I hadn't previously read one of the author's books, but found this to be a well written, accomplished psychological thriller.

The story centres around Beverly and her young son, Riley who mysteriously disappears from their garden one evening. However, all is not what it seems and, without giving anything away, there is much more to the story than we're originally meant to believe.

The main protagonist, Beverly, is a very likeable character and clearly adores Riley. Both her and Riley are sympathetically and realistically written and I was really rooting for them the whole way through.

The plot was full of suspense and red herrings, so that just as you think you have it worked out, yet another unexpected twist is thrown into the mix.

I would definitely read another of Nicole Trope's books and recommend this to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers.

Thanks to publishers Bookouture and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Every mother’s worst nightmare, you turn around and your child is gone. My heart was pounding the whole book. The story was beautifully written and filled to the brim with suspense. The story comes together with past and present story telling. And just when you think you know what is going on there is a wicked plot twist. There were moments in this book of sheer terror where you hold your breath and hope everything works out.
Perfect from the first to the last page.

Beverly is a young single mom lives with her young son Riley in Sydney and all is going well for them until one day Riley starts getting anonymous presents on their door step and Bev has no clue to who'd have sent them. She suspects her ex boyfriend who hadn't took their break-up well. But Riley hopes it's his dad whom he'd never met and wants to meet some day. There's also Mr Benton at Riley's school who is overfriendly with the boy and keeps asking questions about his mom. Could it be him? Bev really doesn't know. She's young and she's confused and she's trying really hard to be a good mum to Riley.

Until one day, the worst happens. Riley is missing from their own garden and Bev can't find him and has to contact the police. But how much can she tell them? Because, telling them the whole truth might take her son away from her. 😭😳

Whoa what a pacy rollercoaster ride of a book! This is exactly what I wanted for the week - a quick, domestic suspense with unreliable narrators, multiple PoVs, and lots of secrets!! I don't know how I missed this brilliant author before but I'm gonna stalk your books in the future @nicoletropeauthor and I can't wait to read more of what you write.

Nicole Trope never disappoints and The Mother's Fault is no exception. This is another fascinating read right from the start. It's all there - secrets, lies and tension. Run, don't walk to pick up her latest!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Again another fabulous book by Nicole Trope. I was taken on a rollercoaster of tension and mystery. This is a fast-paced, thrilling, tense read. Unusually, although it is about a missing child, as he is one of the narrators, the tension comes more from other secrets that unfold gradually throughout the book.
The story is told from three different viewpoints: Beverly, the mum, with some deep held secrets that we can only surmise about; Riley, her son, a young eight-year-old, with his own troubling questions left unanswered; and an unnamed person whose identity, motives and background we constantly wonder about.
The other main characters are Sam, the old man and neighbour at the bottom of the garden and his delightful old dog Scotty (let me reassure dog-loving readers that no dog was harmed in the writing of this book!)
I was swept along in the plot, reading furiously from chapter to chapter, keen to find answers to my questions and the see if my suspicions were well-founded. The setting descriptions were vivid in my head and I felt like I could walk right into them, knowing exactly what they were like.
The ending answered all my questions so I wasn’t left wondering or frustrated. It is difficult to say what made it a 4🌟 (great book) for me, rather than a 5🌟 (blew me away) but I think it was that there were a lot of twists, that came at me very suddenly that need processing, so it slowed the pace a bit. Overall a great read and I would recommend it thoroughly.

I always expect the unexpected with Nicole’s books. Here, it is not the things becoming apparent in the cold light of day but the cleverness of taking two stories and watching them converge with such a force that you can do nothing except sit there and gape like a fish.

Narrated by single mum Beverly, her son Riley and a third narrator we learn that Beverly is running from something and has a secret that involves her son. She is very young so is trying hard to maintain perfection in her parenting so as not to attract attention. Including dumping her boyfriend Ethan when he gets too close and starts asking questions about Riley’s dad and his family. Beverly is such an easy character to like, even when you are unsure if she is a reliable narrator. You just know her heart is in the right place.

