I have loved Joshilyn Jackson books since I read her first book, gods in Alabama, many years ago. I also read her first thriller, Never Have I Ever, when it came out. Mother May I did not disappoint! It has a very strong opening. Any parent can identify with the fear of having their child snatched from them. The main character, Bree Cabbat seems to be living a perfect life. She is married to a successful lawyer, Trey, has two daughters and blessed with baby, Robert. She grew up poor with a single mother, so she feels very blessed in her adult life. Bree soon finds out that Robert has been taken for revenge and in order to get Robert back, she is going to have to slips some pills to Trey’s partner, Spencer. This is just the start of Bree’s nightmare.

I thought the book went from moving at a rapid pace but some sections, in my opinion, seemed to go on forever. There were lots of twists throughout the book which I liked. There was one very graphic and difficult part to read that included her husband and his partner, Spence, that I felt were a little too graphic. I liked the ending. My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

Mother May I was a fast paced book that kept me turning the pages. I sympathized with the main character when no one believed her about the bad feelings she couldn't shake - until her fears become reality and her son is abducted by someone who has targeted Bree and her family for a very specific reason. At times it seemed a bit far fetched (although it is a thriller) and I questioned some of the decisions that Bree makes.

Mother May I is the latest novel and the second psychological thriller from author Joshilyn Jackson. It’s the story of one woman’s desperate search for her missing child, a search that will force her to come to terms with dark secrets with the power to upend the life she’s so carefully built for herself and her family.

Bree is living the dream. Her husband is handsome, kind, and successful. They have three beautiful children, a stunning house, and they can afford to provide their children with most of the things they want. It’s a long way from how Bree grew up, but she does her best not to dwell on the past. After all, the present is so much brighter and more palatable.

One afternoon while she’s watching her daughter at play practice, Bree’s youngest child and only son goes missing. Bree can’t understand how such a thing could have happened. She only looked away from him for a few seconds, but that’s all it took. Now, she’s left with a note ordering her to go straight home, not to call the police, and to await further instructions.

AAR reviewers Shannon and Maggie have read Mother May I, and are here to share their thoughts on the novel.

Shannon: I’m a long-time fan of Joshilyn Jackson’s work. There’s a certain southern charm that transcends genres and permeates anything she writes that keeps me coming back to her again and again, and I’ve rarely been disappointed. What draws you to this author’s books?

Maggie: This is only the second Joshilyn Jackson novel I’ve read, though I certainly plan to read more as soon as I get the chance. I picked up Never Have I Ever last year based on your review and am really glad I did because it was such a fast-paced, clever mystery. When I saw she had a new novel, I jumped at the chance to review it,

Shannon: The premise of Mother May I is one we’ve seen numerous times in genre fiction. A child goes missing, and his mother will do whatever it takes to ensure his safe return. For me, there were aspects of this book that gave the story a fresh spin, and that’s one of the things I appreciated most about it. What are your thoughts on Jackson’s take on the premise?

Maggie: In a novel like this so much depends on the characters and what they bring to the tale, and in this particular case I thought that Ms. Jackson introduced an intriguing group of personalities that breathed renewed vigor into this familiar storyline and turned it into something unique and riveting.

Shannon: Our heroine is Bree, a complicated woman who has done a lot to overcome what she thinks of as the downsides of her past. However, as the novel goes on, we see that these things she once viewed as flaws might just be the characteristics that help her survive. What are your thoughts on Bree and the conflicting parts of her personality? Did you find her conflicting feelings to be relatable?

Maggie: I would agree that this story saw Bree fully embrace forgotten aspects of herself and use that to overcome obstacles in her present. It was very relatable to me because I think it is very easy – as this story did an excellent job of portraying – for a woman to lose herself in the roles of wife and mother. We become whatever the people we love need or want us to be and sometimes forget who we are and who we want to be along the way. In this case the high stress situation Bree found herself in forced her to realize that she had always been more than the roles life had recently assigned her and she rose to the new challenges with everything in her.

