Many thanks to NetGallley and Viper for a free Advanced Review Copy of this book.

The cover, title, and book description all pulled me in. I'm so pleased that I requested this book. Call me Mummy is a great read, and even more special for being a debut novel. The author has hit the ground running with this offering.

The point of view moves between three main characters: Mummy (the abductor), Kim (the mother), and Tonya (the five-year-old girl). Sometimes, I felt the dialogue a bit too adult to feel true for a five-year-old. However, the characters were well drawn, otherwise, and I found the plot entirely believable.

For some readers, some of the content may prove challenging as historic abuse is a common theme for both women. Even though Kim wasn't a likeable character, I really felt for her. First somebody kidnaps her little girl, and then the online world villifies and hates her for who she is. She's too common, swears a lot, and just isn't the 'nice little victim' that everyone wants. Nobody sees the mask she's adopted for self-protection or the pain she's in.

Mummy is about as messed up as they come. The author did a fantastic job of showing this woman's fall into further confusion and alcoholism. And her fraught interactions with Tonya were priceless.

Of all the characters, I adored Tonya the most. What a spirited little lass! Brilliant.

A heart-wrenching read and a gripping one. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it gets a solid five stars from me.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

This book is heartbreaking but I really enjoyed it. Yes it focuses on the abduction of a little girl but it also focuses on infertility and past abuse.

Kim is not a favourable character but I also think she adds to everyone's hatred of her by her own actions.

It was full of twists and turns and lots of dark secrets uncovered.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The chapters were short but gripping, the characters wholly unlikeable and the storyline fascinating. A very easy read but a compulsive page Turner.

Highly recommended.

This book was quite good, although I was getting a bit bored by the end.
Both “mummies” had similar abusive upbringings which was reflected in their parenting.
Good read overall

Mummy has everything a woman could want, except for a child of her own. So when she sees a woman in a shop, ignoring her daughter, she does what she thinks is best; she takes the child. She will be a better Mummy, a perfect one. But the girl turns out not to be so perfect herself...


The blurb of this debut novel instantly drew me in, and I was excited to be approved for this ARC.
The story got off to a great, gripping start, but I'm sorry to say the further along I got, the less interested I became as I found it slow and uneventful.
I didn't like any of the characters; neither the mother, the kidnapper or the girl were likeable.
The two main points of view were interspersed with some other ones that were unnecessary and didn't bring anything to the story.
I found that there wasn't much of a twist at the end, therefore the ending fell flat for me.
Overall, it was an average read; one that had potential but not one that kept me gripped.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Great book. I loved reading it. Very interesting and covers alot of information

A remarkable story of a kidnapping that is nothing like I’ve ever read before. The mother is being vilified by the press, the abducted child is a handful and the kidnapper is really one of a kind!

I loved this book it’s absolutely heartbreaking the pain both mother and daughter feel ad they seem to exist in parallel realities both sensing the other without to be able to touch her.

This book was sinister and the behaviour of "Mummy" was disturbing and borderline abusive. But what was interesting the most was the sympathetic portrayal of the real mother - she might not be rich or particularly educated but she loves her children and wants the best for them and will do whatever she can to look after them.

Kim was shopping when Tonya was abducted
She was full of rage and anger and she took it all out of Steve
Tonya stolen from a woman called Mummy and she wasn’t happy at all
Tonya was found by a man called Kenny who was a homeless man
I had an ARC

I read The Doll Collector last year and I said that Gloria in that was one of the most vile book characters I had ever read about, fiction wise! Well, 'Mummy' definitely challenges for this crown!

As a parent, these types of thrillers that involve child abduction obviously hit hard. While a harrowing tale, this author did a fabulous job with this one. It was powerful and evoked all the different emotions and kept you wanting to read more. It explores many different areas of mental health including infertility and postnatal depression. I loved the way the book flipped to explore the two main characters thoughts and points of view, as well as hearing occasionally from Tonya and other characters.

This won't be for everyone due tot he themes, but if you are a thriller fan you need to read this! The book gets right under your skin and you will have to read on to find out what happens! I am very impressed with this debut from Tina Baker and will de finitely be looking out for more from her.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher, in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 5*
Writing skill : 5*
Plot: 4*
Characters: 5*
Twisted Darkness: 5*

The premise - One woman loses her child, one woman gains one.

So this wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Yes I knew this was about child abduction and what follows, but it was so much more than that. Was I supposed to feel sorry for anyone, maybe, maybe not, after all someone just lost a child, but someone couldn't conceive altogether. But this book drip feeds you the story, and the backstory, until you realise what you're reading is utter poison. Theres this way you find out little bits of the past before you really notice what you've read, and its so unique, and very disturbing. This is good but in a really dark way. I'll recommend this to many, but I don't know what that will say about me in that I really enjoyed this.

