The cover is nice and suits the genre of book.
I didn't manage to read the book in time so cannot review the inside.

Read this book so long ago and unfortunately didn’t post my review in time! Review to come, apologies for the delay

I hated all of the characters in this book and therefore being invested in them was hard
I felt that the story line was also lacking

I really enjoyed this book.
Not your typical kidnap story
Different point of views from the characters and what they are going through. I would recommend reading this

This is Tina Baker’s debut novel which had been sitting on my kindle for ages. I read her latest (third) novel Make Me Clean first (review here) which I adored so I decided to catch up with her previous books.

Obviously I was aware of Tina from TV and having met her in real life a few months ago at a literature event, I can confirm she’s completely bonkers but in a brilliant way.

Call Me Mummy has everything I personally love in a psychological thriller. A batsh*t crazy female protaganist, a little girl with a potty mouth, a completely dysfunctional family with a gripping plotline which constantly makes the reader change their minds about who deserves their sympathy and who should be locked up!!

The book begins with a child abduction (this could be triggering to some readers), a harrassed “scummy mummy” with several young children and heavily pregnant is at a local department store screaming at her children who are misbehaving when her 5 year old daughter Tonya disappears.

The book then starts to examine who and why this child has been taken. The chapters alternate between the real mother of Tonya, Kim and the new mother who believes it is her sole purpose in life to rescue Tonya and give her a better life.

The author also inserts little chapters from the public and media point of view including WhatsApp messages from neighbours and school mums, which are really ferocious towards Kim and her family.

This is a really dark book with some heavy and disturbing themes running throughout and those who are triggered by child abuse/rape/domestic violence might not be able to read this book.

I personally found it very thought-provoking. My emotions towards Kim “scummy mummy” flew back and forth throughout the book as we discover more about her past and why she behaves the way she does. “New Mummy” is a whole new bag of nuts though.. she is literally barking mad and my heart broke at the relentless abuse towards this little girl who had to cope with being ripped away from her family.

This is a brilliant debut book. My ONLY complaint and the ONLY reason I didn’t award it 5 stars was that the C-word was used too many times .. I’m not really a prude but personally didn’t feel it needed to be used as much.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks very much to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. Many thanks, Dave

This book was everything I look for in a book. It was so exciting. The plot was fantastic. It really had me on the edge of my seat, and my heart racing. It was very well written and flowed well.

Thank you to Tina Baker and the publisher for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Glamorous, beautiful Mummy has everything a woman could want... except for a daughter of her very own. So when she sees Kim—heavily pregnant, glued to her phone and ignoring her eldest child in a busy shop—she does what anyone would do. She takes her. But little foul-mouthed Tonya is not the daughter that Mummy was hoping for.

Meanwhile Kim is demonised by the media as a 'scummy mummy', who deserved to lose Tonya and ought to have her other children taken too. Haunted by memories of her own childhood and refusing to play by the media's rules, she begins to spiral, turning on those who love her.

Though they are worlds apart, Mummy and Kim have more in common than they could possibly imagine. But it is five-year-old Tonya who is caught in the middle..."

Although I wouldn't call this one a thriller as such, it kept my interest from page one. It wasn't the fast pace, running out of time thriller that I was expecting from the blurb. Instead it was slower in pace and really explored the emotions and lives of the two women. I loved all the layers of this book.

𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙏𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝘽𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧

I am going to have to be honest- this book just wasn’t for me. Is it a good sign or a bad sign when you just can’t put your review into words? It certainly was uncomfortable and dark which presumably is what the author intended with this but although I was gripped by parts, I just felt on the whole it was too twisted for me.

We switch between the POV of “Mummy” and Kim as one woman loses a child and one gains one, with small snippets from Tonya and other background characters which meant we could contemplate the situation from all angles. There were a lot of parallels drawn in this story between the women; both had problematic pasts, both had problems with addiction, both experienced abuse as a child and it’s an interesting look at the implications of childhood trauma on adulthood and how your family upbringing shapes relationships later in life.

It was tense from the off as the main event happens very early on in the story- I did find it dragged a little through the middle until about three quarters of the way when I found myself more invested. I think Baker wrote well about the way Kim was treated after Tonya was taken. My feelings were all over the place - Kim wasn’t a perfect mother by any means but what rights do we have as a society to judge those we decide to be unfit mothers, during their worst nightmare? I could also be wrong but I thought it was quite obvious Kim was suffering from post-partum psychosis or at least post natal depression and sadly received not a lot of support with everything going on. I love a dark and messed up book however I think I just found this too much with a child involved and heavy on religious influence. I did like parts of this book and definitely didn’t hate it but as always, trying to stay as honest as I can.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (2/5)

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫 + 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂!

Compulsive gripping book about a girl who got taken, told from the perspective of the mother, the kidnapper and the daughter. Very well written!

Good read. Different and complex. New voice.
Highly engaging with characters which draw you in.
Would recommend for thriller lovers who want something different.

This was absolutely brilliant. The characters were wonderfully written, the unfurling of the plot was masterful. I'll read anything by Tina Baker now! She has a fan for life.

Dark and disturbing this was, but I really enjoyed it. The writing was strong and the plot flowed well. This is one of those psychological thrillers that keep me up turning pages because I get hooked to the story and need to know what happens next. Can't believe that I put this one off for so long. Such a good debut! Thanks!

