The Mother of All Secrets is a thriller around the lives of four New York mothers and their new born babies, as their lives takes on twists and turns of its own and starts to unravel due to the secrets they are keeping.

Some parts of this were unbelievable, but I find that with many thrillers. Where it's strength lay was in the depiction of the difficulties of new motherhood and the lack of identity that can come along with it, making it hard to reconcile previous lives with your new persona. In the first few months of motherhood I absolutely could believe myself finding myself in a difficult situation due to tiredness and confusion.

I felt the ending was a little neat and tidy but overall the book was engaging and kept me reading through to the end.

This book held my interest, it starts out slow laying the groundwork and in the middle it really picks up speed. I didn't like the group of mother's because I found them annoying but I did love the plot and it was well developed. Overall an interesting read that I did appreciate.

Her freedom, her sanity, her life. How much will a young mother sacrifice to protect her secrets?

Sleep deprived and overwhelmed, first-time mom Jenn is struggling to adapt to her new role. Frustrated with her loving but preoccupied husband and still grieving the death of her own mother, she feels isolated and depressed. It’s only when she joins a new-moms’ group that she starts to think she’s finally getting back on track.

Until Isabel, the group’s leader, suddenly disappears.

Now Jenn’s baby isn’t the only reason she can’t sleep. Consumed with worry over Isabel, Jenn is teetering on the edge of obsession. Concern turns to paranoia when Jenn finds clues that force her to look at herself, her marriage, and the women in her support group, who have more in common than Jenn realized. Much more.

Saving Isabel means unearthing secrets that were supposed to stay buried forever, and Jenn has to decide what she’s willing to risk to help a woman she barely knows. With each revelation, she gets closer to a slow-burning act of retribution that could easily and irrevocably draw her into the flames.


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One of most famous tropes in psychology thriller category.
Sadly, not my type of thriller book, I found the main character, Jenn, pretty annoying. It's also painfully slower than what I've thought normal for mystery thriller book.
The ending tho...
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Jenn is a new mom struggling to keep it together in a world where everyone seems to take to motherhood with ease. She's tired of feeling tired and joins a mom group hoping to find women who understand. Holy moly there are secrets galore throughout this book- the title is extremely fitting!

I'm not a mother but found the description of how Jenn was feeling to be very descriptive and it pulled on your emotions. I also enjoyed the focus on female relationships and the different dynamics in friend groups.

The book really picks up in the second half after a slower start laying the ground work and setting the stage for the characters and their relationships.

I look forward to reading Kathleen Willett's next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union for the gifted e-ARC to read and review.

3 for neutral, was unable to access my netgalley account until today. I apologize for the inconvenience and hopefully will not have any more issues in future.

Finally getting around to reviewing some older ARC's!!

Honestly, this one fell 50/50 for me. I think there's a very specific, and tricky way to do a slow burn novel correctly, one where it keeps the tenstion building while also keeping the reader entertained. Sadly, I think this one went more towards the dragging side of things. I'm also torn on whether things have to be plausible or believable in books. Sometimes the plot twists in this just felt too...unrealistic for me and it made it not work as well as I wanted it to. It honestly took me out of the novel instead of shocking or surprising me.

Overall, I don't think the mystery/thriller aspects of this novel ended up working for me, but I do think that it has some merit and could find its way into the right hands!

Jen is a first time mother. She's sleep deprived, questioning her parenting skills and her husband seems to be a bit preoccupied these days. Jen joins a mother's group and begins to feel like she is amongst those who understand her. Suddenly, the leader of the group Isabel, disappears and it turns this group upside down. Jen becomes obsessed with what happened to Isabel and wants the other mothers to become involved. Jen begins to question everything and everyone, being sleep deprived she even begins to question her own state of mind. And you never know what goes on behind closed doors....

I enjoyed this book, it held my interest. I was surprised a bit at the ending. This is Kathleen M Willett's first novel and I hope to see more from her.

Mother of All SecretsA Novel by Kathleen M. Willett.
Sleep deprived and overwhelmed, first-time mom Jenn is struggling to adapt to her new role. Frustrated with her loving but preoccupied husband and still grieving the death of her own mother, she feels isolated and depressed. It’s only when she joins a new-moms’ group that she starts to think she’s finally getting back on track. Until Isabel, the group’s leader, suddenly disappears. Now Jenn’s baby isn’t the only reason she can’t sleep. Consumed with worry over Isabel, Jenn is teetering on the edge of obsession. Concern turns to paranoia when Jenn finds clues that force her to look at herself, her marriage, and the women in her support group, who have more in common than Jenn realized. Much more. Saving Isabel means unearthing secrets that were supposed to stay buried forever, and Jenn has to decide what she’s willing to risk to help a woman she barely knows. With each revelation, she gets closer to a slow-burning act of retribution that could easily and irrevocably draw her into the flames.
A good read. Little slow but readable. 3*.

