This was a really good read for me , one slight negative is that I kept feeling that I had read it before , this didn't spoil my enjoyment and it was well written and fast paced , exactly what I have come to expect from Kathryn Croft . When Eve managed to fall pregnant after several failed pregnancies she knows she should be over the moon , her and Aiden her husband have been desperate to start a family , but she just can't shake the feeling that things are not right , when the baby is born she has a really difficult time and does not form a bond , she makes a massive mistake and leaves thinking she is doing the best for everyone , of course when she returns , Aiden has moved on , her daughter has no idea who she is and she has a real battle on her hands convincing people she is back for all the right reasons . Some good twists and turns and a definite explosive end . Highly recommended

I have read many books by this author, but didn’t really enjoy this one as much as the rest. The characters were dull and the story was predictable.

Wow this is a fantastic book that I highly recommend. It tells the story of Eve who struggles for years with losing babies early in pregnancy, but then she suddenly becomes pregnant and she should be happy, but she's not. The story starts with Eve returning after two and a half years away, wanting her daughter Kayla back. Mysterious messages saying they know she lied.
So initially we know Eve walked away from her 3 month old baby, but why? It's clear she is hiding some pretty major secrets. It's hard to like Eve in the beginning, knowing what she did, but eventually as you read further, the past is revealed and I started to really like Eve and I wanted her to get her daughter back. I was so eager to find out what happened to make her walk away though.

There are so many twisty little plots happening throughout, who is out to hurt Eve? The list is actually quite long! The second part of the book takes an unexpected twist and reveals peoples dark sides. I truly didn't want to put the book down until I was finished.
The ending was ok, though would have been nicer to see it tied up a bit more.

Oh and just putting it out there, I hated Sophie and still did at the end!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eve and Aiden struggled with infertility for years. They had numerous miscarriages and just when they had all but given up they are able to carry a pregnancy the distance. Kayla is born and what should be the happiest of times is anything but for Eve. She leaves Kayla and Aiden when the baby is 3 months old and they don’t hear from her until after Kayla is over 2 years old. What could make a mother walk away from her baby? What is she hiding and will Aiden ever be able to let Eve back into Kayla’s life?

I thought this book was pretty spelled out…a mother that deals with postpartum depression and the legal woes that follow when she wants to regain custody. This book was anything but that, while those things weren’t untrue there was so much more to the story that would make all the difference in the world.

Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book a lot. So many suspects but the end was a shock for a few reasons. Kathryn Croft never fails to surprise and delivers another great book. Highly recommend

Kathryn Croft is a hit-or-miss author for me. Some of her books, like The Girl You Lost, really sucked me in and kept me turning pages and others fell flat. This one falls into the latter category, mainly because it came together too slowly and was repetitive. Not one of my favorites from her.

I'm surprised how much I liked this book.

This is my first book by Kathryn Croft and full disclosure, I kept my expectations like I keep my self control for oreos, minimal.

I haven't had a huge amount of success with my Netgalley books lately, but was pleasantly surprised with how much this one kept my attention.

Many reviews say this was a slow burn for them, but I didn't feel that way. This was a page turner for me.

This book was told in dual timelines with a before and after context and I thought it was done really well.

Others found it repetitive and again, I didn't feel that way.

I thought some of the dialogue left room for improvement and I didn't care for the ending but all in all, a quick read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This story follows the plight of Eve a first time mother who seeks to re-establish her relationship with her two year old daughter after she walked out on her shortly after her birth but faced with the stigma and seeking forgiveness when forgiveness is not forthcoming is not an easy feet.

This book covers several really important issue that face many people the world over infertility, IVF, miscarriage, baby blues and post-natal depression, in terms of the struggles of Post-Natal depression I feel that it would have added depth to the story if we could have heard from Eve's recovery as there elements of the story that I felt dragged on slightly.

i love this author s books and you are never let down from page one you know its going to be a good one. Eve is married to Aiden she loves her job as a school teacher and her best friend Sophie works at same school. but Eve and Aiden so want a baby so many miscarriages. but Eve finds out she is pregnant but does not tell Aiden straight away. Eve give birth to a girl Kayla but there is a problem that Aiden does not see. Eve can't bond with her daughter and one day Eve walks out on her husband and child. Eve make a new life and does private tuition. then one day Eve gets a message I know you lied and know Eve wants her daughter back this book is very addictive you will want to keep reading until the end so twisty

It’s Mother’s Day weekend so a perfect book to read is The Mother’s Secret. Except the plot of this story is totally warped. Eve wants a child desperately but after she has Kayla, she abandons her. Eve comes back after two years and wants access to her daughter. I didn’t like Eve, even after I discovered the reasons why she walked away. Turing to pry the layers of the plot back was like trying to get a thick wad of gum off a shoe. It stuck fast and it was a big glob. There were so many people involved and they all were liars.
I felt sorry for Kayla because she really needed a mom.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Eve and her husband undergo several miscarriages on the path to being parents. After the arrival of their daughter, Kayla, Eve abandons her family, but then two years later, she wants to be back in her daughter's life.

