A Mother Would Know is a fast-paced, twist-thrilled thriller sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Valerie is suffering from memory issues and her daughter worries about her living alone in her big house. Her daughter has her own family, so she asks her adult son, Hudson, to move in and help out. When Hudson was younger, he was accused of killing a girlfriend. So the neighbors aren't pleased with the new arrangement. When a murder happens nearby, Hudson is accused. Valerie defends her son because a mother would know what her son is capable of, right? Highly recommended to anyone looking for a twisty thriller. Be sure to check out A Mother Would Know today.

Valerie is currently suffering with memory issues and asks her son, Hudson, to move back in to help her. Valerie's daughter Kendra is married and has a young son that Valerie often helps with. After Hudson moves back in, there are two deaths in the neighborhood. When he was younger he was accused of killing his former girlfriend, but was never convicted. Did Hudson commit these crimes or was it someone else? A mother would know, right??

I really enjoyed this story, the creepy house where Valerie lived and it's history. I also enjoyed how the story would detail Valerie's life in the past and present, which I thought kept the story interesting. I do recommend this book to my friends, as it is an entertaining, twisty read. This was the second novel I have read by Amber Garza and I really like her style! I will be reading more of her books in the future!

4.5 stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Valerie is a former lead singer in a band who is now in herlater life exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's disease, making
her feel lonely and scared. She decides to have her son Hudson move home to help her through this difficult time. The story jumps back and forth between past and present and sometimes through different view points. (Although it is a bit confusing at times who is actually speaking) The reader learns of a past incident where Valerie's son was implicated in the death of his girlfriend, but not formally charged. Strangely, now that he has moved back home, there are two murders that occur on their street and
Valerie begins to suspect all is not right with her son. But she finds she can't really rely on her thoughts because she isn't sure if her memory is failing her or if her suspicions are correct.
This is a twisty read that seemed to drag at points and lost me a few times with the different and confusing points of view. There was a very large twist followed by a second twist which help make it a more satisfying read. I gave this novel 3 stars.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4902159484

I've been patiently waiting for a new Amber Garza novel and when I finally got this one in my hands I devoured it immediately! Domestic suspense fans need to read this book (and her others) they are absolutely fantastic!

A great edge of your seat thriller that makes it impossible to put down. You will have to get answers!

Name of Book: A Mother Would Know
Author: Amber Garza
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Pub Date: December 6, 2022
My Rating: 3 Stars!

This is my first Amber Garza novel ~ which is actually a surprise to me since she writes my kind of novels.
In this story our protagonist Valerie (the Mother who would know) has been forgetting things. Since other members of her family had Alzheimer, she is concerned. She has two adult children ~ a son Hudson and a married daughter Kendra. who has a baby son, Mason.
Valerie and her dog Bowie live in an old large Victorian house with a rumored haunted past. As her forgetfulness continues, she asks Hudson to move in with her.
However, her neighbors aren’t happy about Hudson’s return. He was suspected of killing his girlfriend many years ago now a local young woman is found murdered a block away ~ suspicion once again falls on Hudson.
Valerie begins questioning her love and what she knows or knew about her son.

It seems perhaps “A Mother Should Know” might have been a better title.
I had a hard time with Valerie. She made some decisions a mother wouldn’t do! I didn’t understand why she would go to the Doctors to confirm her Alzheimer’s?

I didn’t love this story but it did keep me curious

Want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for December 13, 2022

A Mother Would Know by Amber Garza is a fast-paced read that virtually propelled me through the pages.

Valerie is living alone in a large Victorian home and suspects that she might be in the early stages of Alzheimer's as her memory is not what it was. When her adult son Hudson moves in with her it is a relief to have some company, though Hudson is frequently out and generally distant and moody. When a woman is found dead in the neighbourhood, coinciding with Hudson's return, Valerie wonders just how well she ever really knew her son.

This one will have you flying through the pages with its tantalizing balance of tension and twists.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC.

This book was over all a nice read a lot of thrills and chills which I love. Majority of it I could not predict and that’s a big thing for me. I’ve always been a fan of Ambers books she writes such descriptive stories always making me want more. I read it in a day it was that good I definitely recommend! 4.5 I just wish it was a little longer but I’m always wanting longer books sometimes 200-300 isn’t enough for me.

If you love fast passed stories with a twist this is for you! I cannot wait to read more from Amber Garza!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

3.75⭐
How well do you really know your children?

Valerie’s mother passed away with early onset dementia. Valerie herself is starting to have memory issues and fears she’s destined to suffer the same early demise.
After a bad break up with his girlfriend, Hudson finds himself with nowhere to go. What perfect timing! Valerie invites him to move back with her, hoping he’ll help should she fall ill.

Her daughter Kendra offers to have Valerie move in with her and her family. But Valerie is determined not to leave her beloved home. And now, with her son around she’s confident she’ll be well looked after. But will she?

There’s something else of concern. Hudson has a history in this neighborhood that no one will let him or Valerie forget!

I did enjoy the twists! (notice I said twists, as in more than one!) That’s right! There was no doubt in my junior super-sleuth mind I had it totally figured out less than half way. Surprise! I only solved a small portion of this ever weaving storyline.

My only negative is - I did struggle with the sudden shifts in POVs and timeline. No warning, it just suddenly occurs to you as you go along that things have changed. Again!
I’m hopeful the final released copy will have a bit more structure to it.

