A digital copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books. The opinions are my own and freely given.

This is told from the POV of Natalie, the new mother and Paul, the neighbor.

I did not care from this book from the beginning. The story opens with Natalie in the hospital, she has just given birth to her son, and she is already resenting her husband because he has fallen asleep in the hospital. She doesn't ask for help and the resentment grows and grows. Natalie has absolutely no support system whatsoever and the family that does come around, is really pushed aside.

Paul is almost as obsessed with his 10-year-old daughter as Natalie is with her newborn son. Paul gets to close to Natalie for all the wrong reasons.

This was not a suspenseful story, or a thriller in anyway. There is a bit of mystery (who dies and how) but that all is revealed about halfway through. I was very bored with this story and just could not get into it at all.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books.

WOW, Nora Murphy knows how to write those first weeks and months of being a mom! It was almost difficult to read that part (lol) because it gave me flashbacks of how difficult it was. I really appreciated the very honest look into that postpartum period, something rarely discussed, especially in books.

Natalie, staying at home with her baby, really suffers as a first time mom. But then Paul, her neighbor, comes to her aide. Is he just being nice? Or is something darker afoot? This is a dark, twisty thriller that will keep you turning the pages!

Murphy has written another one that drew me in slowly and had me absolutely captivated by the end. She focuses on the feelings of a new mother struggling with postpartum depression and the toll that takes, and then turns it into a thriller where someone uses that to their advantage and it all of a sudden becomes a wild ride. I will say it took a minute to wonder where this was going and how it was going to be a thriller as advertised, but her prior book was like this as well so I knew to stick with it and I was so glad I did. I really enjoyed this one and thought the audio for this was great, and I really enjoyed listening along with the ebook copy.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the digital copy to review.

✨ The New Mother ✨⁣
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⁣Oh man- I have complicated thoughts about this book. Natalie is in love with her tiny new baby- but is surprised by how hard she is finding motherhood. Lonely, exhausted, and anxious- the days are long and depressing when she’s left alone with her baby while her husband heads off to his rewarding job. And then her new neighbor appears— solid, reassuring and so helpful. ⁣
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⁣This book is raw. It presents the most accurate representation of postpartum depression and anxiety I’ve ever read. It brought me right back to the days when Teddy was a needy newborn and I was so scared I wasn’t doing enough to keep him safe. ⁣
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⁣Unfortunately, I didn’t really enjoy this book. The thriller aspect was outshined by all the rest and the characters seemed flat and unbelievable. It took me ten days to read this short 300 page book because I wasn’t excited to pick it up. ⁣
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⁣Overall- this was a three star read, but I do appreciate the accurate portrayal of motherhood and postpartum depression and anxiety. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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⁣Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of The New Mother in return for my honest review.

I've read books about new motherhood and postpartum depression before, but none have so gone so deep into the description as The New Mother by Nora Murphy. While handled expertly, I'm afraid it was done a little too well for my enjoyment of the book. It was difficult for me to read. I had no idea it would hit me so hard. It brought back tough memories of dealing with postpartum depression after having my two children. The good thing about The New Mother, there are resources listed for help if you or anyone you know is dealing with postpartum depression or psychosis. I appreciated that.

The New Mother is a slow burn domestic thriller revolving around Natalie, a new mother dealing with postpartum depression and a colicky baby, and her neighbor Paul, who sees an opportunity to take advantage of Natalie's fragile state of mind. There wasn't much suspense related to the interaction with the neighbor. You could pretty much see where the story was headed. I wish there was an interesting plot twist or two thrown in.

All said, it was a good book. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it. Just be careful about the postpartum depression. I didn't realize how hard that would hit me 25 to 30 years after dealing with it. I'm giving The New Mother 3 stars. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it. I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The New Mother by Nora Murphy

A different take on entrapment when a new neighbor, who is also a new mother, gets tangled up with a stay-at-home dad. Her off the charts anxiety and new mother self-doubt add to her vulnerability.

Newborn Oliver will not sleep. Mother Natalie breast feeds him day and night and gets no rest herself. Next door neighbor Paul ingratiates himself into her daily routine and becomes Mr. Wonderful, while husband Tyler gets pushed to the back burner.

As things get more complicated, Natalie needs Paul more and more. Step in Erin, Paul’s wife with a threat to Natalie. Paul has his plan all worked out and Natalie cannot see his deception.

A little long on the Oliver will not sleep passages, but overall a good four star story with some suspense. My thanks to #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for the ARC.

