This was a debut thriller for Ms Flint, and honestly I can see great things in her writing future. I love the crime fiction genre, and love a thriller where I from the start can't guess who the baddie is. Some books introduce him on page 2, name, number and phone number, and build the story around that, and that's just annoying.
I kept on reading the book, page after page, and jumped from one suspect to another, even suspecting a poor character that could not do it, even if they wanted to......... The reveal of the bad guy was done well, and really ended the book on a high note. Very well done.

This is a debut novel from this author.
It is a compelling dark and twisted thriller which is both chilling and disturbing in places
I was impressed with the writing style.
The plot was well paced and the characters were genuine
A great debut novel

Character development is an important part of any good book. The reader must know the characters and be comfortable in their stories. And so Sarah Flint introduces us to Charlie. I have a definite picture of her in my mind as I'm reading and I'm quite positive I've figured out all the answers but No, I'm wrong, again! A great mystery with enough clues that you're sure to follow the wrong one somewhere and be absolutely amazed when the murderer is caught.

I'm a huge fan of this genre books so when I got opportunity to read this one I jumped right into it. And I was not disappointed.

Firstly I loved the structure of this book. I mean, when I read a book a hope to find short chapters in it, because it makes me feel like I read the book faster. For me it is a huge plus.

Secondly the writing style gripped me from the beginning, in some ways it reminded me a little bit of Tess Gerritsen writing style. Let me explain what I mean. I'm not the one who gets easily grossed out or rarely feel uncomfortable by descriptions in the books. But both authors has something in their writing style and descriptions, that I feel goosebumps whilst reading descriptions of crime scenes in their books. And if I feel those feelings, then it's a sign for me that I found another gem. To be honest Sarah Flint will be my next auto-buy author.

Thirdly I was so glad that this book had so much diversity. There were few lgbtq+ characters and also people of color.

Another thing, that make my heart sing, was that in this book was no love romance. Don't get me wrong I like reading a book where main character has love interest, but usually it get's in a way with a main storyline. This book didn't need a love story to make it more interesting.

The only thing I wish was different was the ending of this book. In my opinion it was a little bit anticlimactic.

In conclusion, I have to say, that I enjoyed reading this book immensely and already recommend to everyone I know. I hope someday it will be translated in Lithuanian, because my mum would also love it.

This was a very good book which was engaging, chilling, and disturbing. There is a lot of violence in this book. It was confusing in parts. If you love your police procudures you will love this series.

Sarah Flint is the latest in quite a line of crime writers who were once “on the job” themselves. Not that that’s an automatic recommendation – the main qualification for writing a gripping police procedural is not authenticity (although naturally that helps.) No, to my mind, anyway, it’s being able to spin a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining yarn; one that keeps the reader guessing until the final reveal.

I’m happy to report that the first book in the DC Charlie Stafford series ticks all the boxes. It’s original, realistic, and as for whodunnit…well, at one point or another, I’d pretty much blamed everyone, bar the actual protagonist.

DC Charlie Stafford is also a likeable central character. She’s somewhat shambolic when it comes to presenting the present-day slick, media-friendly look to the world, with hair that sticks up everywhere, and a tendency for getting distracted by criminals on the way to work and appearing looking as though she’s been dragged through a hedge backwards. But she’s tenacious, and worships her boss, DI Geoffrey Hunter (although naturally, stubborn Charlie attempts to hide it.) She works in the Community Support Unit, which is described as, “the first stop for all budding CID officers.” They deal with crimes involving domestic violence, and crimes connected to race/faith/sexual orientation/disability. The unit’s involvement in the big case featuring in this book comes about due to the disappearance of a mother and her son. The reason for their involvement is because there had previously been allegations of domestic abuse made against her husband – could he be responsible for the disappearance of his wife and one of his two sons? His reaction certainly looks suspicious – he wastes no time at all in clearing out all trace of her, as well as scrubbing the house clean, making it impossible to judge whether she’s left of her own volition, or been the victim of a crime, as well as destroying any DNA evidence.

Well, Keith Hubbard’s certainly a nasty piece of work, as Charlie personally discovers, but when another mother-and-child pairing disappears they have to widen their investigation – while not dismissing Hubbard entirely. And I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say there are more victims as the book proceeds.

A prominent and highly respected lawyer – the sort that’s a bane to coppers – gets mixed up in their investigation, intriguing me still further. There’s also a somewhat unusual love interest for Charlie – a homeless ex-soldier who suffers from problems associated with leaving the army: PTSD, alcohol abuse, and other such problems often associated with adjusting to life in the less regimented Civvy Street. He’s a good soul, with a soft spot for Charlie, particularly after one incident they both get caught up in. He makes a refreshing change from the more conventional love interests in police procedurals (very often, it’s colleagues.)