I wasn't a fan of this book. I thought the thriller part of the book was not well thought out and the pacing was weird. There wasn't any real build-up, just a lot of smoke and mirror talk about a horrible secret, which in the end, wasn't even horrible. It made the plot itself feel weak. All of it could have been undone with a simple conversation. All in all, it wasn't a strong enough story to keep me interested and caring about what was happening.

I’d like to thank Canelo and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Mother’s Secret’ written by Kathryn Croft in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Eve and Aiden try for years to have a baby and finally after suffering four miscarriages Kayla is born. But Eve is struggling to bond with her daughter and decides it best if she disappears so that Aiden can take responsibility for Kayla. Now, two years later, Eve has returned and wants to get her little girl back into her life before it’s too late.

‘The Mother’s Secret’ is a psychological thriller that tells of Eve and the secret she’s been keeping. I’ve found it entertaining with a gripping storyline that’s kept me reading from page one, and has interesting characters, suspense, intrigue and numerous twists and turns, the final one surprising me as I’ve learnt of Eve’s secret and the reason behind it. This is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller that’s easy to read and having read several of Ms Croft’s previous novels I haven’t been disappointed. It’s an excellent novel that I’m happy to recommend.

I found this book to be quite predictable although I didnt see the ending coming . I have enjoyed previous books by this author but didnt think this was one of her best.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of The Mother’s Secret.
Wow Kathryn Croft, this is the first book I have read by this author and certainly will not be the last. I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense, twists and her style of writing.
I found the storyline to be enticing and the characters to be relatable and felt they really pulled you into the story, especially Eve.
Eve and Aiden are desperate for a baby and after 4 miscarriages they begin to give up hope, until they finally have baby Kayla but it is not the happy occasion which was expected and Eve’s secret is tearing her up and she can’t possibly be the mother she so desperately wanted to be.
The story is told from Eve’s POV and told from past and present which gives you a really good inside knowledge of the character from before and after Kayla.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend for an easy read which offers suspense and twists. 5 star read.

Just an okay read, I understand the author wanted to have as many twist and turns as possible but to me some of the were too far fetched. I had trouble finishing it since I was not engaged in the story from early on the book. Some of the themes of the book were interesting but I cant say which ones without having spoilers. There was not flow on the story, I kept waiting to it to develop and it didn't, the story kept going all over the place without a clear path, mostly it was confusing. Thank you NetGalley!

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for The Mothers Secret by Katheryn Croft. This book is more the works/genre of women’s fiction than a thriller. Quick read. Slow start then had my full attention but the ending ended in a rush.
The story is told in Eve POV in both past and present chapters. After four miscarries Eve finally has a child, Kayla. She can not bond with her daughter and picks up and leaves when Kayla is 3 months old. She returns 2 years later wanting to be in Kayla’s life/mum. From the storyline we know Eve has a secret that is eating at her. Is the secret preventing her from bonding with the baby?
Eve’s husband, Aiden, has moved on while raising Kayla for the past 2 years. He has a steady girlfriend that Kayla calls Mum. He loved his wife and was very hurt with her sudden walk out. Of course, now present time, he fights to protect his daughter, and not want Kayla hurt by Eve. But. . . . She is Kayla’s mom……
I give this book a 3/5 star rating. I think if it didn’t end so rushed I would have given it a 4 star. Again more women fiction vs thriller.

A very thrilling and gripping read by Kathryn Croft. I have read lots of Kathryn Croft's novels and really enjoy the style of writing she does.

This was a good read, I normally veer away from reading about children/miscarriages as I find the content to be quite close to home and does upset me, but as I have read her previous books I thought I would give it a go. Quite dark the writing at times but told with passion and does convey an interesting story.