Natalie has a brand new baby. She doesn’t sleep because her baby rarely sleeps. She chooses to give up her job to care for the baby because it is all too much. Until one day, she meets her new neighbor. He is a stay at home dad and offers lots of help to get Nat through the early days. It’s a new friendship that she looks forward to even as her own marriage appears to be fracturing. Until her neighbor’s wife turns up dead, and suddenly Natalie feels like Alice in Wonderland and everything isn’t as it appears. Many great things about this story, but the big drawback for me is that this is a really slow burn. It takes forever to get to the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy.

This was an incredibly predictable book with zero surprises or mystery. I requested this as an advanced copy and was excited to be selected but once I finished and reread the synopsis I wondered what drew me to this book. The book was written well but the plot as I said was predictable.

WOW! My sons are grown now, and I've all but forgotten what those sleepless nights were like! My oldest son liked being awake at night and would sleep more during the day which was extremely difficult.

This book brought it all back! The author did a spectacular job of describing the new mom's feelings and her thoughts; it was like being in her body and experiencing what she did.

Overall, this is a masterful work of fiction and one that might do some good for mothers experiencing postpartum depression or even worse.

Owww. this is a good one. Brings back the lonely, tired, exhausted feelings of being a new Mother. Who is trying to help and who is up to no good? Just overwhelming for this new mother.

If you are looking for a very painfully accurate depiction if postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis, this is your book. If you’re looking for a spine tingling thriller, not so much.
But really though, I could tell that the author had struggled through PPD because it was so clearly written in a LOT of detail.
I really wish that this book was a little more mysterious, not so predictable, and had an ending that wasn’t so abrupt. The writing was definitely good, but I thought the story was a little too focused on the new mother aspect and not enough on developing the mystery.

I was intrigued by the premise but a bit disappointed in the story. A bit slow and didn’t hold my interest especially after I figured out the twist very early on. I do appreciate the opportunity to read and I thank the publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

The New Mother, author Nora Murphy's sophomore novel, explores the bewildering world of new motherhood - the joy, wonder and overwhelming love . . . along with the long, sleepless nights and hormonal mood swings that threaten the sanity of overwrought mothers with fussy, colicky babies who refuse to be consoled. While most mothers can sympathize, it's the questionable decisions the protagonist makes going forward that sets the dire tone for this domestic thriller.

Natalie Fanning is a new mother hanging on by a thread at the end of her rope and desperately seeking answers to her baby Oliver's never ending vocal demands. Her growing resentment of her husband Tyler's ability to continue his career and life as normal increases as her despondency escalates. Natalie's forced to give up a satisfying career as a lawyer for a life of isolation enduring endless days and nights of breastfeeding and dirty diapers with a wailing baby. Determined to meet high family and societal expectations, Natalie refuses offers of help choosing instead to become a martyr of sorts. In her loneliness and despair, she turns to the stay-at-home dad Paul Riley, who lives down the street, for help and companionship which he's more than happy to render. Paul's own resentment of his wife Erin, the family breadwinner, is growing as she is pushing Paul to return to the work force after ten years as a stay-at-home dad to their ten year old daughter. What begins as a harmless friendship between Natalie and Paul quickly morphs into something uglier and darker - something Natalie fails to recognize in her sleep deprived, zombie-like state. It seems Paul has become her lifeline . . . but at what cost?

The New Mother is a chilling domestic thriller that shines a spotlight on the many challenges of being not only a first time mother, but one suffering from undiagnosed postpartum depression or psychosis which is obvious only to readers. Murphy excels at characterizations and building empathy for characters like Natalie. The strong support cast is also well defined contributors to the validity of this story. While the pace is rather slow, I believe it's the author's intention to afford readers time to buy into the utter misery and hopelessness felt by Natalie. As the story unfolds, her downward spiral and increasing dependency upon Paul creates a malicious undertone that prevails throughout fueled even more as Paul's intentions become clearer to readers. While little is left to the readers's imagination when it comes to the true villain's intent and motive in The New Mother, knowing doesn't prevent readers from experiencing the trepidation of a perilous journey as they watch a train wreck waiting to happen.

Nora Murphy's The New Mother is an unique, eye-opening domestic thriller that's sure to touch a chord with mothers and caregivers everywhere. The author does a fantastic job highlighting the many challenges mothers face adjusting to the demands of motherhood. Fans of domestic thrillers will enjoy this well-developed story.

