Laura Anderson is in her car when a FaceTime call comes through on an old phone in the glovebox. Confused about the phone, she answers only to hear her daughter, Nelle, 15, crying and telling her that she has been taken. Then a voice tells her to come to her mother’s house. But her mother is dead. The voice then calls her by another name, Betty Hamms. The phone has to stay one as this man watches her every move. A noise in the trunk look to be the dead body of Stephanie Parson with whom Nelle is supposed to be with. Rushing to get to her mother’s home before her time is up, she wonders how this man could have mixed her up with someone else.

The trip to find Nelle is fraught with some of the worst encounters you can imagine. The story itself is full of some very scary happenings that are also quite violent. This had me cringing as I continued to read the book. I admit that I had to take a break for it for a bit before I could continue. The author’s imagination is quite good so if you like a scary story with lots of violence, this book is for you.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Perfect Mother by Matthew Farrell was an excellent book that will have you hooked from the beginning till the end. It was fast paced and had lots of great twists and turns throughout which made it a great page turner and kept me up all night as I did not want to out it down!!! I just wanted to find out what happens next!
I loved every page and was a cracking read!

Big Thank You to Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review

Thank you Netgalley & Bookouture for an eARC of The Perfect Mother by Matthew Farrell.

Our main character’s daughter is gone. She’s been taken, and suddenly past and present begin to collide. How do they know about Betty? What else do they know? How far will she go to save her daughter?

I think this one would be great to go into blindly - The synopsis gives a lot of the plot away! This may be an unpopular opinion but this book was OK for me. 3.5 out of 5 stars. I found it slow-moving at some points, but absolutely loved the ending and found it so twisted. The last half is really action-packed.

The Perfect Mother is a disturbing, twisty thriller that I absolutely devoured and loved! Imagine driving home after volunteering at your church. All you want is to get home and chill. As you're driving towards home you hear a phone ringing in your car, but it's not your phone. The ringing is coming from the glove box. Laura gets the phone, wondering who it belongs to, and answers it. The person on the other end is using FaceTime and can see Laura, but she can't see anything but blackness. The man tells Laura that he has her daughter, Nelle, and that he knows who she really is and what she's done. He gives Laura an address, one she knows from her past, and tells her to get there within 3 hours or he will kill Nelle. This is how the book begins and it only gets more intense from here......yes, I'm serious! Who is this man on the other end of the phone? Why does he insist that Laura leave the phone on and mounted so that he can see her at all times? Is Nelle really okay? What is the noise in the car trunk as Laura makes turns? Will Laura be able to reach Nelle in time? Who is Betty Hamms? Does the man on the other end have the right person in Laura? He keeps calling her Betty.

I couldn't put this book down and loved Matthew Farrell's writing style. The suspense builds and builds until you think it can't get any worse, but it does. I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you love a good thriller this is the book for you. I rated this book 5 stars and look forward to reading more from Matthew Farrell. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advanced copy to read in exchange for a fair review.

I received an arc copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. This book started off so intense and so good and from the middle to the end it became ridiculous in my eyes . All of the tragic things, way too much. I was actually rolling my eyes at the end when someone had a piece of wood shoved in her abdomen, bleeding profusely and was able to get up and get a gun and shoot someone.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this debut author for me, so I went in blind, having been intrigued by the synopsis.

OH MY! This book is exceptional! Multi-layered, suspenseful, dramatic and quick-thinking with a plot full of surprises and unanticipated twists. The first chapter gripped me. As a parent, I could relate to these characters, which made me think about how far I would go for my children to keep them safe.

The conclusion was perfect, and there is nothing I can critically claim about this impressive nail-biting storyline. The dual timeline works perfectly. The writing style had my heart racing; I had never read anything previously as intense or as entertaining. There has never been a book on my shelf that has got me eager to finish as much as this.

After reading 'The Perfect Mother', Matthew Farrell has become an author I will not hesitate to pick up in the future, and I look forward to reading more of his work! An excellent five-star read!

What would you do to save your daughter? This book is action packed with insane twists that will have you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Really liked it!

