The story of two sisters and their mother living in an affluent neighborhood, which seems healthy and happy, until a girl goes missing. Then one of the sisters (eventually with help from her sister and mother) try to solve the girl's murder, mainly to clear her son, who has an unusual psychological condition. There were multiple narrators and there seemed to be multiple stories and some of them never did get addressed (fallout from the poker night servers), but in the end everything kind of got worked out--maybe not to the reader's liking (Hannah moving), but one possible solution to the families of the two sisters.

Kelly Simmons is a pro at weaving thrillers, and drama and literature together. There is enough mystery to be a thriller, but there is so much more heart and family dynamics involved. Not My Boy is no exception to this.

I started this book a few months back and put it down because some of the content I read was a little off putting. The general theme of the book is about a little boy accused of crimes because he is different, which was true, but not capable of the crimes he was accused of. What I didn't like was the grandmother figure having thought of the boy having impure thoughts about animals because he states " I love animals". It seemed like such a weird thing to say about a child, and it's mentioned more then once. I didn't find myself connecting with the characters which made it hard to finish but I did.

As each character builds their case to prove their innocence, we'll find ourselves switching back and forth on "who done it". An entertaining story that kept the pace moving quickly from one family to the next as the focus on the missing girl led the investigators directly to their door. I enjoyed this story enough to look for Ke;;y Simmons back library. My TBR stack will never shrink at this pace.

Just loved this book! Make me cry a few time though but I recommend it . I liked the mystery concept a lot it was very well developed. I also liked the family dinamics between the members of the family especially between the sisters. Didn’t like the grand mother as much though. I would definitely looking for other books by this author,

The believability factor here was super low leaving me struggling to stay engaged in an outlandish story. It did have a great atmosphere though.

I've had this on my list for over a year, and have looked at the synopsis multiple times hoping to get interested in it. Unfortunately, I just haven't...

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A slow-burn mystery told in alternating POV's between Hannah and her mother Eva. A child goes missing and Hannah must do everything in her power to protect her son and to figure out who did it.

A mix of suspense and family drama, I had a hard time following the story line. It bounced around a little to much for me. Some of the details could have been avoided and just seemed to help the author fill up space.

There were some interesting twists and I really enjoyed the family drama. I do wish that they would have focused more on the victim and the details of what happened to her.

Nope. Not for me. I have tried and tried.

This title was a miss. I did not feel engaged in the story and the characters. The premise was fantastic....unfortunately, it did not keep me entertained enough to keep going.

Thank you for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

I was on the edge of my seat with this book, from the very start! You will definitely not want to put this down! This was my first book by this author, but it won't be my last. What an intriguing read!!

A thriller a family drama kept me on the edge of my seat Full of secrets twists and turns well written characters that come alive.This is an author I will be following.#netgalley #notmyboy

I am really starting to love these domestic suspense stories where the neighborhood is just like one of your own and you can see your friends and neighbors in the characters. Hannah moves next door to her sister Hilary and her husband and daughter. Hannah's son Miles had had some problems in his last school and neighborhood, so the new place was supposed to be a fresh start. Almost immediately a young girl goes missing and the neighbors start to suspect each other. The police investigation starts to open the rift that has just been below the surface of Hannah and Hilary's relationship. The story is told from various viewpoints. It was a compulsive read. I wanted to know who had taken the girl and what would happen to all the suspicions in the neighborhood. #NetGalley #NotMyBoy

This book was a great thriller and i read it extremely quick.. I could not put it down! When tragedy strikes a seemingly perfect neighborhood everyone becomes a suspect. Told in alternating view points we quickly learn of family drama and family secrets. Hannah and her son moved to get away from his precvious school and the bullies but it seems the drama has followed them to this new neighborhood. Miles has a strange obsession with animals and seems to be a very lonely boy. Shortly after Hannah moves in a young child is murdered. There are a few suspects to narrow down and as law enforcement seems to be circling around Hannah and her son and Hillary’s family the sisters set out to solve the mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Not My Boy was an interesting mix of thriller and a story about the drama in families. It was continually evolving and changing so you could never quite guess who the suspect was. The characters are all really interesting, if not always likeable, and are truly only to protwct those that they love.

I have to admit that I struggled with this book a bit. The story seemed to ramble for me and be somewhat disconnected. That's good in a mystery/suspense novel because the reader knows that eventually everything will be tied up and it will make sense. I'm not sure all of the information we got was necessary. And some of the characters were hard to like, which again isn't always a bad thing.

The family dynamics were interesting though. Two sisters, their families, and their mother—that's a lot of dysfunction right there. Each mother is trying to protect her own children and throws suspicion in any direction they can, including their own loved ones.

Not My Boy will take you on a ride until the very end. The journey to get there is full of curves and pit stops but it will all be worth it when you get there.

"Not My Boy" is a wonderful mix of family drama, suspense, and mystery. As a girl disappears in a beautiful neighborhood, on the same day a mom and her troubled son move in to the house next door. Portrayal of how assumptions, suspicions, and character analysis can threaten to break a family up. Very well developed story! Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author for the e-reader for review. All opinions are my own.

This was a very interesting book about a missing girl in a very upscale neighborhood and how the neighbors reacted, especially two sisters with family members who were being heavily investigated by the police.
Hannah and her son Miles, moved next door to her sister, Hillary, after Hannah's divorce. The sisters have been very close and supportive of each other all their lives - their father was an alcoholic and their mother was pretty uninvolved in their lives. Right after Hannah moves into the neighborhood, a young girl goes missing and is later found dead. Due to past problems in his old neighborhood, Miles is one of the main suspects along with Hillary's husband. Instead of supporting each other, the sisters are really nasty to each other, both trying to protect their family member at any cost. When the sisters, with the help of their mother Eva, start to work together, they begin to find clues to solve the murder.


I enjoy books about families with problems and especially if there are sisters as part of the story. This book had families in crisis, sister, kids and mystery. It should have been a fantastic book but it was a little less than -
-The ending was not believable - there hadn't been any clues pointing in this direction until near the end.
-Parts of it were pretty unbelievable. Example when the sisters started working together and went to a men's poker game to find out more.
-There were lots of secrets between the sisters who were supposed to be very close.
That said, this is a still a really good mystery with some interesting though flawed characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I enjoyed this novel. Hannah moves in next door to her sister. Shortly after a young girl is murdered and them blame falls on Hannah's son who has some weird issues. Then again perhaps it was the sister's husband? This novel explores the bonds of family love and trust under extreme circumstances.

An upscale suburban neighborhood with dark secrets behind closed doors is the setting of Simmons domestic suspense. I was drawn into this quickly and enjoyed the alternating viewpoints, which added a later of suspense with the two different interpretations of events unfolding. The story was ok for me but not completely plausible at times and I felt like the ending came about too abruptly with no enough detail or explanation.

A bit of family drama and a murder mystery combine in this simple, quick novel. Written in a combination of first and third person, it was always a bit jarring when the switch was made. The basic plot was interesting but it just didn’t flow smoothly for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC to read and review.