I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!


The blurb about this book really caught my attention. I've NEVER read another book like this. I was hooked from the start.. I mean really, what an unique storyline?!

The cover drew me in, and the story kept me. This is now one of my top favorites.

This is an engaging book by an author who was new to me. I admit, I was first drawn to the cover, but the story withing those pages did not disappoint. The plot is twisty and clever and without giving anything away, it's also quite timely. Recommended!

This is a stand alone, fast paced, page turner. With short chapters and alternates between then and now. This mother did everything to have healthy children, made sure she done everything right, she did everything she could to protect them, no matter how they were created.
When she loses her baby, due to a genetic disorder, she participates in an experiment. This thriller is a great read, keep an open mind, when going into read this book.

A bold, thought provoking, premise of genetic diseases balanced with a mother’s need for a child. If you thought you could outrun the disease, what you do it? And bring others into the equation ? Would you regret it? Great psychological thriller with unexpected twists.

Mother Knows Best by Kira Peikoff is an Adult Psychological Thriller which I received as an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) from @NetGalley (& Crooked Lane Books!) in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. (Release Date | 10-Sep-2019)

SYNOPSIS | Claire Abram passed on a genetic mutation that killed her son when he was 8 years old. Claire decides that she can't risk bringing another child into this world whilst there is a high chance of doing the same again, so she volunteers herself to be the first human trial candidate in a secret illegal experiment where they use the DNA from two women and one man to hopefully eliminate rare hereditary diseases. There is a huge controversy in the medical world as to whether this type of work is ethical and most agree that it isn't so Claire goes into hiding in order to safely bring her unborn child into the world.

MY THOUGHTS | The description of this book immediately piqued my interest as I work for a pharmaceutical company, but sadly the execution fell flat for me. I felt like the conversations with the daughter were too complex, she is supposed to be eleven so I doubt she is coherent in the effects of mitochondrial disease. I found the chase between the characters to be quite repetitive, but I was engaged enough to continue reading and I enjoyed the red herrings.

Thank you netgalley for the advance copy of this title in exchange for my honest review/opinion. Mother Knows Best was a fabulous book. I was drawn in from the beginning. I liked how i could relate as a mother. The mystery side of it was interesting, and not the same as all others. Great read!

They say Mother knows best. But sometimes that just isn’t true….

Mother Knows Best is told from a few point of views. We get insight into the past and present with Claire and Jillian (our mother duo) and the present view of Abigail (Frankenbaby). Claire is a woman who has experienced a loss so painful, it haunts her till this very day. Some might say she is heading towards a mental break or relapsing. But the mind and other things can be so eerily deceiving. Jillian is a woman with an IQ that might be considered dangerous if applied towards the right situation. Jillian and Rob are on the brink of a major breakthrough. But the legalities of this breakthrough are woven and deep. Lastly, we have Abigail, the poor child who never asked for any of this. But sometimes you don’t always get what you want….just ask Mommy. Mother Knows Best tells a twisted tale of genetics and mental illness at its most entertaining (which I am not sure that is even okay to say?).

This story isn’t the best I’ve read. This story isn’t going onto my favorites shelf any time soon. But this story would go on my “Fun as Hell” shelf. There are a few elements at play here that make this novel so entertaining. We have a sprinkle of mental illness, a dash of betrayal, a plethora of lies and one very mad scientist. Together Peikoff has cooked up a very unique thriller. Which is pretty impressive for a genre that has been done, well done and overdone. Now don’t get me wrong while it was a hoot, it still had a few holes that didn’t quite add up to me. Some factors were sheer convenience. But I can look past them since I had such an exhilarating ride.

Overall, I think if you are a heavy thriller reader this could be a good shake up. You have the usual culprits that most thriller readers love like psyche issues and morally corrupt people. But you get that breathe of fresh air feeling while reading it too. Peikoff opened up this whole other world of ethics that I hadn’t really considered much and put it into a thriller novel. That being said: 4 Stars from me!

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced read.

Wow! This was a page turner! I couldn’t put it down. A great break from the cookie cutter thrillers that seem to be so common lately. Definitely recommend!

I really enjoyed this book! I flew through it in one day. JUST ONE! It moves quickly, the story is intriguing, and the switching in POV are done very well. This story brings up some really good questions about genetically modifying a child before conception, and the morality of doing so. The characters were all great, there were plenty of twists and turns, and the ending was pleasant.

The only thing I didn’t like about this story was the predictability of some of the plot twists and the fact that I felt it ended to neatly. I would have liked to have seen more of the aftermath of the situation, but that’s a personal preference.

If you are looking for a quick, interesting read I would highly recommend this one!

This was a very unique, well written medical-psychological thriller.
The story is about a couple, Claire and Ethan Abrams who had lost a son Colton, at age 8, from a rare genetic disease, that deals with the mitochondria of a cell. Claire has never recovered from the loss of her son, yet Ethan wants to have another baby, but as one would be, she is terrified. She had secretly been using birth control behind Ethan's back, but seeing the sadness in his eyes, and seeing it take a toll on their marriage, agrees to try IV, which was a ploy on Claires part to make sure her baby was healthy. Claire seeks out the help of a cutting edge Doctor, named Robert Nash. Nash agrees to secretly impregnate Claire with her egg, her husbands sperm, and an egg of a donor, who happens to be Nash's highly intelligent, but psycho assistant. After being implanted, she soon learns she is pregnant, but things take a downward turn when Ethan suspects Claire is having an affair with Nash, from their secret meetings to discuss her pregnancy, and the fact she does not want Jillian in the child's life once its born, after all, the baby will actually have 2 mothers, genetically. After she informs Ethan of what she has done, he goes to the police, and Claire takes off.
Claire gives birth to a healthy baby girl named Abby, and is raised by Claire and Nash, but they change their names, and go on the run.
When Abby is older, she notice her mom is a constant nervous wreck, depressed and paranoid, even more so when Abby does a DNA test as part of a school project, and has an anonymous person contact her, which turns out to to be the insane Jillian.
Jillian returns into their lives, and more twists and surprises are integrated into the book, for one crazy ending!!