Riley, Riley, Riley oh boy did I love him, he is such a cheeky little terror. After receiving gifts in the mailbox and after talking to his mate Benji he’s got it in his head his dad is alive and a spy. They are eight years old so it’s a perfectly reasonable explanation. They both have a new substitute teacher called Mr Benton who starts to single Riley out for favourable attention. My detective radar was certainly on high alert with him. Riley is narrated so perfectly I’m pretty sure the author has an inner eight year old terror who is probably right now up a tree somewhere.

Then we have the third narrator who is spying on the two of them from Sam’s house. Sam is an elderly gentleman with a little black Scottish terrier called Scotty. Sam is unaware there is even another person in his house and as if that isn’t creepy enough it soon becomes apparent that the narrator has a terrible past and an intent that will bring them all together soon enough.

This does feature child abuse but nothing sexual or too graphic and raises a lot of questions around nature vs nurture and the cycles of abuse. I thought I had worked out who the third narrator was and how the two stories would come together. But like I said at the start with Nicole’s books always expect the unexpected…..

The Mother's Fault is Aussie author Nicole Trope's follow-up to the well-received The Family Across the Street, released in August 2021. Trope has obviously been using her time during Sydney's lockdown productively!
There are several themes in common between the two books, including a dramatic seige/detainment situation, a character suffering the long-term effects of abusive parenting and a well-imagined point-of-view from a character suffering from a delusional psychosis. There's also the useful - dare I say it - trope (!) of an elderly neighbour of the central character(s), whose involvement adds pathos and moves the action forward. Also similarly to The Family Across the Street, The Mother's Fault is told from alternating perspectives and contains plenty of misdirection, red herrings and surprising twists.
Young single mother Beverley lives in her own childhood home with her 8-year-old son, Riley. Her parents were both killed in a car accident when she was 16. Her only other relative - her older brother James - died two years later, in traumatic circumstances that are slowly revealed over the course of the book. Beverley and Riley are alone in the world, and while there are some financial and social struggles, are a close family unit. But Beverley is nervous that something in her past might one day be revealed and tear them apart. Riley has been told that his father is dead, but Beverley is reluctant to give him any more than scant detail and has hidden all photographs of the man away where Riley can't find them. Perhaps understandably, imaginative Riley entertains fantasies that his father is still alive somewhere and will one day reappear.
One morning, a wrapped parcel appears in their letterbox, addressed to Riley and containing a small gift and a cryptic note. On succeeding days, more - increasingly generous - gifts appear, delighting Riley but causing Beverley deep concern. At first she suspects her former partner, Ethan, with whom she'd recently broken up over her inability to open up about her own and Riley's background. But he's not responding to her repeated texts and phone calls asking him to stop. Then Riley disappears from the back yard one afternoon after school...
While The Mother's Fault contained plenty of tension, good character development and several unexpected twists, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did The Family Across the Street. Perhaps that's because the underlying plot of The Mother's Fault felt just a little too much over the top and there were several plot/character inconsistencies which I felt stretched credibility. That said, it's a fast and engrossing read. Potential trigger warnings for readers include: child abuse (physical and emotional), violence, family trauma and mental illness.
I'd recommend The Mother's Fault to readers who enjoy domestic thrillers with lots of twists and turns.
My thanks to the author, Nicole Trope, publisher Bookouture and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this title in advance of its publication on 15 October 2021.

This is a gripping domestic thriller.
Riley goes missing from his garden - one minute he’s there, and the next, he’s gone.
The story unfolds through the eyes of his mum, Beverley, and Riley’s abductor.
This is a gripping read as things are not quite what they seem, and there’s a few twists in store.
I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to spoil it.
A great read.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The Mother's Fault by Nicole Trope

Single mother, Beverly, adores her 8 year old son, Riley, but she has secrets she is trying to keep buried.

Riley can be a handful at times, but loves climbing trees and is full of life! He has questions about his father, who Beverly says is dead. Riley doesn't even know his Dad's real name. There are no pictures in the house of him either.

