Trouble in the neighborhood! I’m pretty sure we all know someone like Amy. She is picture perfect and her good looking children have perfect manners. Her husband is a handsome, hard-working guy who lavishes attention on his wife. She has everything she has ever wanted and more. Nothing ever goes wrong in this family. Their house is beautiful, even outside each blade of grass is in perfect formation.

In The Good Mother by Cathryn Grant, the pretense of perfection can’t last forever. Or can it? What happens when this so-called perfect mother’s carefully designed life takes a turn by way of a new mom in the neighborhood, one that doesn’t quite live up to a certain standard?

Here’s the scoop with The Good Mother:

Amy’s life is close to perfect – two lovely daughters, a wonderful husband and she’s queen bee in her circle of soccer moms. She feels content, like she’s finally put some distance between herself and the terrible events of long ago.

The only fly in the ointment is Charlotte, a recent arrival to this affluent suburban community. The shameless way she dresses, the way the men look at her… it’s not right, she’s just not the kind of person they want around here. Amy spearheads a drive to exclude Charlotte, to make it clear to her that she’s not welcome here. Infuriatingly, Charlotte doesn’t seem to care… And when her daughter joins the soccer team there’s just no getting away from her.

But Amy knows from bitter experience the kind of trouble a woman like Charlotte can bring. And there is no way on earth that her girls are ever going to be exposed to anything like that. The solution is clear – Charlotte has to go. No matter what it takes.

This is an entertaining story and I can see how it would all play out in real life. Kids aren’t the only ones that deal with bullies and drama!

Get this book on January 5, FREE with Kindle Unlimited or 99 cents without.

Amy thinks her life is perfect. She is the helicopter mom to twins, first to volunteer at their school, and a doting wife to Justin. In reality, she is self-absorbed, anxious, possibly anorexic and haunted by a traumatic childhood event. She is NOT a character you want to like.

However, Charlotte is. A single mother, a photographer, and an independent, strong-willed woman, she crosses paths with Amy with disastrous results. Amy becomes obsessed with Charlotte and uses her weak-willed friend Rachel to help ostracize Charlotte from their close knit soccer mom group.

A criminal targeting their neighborhood, the death of a close friend, and Charlotte’s failure to yield to Amy’s escalating attempts to have her move from her home drive Amy to frightening levels of delusion concluding in a shocking surprise ending.

The Good Mother is what Amy thinks she is and what Charlotte actually is. The novel deserves four stars for its excellent characterizations and plot. However, I did not think Amy’s descent into jealousy and madness was believable. That said, you’ll read The Good Mother quickly and it will make you wonder what your neighbors are really like.

Thanks to NetGalley, Cathryn Grant and Inkubator Books for this ARC.

Talk about books that hook you from page 1. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it reminds me of some high school drama except the drama is between the moms. All 3 women in this book have issues and the way they interact with each other is all written well. Though I wouldn't say this is a proper thriller or suspense, it is a good read.

I could not get into this book. It felt like I was reading about a high school clique. This book was not my cup of tea. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the arc of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Amy’s life is pretty much perfect. She has a handsome husband, lovely home, and two adorable twin daughters. When Amy and her group of friends are at their kid’s soccer game, Amy takes notice to a new mom to the neighborhood. How could she not notice? The way the woman dresses alone, she’s just asking for the attention of everyone around, including the husbands. Well, Amy just isn’t going to stand for that. She’s not going to let someone compromise her perfect world - no matter the costs.

First thing, I wouldn’t label this as a psychological thriller. I’m not going to lie, this isn’t as fast paced as I normally go for, and wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but I found it was still a good read. Some of it did drag on for me, but I think it has a really good representation of the stress and expectation mother’s hold over themselves. It shows that bullying goes beyond childhood and can carry into the adult stage. The story is told from three point of views, Amy, Rachel, and a Charlotte. I found Amy’s obsession with Charlotte frustrating, but it just goes to show how unstable she really is. I wasn’t too surprised by the ending, but I’m satisfied with it.

Oh my what a book! I didn't want to put this one down. Loved it from the start.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing to me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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Amy’s life is picture perfect. Mess with that picture – you’re going to pay.

Amy’s life is close to perfect – two lovely daughters, a wonderful husband and she’s queen bee in her circle of soccer moms. She feels content, like she’s finally put some distance between herself and the terrible events of long ago.

