I just finished Mother May I and WOW! This was my first Joshilyn Jackson book and I look forward to reading more. She took a situation that is not uncommon and put a spin on it that was fantastic. The characters were smart, interesting and, like all of us, had their own issues. This is a story about family, friendship and how choices we made when we were young can come back to haunt us. I highly recommend Mother May I and thank Book Club Girls and NetGalley for my copy.

This was my first Joshilyn Jackson book and it definitely won't be my last! Mother May I was a great psychological thriller - well written and suspenseful. The characters were very realistic - both likable and unlikable. Thanks to NetGalley and Book Club Girls for the digital ARC.

Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson is a wild ride! This is a suspenseful family drama with a strong underlying mystery that kept me invested from beginning to end. This was my first Joshilyn Jackson book and wow did it impress! I was thoroughly hooked by the story and intrigued by the characters - I didn't like many of them but I still wanted to know everything. I wanted to know the why, the how, and the what is going to happen next every turn of the page. And boy were there some twists that had me raising an eyebrow.

I was provided both the audiobook from HaperAudio and an e-copy from William Morrow for review - having both versions of this book at my disposal, I was able to enjoy it by sight and sound. Both are excellent! The narration is fantastic! The writing is quick and easy to read! I highly recommend either the audiobook or the physical book - both are great - whichever you prefer, honestly.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperAudio, and William Morrow copies of this book for review!

I did not finish the book. I hardly ever quit a book in the middle of it, even if I can't stand the book, but this one I couldn't get into. I didn't enjoy the storyline, or the characters.
Just not a book for me!

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book. Joshilyn Jackson does not disappoint! Once I started this book, I could not put it down.

Bree Cabat grew up poor in GA. She was raised by a single mother who warned her about how evil the world was. She is happily married to a successful lawyer from a wealthy family. They have two teenage daughters and a baby boy. While at her daughters' school one day, her infant son was abducted. He was only a few feet away from her in his car seat. Bree will go any lengths to get him back.

This book is very suspenseful and does not let up.

Bree's life seems ideal until her son is kidnapped, leading her to question who she is and what she really knows about her husband and his past. In full disclosure, the first three quarters of the book deals with her son's kidnapping and just what Bree will do to get him back, being helped along the way by her old friend Marshall - who alternates telling the story with her. This is interesting, if not feeling average for a psychological thriller, the story of what a mother will do when her child's life is put in danger. But what causes her son's life to be put in danger is addressed in the final quarter of the book, and while the adrenaline may have eased up some, this is the meat of the book for me because it addresses a gray zone that can cause an unanticipated ripple effect in people's lives. Overall, the book is a little uneven. There are times where the story feels a little inconsistent, and there are characters that could play a larger role in the story that seem to slowly just get written out. This story is good, and had promise, it could just be cleaned up more to make it a really good book.

Thank you NetGallery for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
A very enjoyable book! Joshliyn Jacksons' novels have always appealed to me because she incorporated more than just one genre, and blends then all together seamlessly for a complete story.

This is a story of a mother who is very near when her child is taken. This is not your average kidnapping, the plot continues to thicken as more of each character is revealed. "Secrets" about everyone are brought into the light and just when the reader can see the end coming, an additional wrench is thrown in.

The characters are all likable and the story moves swiftly, keeping the reader both engaged and guessing. Guessing both what will happen in the end, and as Ms Jacksons' novels so often ask us, "what would I do"
Loved this one and will purchase when released to give as a gift.

Bree Cabbat views the world as more positive than the mother who raised her to trust no one in this scary world. Marrying into a higher status Bree believes she’s left that world behind until she feels as if she is being followed and her son is kidnapped from the private school her daughters attend. This event begins the rollcoaster ride of how far and at what cost Bree is willing to go to get her baby back. The kidnapper contacts Bree stating she is not to tell her husband or the police if she wants her child back safely and she must fulfill certain demands in order to right a wrong in the kidnapper’s mind. Bree enlists the assistance of a lifelong friend and the two of them go on a journey of discovering who the kidnapper is and the motives behind the kidnapping. This is a haunting, twisty tale that will keep you wondering what’s next and how far a mother will go to protect her baby.

Very fun read! An exciting thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book! The story drew me in right from the start. It started out with the main character seeing what she thought was a witch outside her home, from there the story took a differnet direction and turned out to be a good thriller with twists! I finished this book in a day because I could not put it down. I will definitely recommend! Looking forward to reading this author's other books!

JJ’s newest novel doesn’t take long to engage the reader.
When Bree’s baby goes missing, it’s a race against time to find her child. Motivated by Mothers instinct, guilt and panic, she is drawn into a ransom plot that turns deadly. The stakes escalate rapidly.
What secret is Bree’s marriage built on?
Mother May I is another great read from This author.