Shannon: I want to talk a bit about the men in Bree’s life. There are two of them, very different men who both seem to care deeply for Bree in their own distinct ways. Without veering into spoiler territory, did you have a clear sense of which one Bree would ultimately end up with? I was pretty sure who she’d choose, but I had no idea how Jackson would get her there in a way that felt authentic to the story.

Maggie: I really appreciated how the author managed to bring about a conclusion that felt very much in keeping with who all of the characters are and which seemed very natural given how the story had progressed. By the midway point I had correctly guessed who Bree would end up with, but I would have liked things a bit better if she had ended the tale on her own rather than with either male character. That just seemed to me a more natural conclusion given all she had been through, but this way worked too.

Shannon: You know, I never even considered she’d end up on her own until you mentioned the possibility here, but your point is a good one. It might have been interesting to see Bree surviving on her own. The epilogue would have looked completely different from the one Jackson wrote. Fortunately, the ending she gives us doesn’t come off as forced, so I’m happy with it.

I must admit to being fascinated by the villain of the book. We don’t initially know much about them, but as time passes, more and more is revealed. I obviously didn’t like what they did to Bree, but I did find their actions to be understandable given their life circumstances.

Maggie: Joshilyn Jackson did an amazing job fleshing this character out and making them complex and compelling. Initially, I was mesmerized by the image they projected, which made them seem almost supernaturally spooky. That was just so in keeping with their role in the narrative and with their thick southern accent, they seemed like a specter come down from the hill country to mete out justice, a concept their backstory definitely supported. Any empathy I had was destroyed, however, by how callously our villain behaved towards the two little boys in the tale. The adults were the people who had caused them harm and they were the ones who should have paid. While I understand the feeling that the loss of a child was the worse thing that could happen to them, I really don’t think they would have seen it that way. It’s tough not to enter spoiler territory here but I believe that the people whose children were taken would have found solace in their older kids and not felt the burden of the loss as keenly as was wished for, nor would it force them to acknowledge their guilt in any way.

Shannon: As far as grades go, this is a definite A read. I flew through this book. In fact, I would have read it in a single sitting if life had allowed me to do so. I loved everything about it, and I struggled to move on to my next read once I reached the end. To me, that’s the true mark of a great story. What about you?

Maggie: I would agree. The story is so engaging that you won’t want to put it down once you pick it up – I know I didn’t. I’d go with an A as well.

NOTE: This novel contains depictions of sexual abuse. While the scenes are described in the past tense and not overly graphic, readers sensitive to the subject matter should know they are present.

It started with a dream. A nightmare. A witch’s face at the window. Bree Cabbat jerked awake, thinking she saw a witch’s face at her bedroom window. But it had to be a dream. The gate to their backyard is locked. There is no way a witch, or maybe just a woman, is in the backyard. Her husband Trey offered to go out back and make sure no one was there, but she shrugged him off. It was just a dream.

But the next afternoon, Bree saw the woman’s face again. Bree had been at her daughters’ school, putting out snacks for her older daughter’s play practice. They were putting on an edited version of Grease, and Anna-Claire was one of the Pink Ladies, and as Bree was setting out the snacks she’d brought them, she glanced out at the parking lot and saw the woman again. Not a witch, not a dream, just an older woman walking by. Bree was unsettled but tried to get her imagination back under control.

Her mother had been anxious when Bree had been young, always hearing noises in the basement or the attic, always calling the police to come check. Bree was determined not to think like that, not to raise her children in a home filled with tension. So Bree shook off her judgments and went up to the balcony to watch Anna-Claire, along with her younger daughter Peyton and infant Robbie.

Bree had been studying to be an actress, when she’d met Trey and they fell in love. She traded in her dreams for the stage for their shared dreams of family. They wanted a big house in a good neighborhood, not the ultra-rich Buckhead area where his parents lived, but more than comfortable. With Trey’s family money and his career as an attorney, they could easily afford it. He suggested a lake house, she countered with yearly vacations where they show their kids the world. Their dreams matched up, they married and started having kids, and Bree had never been happier.

But when Anna-Claire finished her song and Bree turned around, Robbie was gone. She’d left him in his car seat a couple of rows back, but they were the only ones in the balcony, so she knew he’d been safe.

