Thank you NetGalley, author Diane Jeffrey, and HQ Digital publishing for giving me a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own,
4.75 stars
This book was such a crazy ride! This was my first book by this author and it will not be my last.
In 2013, Melissa Slade, a woman who gave birth to twins only to have them die within weeks of each other. One dies of cot death and the other dies also of cot death three weeks later?
While the first twin's death is ruled an accident, the second twin's death ends with Melissa Slade being charged in her death and sent to prison!
2018 -present day
Jonathan Hunt a newspaper report, covered the original Slade Babies case for the local newspaper back in 2013. So when his new editor gets a scoop that Melissa has filed an appeal, she wants him back on the story to uncover the truth.
While Jonathan is unwilling, at first, to investigate this story, his protégé, Kelly begins to look into the case herself and uncovers some new information that leads Jonathan and Kelly to some very unsettling truths.
This new information could lead to the freedom of Melissa Slade, but then is it all just an elaborate set up by Melissa or did someone else really cause the deaths of her infant twins?
The story, plot lines, and puzzles pieces surrounding the mystery are revealed layer by layer in the different main characters' povs. The author did an incredible job setting up the story, the false leads, which all led to the amazing big reveal! I felt powerless to put this book down because the story kept me turning pages wanting to know what really happened and how it would all come together. The characters were realistic and well developed. I found I was interested in each of their final outcomes. The plot twist and big reveal was well satisfying and believable. There were some sensitive topics brought up throughout this story such as the loss of child and sexual abuse of a child, but they were handled with care. They were woven well into the story that they made sense and were not used as a shock factor. Overall, I would highly recommend this book for those who are looking for a mystery/thriller that will grab you from page one and not let go until the very end! I can't wait to read more books by this author in the future! Well done!

The Guilty Mother by Diane Jeffrey is a gripping crime thriller that had me invested from the very start. Although a little on the long side, the story kept my attention and I didn’t find myself getting bored. The story is told through 3 perspectives: Melissa, Jonathan and Kelly.
I love a good mystery with twists and surprises and this book delivered! I was shocked by a twist in the story more than once.
Once you start this one you'll be hard pressed to put it down. The real question here is Do You Believe Her?

I enjoyed this book but it was also a hard, emotional read for me. I loved the way the author presented the story and the order in which she told it. I’m looking forward to more books from this author!

I know I am not the only one to say that this book left me with my mouth open, I was in shock with what happened in this book, I would've never expected ANYTHING that I just read. WOW!!!! I feel horrible for Melissa though, I heard that new moms go through post natal depression, and I knew she was suffering from that, I just felt so bad for her, but everything about her situation is A LOT to handle, she got remarried, has twin girls that clearly they did not want in the first place, they each have older kids from their first marriages, they all have some form of drama going on, there is just so much going on, so many characters, so many stories, even the reporters Kelly and Jonathan have a story that somehow overlaps whats going on now, and honestly? I loved all of that. I had an issue connecting with the characters, and the book was a slow burn, to the point that I almost gave up on the book, until i was 70% percent in, then the book started to pick up. Drama everywhere!!! Just wish it didn't take so long to get to that part, but I will read more from this author, I am still shocked with that ending through.

Wow! This was an incredibly well-written mystery, with a gripping story and satisfyingly twisty ending. The pacing was just right, and I really enjoyed how it all came together at the end. I do think it would have been a better read with fewer POVs, or just one POV, but the insight provided because of the varying narrators was certainly helpful.

Whoa. This was NOT what I expected. It enticed and cajoled, had me skipping blissfully down the path and then turned everything I thought I knew on its head. Lots of secrets, heartache and tragedy. I loved everyone, I loved that every single character was unreliable in one way or another. I didn’t know who to trust, and I felt like my head was spinning trying to keep up with them. (In the best way possible). I loved the formatting, the Parts 1, 2, and the epilogue, the alternating characters, the alternating between past, and present. The insights you get to Kelly, Jon, and of course Melissa. It was quite literally the best guessing game I have ever played. This was like a puzzle, and I had the pleasure of piecing this incredible story together.

There was so much complexity to this story, it wasn’t just a simple read. Everyone had a tragic, dark history, and even saying that, once I got to the end, I was completely blindsided, I was for sure I had it figured out, happy to say, I was way off course! I am so happy that the ending was so unexpected, and nothing I could have ever predicted. This one left me with opposite feelings than what I anticipated. I enjoyed the intrigue and the shocks and thought the story-line was carefully planned.

If this author intended to create a story that is sure to elicit strong reactions, she succeeded. Your reaction will depend on what type of reading you enjoy, but make no mistake, you will have one, likely shock and confusion, but I doubt you’ll be ambivalent.