I didn't really enjoy this book. I was quite close to DNF but I pushed through. I found the plot was a bit dragged out and there the first 3/4 of the book felt like it didn't need to be there / could have been shortened

You never know what will happen or what secrets will be revealed at a moms day out group. New moms meeting at the park to discuss hectic schedules, sleep issues, how to make time for yourself and not feel guilty. However, this is not the average moms group, I loved the twist and turns, the development of the characters and felt sympathetic towards the new moms and how you adjust to life after having children. Thank you #Netgally for introducing me to a new favorite author.

When I discovered that this was the author’s debut novel, I was shocked! True talent shows throughout this book and if this is what she can do after only writing one book, I can’t wait to read her future books (there will be more, right?)! I was definitely interested in reading this book once I read the summary (which is spot on and perfect by the way), and I was not disappointed or led wrong. I could relate to the feelings of being a new mom, and can absolutely see how feeling exhausted can make you feel and act irrational and paranoid, yet I can’t see that I would ever done the things that these moms did. It makes a fantastic story to read, though! I was drawn in and was curious to see what would happen. I had my guesses but loved being thrown and finding something new to add to the mix of questions and facts. Exciting and thrilling, this was a great read.

Medium fast paced thriller that focuses on Jenn, and the struggles she is facing as a new mother. Jenn joins a group of new mom friends when suddenly one them goes missing. Jenn’s focus quickly becomes solving the mystery of this disappearance.

As an avid reader of thrillers and mysteries, I appreciated the pacing and twists in the story. Not having children, I felt the amount of the story devoted to the struggles Jenn was facing as a mother was a little overdone. - but I would love to hear the perspective on this from a reader that is a mother.

The social media bits seemed to be very realistic - definitely seemed to depict the real world pressures of raising children with outside unsolicited advice and judgments.

A solid 4 star read - looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing. This was a good read. I like the mom-friend trope..if there is such a thing. But I like books like this. This was written well. It was a good pace as well. It was not the best that I had read like this but it was good and had a good ending.

Jenn is a new mom who is stressed out and exhausted, as many new mothers tend to be. This takes place after the death of her mother, leading to her feeling very lonely. Her loneliness leads to her joining a new moms group. All is well and her life is improving until the disappearance of the group leader Isabelle. All the moms in the group decide to help save Isabelle, Soon they all realize that they were invited to join the group because something connects them all together. I liked the aspect of the moms supporting one another, and that it focuses on being a new mom. I recently had a daughter myself, so this resonated with me. Motherhood is great but it has its challenges too. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, which I really enjoyed.

This is the first book by Kathleen M Willett, that I have read and it definitely won't be the last. I must admit, at first I was wondering where the book was going, however from about half way the book started to get darker.

There was one part of the story, where I did know what was going to happen, but again, everything else I just couldnt predict.

From halfway through until the end, I couldn't put this book down and just needed to know what was happening and going to happen.

A great read!!!

I love a slow burner of a mystery that builds up to that moment that the tension and suspense have created-and Kathleen Willett's debut does just that! Told mainly from the perspective of Jenn, a new mom who is overwhelmed (and seemingly fighting depression) at motherhood and sleep deprived on the Upper West Side. Jenn, not coping well (according to her), manages to meet neighborhood moms at a local mother's group. She looks forward to these meetings as a way to guarantee she and baby Clara leave the house that day. Isabelle, the new mom who invited Jenn to join this group, strangely disappears one evening and hasn't been found. Jenn becomes caught up in the mystery and disappearance-not sure if she somehow has something to do with it-but is determined to not let it go. This part of the book really heats up and the pages fly by. There are some twists you see coming-or so you think-and Willett takes you down another path. This is a great debut. While some parts may seem a little slow, stick with it and enjoy the ride.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

The loss of words is bubbling within me...

I completely devoured Mother of All Secrets. I am left with goosebumps parading my skin. What did I just read?

The detailed narration made you feel as though you were experiencing the actions within the book firsthand. The constant anxiety that took over my body was a feeling I just could not shake.

I initially planned to just skim the first couple of chapters to see if this was going to be my next book but within the first chapter I knew I was in for the long haul. Bye, bye dinner, bye, bye, laundry! There was always tomorrow!

The prologue alone will pull you right in. There is just so much more to this book than what is described in the synopsis. Thorough out the entire book my attention was held. There were many secrets uncovered and the twist was one you will not be able to see coming.

After reading Mother of All Secrets, I became an instant fan of Kathleen M. Willett and can not wait to see what is in store for her future!

Thank you #Netgalley for the arc.

While I like the way it was written, the story just didn't do it for me. Which is sad, because I really like her style of writing.

This book had me guessing until the very end! Not being a mother myself, I don't really know personally how difficult it can be to hold yourself together while raising a child. Kathleen M Willett painted the picture in an excellent, but scary way. The lengths one would go to, just to keep a child safe, while trying to make friends and help your family succeed. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone.

Jenn is a first-time mom to baby Clara. She is sleep deprived and very overwhelmed. She decides to join a new moms’ group so she can meet other moms in the same situation as her. she starts to think she is finally getting back on track, until Isabel, the group’s leader, suddenly disappears. Jenn goes on a mission to find out what happened to her. During her mission she ends up getting more than she bargained for
The begin was a bit slow for me but once I was 60% in, I could not put this down. I needed to find out the ending. What a great debut. Looking forward to future books.