Beverly doesn't like getting close to anyone. So when her boyfriend, Ethan, starts talking about getting married and having a family together, she ends the relationship. She has secrets she just can't share with him!

Soon after, Riley starts to receive anonymous gifts in the mail. Could they be from Ethan? Although, Riley's father is dead he starts to wonder if maybe they are from him.

Someone is watching them.

One afternoon as Beverly is preparing Riley's favorite dinner, spaghetti, she looks out the window and can't see Riley. Where is he? He disappeared!?! Or was he kidnapped? She can't find him! When the police turn up, Beverly finds herself trapped in the web of lies she's created! How much can she tell without losing him forever?

This is the second book I've read by Nicole Trope and she once again did not disappoint!! She's become one of my favorite authors!! I really like her writing style! She definitely can keep a reader interested in her stories! Another great read!! Can't wait for her next book!! Love all the suspense she creates along with the twists!!

Thank you Nicole Trope, Bookouture and NetGalley for the advance copy to read in return for my honest review!

A boy goes missing but that is just the tip of the iceberg for this story. Beverley is a single mom and she has devoted her life to raising her son and providing him with everything that he would need or want. His biological father is gone and Beverley doesn't have any other family, so her son Riley is everything until one night while making supper he is gone.

Told through three points of view, this story moved so quickly I read it in one day. The author unfolded the story in just the right way that I literally couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know more and more. I felt for Beverley as she had put all her eggs in this basket and had devoted everything she had to her son Riley and for him to disappear and for her to not have an explanation was heartbreaking. When the conclusion came with each point of view giving an epilogue, I loved that the author gave all three the opportunity to tell their ending to the story.

My first Nicole Trope book, but will definitely not be my last.

★★★★ 4.5 stars

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Nicole Trope's exciting domestic thriller THE MOTHER'S FAULT.

Firstly, let me say that I for one am thrilled that Nicole Trope abandoned her law degree in favour of becoming a writer. Imagine all the stories that we would never have enjoyed from her pen? Or, more accurately, her computer these days. All the brilliant tales she's woven that we would have missed? It doesn't bear thinking about. She is one of my most favourite writers that every time one of her books come up, my fingers do the walking and send her latest trope (pun intended) to my kindle. And as always, I was not disappointed.

A quick and easy psychological domestic thriller, THE MOTHER'S FAULT begins with a prologue outlining a gruesome find washed up on a beach, coupled with a bloodied onesie that had been discovered just a week or so before. Then we are delved into the domestic life of a mother and her 8 year old son. But how are the two linked?

Single mother Beverley has a secret. One that, if uncovered, could threaten the life she has built and everything she holds dear. It has given her many a sleepless night and caused her to be incredibly protective her 8 year old son Riley. So much so that whenever anyone starts to get too close she cuts ties with them for fear of being found out.

Eight months ago, Beverley met Ethan who, at thirty years old, was ready to settle down and have a family. She fell in love with him despite all she put at risk by doing so and although Riley didn't take to Ethan immediately, he too grew to love him also. And for a boy who has grown up without a father, Riley longed for one and had thought he had found that in Ethan. But Beverley knew she was risking everything and Ethan, who was like a dog with a bone, kept pursuing the subject of Riley's parentage and the rights of a father. Beverley knew then she had to break up with Ethan before he discovered her secret. The problem then was Riley. He adored Ethan and didn't understand why he suddenly wasn't there anymore...and neither did Ethan.

Then one morning after going through their usual daily routine of breakfast and getting ready for school, they leave the house passing the mailbox as they made their way to her little car. For some reason, despite knowing that the postman didn't deliver until the afternoon, Riley always insists on checking the mailbox every morning on his way to school. Beverley humours him every time with a smile and a heart full of love for her son. Only this time, there is something in the mailbox. A small parcel wrapped in blue paper with silver stars. Riley sees the gift is addressed to him but Beverley is suspicious. Who would send her son gifts and not sign their name? Her thoughts immediately go to Ethan, who has continued to pursue her despite her blocking his every move and refusing to reconcile. Surely he would not try to break her down through her son...would he? Riley opens the gift which is a handball and goes off to school with a spring in his step.