Great book with an interesting story and fun characters. Kept me guessing for the most part. Quick read, definitely recommend!!

The Guilty Mother

How would you feel if you were already found guilty before your trial? Better yet, how would you feel if it was a case of murdering your own twins?

The Guilty Mother goes through all of this. Reporters dig up Melissa’s past while she’s filing for her last appeal. The public and her family want to know was she wrongly accused?


This book kept me turning the pages. The time table was very easy to follow. The suspense kept me so intrigued. I recommend this book for anyone who wants some mystery.

I loved this book! It was everything I wanted and more, including the surprise twist at the very end.

We follow the story of Melissa who had a seemingly perfect life, happy family and great job. Then one of her twin infant daughters dies of SIDS. It’s horrible and life altering but odds are it won’t happen again…the shortly later the remaining twin dies as well. Odds are too slim for it to have been SIDS again, right? That’s Melissa’s position though.

Ultimately, Melissa gets convicted if murdering one of the twins and is prison – but new information has come to light. Will it make a difference? Investigative Journalist Jonathon, who covered the original case, sets to find out. This case hits close to home for Jon, will he survive?

We end with the results of Melissa’s appeal and a shocking revelation!

Check out this book for a gripping thriller. Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Melissa Slade is in prison for having killed her twin daughters. The first baby supposedly died of crib or cot death. The second daughter died from what seemed like smothering. Now Melissa may get another trial due to paperwork that was discovered that should have been given to the defense.
There are a lot of twists and turns and blame to go around to the characters in this book. All of it works though. It is a great read that makes your jaw drop at the ending. Awesome read!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Clever but I saw all the twists coming, all of them. No one is really sympathetic but no one is truly despicable (besides the obviously nasty dad). Just meh all around

Melissa Slade is convicted of killing one of her twin babies. Both babies have died. One to crib death and the other to murder, or was it?

Jonathan so is a reporter is assigned the story of Melissa Slade’s appeal. He doesn’t want to take the story but his boss tells him he must. He is also asked to take a young new reporter, Kelly, along with him to show her the ropes.

Jon and Kelly speak to family members and friends of Melissa’s. The only one that haven’t been able to speak to is her step daughter Bella due to her being missing. What does she know?

I read this book in one sitting as I had to know how it ends. Well, the ending was completely unexpected. This was a very good whodunit with many twists and turns.

Clever, an easy way to pass the day. I’d recommend to anyone who wants an authentic, entertaining book to read for any occasion.

My Review:

Wow, wow, wow!!!!!! What an incredible read this was. This could totally be made into a movie. There were so many twists and turns. This may be my first book I read by Diane Jeffrey but it definitely won’t be my last. As long as she keeps writing them, I will keep reading them.

This book was about a mother who was accused and convicted of the unthinkable. She was convicted of killing one of her twins but not both of them. The other twin died of cot death. New evidence just came out and now there is an appeal to get the conviction dropped. Will this new evidence be enough to get her out? Did she really kill one of her twins? Or did she kill them both. You find out this and so much more by the end of the book.

I want to start off by saying how good this book was and I couldn’t put it down for the life of me. So let’s talk characters. I wasn’t a fan of the mother at all because of what she was accused of but I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Did she redeem herself in the end. No, I don’t feel she did. I did love her ex husband who was willing to do anything to try and get his ex wife out of jail. I truly believe he was still in love with her and wanted her out so they could be a family again with their son. He made me a believer that there still are good men out there. Now on to the plot. It was totally on point and the book moved along very quickly. I never felt like there was a dull moment in this book. Each chapter had something new and entertaining in it. Now to that whopper of an ending that I never saw coming. I’m going to have to keep my thoughts on this short as I don’t want to give anything away. The true twist of this book comes at the last few pages of the book. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I was shocked and I can’t say anymore otherwise I will spoil it. This book was definitely worth the time I spent reading it. Kudos to Diane Jeffrey.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This was a really good ‘did-she or didn’t she’ novel revolving around the deaths of two children at different times, possibly by SIDS or possibly by murder. The jury certainly thinks so as Melissa is currently in jail for the death of her child and her defenders are planning a final appeal. Jon and Kelly, two local newspaper reporters reluctantly begin to cover the appeal and suddenly all sorts of possibilities, coincidences and related subplots start to rise up all pointing to four or five suspects. Told in multiple points of view from the main charactersI rushed through this one as I couldn’t wait to find out what happened and who was responsible. A multilayered thriller with secrets and characters protecting other family members as it unravels. I had no idea how it was going to end, While I wanted to know the truth , In the final chapters realized it wasn’t as important to me to discover what had happened that fateful night as I was rooting for the various characters to be innocent or guilty in different ways and for different reasons. Satisfying ending and well resolved.