But he wasn’t. His car seat was gone and in its place was a note with instructions for her to go home.

Bree, panicked, races for the car to go home. She asks a family friend to take her daughters to her mother’s apartment, where they would be safe. Trey was out of town on business, so Bree didn’t know what else to do. The note said not to call the police, so she didn’t. She drove home to wait for instructions.

When she gets home, there is a colorful gift bag hanging on her front door. Bree takes it inside and finds an old cell phone and a prescription bottle with 6 pills in it. When the phone rings, Bree gets instructions from the woman on the other line. She knows that Robert is okay, because she can hear him breathing over the phone. Bree gets her instructions and tries to figure out a way to go through with them. She has no idea what will happen if she follows through, but she knows what will happen if she doesn’t.

She will lose her son.

Mother May I is a gripping thriller from bestselling writer Joshilyn Jackson. One woman’s desperate journey to find her son and bring him home takes her to the edge of her sanity and starts a dangerous chain of events that will leave Bree and her family forever changed. This crazy ride of a story is gut-wrenching and breath-stealing, as it takes you on a ride that feels so real you’ll have to sleep with the lights on.

I was lost in this story of masterful suspense, barely able to wait until the next page to find out what was going to happen next. The characters seemed so realistic that it felt like could really be happening. It was raw and beautiful and left me walking on the edge of a sword, not at certain where I was going to end up. I can still feel the tension in my shoulders, just thinking about it. Mother May I is a lovingly crafted nightmare, and smart readers will snap it up and read it immediately.

Egalleys for Mother May I were provided by William Morrow through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This is my first book by this author, but I would definitely pick up another! I was hooked from the beginning, and up to the 3/4 mark, I was absolutely loving it! I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next or where the story was heading. The last quarter was a little slower for me because it reached a point where I pretty much knew what the ending would be. I do wish we got more from side characters as there was very little talk of the daughters after the first couple chapters and everything was very focused on just 3-4 people. This does contain some very sensitive content, so please make sure you know that going in! Overall, I really enjoyed the reading experience, I just wish the ending was a bit more twisty than it was!

Sabreena (Bree) Kroger grew up poor and raised by a mother, who feared the worst and was always on edge for something bad to happen. Bree's best friend was Betsy, who lived across the street from her. Betsy was Bree's lifeline growing up, Betsy had a way of looking at things. She helped Bree find joy and cope. Marshall, also grew up with Bree and Betsy, and married Betsy, although he secretly had a crush on Bree.

Bree marries Trey Cabbat, who comes from a wealthy family and himself, is a lawyer. Together they have three children, two teenage daughters, Anna-Claire & Peyton, and an infant son, Robert. Trey works with his cousin, Spencer Shaw. After Betsy had been killed, Trey hired Marshall on as an investigator for the firm.

Bree wakes one morning and swears she sees a witch peer into her and Trey's bedroom window. Bree chalks it up to just a dream, but felt it was a bad omen. Bree shrugs it off, Trey will be heading to Chicago, and she's got a busy schedule with the three kids. When she goes to her daughters' school for an upcoming rehearsal for a school play, Bree, once again sees the witch, and points the woman out to Marshall, who is also at the school because of his daughter in the same play, thinks the witch is just a meemaw.

Bree decides to go up to the balcony to observe the play rehearsal when Peyton appears and Bree feels a need to give some motherly advice, when Bree looks back to where Robert was sleeping in his car seat, he is gone! In his place is a folded piece of paper with very clear instructions not to tell a sole and head home. Bree flies out of the school, but makes a call to Marshall asking him to drop her daughters off at their grandmother's house.

If Bree is to see her son again, she needs to complete a task and she was being watched!

As a mother, I could feel Bree's panic at finding her son gone and throughout the book, I kept trying to put myself in Bree's place wondering if I would make the same choices that she made. Once Bree saw the end result of the task, and brought in Marshall, and a young lawyer from her husband's firm, Gabrielle Baxter, I thought for sure Bree would bypass what the letter stated. Just when I started to think it may have been related to the firm, Bree gets Trey to open up with more shocking news. But, it's another letter that arrives that has Bree questioning everything! This was an edge of your seat read that kept me guessing.

