the novel is a bit odd and I was getting concerned that the novel was going to go off in a different direction, but it didn’t. In fact when I finished the first half of the novel I was left, and still am, wondering what it added to the story.

I was glad I stuck with it though as the second half goes off in a different direction. The narrative gets confusing at times though as there are three narrators, Christopher, Ben and an unknown narrator connected to Christopher who I didn’t guess until the big reveal.

The book is being tagged as one for fans of Girl on the Train or Gone Girl. I don’t think this is correct as it’s a very different type of psychological thriller, but it is a good book. For me it’s a three star review though as I was left wondering why the concentration on his University days, and what the first half of the book added to the second half.