We meet Eve who has struggled to get pregnant, when she does give birth it is not the perfection ideal she thought that it would be. Eve makes the shocking decision to leave her husband and their child and starts afresh where know one knows who she is. A few years later she regrets what she did and wants her daughter back, but there is someone who does not believe that she deserves it.

A very thrilling read and with shocking content.

Thanks to Kathryn Croft, NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.

Oh my gawd, what did I sign up for! This novel was too good I finished it over the weekend, even though it was 300+ pages long.

The @authorkathryncroft deserves all credits for keeping her readers invested fully until the very last word — and it is incredible writing and editing that had fused in well to deliver such an impactful thriller.

Coming to the story — Eve abandons her three-month-old child Kayla with her husband Aiden and vanishes one fine day.

Before Kayla came into her life, she had four miscarriages, and she felt sorry for her husband every time she had to lose their baby, as Aiden was really wanting and longing to have a child of his own and be a proud biological father as he was adopted.

Now Eve is back after two long years to have her child back because she's receiving some threatening emails that involves her secrets and past lies. And she decides this is the right time to protect her girl.

However, Eve knows nothing is same and everything has changed between her and her husband and her close friend and fellow teacher Sophie, the people who mattered in her life, she had to fight this battle for her kid.

To complicate matters, Aiden now has Nicole in his life, even though Eve and Aiden are not yet divorced legally. And to make matters worse, Kayla calls Nicole as her "mommy".

When Eve approaches Aiden and Sophie, asking for a second chance, they are very much uncomfortable with her — you can see hatred in their eyes after what she had done to her own child. Nobody wants Eve in Kayla's life.

After a few further talks, Nicole agrees to have her see Kayla, but informs her later to get divorced from Aiden and move on with her life, sans Kayla.

Meanwhile, the threatening mails involving her past creeps up her inbox, her car windows are shattered, and Eve is made to feel unsafe.

These acts lead to the dreaded call from Aiden — that Nicole has taken Kayla and has gone for good.

So why did Nicole take Kayla? Is this a ploy by Aiden to keep Kayla away from Eve? And what's the bloody secret that made Eve to leave her child and run away? Who is sending these emails? Did she find her Kayla?

These questions and more secrets are answered/revealed through lots of red herrings and side stories and characters that will keep you in toes and hooked till the very end.

A slow-burn yet gripping psychological thriller that will keep you do second-guessing until the truth reaches the light of the day. And I highly recommend that you give this novel a read if you love good, smart thrilling novels with right amount of mystery and suspense.

I really enjoyed this book, and I wasn't able to guess the ending which is always a plus! The ending wasn't as shocking as I hoped for but it was still really great! Would read again.

Wow what can I say this book is simply unputdownable! The story is told through the eyes of Eve, a secondary school teacher who has suffered trauma with each devastating miscarriage she has suffered, which has clearly taken it’s toll on her and kind-hearted husband Aidan. So why then, when she finally gets pregnant, does it seem so daunting and ends with her walking out on Aidan and her baby when she is 3 months old. The intrigue is spine-tingling because the Author expertly gives the reader tiny dribbles of there being some reason behind it all for us to want to know more.

I literally inhaled the novel, the curiosity and love of the character of Eve is so brilliantly written that I wanted to know more, to find out why she would have walked out, what the trigger had been and who was now sending her threatening emails.

With the kindness she has towards private pupil Maya who, at the age of 18, has just found out that she is pregnant, makes the character Eve even more intriguing because here she is taking on a pivotal role, almost maternal role, with someone who is potentially vulnerable without so much as a thought for herself.

I also fell in love with Aidan’s new girlfriend, Nicole, who Eve desperately wants to dislike but because she is so understanding and kind-hearted and clearly only wants what is best for Kayla, it’s impossible not to like her. She’s not judgemental in any way and seemingly just wants to do the right thing.

This is a brilliant novel where all my hope remained on Eve coming through and being allowed to build a relationship with her daughter. There is a definite bubbling of tension throughout the book knowing in the background that there is a big secret that has got Eve to where she is and desperate to know the truth, unsure whether it will make you love the character more or less.

This is a story of people coming to terms with their choices in life, their pasts, and their futures rolled up into a excellent psychological thriller and I was completely immersed in both the characters and the story.

The ending felt as though it was full of suspense, most definitely keeping me on my toes with another twist throwing me off of the cliff edge and making me re-think my theories and I certainly didn’t see it coming.
The world could’ve ended when I was reading this book and I wouldn’t have noticed.

This is definitely one book you need to pick up this year.

Book available for pre-order – release date – 12th May 2022:-