I requested and received an ARC from NetGalley via William Morrow and Custom House and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

First of all, I love Joshilyn Jackson. I have read everything she's written and I've listened to every book she has narrrated, and I will continue to do just that. This book did not disappoint! It had just enough mystery to keep you guessing but also enough information that you didn't feel like anything came out of left field. You love to hate her husband, and you want him to be the guy she thinks he is. You also love her highschool friend who was married to her best friend and wish they could be together, but you don't hate her husband enough to hope he's a bad guy. But who is the bad guy? Will the truth come out? How much money can cover up a secret? And if you didn't come from money, but married in to it, do you benefit in the same way? OOOHHHHHH this book is so so good!!!!

Joshilyn Jackson is one of my favorite authors, and so I was delighted to see that she has another novel coming out this spring. My heartfelt thanks go to Net Galley, Harper Audio, and William Morrow for the review copies. This book is for sale now.

One of the things I love about Jackson is that she recognizes and includes social class as a large factor in the lives of her characters. I am initially sorry to see that her protagonist, Bree Cabbat, is married to a wealthy man, but once the story unfolds, it becomes obvious that the story won’t work any other way. Although Bree is rolling in it now, she grew up poor, the child of a single parent that took her back-to-school shopping at a Goodwill two towns over from their tiny Georgia town, carefully making sure that Bree’s classmates not recognize their own castoffs when Bree wore them. Later, theater classes helped Bree refine her accent to make her more employable; acting lessons helped her project the carefree confidence that is common to young adults whose families have money.

Now she is married to Trey, a man “who’d grown up with Scooters and Biffs and Muffys.” As the story progresses, there are frequent subtle reminders of this; Trey has a gun safe; Trey has a bottle of whiskey, a gift, that cost over two thousand dollars; their daughters are in an upscale school with a nice theatre program, and their daughters are enrolled in extracurricular activities like Quiz Bowl and Robotics. Yes, our Bree has come up in the world, alrighty. And so when their baby is kidnapped out from under her very nose, naturally Bree’s assumption is that there will be a ransom, and that she and Trey will pay it.

But this time, she is oh so wrong.

When the call comes, it turns out to be a very elderly woman bent on exacting revenge against Trey’s business partner, who is also his cousin. Bree must do exactly as she says, because if she sees any sign of police, “I’ll break his flimsy neck…I’ll twist his little head right around backward.”

Dear God.

This story grabbed me by the hair and didn’t let me go till I was done with it. I was initially approved for the audio version, and by the time I was given access to the print version, I had finished the first galley. Ordinarily, when something like this happens, I write my review, submit it to both places, and figure my work is done here. But for Jackson I do due diligence and more, and it’s a pleasure to read her book twice, so I did. And while both versions are excellent, I give a slight edge to the audio version. Print is a desirable medium anytime one is reading any mystery, because sometimes we want to flip back to check a detail or two. But Jackson always records her own audio books, and so I know the interpretation of the reader is always completely consistent with the writer’s intention. And in this case, the key side character—Marshall, an ex-cop that was married to Bree’s best friend, now dead—has a distinctive voice that comes through somewhat in the printed version, but much more plainly in the audio. I love the way she voices him, and although Marshall isn’t the protagonist, his role in this story is critical. The narrative shifts between Bree, who speaks to us from the first person limited, and Marshall, who comes to us in the third person.

The story carries an added social justice component: it’s MeToo on steroids. The things we learn about the men in the story add complexity, and though there’s a trigger or two here, I suspect most female readers will find the denouement deeply satisfying. I do.

The ending would ordinarily be deemed over-the-top, but because I believe the characters and story so completely by the time we get there, I also believe the resolution.

The one thing I would change here, if I wanted to be picky, would be to find a way to inject some of the epic laugh-out-loud humor I have enjoyed in Jackson’s earlier books. But that’s a tall order, given the intensity of this one.

