Overall this is a good book but it also has some flaws.
To start with what i liked: I liked the twists and turns and the ending was very surprising. The characters were well fleshed out and developed. They had flaws and it made them very relatable. The main character almost felt real!

A home invasion tense chilling read
.A book that kept me on the edge of my seat so many twists and. Turns.#netgalley#amazoncrossing

Still not sure about this one. I did enjoy most of it but there were some bits that I wasn't keen on so a mixed bag

Helen and her husband appear to be a fairly normal couple. They live in a beautiful big home in a nice neighbourhood, with their three teenage children.
But appearances aren't always what they seem.
One Friday, they are going about their lives as normal, when they find themselves victims of a home invasion. But when it goes wrong, Helen and her husband need to work together in order to protect their family.
The book is told from the perspectives of two people; Helen and Ralf. Ralf who's friend broke into a home on Friday night and never came back out.
Ralf finds himself trying to piece together what happened that night and what he discovers is a plot that goes far deeper than just a home invasion.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Lots of unexpected twists and a very thought provoking plot. It was a very quick read; the chapters are all short and with a fast paced plot it's easy to fly through.
Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. (Even though I ended up with a copy of the book before I had a chance to review)

This was an intense fast read. I haven't read anything set in present day Holland so that was really cool. Helen was a great character. Ralf to a bit for me to like him. I do wish that the chapters had been a bit longer instead of switching so much.

Crazy good. I loved this voice, the characters, the twists. So interesting and twisted. 5 well deserved stars!

I really enjoyed this book, it didn't take to long to read and the chapters were pretty short which I really appreciate, the chapters went back and forth between the 2 main characters. The book is about a home robbery gone wrong, and it has an excellent twist which I didn't see coming. Parts of this book had me on the edge of my seat. This book is definitely worth reading and I'm thankful I had the chance too. I recieved this book for my honest opinion, however I would not be disappointed if I purchased this book.

A compulsive read about a home invasion gone wrong with a good twist at the end. Very enjoyable, I finished this book in one evening. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The story was gripping. The characters were interesting and the twists and turns throughout this kept you wanting more. I also liked the fact that it had short chapters throughout. What a great enjoyable psychological thriller this was. It’s the first book I have read by this author and will be certainly keeping an eye out for more in the future.
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this.

Extremely thrilling with an unexpected surprise several chapters that make it easy to staop reading if you have to or… Want to.

What a book! Actual rating: 4.5 stars

This seemed like a straightforward plot. Attempted robbery goes wrong. Someone tries to cover it up. Someone is trying to uncover the truth. But no, this is not straightforward. Twists and turns appear at every corner!

I'm trying to be careful what I say in this review as I'm not sure what will be a spoiler. I really enjoyed this story. I loved Nova Lee Maier's character development and the two povs. I did wonder why we had one of the two povs as it didn't make sense to me in the beginning why we had it. But the way things all wrap up was soooo good.

There was a major twist near the end which you can see coming a mile off, and how the character's didn't realise it sooner, I don't know. I was screaming the answer while reading the book and felt underwhelmed when it was revealed. But that last chapter. THAT. LAST. CHAPTER. HAD. ME. LIVINGGGG!
Looking forward to reading more thrillers from this author!

I really loved the overall feel and suspense of this book. When Helen and her husband's home is invaded, there are a lot of people affected and she does things she never thought she would be capable. Instead of calling the police, they handle it on their own. The partner of the home invader has not seen his friend since the botched invasion and finds himself under threat. I liked that this book came from different angles and kept me guessing from beginning to end. I will recommend this one to others and would like to check out more writing from this author.

I had not read any of Nova Lee Maier's books before. She built a family, an everyday working class family, dropped them into a community where they blended with all the other families.,then dropped a bomb into their house one afternoon. It was very interesting how the family reacted and how they made their fateful decision. The interaction between the people who knew what happened and the people who wanted to know what happened, is a very different twist to solving a mystery. The story is good, playing out like a Netflix series where you can't stop because something good might happen and you'll miss it. This is definitely a story best read in a marathon read, from start to finish.

Mother Dear was difficult to put down. So many quandaries faced by the main character, Helen, that leave you wondering what you would do if you found yourself in a similar situation. The story also emphasizes that you never know what is going on in others lives. Helen was very likable, but I cannot say the same about her husband, Werner. If you are looking for something to hold your interest and have you wanting to read just one more chapter than this is the book for you. Many thanks to Nova Lee Maier, Amazon Crossing, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this arc of a recently published book.

I want to thank NetGalley, AmazonCrossing, and Nova Lee Maier for the ARC of mother dear. The cover of this book intrigued me and is what first had me wanting to read it. I admit when I read the description it was the complete opposite of what I thought it was going to be but I still wanted to read it. I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It wasn't horrible just was a bit predictable. I kept wanting to read on so did end up enjoying it I just think it was a lot different then what I expected. Still worth the read for sure. Helen was an interesting woman to say the least.

There's only one thing worse than doing the unthinkable, what you're willing to do to hide it. I thought this book overall was a good book, I liked the twists and turns of it all. The characters were well written, the ending was a surprising twist, that I did not see coming.
The characters had flaws which helped to make them so real.

Helen and Werner have the perfect marriage, or do they? When a burglar breaks in while they are home, Helen defends herself but Werner wants to keep it a secret. There's only one other person that suspects what happened the night Brian disappeared. Ralf is determined to find him.....Be careful what you wish for.....

Although this book was slightly suspenseful, it wasn't as thrilling as I'd hoped. Maybe it's the difference in cultures, I don't know. But I couldn't fathom leaving teenagers with a babysitter/grandparent. I was the sitter at 13, not the other way around. Also, the disposal of the body made no sense. If you work in a different area and your boss finds you out of your way in disposal, not once but twice, don't you think she would question why you're there. Sorry, this book was really badly written and not well thought out.

3.5 Stars for this fast read. Chapters are very short, which adds to your speed reading. The chapters alternate between two points of view. One is Ralf, a young man caught up in the wrong friend. Asked to support a friend in something illegal against his better judgement, and it goes totally wrong. The second is Helen, a married wife and mother, who enters her home in the middle of a burglary. From there, the thriller unfolds!

I enjoyed the writing, and the character development. This book was translated into English, which can sometimes make the storyline hard to follow. Definitely not in this case. I did question some of the choices the character made, but then if they made the ‘correct’ choice, there wouldn’t have been a story! For me, the title is misleading...Dear Mother...referring to only a few letters referenced in the book. The ending seemed to be rushed, I reread the last two chapter to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

This book is good for vacation!

I received an ARC of this book. Opinion is mine alone!

Overall this is a good book but it also has some flaws.
To start with what i liked: I liked the twists and turns and the ending was very surprising. The characters were well fleshed out and developed. They had flaws and it made them very relatable. The main character almost felt real!
What I did not like is that the book is a little longer than it needs to be, a more heavy hand with the editing would be very helpful. I understand this book is a translation and hence not all of this may be an issue in the original version.

This book was very well written. Nice and easy to read and flowed well. Had me on the edge of my seat. Wondering which way it was going to go. Great mystery can’t beat it.