The next morning there is another similarly wrapped gift: this time a for a handbook for a game he and his best friend Benji love to play, Followed by yet another the next morning: this time a robot for Riley to construct. Until the next morning when Riley catches her sneaking out to the mailbox at dawn to intercept an even more expensive gift which turned out to be a games console - the exact same she has been saving up to buy Riley for Christmas. A row between mother and son ensues before she confiscates the console and he sulks all the way to school, refusing to say goodbye to his mum when she drops him off. It's his console, it was addressed to him; she has no right to take it away from him.

But Beverley is angered that Ethan has continued to ply her son with expensive gifts despite her texting him to tell him to stop. He hasn't even answered her calls...and yet he was the one who kept saying they needed to talk. Suddenly, he didn't want to anymore...is that it?

That afternoon, after picking Riley up from school, Beverley had almost acquiesced in allowing him to have the console...but on the condition she speak to Ethan first and Riley send him a thank you email for the generous gift. Riley, thrilled at the prospect of all the games he could play on his new console, raced outside and climbed his tree to sit and play on his iPad until his mum called him for dinner.

Only when Beverley looks up from the chopping of onions and cooking the spaghetti does she find the backyard empty. She looks in the tree to the platform her father had lovingly installed for her older brother James as a child which is Riley's favourite place to be but he isn't there. Frantically, she races outside calling his name. She searches the house, the cupboards, everywhere she could think of but he is nowhere to be found. Calling on friends and neighbours prove to be fruitless also. So with shaky hands she called Triple Zero.

"My son is missing!"

Calling the police was her last resort as she risked them discovering the secret she has fought so hard to keep from seeing the light of day. But she has to find Riley. She couldn't lose him too....not after everything she's been through. But how far will the police delve in their search for her missing son? And just exactly what will they uncover? Could her past be coming back to haunt her? And could she be about to lose Riley just as soon as she finds him again?

THE MOTHER'S FAULT is not the usual missing child story. In fact it occurs a good way into the story that it feels almost secondary to the bigger picture that lurks in the background, blending perfectly as a whole amidst the twists and family drama from both narratives. Beverley and Riley begin as the main narrators to this story with an unnamed person doing their best to tell their side as they see it. About halfway through, the identity of this person seems to become clear...until Nicole throws in another twist big enough to give us whiplash. Many times I thought I had it figured out..until I did upon reveal.

Beverley is an easy-to-like character as we silently cheer her on in her quest to find her son lest the truth be uncovered anyway. She was doing the best she could as a single parent and there was no doubting her love for Riley. As her story gradually unfolded and became clearer, the reader can see why she did what she did and understand her reasoning and motives. But I did question her keeping that truth from Riley. As a child growing up without a father, I think he deserved the truth...even if it was a watered down version of it till he was old enough to understand what happened. The fact that she kept it secret just made things worse as he continued to ask questions about his father - normal questions that any child would ask about an absent parent as to who, what, when, where, how and why? She didn't have to give him every detail...just enough to satisfy his curiosity. Because the tidbits she had fed him in the past were no longer enough to satisfy him as he began to question the truth and imagine his dad out there living his life...as a spy and leaving these awesome gifts for him, as so helpfully suggested by best friend Benji.

Sam, Beverley's neighbour, was another endearing character as was his delightful Scottish Terrier, the highly imaginatively named Scotty. Their inclusion to the story is as enjoyable as it is relevant. Benji is also a delight who we get to meet through Riley's eyes in his narrative which is somewhat entertaining at times. But of course, I have to say the best supporting character award goes to Scotty - who, thankfully, comes to no harm so read with ease! I would have been weeping buckets had he been harmed having just lost my own beloved staffy just three weeks ago...for that loss is still far too raw to be reading about other canines meeting a hasty end.