One way or the other, this book is guaranteed to be one of the year’s very best. Don’t let yourself be left out. I strongly recommend this book to you, even at full cover price.

A tour de force! "Psychologically rich. Compulsive, fast-paced, character-driven!"

I was literally consumed with this book! Could not put it down. It is heart-pounding and intense. MOTHER MAY I is like nothing you will ever read and hands-down this is Joshilyn Jackson's best book yet!😍 Move this to the top of your 2021 list! I think I had dreams about the witch!

Razor-sharp with that creepy vibe, talented storyteller, Joshilyn Jackson takes us into the life of Bree Cabbat. She grew up poor in rural Georgia but now she is married to a successful attorney, Trey with two teenage daughters and a new baby boy.

Living in Decatur (Atlanta), she has it all. (She was the second wife). She was not born from money and from the wrong side of the tracks. But the grandparents loved the children.

At the opening of the book, Brett keeps seeing a witch with a pointy witch hat. She thinks first she is being ridiculous and maybe it is postpartum nightmares. After all, she had been raised on Grimms' fairy tales by a mother who saw the world as carnivorous.

So she pushed the thoughts away, until. . .Robert, her precious baby boy was taken by the witch. How could this be happening?

Then she sees a single sheet of white paper folded in half with a handwritten note: "If you want to see your baby again. GO HOME. Tell no one. Do not call the police. Do not call your husband. Be at your house by 5:`5 pm. Or he's gone for good."

She thinks the woman wants money, but when she arrives home, there is a prescription bottle and the old woman tells her what she must do if she wants her son back. She lays out the rules. How will she pull this off?

The old woman was a mother herself and says she cares about her daughter? So why does she want to take her son?

She must go to a cocktail party at the Botanical Gardens that night. She must follow the instructions. The woman says she has to set things right for her daughter. What does this have to do with Spencer and why does she need to drug him.?

She does not tell anyone and follows the instructions, however, something horrible happens. She pleads with the old woman that she grew up poor in the South and uses her stories about Goodwill and being poor to relate and create a bond with her. (after all, she loves the theatre) She can convince this woman she understands. She must get her son back.

However, things do not go as planned. Now the stakes are higher. There are more people involved. She is a puppet and this old witch is calling the shots.

Later as the danger gets near, Bree soon realizes how she met Trey (trying to be something she was not). Did she really know Trey? What was he capable of before he met her. The sins of the father's past now come back to haunt this family. Who is Lexie Pine and what does she has to do with this old woman?

Now there is another family involved with devastating results. The plot thickens. Will they be able to figure out the clues before it is too late.

Who will Bree turn to for help? As the tension builds, the old woman wants a meeting at an old abandoned amusement park in the north Georgia mountains in Dahlonega called FUNTIME. There is a carousel. She sets the ground rules and it is showtime. How will the showdown end?

Someone wants revenge and some people must pay. What will she do to get her son back?

This is one INTENSE psychological thriller, and my heart did not stop pounding for hours after I finished this book. Masterfully crafted, vivid descriptions, there are more turns than you can imagine.

Fans of Jennifer Hillier's Wonderland and Little Secrets will enjoy this one. If you could not get enough of MOTHER MAY I, I highly recommend Jennifer Weiner's upcoming May 2021 book THAT SUMMER. (you will see the #Metoo connection). These two books are tops!

Gripping from the first page to the explosive ending, Joshilyn has turned to the dark side for sure. Thriller fans you are going to devour this one! A perfect cover.

This is movie-worthy and would love to see this on the widescreen. Explosive. A winner!

#JDCMustReadBooks

PS I loved Marshall!

A special thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

Thank you to the author & publisher for gifting me both a finished copy and the e-book courtesy of NetGalley!
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Bree Cabbat wasn’t born with a silver spoon but she now lives a lavish lifestyle with her attorney husband, 2 daughters and a newborn. Her whole life gets knocked down when a woman looking like a witch makes couple apparitions and then kidnaps her baby boy.
The witch leaves with her a burner phone and a few pills. Every phone call is an instruction to follow the witch’s rules to get the baby back or else. Even though Bree is a victim, she establishes a connection with her kidnapper, being that both are mothers and born poor...but is she really? As the story progresses, the instructions are anything but simple and time is running out for her baby. Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned. That’s how I would simply summarize this book.