So good! Completely pulled me in from the very first page. This is one I didn't put down until I finished it. Well done!

Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for the eARC.

The Perfect Mother is a fast paced, page turner of a book. It kept me gripped throughout and I could not put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

What a wild ride this book was.
It starts with heart pounding terror and finishes with jaw dropping shock.
So many twists and turns to this plot.
Absolutely terrifying from the first page.
The characters are wonderful, the story is beautifully written to induce suspense and fear.
Keeps you guessing till the shocking end.
A unique and twisted plot told at breakneck speed. You will not be able to put this one down!

The title of this one changed between the time I got my ARC and finally got it read, so I was a little confused at first, but I got it all sorted. I struggled to connect with the main character, motivations, actions, thoughts, but eventually I think I got there, even if I didn't like her very much. The action is very non-stop, causing you turn the pages faster and faster. The chapters are short, which I think helps add that breathless feeling, but one surely does get caught up in what's unfolding and how it's all going to come to an end.

I have read and enjoyed quite a few of this author's books, including his Adler & Dwyer series. After finishing this, his latest stand alone, I am definitely adding it to that list.
Laura is in her car when she hears a phone ringing in the glove box. It's not hers and the number is withheld. But she answers... And her world crumbles when she hears what the voice on the other end of the call has to say... Her daughter Nelle has been kidnapped. And she is to drive to her mother's house to save her. She has a time limit. But Laura's mother is dead. But the kidnappers think she is Betty, whose mother is most definitely still alive and it is to there she is directed to go.
And so begins Laura's race against time, against the odds, against the world (pretty much) to get to Nelle in time... But why ? And, who in the heck is Betty ?
This was a high octane thriller of ride that hit the ground running, ramped up the tension straight away and kept it up there all the way through to the end. It delivered twist after turn as the stakes got higher with every reveal along the way too.
Yes it was all a little over the top - but it was also the most fun! The motive, when we eventually got there, was actually well enough to justify the over the top journey getting there. There were some things I guessed a tad early but a lot that delivered the shocks the author intended, along the way and at the end.
The narrative was so well crafted and executed that it actually didn't matter that I pretty much hated every character. I had sympathy with some (spoilers prevent me going into any detail) but I wasn't sad to see the back of all of them come the end of the book!
All in all, a good solid read that entertained and satisfied - roll on next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

BOOKWORMS Review:
This one grabs you by the arm and pulls you into the car with Laura from the get go! That's how it felt,like being a passenger on this crazy ride. When she gets into her car,Laura hears a ringtone from a phone that isn't hers. Answering it to a black screen she's told they have her daughter and she's to drive 3 hours to a location to rescue her,to pay for a past mistake. Only thing is these people say her mom's there too.....but her mom is dead. They're calling Laura by a different name too...is this all a case of mistaken identity,or has a past buried for 20 years caught up with her?Whatevers going on her daughter is crying for her on this call,....she has to go there. An Adrenalin pulsing,seat of your pants read..with a great start that carries through. The ending was a little lukewarm for me,but overall a good read!
My Rating: 📕📕📕📕

This book was a phenomenal thriller, that was so fast paced that I still haven't got my breath back. The narrative of this book is so twisted but in a good way. I love the fact that the book has past and present timelines and the two converge seamlessly to a seriously dark ending I didn't see coming for a second. The twists are so cleverly written, every time I thought I knew the truth a red herring was thrown in.
Laura is a flawed character by no means perfect. I will say one thing though if you doubt her motive please ask yourself one question - How far would you go to protect your child?
This book gripped me instantly, it was one of my fastest reads all year and all his authors previous reads are on my must read TBR.
If you like a super dark thriller you won't forget in a hurry please read this.
#aPerfectMother #Netgalley

Nail biting high octane thriller! A mother receives a call…someone has her daughter and she has three hours to get her back. Nothing is what seems and the mothers past comes back to haunt her. Thank you to net galley and the publisher for an ARC

Fast-paced, energetic and twisted. Three words to describe The Perfect Mother by Matthew Farrell. I really enjoyed reading this and raced through it in just a couple of days. It took me a few chapters to work out what was going on, as there are multiple timelines, and there were occasions when I couldn’t remember what was happening in each one. However, by the middle of the book, I’d sussed it out, and was excited to discover what was happening, and why.