This was my first read by Amber Garza and I’m already eying her previous books to keep me busy until her next release!

A buddy read with Susanne!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing MIRA for an ARC to read and review.

Hold On To Your Flu-Flus!! 😳😯🤯😳🤯

Butter my buns & fluff my soufflé! Talk about an absolute mind fluffer upper! This is by far the best novel by Garza to date! I'm still stunned by the freakin' twisty pretzel loops she intertwined into this like a fine woven piece of embroidery! An absolutely genius plot and don't even get me started on the freakin' ending! I seriously devoured this gem in three hours with no shame and total reckless abandon!

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: Valerie is a previous rock star of a band, and now older with two grown children, Kendra and Hudson, a deceased husband, she realizes she's suffering memory lapses and feels it's to do with early Alzheimer's like her mother had. After asking Hudson to come home & help her out, things start to escalate with Valerie's paranoia and the hopeful reunion for her two children to reconnect, are anything but satisfying. And very quickly, dead women are turning up that the family knows. From deep, dark secrets Valerie needs to face, will it enforce or terrify her of what's happening now?

I seriously felt as crazy as Valerie did while reading this novel - questioning absolutely everything and trust nothing - not even her own mind! As the ending wound down and everything came to light she supplied a scrumptious revealing I couldn't have been more satisfied with. Totally caught off guard with not one, but two insane knitted ending shockers! Trust me when I say, this is worth the wait for when it comes out in December! Fabulously dark!

Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.
Release Date: December 13, 2022

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 4.5 / 5 Beach Waves! 🌊

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC. I have to say I loved it! This is my first by the author Amber Garza. I love the descriptive storytelling, it put me into that world. It was a fast-paced thriller, read it in less than a day and it really had me guessing the entire time~but I never expected that ending!

I enjoyed this book and found myself really sympathizing with the main character. It was intriguing and had me flipping through the pages needing to know how it ended!

Amber Garza captivates me with every book she has written and I have to say this may be her best yet. Loved it.

I am grateful for this ARC of "A Mother Would Know". In this thriller, Valerie is living by herself in an Old Victorian house and experiencing some memory issues. Her adult son comes to live with her, but once a woman in the neighborhood is murdered she begins to question his involvement.
I enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced with well developed characters and there were multiple layers to the story. I really liked Valerie's character and the fact that she wasn't the typical woman/mother of the domestic thriller- she had her own career and interests and was not completely defined by being a mother and the author didn't shy away from displaying her flaws. I found her a lot more relatable than the typical "wealthy stay at home mom with dishonest husband" trope that is so overused.
I think some of the twists were a little predictable but overall this was an engaging book that I would recommend.

Valerie’s son Hudson is back home to help out after years away. While he’s back strange things begin happening, starting off with the murder of a neighbor down the street. She starts wondering if her son is the same sweet boy she remembers.

Honestly I thought Valerie was a terrible mother. I didn’t like or connect with any of the characters. I was kind of excited for the ghost aspect but it didn’t actually go anywhere. I’m not sure why there was such a big deal made about the house’s history and Grace. I did enjoy the twists and turns and it was a fast-paced book. Also, I LOVED the cover! That was the initial reason for requesting this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Valerie, a widowed mother of two grown children, lives alone in a large rambling home rumoured to be haunted. She is worried as she has been forgetting lots of things and Alzheimers runs in her family. She has her daughter around to help her some, but sh his busy with her own life and a new baby.

It seems like the perfect time to have her son, Hudson, move back in with her. As a grown man, he is a little aloof and she realises she does not know him quite so well. When neighbourhood women start turning up dead, Valerie and her son are under scrutiny. Does Valerie really know her children as she should? Also, as Valerie looks back on her life-was she the mother she should have been?

I enjoyed the read and found the ending to be highly satisfying!

I liked how I could not predict what would happen. The book had me going in the same circles as the main character. There is some of the 'woman in thriller who is forgetful due to illness/alcohol/drugs' thing, but it was at least done with a lighter hand than usual.

Oh, this was nicely twisty.

While I didn’t really love our characters (or the reasons why certain things happen), I was definitely surprised by the who of this one! The author had me going in so many circles that I was completely flabbergasted by the end result!

This is a quick read that definitely kept my attention. And I’m always happy when an author does something unexpected.

Would happily read the author in the future!

• ARC via publisher

This book was fast paced with a ton of twists and turns. It centers of Valerie, who invites her grown son to move in with her after she starts having memory loss. Her son, Hudson, was under a cloud of suspicion years ago when his girlfriend died but Valerie was convinced of his innocence even though it cost her some friendships.

The book is told primarily from Valerie’s POV and also contains some flashbacks to an earlier time when she made decisions she now questions. The author creates some great scenarios that made me question who was really telling the truth. The book ends with a twist upon another twist, which made it a fun read.

On the other side, I couldn’t figure out the reasons why some characters made the decisions they made and wish I could’ve gotten a better look into that. Also, Valerie made monumentally stupid decisions and I had trouble suspending my disbelief that anyone would not only do these things, but not be caught doing them.

Overall, I liked the twists and turns and the fact that there were some true surprises, but struggled a bit with the motivations and some of the actions the characters performed. Worth a read but not my favorite book ever- I’d give it 3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.