Can we just name this book THRILLER OF THE YEAR even if it’s just April? This book wasn’t just good, it was MIND-BLOWINGLY FANTASTIC. You better be prepared to read this book with no other distractions because once you start, you’re not going to stop!!! Also, please do yourself a favor and do NOT read the official synopsis for this one. Go in blind and enjoy the adrenaline ride! That’s all I’m going to tell you. This book released today and you better get it now.

This is a story that will keep you up late at night trying to finish it.

This is the story of Bree who is happily married and has a great lifestyle when her son Robert is taken from her while at her daughters middle school. She freaks out and is frantically looking for him when she gets a phone call with instructions of what she will have to do to get her son back!

This is a great story and really makes you root for her!!

Joshilyn Jackson is a writer who walks this beautiful line -- her twists and turns are positively thrilling, without making you want to throw your hands up in exasperation at the nastiness and contrivance of it all. She's not gentle by any means! But she doesn't ever devolve into characters being so evil that it's silly/dumb. This read was just as compelling as her others, and the story was fresh. I enjoyed the complexity of the characters and the moral questions that rose up in my mind, especially concerning Trey's (the husband's) actions. I will recommend this to patrons who want a page-turning domestic thriller with heart. This even has enough juice to work for a book club. Thank you!

Mother May I has such a fantastic premise! Sadly, while I did enjoy it, the story didn’t quite live up to my expectations. It took no time at all for me to figure out where this story was going and I ended up feeling somewhat let down by the lack of twists and the neatly wrapped up ending. Where are the twists and turns that leave me breathless? The shocking moment when I realize I’ve gone down the completely wrong path and now I’m confronted with a situation I didn’t predict? Not here.

This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it at all. The short chapters with mini cliffhangers kept me turning the pages and the character development was excellent. I also think the story has an important message that I haven’t seen many authors tackle (at least that I’ve read). All in all not a bad read at all, just not what I was expecting or really hoping for.

This is the first book I read from this author and it will not be my last!

This book was very past pace.
I found my self panicked with the main character. I did feel like a lot of scenarios dragged on longer than they needed to I found myself skimming to get to the point. I did not like the ending, it felt forced and rushed.

Bree Cabbat married into a family with money and power. It is a deep contrast to growing up poor with a single mother who always taught her the world was a dark scary place. But Bree has a loving husband who's a lawyer and three children, the world is not dark to her. Until her baby boy, Robert is kidnapped by a woman who Bree thought she saw around a couple of times and only can describe her as a witch. The woman calls threatening to fill her demands if she ever wants to see her son again. How far will a mother go to get her baby back? Why did this woman choose her? Do you ever really know who the people are around you?

Bree gets tangled up in a web of lies, secrets, and tragedy as she desperatley tries to find her son.

Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson turned out to be quite a departure from the other contemporary novels about suburban housewives that I've read recently. This one could definitely be turned into a Lifetime movie. The suspenseful story kept me on the edge of my seat as I raced through the pages to find out if Bree would find her kidnapped baby in time. Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson

Mother May I is a thriller of a novel with a pace that will leave you breathless. As Bree watches her daughters during their play practice, someone sneaks behind her and kidnaps her sweet baby boy. She follows the kidnapper’s instructions and finds herself at the center of the murder of one of her husband’s long-time family friends. She also begins to ponder what her husband, whom the kidnapper has forbidden her to contact, might have to do with the crime.

Bree had been bothered by the sight of what looked like the ghost of an old woman outside her home before the baby’s kidnapping and she soon realizes that the kidnapper is that older woman whose illness makes her liable to do anything to exact revenge for what she believes was the heinous rape of her daughter years previously. With Bree’s husband away on a business trip and her admonishment from the kidnapper not to tell him what’s happening, Bree can’t help but harbor doubts about him. With a brilliant nod to the “me too” movement and the ease with which men navigate the world, Jackson captures every nuance of what being inches from losing your dream truly means.