How far would you go for your child? This haunting psychological thriller explores the choices a mother would make to save her child from a kidnapper. The realistic domestic setting and characters portray the disparity between those raised with privileges and those without and how the choices we make in life have long term repercussions.
Bree is a homemaker whose life consists of juggling the challenges of two teenage girls and the demands of a newborn baby boy. Her husband, Trey is a successful lawyer from a socially prominent Atlanta family. Their seemingly perfect world is upended when their baby boy is kidnapped from right under Bree’s nose. A race against the clock ensues with chilling twists and surprises that will haunt the reader even after you put the book down.
This was my first novel by this bestselling author but it won’t be my last!

Sadly, this was not as good as I thought it was going to be. I liked the intriguing idea of a witchy character taking the main character's baby for some unknown reason. But this book follows the typical storylines once police get involved. I did like the ending, the book was underwhelming and mediocre in my opinion. 5 days I could have been reading something else. I also liked the cover.

All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, Joshilyn Jackson and William Morrow & Custom House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 4/6/21

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow/Custom House for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I've read other books by this author, and I really liked them. This was my favorite, by far. Bree Cabot, a mom grew up poor, but married into a wealthy family. They have a loving relationship, teen daughters, and a newborn baby boy. Everything a woman could want. Until the baby is kidnapped, and she's asked to do one thing, seemingly fairly simple, to get her son back. This spirals out into multiple events, and the stakes grow more and more difficult. Bree develops a dialogue with the old woman who took her son, and she tries to buy time to keep her family together. This book was amazingly good, and I hated to see it end. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book! I liked how the story unfolded and discovering how everyone was connected! I liked the characters very much as well. I would read more books by this author and would recommend this book to other readers if revenge is your type of story! Thank you again to NetGalley!

This book was a surprise. What started out as a witch looking through a window ended as a thought-proving book that touched on a lot of serious topics such as entitlement, sex, murder, suicide, and kidnapping.

Bree is a stay at home mom who has 3 fantastic children, a loving husband, and plenty of money. When her infant son is kidnapped from her daughters'a school it set up a sinister series of events. If she wants to see her son alive again, she has to agree to do some pretty messed up things and she learns some pretty disturbing things about those she thought she knew.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I found it well-paced. It raises many “what if it happened to me” type questions to the reader. It quickly draws you in and was a quick suspenseful read.

Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson

Revenge doesn't ask for permission. Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of: a loving lawyer husband, two talented teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world.

Until the day she awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window—an old gray-haired woman dressed all in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. It must be a play of the early morning light or the remnant of a waking dream, Bree tells herself, shaking off the bad feeling that overcomes her.
Later that day though, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daugh­ters’ private school . . . just minutes before Bree’s infant son, asleep in his car seat only a few feet away, vanishes. It happened so quickly—Bree looked away only for a second. There is a note left in his place, warning her that she is being is being watched; if she wants her baby back, she must not call the police or deviate in any way from the instructions that will follow.
The mysterious woman makes contact, and Bree learns she, too, is a mother. Why would another mother do this? What does she want? And why has she targeted Bree? Of course Bree will pay anything, do anything. It’s her child.
To get her baby back, Bree must complete one small—but critical—task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a devastating price, making her complicit in a tangled web of tragedy and shocking secrets that could destroy everything she loves. It is the beginning of an odyssey that will lead Bree to dangerous places, explosive confrontations, and chilling truths.

Bree will do whatever it takes to protect her family—but what if the cost tears their world apart?

Mother May I was an AMAZING read!! I was hooked from the first chapter. I hated having to put it down for even a second! I felt I could relate with the characters. Just when I thought I was through one suspenseful moment, it just exploded into another one! I highly recommend this book for those readers that love a thriller.

Mother May I is a revenge thriller by Joshilyn Jackson. The story grabbed be from the start and I could feel the urgency with Bree and the desperation to find her son. There are twists and turns and the characters are compelling. I thought there were too many callbacks to Bree's past and her dead best friend that didn't really advance the plot. I also thought the story ended too neatly and the very last twist was kind of jarring and maybe out of place? This was my first novel by this author and I will definitely look at reading additional books by her in the future.

As far as domestic thrillers go this is a solid one.

The writing was steady and mostly satisfying.The plot wasn't telegraphed from the beginning and realistic.Even the the antagonists was understandable.

I disagreed with some of the characters conclusions but understood them.

This was a fast read and a nice addition to the genre.

This book took my breath away. Powerful, action packed and centering on what can happen when people want revenge. I can see where it could trigger bad thoughts in some people. Very well written, well developed characters. Heartbreaking in so many ways, I lost sleep it was that good..