There’s ample red herrings, and excellent story development. This one will definitely keep you reading until the final page. A book is really having to grab me for me at the moment for me to get through it. Mummy’s Favourite managed to do that, and I look forward to hearing more about DC Charlie Stafford. Sarah Flint could be a name to look out for.

I have a huge confession to make- yes yet another one I hear you cry. Although I have a couple of Sarah’s book on my ever expanding ‘to be read’ mountain I haven’t actually read one yet…………..until now that is. I was invited to take part in the blog tour for the paperback release of ‘Mummy’s Favourite’ and I accepted because it was an ideal opportunity to get a taster of Sarah’s work and to read one of her books. Wowzers I was not to be disappointed. I absolutely LOVED reading ‘Mummy’s Favourite’ but more about that in a bit.
I couldn’t help but take to the character of Detective Constable Charlie Stafford from the first moment that I met her. She is a young woman, who is determined to make her mark in the police force and to impress her superiors. Charlie is good at what she does but she doesn’t like to boast about her talents or her skills. Charlie is feisty, determined and stubborn. When she gets a hunch, she follows her theory to the end until her own curiosity has been satisfied. I have to say that Charlie is like a dog with a bone in that respect. Charlie won’t stop investigating a case unless every piece of evidence has been examined, tested and either ruled out or ruled in as it were. It soon becomes clear that Charlie is a woman with a past, although the past isn’t explained during the first part of the book but clues are drip fed through the story and when the pieces are put together, the true picture emerges. It’s these events that help to explain why Charlie is the way she is. Charlie comes across as a tough nut with a rock hard exterior but in reality you don’t have to scratch the surface much until you realise that Charlie is just as vulnerable as the rest of us. I was keeping everything crossed that things would work out for Charlie in the end and that she would solve the case. Does she solve the case? Well for the answer to that question and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
Oh my word, Sarah Flint is one of those authors who starts the book in such a way that ensures that it will remain fresh in your mind for a long time to come. That’s what happened to me anyway. The story hits the ground running and maintains the pace throughout. I just had to carry on reading because I needed to know if Charlie managed to solve the case before too many more people became casualties. I soon became addicted to reading ‘Mummy’s Favourite’ and I found it near impossible to put the book down. The book wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it came everywhere with me. I thought that if I stopped reading I would miss something. I am a wee bit nosy (ok very nosy) and I love to eavesdrop. I seemed to race through the book but I didn’t realise just how quickly I had been reading until I checked on my progress and realised that I had read over 36%. I was so focused on the characters and on the storylines that I managed to shut out all other distractions.
For me ‘ Mummy’s Favourite’ is very well written. The writer has a writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to understand. Sarah uses such vivid and realistic descriptions that I found it easy to imagine that I was another (albeit invisible) member of the investigating team. I loved the way in which the author writes about her characters. The characters seemed to realistic that they almost seemed to jump off the page and come to life as it were. Certain characters were so realistic that they gave me the heebie jeebies and made my skin crawl.
Reading ‘Mummy’s Favourite’ was much like riding on a very scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns than you would know what to do with. A couple of times I smugly thought that I had fathomed out who was doing what and why only to realise that I had the wrong end of the stick completely and I was sent down another path. Sarah Flint certainly kept me guessing all the way through and she kept me on the edge of my seat.
For me, ‘Mummy’s Favourite’ is a fantastic start to a new series. I will certainly be catching up on the rest of the series just as soon as I can. I would definitely recommend this author and this series to other readers. I can’t wait to read what Sarah Flint comes up with next. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher. This book will have you on the edge of your seat, it is fast paced with may twists and turns.

Mummy’s Favourite
by Sarah Flint
Aria

General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 10 Jan 2019

I am reviewing a copy of Mummy’s Favourite through Aria Books and Netgalley:

In a woodland grave, two bodies are buried, a Mother and a child, one is alive and one is dead.

This is one of the most harrowing cases to hit D.C Charlie Stafford’s department in many years. As more Mothet and Children go missing, Charlie must find them.

Charlie soon finds himself hunting down a twisted serial killer just as she gets closer she starts to realize that she is in a lot of danger.

The serial killer is watching and waiting, whose next.

I give Mummy’s Favourite five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Slow burn... It may be due to laying the groundwork of the series but there was an abundance of detail, not action, for a bit too long at the start.