While I didn't enjoy this as much as my other previous favourites - "The Family Across the Street", "The Boy in the Photo", "The Nowhere Girl" or "The Life She Left Behind" - THE MOTHER'S FAULT is still an engaging and compelling read that will have you turning the pages and keep you guessing right up to the end. The pacing is excellent and the story never lags and I could have quite easily have devoured it in one sitting, had I started it earlier in the evening.

Overall, THE MOTHER'S FAULT is another outstanding offering by Nicole Trope that I have no hesitation in recommending to fans of domestic thrillers and family dramas with a twist.

I would like to thank #NicoleTrope, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMothersFault in exchange for an honest review.

The Mother’s Fault takes place over about a week in the present with flashbacks into the past. Beverly’s son Riley start to receive presents for things he really wants. At first Beverly thinks it her ex that she just broke up with. Much more is happening than Beverly realizes. Through the book we learn about Beverly’s past and present and how far a mother will go for her son.

For the the flashbacks were a little confusing at first but once I understood the story, they made sense. I enjoyed the pace of the book and the mystery of what really happened in the past.

The Mother's Fault...isn't it always? Sometimes it really is. Keeping secrets is always folly. For writers, too. They risk teasing so many things that the reader loses interest and ends up not caring what secrets are being hidden. It's a fine line, I guess.

EXCERPT: His teachers call him 'spirited', or 'full of energy', sometimes 'boisterous'. They have a lot of different words for what he really is in class, which is disruptive and occasionally rude. Too disruptive? Too rude? She feels like there's some sort of memo she missed on raising a child. The other mothers at the school gates seem to know exactly what to do in any situation. She watches them, listens to them, while she waits for Riley, her ears tuned for exchanges of information she's reluctant to ask for. They would be friendly enough, she supposes, if she just stepped forward and said 'Hello,' but she worries about saying the wrong thing, about giving too much away.

She can see the way they look at her when Riley calls her 'Mum'. 'My goodness,' his teacher from last year said on parent-teacher night, 'and how old-'

'Twenty,' Beverley replied before the teacher could finish the question. 'I was twenty when I had him.' It's a lie. She was actually only eighteen, but people tend to look at teenage mothers a certain way, make an assessment a certain way. A single teenage mother is met with pursed lips and narrowed eyes. It's why she works so hard at getting everything right, at making sure Riley arrives at school with a full lunch box and a clean uniform every day. She makes sure that he never leaves homework undone and that he's always got his hat and sports kit on sports days. Things that other mothers brush off, like forgetting to send in money for an excursion, bother Beverley because they make her feel that she's falling. She cannot fail at this.

ABOUT 'THE MOTHER'S FAULT': I am cooking spaghetti, his favourite, while he plays in the garden. But when I look up, he’s gone. I call the police, my hands shaking so much that I hit the wrong digits twice. ‘My son is missing.’

When the police turn up, I’m trapped in the web of my lies.

I have hidden the truth from eight-year-old Riley, my little boy who loves climbing trees and always has scraped knees. I have hidden my secret from everyone.

Riley knows his father is dead but he has no idea why. He doesn’t know his dad’s real name, and there are no pictures in the house. Not a single person knows what happened eight years ago.

I love my son more than anything but the truth is, I have always feared for him. When the first gift arrived in our mailbox, wrapped in blue paper with silver stars, I realised I was right to be afraid.

Now, I can see the question in the detectives’ eyes. Am I a mother with a missing child or a mother with a lot to hide? I need them to save my son – but how much can I tell them without losing him forever?

MY THOUGHTS: A quick, easy and enjoyable read that certainly won't overwork the little grey cells, although there was one twist that I was not expecting.

The story is told mainly by Beverley, her son Riley, and in latter parts, an unknown narrator. There is plenty of misdirection to keep the reader on their toes, and although the perpetrator is decidedly 'unbalanced' I am not convinced that this is a true psychological thriller. Personally I would have liked a little more subtle manipulation to ramp up the tension and a little less of the soap-opera style drama.

Sam and his dog 'Scotty' were my favourite characters.