Summing it Up: Joshilyn Jackson is a master at capturing privilege, injustice, and cluelessness while maintaining a simmering narrative. Escape into this suspense-filled novel for its break-neck pace and savor it for the way it embeds you into each character and makes you wonder what you might have done.

Rating: 4 Stars

Category: Fiction, Grits, Mysteries & Thrillers, Book Club

Publication Date: April 6, 2021

Author Website: http://www.joshilynjackson.com/

Author Video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UaW8sBhIL7M&feature=youtu.be

Read an Excerpt: https://preview.aer.io/Mother_May_I-MjkyOTUy?social=1&retail=1&emailcap=0

What Others Are Saying:

“Chilling, thought-provoking, and hauntingly written, Mother May I kept me on the edge of my seat with its breathless race against time. Joshilyn Jackson’s latest riveting thriller starts with a bang and doesn’t let up, asking how well you truly know the people around you—and how far you’re willing to go for the ones you love. A true page-turner that will stick with me for a long time.” —Megan Miranda, bestselling author of The Girl from the Widow Hills

Kirkus Reviews: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joshilyn-jackson/mother-may-i-jackson/

Publishers Weekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-285534-3

Bree has the perfect life with three healthy children, a doting husband and more money than she could ever imagine. She wakes up one morning thinking there is a"witch" staring at her through the bedroom window. Bree shakes it off as lack of sleep from having a new baby until she sees the woman in the parking lot at her older kids' school. Nobody could be after her and her perfect family right? When her baby disappears without a trace Bree thinks she can throw money at the kidnapper and get her baby back. Unfortunately this kidnapper doesn't want her money, she wants revenge.
This was one of those books that had my heart racing after the baby was taken. What did the crazy witch looking lady want? It didn't make any sense to me at first, but it slowly, very very slowly, came together with a twist I did not see coming. My one complaint about this book is that it was too long. There was so much information to get through until you understood why the old women had taken the baby. The truth made my stomach drop, and the evidence Bree found left me breathless and not in a good way. However I did like how it all wrapped up in the end.
This one is out today! Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for my #copy.
Book Rating: 3.5/5
Wine Pairing: Ménage à Trois Cabernet Sauvignon

I love when a book you are super excited about actually holds up to the anticipation! This was absolutely the case for Mother May I by @joshilynjackson.

This book is about getting revenge at any cost. Bree grew up in a hard childhood and fled the minute she could. Her mom always has a string of boyfriends and she knew she wanted to give her future family a stable home life. She has the picture perfect family with her handsome husband Trey, two daughters and a newborn son, Robert. And all is well until she sees a “witch” in her window and ignores her. This scary old lady kidnaps Bree’s newborn son and forces Bree to make some terrible decisions to get him back. But how far would she go?

It was so twisty and started right from the beginning of the book. The book takes a hard turn in about halfway though, but that really explains the story. I just didn’t see that part coming. If you enjoyed the Chain, I think you’ll enjoy this book. It’s very fast paced and get me engrossed until the very end.

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I love when a book you are super excited about actually holds up to the anticipation! This was absolutely the case for Mother May I by @joshilynjackson.

This book is about getting revenge at any cost. Bree grew up in a hard childhood and fled the minute she could. Her mom always has a string of boyfriends and she knew she wanted to give her future family a stable home life. She has the picture perfect family with her handsome husband Trey, two daughters and a newborn son, Robert. And all is well until she sees a “witch” in her window and ignores her. This scary old lady kidnaps Bree’s newborn son and forces Bree to make some terrible decisions to get him back. But how far would she go?

It was so twisty and started right from the beginning of the book. The book takes a hard turn in about halfway though, but that really explains the story. I just didn’t see that part coming. If you enjoyed the Chain, I think you’ll enjoy this book. It’s very fast paced and get me engrossed until the very end.

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Every mother’s nightmare comes true in this story. I had a hard time reading it because of that. I found it very disturbing. It certainly grabs your attention and is well written, but the subject matter upset me too much to really enjoy it