This book has been on my TBR pile for a while but when I attended Bloody Scotland in September and the author appeared on the stage dressed in a bumble bee outfit to read an extract I was determined to push this up the list as what I heard really intrigued me.
Call Me Mummy is predominantly told through the viewpoints of two people, “Mummy” who’s name we never get to know and Kim who is the less than perfect mother of Tonya. There are also the occasional chapters that give the reader the chance to hear Tonya’s voice and perspective on what is happening. It is these chapters that will tug at your heart the most even when some of them bring a slight smile to your face.
When Mummy is shopping in a department store she witnesses Kim shouting at Tonya and not really paying much attention to her. When Tonya wanders off she sees this as the perfect opportunity to have the one thing that she has always wanted, a child of her own. Encouraging Tonya to go with her, she finds a way to get back to her home undetected. Despite the perfect life with a daughter that she had built up in her mind it is evident that no matter what she does Mummy will not get what she wants.
Kim is distraught when her daughter disappears but due to things in her past she is sure that it is only what she deserves and as she spirals down into a dark place she finds that slowly everyone turns against her, and she is left struggling to cope. She wants Tonya back, but she just doesn’t know how to articulate this in a way that is acceptable to the press or the keyboard warriors of social media.
The further you get into the book it really is quite evident that first appearances should not always be the ones you should believe and if you scratch beneath the surface then the reality can be quite different. This is quite a disturbing book in places as the longer the situation continues and Tonya does not conform to what is supposed to be the perfect child, “mummy” resorts to some methods of control that will make even the most hard-hearted wince and you are left wondering if there will be any happy outcome at all. Neither of the main characters are particularly likeable and as more secrets from the past are revealed you have to wonder if either woman should be a parent.
Despite the subject, the quick short chapters keep you engaged, and it is hard to believe that this is Tina Baker’s first book. I am looking forward to read what comes next

I'm in the middle on this book! I really enjoyed the most part of it but there where parts that I found quite boring/unnecessary and I really skimmed through! Thank you for allowing me a copy to read and review

A really good read! It was not what I was expecting at all and I was pleasantly surprised. Loved that the story was told by all the characters point of view which gave real insight into their story’s. Will definitely read more by this author

Do you ever read something and think what on earth have i just read? Because, yeah i did with this and that is in no way a bad thing! It just blew my mind and left me exhausted by the end of it having thrown all my emotions through a washing machine with an extra spin cycle.

Mummy has everything anyone could want, she is glamourous but all she really wants is a child so when she is out shopping and she sees a heavily pregnant mother ignoring the child she already has the solution is simple, she takes her. However Tonya is not the daughter she wanted, she is rude, foul mouthed and disobedient, but Mummy believes she can change her, after all these things are sent to try her right?

Meanwhile Kim who is Tonyas mother is victimiesd in the media, shes pregnant, she smokes occasionaly she had a drink in the pub the day Tonya went missing. However the media keep pressing on and on and theres only so much she can take before she feels herself spiralling.

This book is a journey, its dark and has some really heavy and certainly horrific moments but it was so compelling. I was so invested in Tonya and what was happening, now non of the characters were really that likeable but that didn't mean i wasnt invested i just wasn't a fan of them. I think they were written so cleverly and had such strong personailities.

Overall this was a great thriller but boy prepare yourself for this one, it isnt pleasant, its dark and disturbing but it is so worth a read.

My Book Review for Call Me Mummy by Tina Baker
The story opens dramatically with a woman in a shop we know as ‘Mummy’ watching Kim a pregnant mother who has several young children with her. Swearing and focused on her phone Kim does not seem like the perfect mother. Seizing her moment, Mummy kidnaps the oldest child, a bruise covered girl named Tonya. Mummy works hard to be perfect and have the perfect life. The only thing missing was a perfect child of her own. But motherhood is harder than Mummy anticipated, especially as five year old Tonya does not want to be Mummy’s perfect new child. Meanwhile, impoverished Kim is vilified for allowing her child to be snatched; a woman like her doesn’t deserve children.

This book drew me in from the first page. The kidnap is a perfect hook and the plot line development is truly absorbing. I couldn’t put this book down! At first I judged Kim just as Mummy had, for being a less than ideal parent. But how much can you know about someone from a brief observation? And I found myself examining my prejudices later on. Mummy tries to give Tonya a perfect life: stimulating activities, organic vegetables and beautiful clothes. But is she really better than Tonya’s real mother?

The story is told mainly from two perspectives. That of Kim and of Mummy, which works very well. There’s also a little from Tonya’s perspective, this seems intended to fill in details of the plot but to me she doesn’t sound quite right for a five year old. This very minor criticism is literally the only thing I can nit pick. I found the plot to be very lifelike from the kidnap, the press coverage and social media fallout, to the two women’s backstory. There was a good variation in pace with time passing in the novel but no let up in the tension. A fantastic debut and I can’t wait to see what Tina Baker does next!

Sadly I was not a fan of this book. I couldn't really connect to any of the characters, or feel any sympathy. It also seemed to drag in the middle and there were many times I wanted to give up. I am glad I finished it, as it really caught on around 70%.

This was quite a painful read in places. It's the story of a child kidnapping, which happened whilst out shopping and Kim, the Mother was distracted.

This time "Mummy" is the woman who kidnapped the child. She wants a child so badly and insists that the child calls her "Mummy". "Mummy" is mentally unbalanced and how she deals with suddenly having a child is sometimes painful and heartbreaking to read.

The Childs' "real mother" Kim, is a mixed up, messed up woman, with other children who doesn't seem to be able to cope sometimes. One thing is for sure though, she misses her child and wants her back.

You go through some extreme emotions in this book from heart break, anger, pain, frustration and much more. There is some injection of humour, which is hard to believe based on the subject matter.

The book is entirely plausible, and a painful read at times. A good debut.