I know that I can always rely on Nicole Trope for a good read, and The Mother's Fault definitely doesn't disappoint, although I do feel that it would have been better titled 'The Mother's Lie.' This is a book that will fly off the shelves.

⭐⭐⭐.6

#TheMothersFault #Bookouture

I: @nicoletropeauthor @bookouture

T: @nicoletrope @Bookouture

#australianfiction #contemporaryfiction #familydrama #mentalhealth

THE AUTHOR: Nicole Trope went to university to study Law but realised the error of her ways when she did very badly on her first law essay because-as her professor pointed out- ‘It’s not meant to be a story.’ She studied teaching instead and used her holidays to work on her writing career and complete a Masters’ degree in Children’s Literature. After the birth of her first child she stayed home full time to write and raise children, renovate houses and build a business with her husband.
The idea for her first published novel, The Boy under the Table, was so scary that it took a year for her to find the courage to write the emotional story.
She lives in Sydney with her husband and three children.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Mother's Fault by Nicole Trope for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Intriguing, suspenseful, unputdownable! I was completely absorbed in this thriller and read it all in one day, uncapable of putting it down! Wow, what a book!

This is a book I highly suggest you pick up on it’s publishing date! I was on the edge of my seat from page 1, waiting to see what happened next. I honestly thought I had figured out the twist early on but boy was I WRONG! The POV changes each chapter but I was surprisingly able to keep up even with a ~mystery~ character. The twists came in from every angle which meant I was constantly guessing where I thought certain plot points were going. Honestly, there wasn’t much I didn’t like about this book! I look forward to picking up more books by Nicole Trope.

This is my first by this author & it won't be my last!!!!!!!!!! I loved the fast paced thrill setting of it. The twists & turns had me zipping throughout the pages too!!!!! In overall this is a highly recommended thriller in my opinion.

I am of a split opinion on this book. On the one hand, it had good suspense and a twist that I didn’t expect. But on the other, there was a lot of exposition and “thinking” which didn’t make for a lot of action.
Well, it did, but it wasn’t current action. I’ll try to explain.
A lot of psych thrillers have “Now” and “Then” chapters. To me, that keeps the action current because the reader clearly knows where they are in time. And if I’m told that I am now reading something as it happened eight years earlier (for example) I can put myself in that point in time.
In this book, however, pretty much everything that occurs in the past is recounted in characters as they remember it. And while there is action in the memories, it doesn’t feel as exciting as if I was put right in the middle of it.
And I recognize that this is totally a personal preference of mine. I’m just trying to explain it (and probably not doing a good job of that). I just felt that as a reader, I was in the characters’ heads too much. But other people may like that method of storytelling.
The plot itself was a good one. We know that Beverly has secrets, and that Riley is a pretty typical eight-year-old. I did think that Beverly went a little too heavy on her worries, but once everything became clear, I could see why she did that.
The story is told from different points of view – mostly Beverly and Riley – but with a mystery person interspersed. Roughly halfway through, the mystery person is revealed and then the action moves more to the current time.
I did partially guess the big reveal fairly early on, but the author had a couple of twists that I didn’t expect or guess, so I really enjoyed those surprises. There were enough red herrings to also keep a few guesses suspended until the truth was revealed. And the epilogue wrapped everything up nice and neat – almost too much so.
But again, that is a matter of personal preference. I get the juxtaposition of the scenes at the end, so I am pretty sure that I understand why the author wrote them that way.
If you don’t mind character flashbacks that are more mental than actual action, this is the book for you. Even if you’re like me and prefer more “in the moment” action, I would still recommend it for the twists, a heroic neighbor, and a cute dog. 3.5 stars.

Another great read from this author,I really enjoy her story telling and narrative and this book again is full of great characters,tense moments and twists and turns,brilliant read

Wow, what a page turner!! I could not put this book down! When Riley's mom feels her deep dark secret might unravel, she breaks up with Ethan, the one man who treats her and Riley with love and respect. Then when odd presents start showing up for Riley, she does everything she can to protect Riley from the truth, but will it be too late?
Highly recommend! I can wait to read more books by this author!