Laura is our protagonist, and I loved her and hated her at the same time. The author was brilliant at managing my emotions and I’m pretty sure they were chopping and changing as he’d anticipated.

I definitely hadn’t envisaged some of the twists and turns that just kept coming and I was kept guessing throughout. This is my first venture into Matthew Farrell’s world, but it won’t be my last. If you love a psychological thriller, that’ll keep you on your toes, then put The Perfect Mother on your Christmas list.

I am lucky enough to be a part of Books on Tour for this book, so thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Perfect Mother by Matthew Farrell.

Wow, what an explosive start this book had as it took us on a fast paced race against the clock to find young Nelle.

We Have Your Daughter is well written, cleverly plotted and is a nail bitingly good psychological thriller with some fantastic twists.

I absolutely loved it, so, so compelling and highly engaging with some mega flawed characters.

Definitely keeping Farrell on my 'new to me author' radar for future reads.

Many thanks to Bookouture for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Matthew Farrell never disappoints..This book is full of action and suspense. Roz finds a couple on the internet that want a baby and will provide everything for all the expenses and a good home. Roz is pregnant and poor so she wants what’s best for her baby. When she gets there it’s nothing like she thought it would be. Highly recommend this book.

First, I want to thank Matthew Farrell, Bookouture, and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I can bring you this review.

O.M.G!!! Seriously, where did Matthew Farrell come up with the inspiration to create a mother’s worst nightmare come true?! Seriously, my heart went out to all the mother’s reading The Perfect Mother. I am not a mother but if someone called me up and said I have your niece you have three hours to get here or she is dead I would be freaking the heck out! Oh and nothing would be standing in my way to get to her!! Needless to say this book touched me mentally and emotionally!! Oh and I loved every minute of it!! You will want to add this 5 star book to the top of your TBR list. Plus, like me you will want to read more from Matthew in the future! He is an amazing storyteller!

Instantly, Matthew grabbed my attention with his intense, twisted, action packed, fast paced read you will find yourself nibbling on your nails! Oh this is a story that will blow your mind and then some.

Let’s talk about Nelle for a minute shall we. She is the sweet innocent young girl in all of this. She did nothing wrong to deserve to be kidnapped and tortured! Oh no they didn’t want her they wanted her Mother! Can you imagine how scared she must have been?! O.M.G! I was so scared for her! Who knows what those monsters would do to her.

How far would Laura go to get her daughter back? Imagine the mental and emotional toll this is causing her driving three hours to get to her daughter and not knowing if she is ok.

Matthew throws in a twist that throws off the readers. The kidnappers keep calling Laura Betty and insist her Mom is still alive. So who are these people?! What do they have to do with the story? Why doesn’t Laura know about them? How much danger are Nelle and Laura really in?! OH and will Laura make the deadline to reach her daughter?!

This is a must read psychological thriller of 2022!! If you read anyone this year this is the one to read!!

3.5 stars, rounded up

This is an exciting thriller that kept my attention from beginning to end.

Laura finds a strange phone in her glove box when it starts ringing. Upon answering the FaceTime call, the voice on the other end says that they have kidnapped her teen daughter Nelle and that she needs to drive to her mother's house in order to save her. The kidnappers keep calling her Betty. But the problem is--Laura's mother is dead and her name is not Betty. As she frantically drives towards her daughter, the reader begins to realize that nothing is as it seems.

The only character I really liked was Nelle, although I grew to understand Laura's position and dilemma as the book progressed. The way Laura handles things is not how I would have, but I had to let that go and just let myself experience the story.

The book is truly full of twists and turns and I was surprised often. Some of my predictions turned out to be correct, but others were completely wrong and there were a couple of times I was shocked by something.

If you're looking for an incredibly fast-paced thriller with some unpredictable twists, then definitely pick this one up