The New Mother is a novel that has left me conflicted. I think that in an outline, this story has a lot of promise. In its execution however, I really needed more.

Similar to other reviewers I share a lot of the same complaints. First of all, every single character in this book drove me insane. I totally understand that the theme of the novel is centered around the challenges that come with experiencing new motherhood along with postpartum depression and psychosis. It shows Natalie transforming into someone who’s irritable and irrational due to this condition. So reading her perspective in this book is really hard for the reader when you’re continuously watching her fail to communicate her feelings and refuse help time and time again. Really I think the true blame for my annoyance with this is that for the first 60% of the novel we don’t get to see much else.

The pacing needed to be different for sure. Since this book is listed as a thriller, it’s very disappointing to find that there’s only about 40 ish percent of this type of plot. It’s really a shame because I really enjoyed the final quartile “The Cat and the Mouse” and if this plot line was interwoven better throughout the whole book, my engagement wouldn’t have suffered for a single beat. Throwing all of the investigation in only 10 or so chapters felt very underdeveloped. Thus, the end felt very rushed and made me want to know more. It felt like I waited 5 hours in line for a 5 minute experience
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Additionally, Paul wasn’t a very compelling character. He wasn’t very clever and really just irritated me. He was quite stupid and not very fleshed out. I wish he had something else. As was Erin, she really lacked in this book. I wanted to understand her motivations and thought processes more. Like other components of this novel… I Want MORE.

All in all I think this book is going to end up being a 2.5 for me. I enjoyed the last 10 chapters but other than that there was a lot left to desire from this book.

Thank you to Nora Murphy, St. Martin's Press-Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ebook copy of The New Mother for me to read and review. This was a very raw, challenging story of a new mothers experience which was interesting but I didn't find the writing to be very compelling. I have enjoyed Murphy's other books, so I was surprised to find this one didn't grab me and I found it a much slower read than I anticipated. I figured out the twist early on and felt that the story took a long time to get to the "good parts". The main character's actions to clear her name were interestingly written and that part did catch my attention. Overall, I felt this book was good but not great.

I struggled with this, and put it down multiple times to give it a few days before trying it again. Natalie, a brand new mother, is struggling with adjusting to her new life as stay at home mom to a colicky baby. I get that struggle, and I felt for her...but then it became ridiculous. She was awful and the novel became miserable to read. The premise is great - the neighbor who has a plan and uses Natalie's vulnerability to his advantage...but it just didn't work for me. I feel like it was really a warning and maybe a lecture about how bad postpartum depression can get. Motherhood is tough, I get it (I have 4 children!), but this was too preachy and it didn't work as a novel for me.

Many, many thanks to St. Martins Press, Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!!

Thank you to @stmartinspress @minotaur_books for sending me a copy of THE NEW MOTHER by Nora Murphy to read. This one is out now!

I adored Nora Murphy’s previous book, THE FAVOR, but this one didn’t work as well for me. This was the slowest of burns and the sloggiest of slogs. The bulk of this one is full of descriptions of a new mother and two unhappy marriages. It just didn’t feel much like a mystery or thriller for the little bit of that payoff at the end. Can’t win em all, right? I do highly recommend THE FAVOR still and am definitely excited to give Murphy another try on her next one.

I really enjoyed this story. The only complaint I have about it is that it could’ve been a lot shorter than it was. It got quite repetitive at times. This book really focuses on postpartum depression. I thought it was a decent thriller, but nothing that really wowed me. 3.75-4 stars!

What an unexpected read this was! I received a widget for the ARC, became intrigued by the blurbs, and then promptly forgot about the premise. When I started reading, I could commiserate with new mom Natalie - the all-night feedings, lack of sleep, baby crying jags, feelings of failure - I could go on and on. The author definitely brought back those overwhelming feelings I had years ago when my children were newborns. Then, as the book went on, and I realized what was going on and where it was going, I was 100% in.

I highly recommend going into this novel not knowing or "forgetting" what it's about, so that you can go on the ride that author Nora Murphy takes you on.

Thanks to #StMartinsPress #MinotaurBooks and #Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Just thinking of the premise of this book gives me the chills. We have a new mother that is struggling with a Colli Ky baby and in comes the oh so friendly MALE neighbor to offer a helping hand. Natalie’s character was the most relatable character I’ve read in a long time. That may be because I’m a mom, but her story really was powerful. This is a dual POV novel with the reader being able to hear from her neighbor Paul as well. There’s no big secret because it’s obvious something is off about him but this book was still layered with suspense.