This was a terribly sad story about Tonya who was taken from her mother In a store, the woman who took her said she had a kitten and would Tonya like to see her.
The woman which is the name Tonya called her was a drunk who had a terrible childhood, and had desperately wanted a child.
But instead of looking after her she shut her up in her room, gave her very little food all because she would not call her mummy.
Kim The mother of Tonya had also had a bad upbringing but she did love her daughter and became a total mess.
Thanks netgalley for letting me read an early copy of this book, it certainly is not a laugh a minute book as it is quite depressing. And difficult to understand how someone can do what the woman did to Tonya.

Kim and Steve Searle have 2 children called Tonya and Darryl and Kim is pregnant with a 3rd child.

Kim’s best friend is Ayesha who is married to Khalid, they have 2 children called Mo and Faisal.

Mummy was married to Michael and she had a bad childhood. Her sister Margaret was very much their parents favourite daughter. After years of trying, Mummy & Michael can’t have children and it deeply affects their marriage.

When Kim is out shopping with Tonya, Darryl and Ayesha’s son, Faisal, she takes her eye off the ball for a few minutes and Mummy quickly lures Tonya away as she believes Kim is an unfit mother and whisks her back to her home.

What happens from then on is told in chapters either from Kim, Mummy or Tonya. We quickly see the damage done from people making assumptions.

This books strength is in the characterisations of people. We are all guilty of looking at someone and making judgements. People assume Kim is a bad mum because of how she looks and because of her drug taking past. By learning more about her past, we understand her more.
We all think the worst of Mummy for taking Tonya and again, we start to learn about her childhood and marriage and can’t help but sympathise with her.

This is a dark and raw psychological thriller which also manages to include some black humour. A well written and stunning debut by Tina Baker.

“Reversing is not my forte” I’m sorry but mummy is an evil child kidnapper and you’ve got me laughing (and nodding) along. Brilliant!
Don’t get me wrong this is a dark, horrifying story but it’s got some great one liners on the way!

We get both sides of the story. We have Mummy who is a (rich?) woman that has everything she wants other than a child. Once she has Tonya we start to see that everything isn’t perfect in her life. She’s a character of pure madness, poor Tonya! I couldn’t believe what she was going through. I really liked Mummy though? Perhaps I’m mental too!

Kim’s life and pain is unbearable, it hurts to read. I can not explain how sorry I felt for her. Lots of dark uncomfortable reading. This is the sort of thriller I adore!

5/5 - you will not regret picking this up!

Blown away what would you do if your child was taken just like that in plane site with no trace then turns up where was she how was she treated will she ever be the same also being round the area I live I felt every word of this story in my heart a poor mum who just wants what is rightfully hers back in her world no animal or new born can replace a child that is taken

This is a novel I was given the opportunity to read by NetGalley. Thank you.

As a debut novel this is remarkable. It is written from each of the main protagonists point of view, jumping from one character to another as the story unfolds. This works wonderfully well as the characters tell their stories, and you learn of their history.
The premise is simple, a child is lured away from a mother whilst out shopping by someone who has been unable to have her own.
It is not an easy plotline for any parent but it is well written and is of the time with the use of social media raising its ugly head with all and sundry getting their two pennies worth. The story tells how the three main characters deal with the situation they find themselves in as the story progresses and their back stories gives depth to the reasons behind their actions.

Reading Call Me Mummy was like looking at the aftermath of a car crash: a visceral, intrusive glimpse into the motherhood experiences of two very different women through which I felt I should turn away but was compelled to continue.

The plot shifts between the point of view of "Mummy": an unnamed woman who steals a little girl named Tonya away from her "undeserving" mother at a shopping precinct, and Kim: Tonya's pregnant mother. Several interludes present Tonya's internal monologue and social media updates from the public watching the case unfold over the course of several months.

From the outset the tension is palpable. We are introduced to the discomforting contrast of polarised women, the first, a mother whom we may easily judge on first impression. Kim is working class, harried, pregnant, with a toddler in a stroller, paying more attention to her mobile phone than her daughter who is left to wander the shop unattended. "Mummy" is wealthy but childless: a woman who would feed a child of her own nutritious meals, deliver a rounded education and make all of the provisions needed for the development of a healthy, happy child. Which indeed she tries to do, once Tonya is safely contained in her perfect, sanitary home. It is at this point we begin to learn that appearances are so rarely indicative of a person's lived reality.

Both Kim and Mummy's background and secrets are slowly revealed through the course of this haunting (and at times, horrific) novel. Perhaps certain scenes and revelations affected me most because I am a mother myself. The ending could have been difficult to pull off, but proved very satisfying, particularly as this was Baker's debut as an author. I look forward very much to reading what she may write next!

This is hard to put down.

Chilling and disturbing from the first page.

“Mummy” kidnaps “Tonya” from expectant mother “Kim”

I went through a host of emotions while tracing through this. A shocking tale which will make you angry, frustrated and disgusted

Great read though.

i absolutely loved this book! really unsettling from the first page, and just gets better! deffinately one of my favourite books of this year. 5 stars all the way.