*********The book is told in first person, with multiple points of view. The author did a wonderful job with the scientific aspects of the book, incorporating factual, and fictional medical aspects into the story. I found the book to be faced paced, and an overall well written book!!!I will leave my review on Twitter @StefaniReads (Booked-up22)
Goodreads @ Booked-up22
Instagram @Booked-up22
Amazon @Bookedup22

Mother Knows Best is a cleverly written medical science thriller, dramatizing the consequences of an illicit experiment to create a three-parent baby. The participants are Dr. Robert Nash, a brilliant but maverick fertility specialist, Dr. Jillian Henricks, his equally prodigious and ambitious post-doc, and Mrs. Claire Abrams, a woman who lost her young son to an inherited mitochondrial disease that she carries.

Each of them have powerful motivators to defy the existing ethics laws that prohibit tampering with the human germline. The story highlights the debate over the ethics of human genome experimentation. As the narrative jumps between past and present, as well as skipping between the perspectives of Claire, Jillian and the miracle child Abby, we gradually see the big picture unfolding.

I felt that Kira Peikoff created an edgy premise, great pacing, and beautiful prose. This was on track to merit more than three stars but, unfortunately, the ending had many predictable elements and the resolution came about by demonizing one protagonist while artificially elevating another. The question of the rightness or wrongness of human genome experimentation is eventually brushed aside by the bias that the ends justifies the means. It diminished my overall satisfaction.

(With thanks to the publisher for this NetGalley ARC.)

Yes!! I really enjoyed this book, could not put it down!! Thank you Net galley and Kira Peikoff and Crooked Lane books for the opportunity to read and review this book, Loved it!! Well written. Story about a couple who lost their son to an unfortunate genetic disorder. Clair and her husband Ethan decide to try again after a few years to have another child. Secretly Clair is taking birth control. She finally decides to see a specialist with Ethan and really go forward with another pregnancy. Well this is where the story really takes off. It is written from the viewpoint of three of the characters and i thought if would be very confusing, but was very easy to follow. Also alternates between past and present. There are twists and turns and unexpected events that keep you reading till the wee hours of the morning, Abby is sheltered by her parents and starts digging into genetics to ultimately uncover the truth about her history and creation that she had no idea she would be uncovering. Fast paced book. I finished this book in a weekend. I would definitely read more of Kira's books.

An intriguing premise for a book - the manipulation of genetic code to eradicate the possibility of inheriting a deadly disease; a prime illustration of how motivations shape decisions and the consequences reaped from less than nobel proclivities. This book would make an excellent choice for book groups that are able to engage in civil, respectful discussions.

I recieved this book via Netgalley and give it my honest review.

I requested this book as I do not normally read psychological thrillers. I had to put it down almost half way through as it really wasn't my kind of book. It is well written and I am sure for some it would be enjoyable, but sadly not for me.

This is the story of Abbey and her parents...all three of them. The story is told via three points of view; Abbey, Claire, and Jillian. The first half is told with a mix of "before" and "after" and, as the story progresses, they merge into the second half of the drama.
The story is told well, and this is a real page-turner contemporary thriller. There are themes of grief and how people carry on after losing a child, also themes of mental health. Mother Knows Best delves into the world of gene mutation and it raises some very interesting questions about the ethics of playing with human life.
It's difficult to write more in a review because there are so many twists and turns in the story and I don't want to spoil it for anyone. I will say that I had a slight issue with Jillian's character. I found her development and general persona to be a bit confusing and mixed up. The best way to describe it is that I didn't buy her development...I'm not sure that the Jillian we meet at the start of the book would progress to become the Jillian we see later in the book.
I felt the ending was a little too neat - after all the drama and the secrets, the epilogue felt like it swept all that away and everyone lived happily ever after. Sometimes it's nice to read of an ending like this, but I thought the fact that it was such a complex subject meant the ending could have had a bit more complexity to it.
So, I had a few issues with it, but this book was a decent thriller with some interesting ethical questions.

Mother Knows Best has a unique premise within the thriller genre, and I could not put it down! We get a preview of where science is heading, and some of the ethical and personal implications involved.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this ARC!

This was an interesting read mostly for the science involved. I really wanted to like it, unfortunately the characters are not very likable. The only good character is Abigail and you feel really bad for her. The story was good enough to keep me reading and it was definitely different. I would recommend this to Sc Fi fans. Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy.

If you’re sick of the traditional thriller then this may be for you. The science aspect was interesting and was written believably enough for this non medical person. That part was good and kept me entertained.

The mystery part that follows didn’t keep up the pace unfortunately. It’s rather easy to predict and at times unbelievable. It wasn’t bad per se but just a let down after a different and clever set up.

Good writing, characters and premise but a little lacking in the thriller aspect. Overall, pretty good and I would check out more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Crooked Lane Books for a copy in exchange for a review.

Mother knows best was an enjoyable thriller that seemed to fly by. Claire and her husband Ethan recently lost a child and they are desperate for another child. She contacts Doctor Robert Nash with the understanding that his methods might be not what others consider ethical. Nash helps the couple have a healthy child by using part of another woman’s eggs. I enjoyed the novel bit wish there was a little more character development.

This was an okay read, nicely plotted. The characters were certainly annoying and their actions were a bit unbelievable at times.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Crooked Lane Books in exchange for my honest review.