I liked the writing style and characters. Charlie is the most developed and her backstory is quite sad. This is quite graphic and violent, be warned.

There is a lot going on. There are two separate cases that need to be solved. There were multiple narrators and that gave depth to the story and characters. Satisfying conclusion but some minor things are outstanding which I imagine will get closure in the next. Yeah, pretty good.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Aria Fiction for a copy in exchange for a review.

The publisher says that Mummy's Favourite by Sarah Flint is perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter, and I would have to agree with them.

What it's about: Introducing DC Charlotte (Charlie) Stafford of the London Metropolitan Police. Charlie is assigned to help with a missing person's case where there is a mother and son missing, and a husband and son left behind. The husband is violent and everyone's first thought is that it is him. But when other mother/child couplings start to go missing Charlie is scrambling to figure out how they are all connected and if it is in fact the husband of the first missing persons behind it all. At the same time, Charlie is dealing with her own personal issues plus trying to help a local war hero.

Mummy's Favourite is chalk full of crime material and action. I wouldn't say it is quite as graphic as a Karin Slaughter novel, especially when it comes to gore, but it was most definitely full of disturbing material. There is a lot going on in the book, and a lot of different POVs which I really liked. We got POVs from Charlie, the killer, a stalker, and more which makes for a very interesting read.

Even though there is lots of action and there was plenty to keep me interested, I found that I read this book fairly slow. There are 344 pages to the paperback and it took me over 5 hours to read it. That is probably fast by most people's standards, but I just felt slow when I was reading it. But this is not a negative, I just wanted to mention it!

I loved the bits about Charlie's background and personal life, and I'm really glad I started with book 1 of this series instead of starting later as I sometimes end up doing. If you are going to read these, I recommend starting with book 1 and going in order just because I think you learn a lot about Charlie in here. I haven't read the other books to this series, but now I can't wait to!

Final Thought: For the most part, Mummy's Favourite read like an episode of Criminal Minds which I really liked. I like when books switch between the criminals and the police even though the criminal sections were pretty disturbing. Definitely a lot of police procedural to this book so if you are a fan of good police procedurals and crime writing this is one I would highly recommend checking out. The fact that the author worked for the Metropolitan Police really shines through in this novel, and it was quite fascinating to read.

This is a powerful crime based thriller with a likeable female detective, and an authentic setting and details. The story features some unpalatable scenes, which I did not enjoy reading. They are however essential to the progression of the characters and the plot but be warned this is not an easy book to read.

The detail and the plot are well- written and the pacing fast and suspenseful. There are many criminals at work and a multitude of crimes for DC Charlie Stafford and her colleagues to solve. The characters are realistic, although as you would expect in this type of story not always likeable. The plot is well thought out and believable and it’s difficult to solve the crimes.

A suspenseful, menacing crime thriller with authentic police procedures and believable characters and plot, worth reading.

The opportunity to join the blog tour for a crime thriller was one I wasn’t going to pass up. The concept intrigued me. Clearly DC Stafford has a twisted killer on her hands, abducting mothers with the child perceived to be the favourite. The police face a race against time as more and more pairs are snatched without a trace. Suspects start to mount and the team at the Metropolitan Police have their work cut out for them to find the culprit before time runs out for their victims.

Mummy’s Favourite is a high-speed run filled with twists and turns from start to finish. Sarah Flint does a fantastic job of portraying her lead characters, and even the supporting cast have personalities that shine through. The sense of urgency and drive to crack the case runs through every single decision that she makes.

Alongside an ever growing roster of victims, DC Stafford and her team have an increasing list of suspects. From abusive husbands, to spurned lovers, to obsessive ex-clients, all fit the bill as a potential for the crime, but without the final piece of evidence the police struggle to put the culprit behind bars. A stroke of luck offers a lead at the most timely moment as a fellow officer and her son go missing. With the case drawing to a close, the identity of the offender rocks the team to its core, but explains how this vicious killer has managed to keep a step ahead of the police at all times.

The book moves along at a frenetic pace and had me wanting to read just one more chapter. The drive to capture the assailant infused an urgency and energy throughout the book, driving it forward to the explosive conclusion. The only element that was a touch cliche for my liking was a side crime that Charlie Stafford finds herself working on. At the conclusion of the central proceedings, she conveniently manages to wrap up this other crime through what appeared to be dumb luck. Thankfully however, it did not detract from what is a fantastic read.