The only fly in the ointment is Charlotte, a recent arrival to this affluent suburban community. The shameless way she dresses, the way the men look at her… it’s not right, she’s just not the kind of person they want around here.

Amy spearheads a drive to exclude Charlotte, to make it clear to her that she’s not welcome here. Infuriatingly, Charlotte doesn’t seem to care… And when her daughter joins the soccer team there’s just no getting away from her.

But Amy knows from bitter experience the kind of trouble a woman like Charlotte can bring. And there is no way on earth that her girls are ever going to be exposed to anything like that. The solution is clear - Charlotte has to go. No matter what it takes.

The gripping domestic thriller for fans of Liane Moriarty, T. M. Logan, and Sally Hepworth.
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This book really grabbed me from the very beginning. I found some of the characters so unlikeable, yet I could not stop reading to find out what happened next. I found myself moving quickly through different emotions and wondering how the story was going to end. At one point, as I was approaching the end of the book, I even found myself thinking, "Please don't be a disappointment," and I am happy to report that it was not. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of highly readable novels that are full of suspense, have a good number of twists and turns without being ridiculous, and provide a satisfying ending that you just might not see coming.

Amy is clearly haunted by a traumatic past and is obsessed with keeping complete control of her “perfect” life. The new arrival Charlotte is a single mother, also with a traumatic past, who is looking to raise her daughter in a safe environment. Charlotte is a free, hippy spirit who doesn’t conform to Amy’s standards and that makes her a target when she moves into their neighborhood. Rachel is Amy’s BFF and she would be the follower of the soccer mom group. She has a whole set of her own issues. These three tell the stories through their POV.

This domestic thriller was
Pleasantville meets the Desperate Housewives.

“Everyone has secrets, parts of their lives kept hidden.”

It was like reading a train wreck. Amy started off slightly delusional and grew to off the chart level of crazy. Rachel was incredibly insecure with serious body image issues and needed lots of reassurance. It was painful at times reading about how she hated her body.

It was captivating in the sense that you couldn’t believe how low Amy could stoop to or how ridiculous Rachel was in supporting her. Poor Charlotte was just trying to start fresh and raise her daughter but was constantly the object of Amy’s viciousness.

I found this book to be mainly focusing on relationships. It was somewhat suspenseful at times but without any twists or surprises. I I really felt it had that desperate housewives feel, where the women have their own issues, pretend to be perfect, and take down anyone that threatened them. The reader just watches the main character spiral more and more out of control.

I personally prefer thrillers to have suspense, twists and surprises. This has too much drama for me.

Fabulous suspense and wonderful thriller. Excellent writing. A plot that will leave you spellbound. And characters you will fall in love with. Ten stars to this wonderful novel. Highly recommend a,

This was a great book with lots of twists - you have to concentrate to keep up! I really enjoyed it and will look for more from this author. 5*

Thank you for the advanced copy. I didn't care for this book. It was a slog for me and I found myself skipping ahead in parts. Just wasn't for me.

Sadly, this is another domestic drama that is let down by being marketed as an incredible psychological thriller. The mystery is underwhelming, the characters are dull and don't really stand out in any way, and it's essentially a very quick and forgettable read. There are others out there that are better.

This book was not a thriller. It was just a bitchy mother who set out to put another mother down. There were no twists and turns just a very unlikeable main character.

This book was super twisty and not at all what I expected. I say that as a good thing. Amy comes from a traumatic past and with that, it has molded and shaped who she is as an adult and how she raises her kids. Enter Charlotte, who the mommy judges determine, is not the kind of mom she should be. Amy sets out on a crash course to rid the neighborhood of this woman before she does harm .But she is spiraling out of control. How far will she go. The multiple POV told from three characters adds to the suspense of this book and is worth checking out this coming new year.

This book was originally published in 2010 with something like, the crazy soccer moms as the title.

It isn't a thriller, more of a drama, and didn't grab me at all. The beginning was quite odd and honestly kind of disturbing and disjointed.

I don't recommend. I am incredibly unsure why it was republished.

An excellent domestic thriller, full of believable characters and an entertaining plot. Highly recommended. Plan on reading more books by this author.

I hate when books lie to me.

“A psychological thriller with a shocking twist”.

REALLY? The Good Mother is a drama story about a bunch of crazy snobby women and their obsession with their kids playing soccer, it’s long, it’s boring, the ending is predictable and IT’S NOT A THRILLER!

The only thing I like about this book is the cover.

Please do not read this book, I can promise you it’s not worth your time.