Scary thriller with big twist of an ending. Lots of drama and excitement and red herrings. Good realistic characters.

Thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy.

I had actually read a book in this series then forgotten about it. When I started reading this I remembered Charlie. Such a great series. I really enjoyed This book.

When a mother and her child go missing, Charlie has to work out what has happened. But then another mother and her child are reported missing. ....... can she find the culprit before anyone is taken?

This is definitely a series I'm going to stick with! I had no idea who the culprit was but certainly suspected plenty!

DC Charlotte Stafford - known as Charlie - loves her work as a detective and seems to have a knack for it. When mothers and one of their children begin to go missing, she is deeply involved in the investigation. With so many other things being thrown in their path, will the team work out what's going on?

This is such a good read; so much happening that you really get the feel of things from the police perspective. There is just enough information about the various officers' personal lives so make them interesting, without over-shadowing the events they are investigating. I think it shows that the author has a career in the Police Force.

The various events themselves are easy to follow; with missing persons piling up the detectives work long hours, desperate to get a favourable result before time runs out. Who can have done this? Who could possibly be twisted enough? As they use every resource at their fingertips, the clock is ticking.

I never saw the end coming! It took me completely by surprise; I was riveted to the pages, really engrossed in the story and just couldn't read fast enough. Very exciting, a true thriller! This is a series I'll be sticking with and if you enjoy a really good police procedural, then I heartily recommend it to you too.

My thanks to publisher Aria for my copy via NetGalley, and also to Victoria Joss for inviting me take part in this Blog Tour. I choose to read this novel, and this is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Charlie is a DC of the London Metro Police. She is looking into the disappearance of Julie Hubbard and her son Richard. Before long it is evident that won't be the only missing person's case she's on. Mothers and sons and mother's and daughters are disappearing and no one know why or where. Time is running out and the case needs to be solved before lives are lost.
Enjoyable read. Great characters and story. Interesting turn of events. Recommended!

Someone is killing mothers and one of their children and it is down to D C Charlie Staffford and her team to locate the killer and unravel the reasons as to why

Another good novel by Sarah Flint and the series is getting more and more dark

It took me a little time to get into this book, however once l did, I was thoroughly hooked.
The writing was descriptive and gritty, with a great sense of realism.
The plot was complicated, keeping me guessing almost to the end. There were a lot of separate threads running throughout the plot and it was unclear whether they were different aspects of one character or entirely separate entities, adding an extra dimension to the plot and a whole lot of intrigue and mystery.
The characters were well thought out, engaging and believable, with enough background information to make them easy to understand and realistic.
A very convoluted and enjoyable novel, which had me frantically trying to figure out who was responsible for the crimes, although the conclusion of the main plot was still highly unexpected. I'd definitely recommend it

Not too much to say here. I thought this was a strong debut. I think the biggest issue was the fact that we had two separate plots going on here that ended up confusing things. It would have been better to just stay on the main story-line (women and their son or daughter are being abducted) since there was a lot going on there. I also was left with a lot of questions once the villain was unmasked that I don't think were explained sufficiently. I did love the character of Charlie and her backstory was sad. I hope that in the later books in the series her family keeps popping up.

Charlie is a DC with a loving mother and two younger sisters. She has heart and feels things deeply. Flint eventually reveals Charlie's backstory so stick with it. There are hints dropped here and there that something in Charlie's childhood broke her and at first you may end up confused until the full reveal. Along with that, Charlie is looking into the disappearance of an abused housewife. When the abusive husband ends up injuring Charlie when she goes to conduct a search this seems to start a snowball effect that leads to a lot of secrets being revealed.

I think that other characters could have been developed a bit more besides Charlie, her mother, and her DI. At one point I laughed because her coworkers are described and it's brought up one of them is a lesbian and it goes into that and it was a very weird segue.

I think that the murderer's POV was very creepy, a few scenes were a bit hard to read, but I thought Flint did well with them. I think if we had jumped from the murderer to just Charlie it would have been a stronger book.

As I already said, there are multiple POVs in this one. We have Charlie, but also one of the missing women's husband, his defense attorney, the murderer, the missing women, and then someone else as well. There is a lot going on and often the flow between narratives don't work very well. It may have worked better if we didn't have the second plot line going on. It just made me feel like I was reading two separate stories instead of one cohesive one at times.
The writing was a bit tough to get into. I had a struggle with this one since we start off with so many POVs. It took until the 25 percent mark of the book for this to pick up enough for me to keep continuing with it.

The ending was a shocker and we have Charlie going forward it seems with a possible love interest or friend.