I was so looking forward to this novel based on how much I enjoyed Murphy's other book The Favor. This one, unfortunately, pales in comparison. I had no compassion or really even patience with the main character Natalie. The first 30 percent was so repetitive of her efforts and failures and perceived incompetence as a new mother. It seems 15 percent would have been more than enough to develop these character traits. Truly amazing that I kept reading. When the antagonist is finally revealed at 50 percent, I was mildly intrigued. Mildly. I really only finished this one due to feeling obligated to write a review since Minotaur/Netgalley had granted me access to the advanced copy. I do appreciate the ARC, I just can't recommend this one.

I enjoyed Nora Murphy’s The Favor so was excited to read her newest book The New Mother. MC Natalie is a new mother and having a hard time adjusting to that role. Her and her husband just recently moved into the new house in a new neighborhood; and now she has just had her first child.
After being overly tired from lack of sleep with the new baby, Natalie finds solace in her new friendship with the neighbor, Paul. The twists and turns start from the very beginning of this relationship! At times I wanted to reach into the book to tell Natalie to stop talking or don't leave him alone in your house! The rollercoaster ride that happens with all the twists is fast happening and once you get into this book you will not be able to put it down!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books & NetGalley for allowing me to read this book

Nice little slow burn...

At first I thought this might be just another thriller about the grind of new motherhood and maybe an unreliable narrator.

But then?? Holy 'mokers was I wrong! Because when it takes off it soars and it had me compulsively turning pages until late into the night.

Loved it!

I think the illumination of the subject of postpartum depression was well done as it is a real and serious problem. As she did in The Favor, Nora Murphy is not afraid of addressing serious subjects. That being said, the repetition of Natalie’s actions made the book feel slow. I found Paul to be creepy from the start and knew he was up to no good, taking advantage of Natalie’s lack of sleep and forgetfulness.

This was a solid thriller and even though it wasn’t rife with twists, kept my attention throughout. I found myself sympathizing with the main character as she stumbled through new motherhood, all the while being tricked by a cunning neighbor. I will look for more books by this author in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The New Mother is the story of Natalie, who recently has given birth to Oliver and moved into a new house and neighborhood. She is exhausted, exasperated, frustrated and just plain overwhelmed with motherhood. In walks in the new neighbor Paul with his parenting expertise and gives Natalie the support and help she's not receiving from her husband. But he seems too good to be true and rarely does that turn out the way we think they will.
I loved this story! Thrilling and suspenseful, I couldn't put it down!

Man oh man, was that a struggle to get through. I found this book to be VERY sloooow and quite depressing at times. I couldn’t connect to the story and frankly, I’m surprised it didn’t put me in a reading slump.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

New mother Natalie Fanning, is exhausted, lonely, and overwhelmed as she struggles to care for her colicky son, Oliver. She’s unsure of her ability to care for her son, she’s always tired, she’s frustrated over what she perceives as her husband’s lack of help with the baby.

Then, on one of her walks through the neighborhood, she meets Paul Riley, a stay-at-home dad who is able to quiet Oliver with just a touch. A friendship blossoms, but Paul’s wife, Erin, is not particularly happy about it.

It isn’t long before Erin disappears; then comes the news of the discovery of her body in a wooded area near Natalie’s house.

How did Natalie become a central character in the investigation into the woman’s death? And who killed Erin?

=========

The telling of this tale alternates between Natalie’s point of view and Paul’s point of view. Early on, astute readers are likely to realize the truth about what is happening as the story unfolds.

The characters, all well-developed, are not particularly likable; many readers may find Natalie’s struggles uncomfortable. It seems rather unlikely for a new mother having so much difficulty not to have seen a doctor, not to have check-ups with her own doctor. Although readers who have been in similar circumstances will immediately recognize exactly what is happening with Natalie, her postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis remain undiagnosed through most of the story.

Largely, this is a tale of how Natalie copes with her new mother role; the mystery of the murder doesn’t appear until rather late in the story. But it’s not much of a mystery; readers know exactly what happened to Erin . . . and why. Still, for those who enjoy domestic tales, there is much to appreciate here.

Recommended

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#TheNewMother #NetGalley

Natalie is a new mother. She and Tyler have a new home and she has taken a leave from work to be with her son, Oliver. She breastfeeds and it seems that is all she does. Oliver rarely sleeps and Natalie never sleeps. She is jealous that her husband can sleep nights and gets to go to work. She is overwhelmed and terrified that she will do something wrong. Paul, her new neighbor seems to love babies and warmly welcomes her to the neighborhood. Paul is so good with Oliver, able to soothe him and give her a rest. Paul’s wife is the sole supporter of the family. Paul is a stay-at-home dad. Paul and his wife have long become merely roommates and she is not at all interested in him until she realizes Natalie is spending a lot of time with Paul. I liked this book but wish Tyler and Natalie could have sought counseling at the beginning. Their relationship suffered with her severe postpartum depression. When Paul’s wife is found dead, he has all the answers as to why the killer is Natalie. There is a lot of miscommunication in the book but the exposure of postpartum depression is done well.

Wow, wow, wow! Just because this book is a slow burning thriller, doesn’t mean anything! Couldn’t tear my eyes away from this book. This story about motherhood and what a mother goes through mentally/physically was so effective and realistic. Yes I couldn’t put the book down, but it was a little too slow burning for me. I was still wanting to know what was going to happen. Thank you Nora Murphy, NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC!

The future is bright for Natalie Fanning. Both she and her husband Tyler are on partner tracks at their respective law firms. They’ve just bought a beautiful new house in a desired part of town and, best of all, they have a brand new baby son, Oliver. Then everything screeches to a halt for Natalie. Oliver is a high strung baby. He cries constantly, startles at every noise and needs to feed constantly. Something has to give and it is Natalie. She falls into a depressing cycle of exhaustion and disordered thinking. Tyler tries to help but she rejects all his solutions. Enter Paul, the kindly stay-at-home dad across the street. Both Natalie and Paul narrate what comes next. Natalie is desperate for companionship while Paul’s needs are…different?

You will not be able to put The New Mother down. Nora Murphy paints a perfect picture of those joyful, confusing and terrible first weeks of motherhood when exhaustion rules and the pressures of being best at the new frightening job of baby care are all consuming. Paul is clever enough to take advantage of Natalie’s weakness but he is not quite as clever as he thinks. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Nora Murphy for this ARC.

I have never felt so seen in a thriller book in my life! I had terrible postpartum depression and anxiety and I never thought that I’d see myself in a character falsely accused of murder but I did! What a setup for a story (pun absolutely intended!) This was so good and well written, I didn’t want to put it down and it basically consumed me. Everything was so familiar to my postpartum journey, apart from the fiendish neighbor. I went back to work and was a complete mess. It was all so real and fantastically done!

Book Review

The New Mother by Nora Murphy

Genre: psychological thriller, domestic suspense

One sentence synopsis: A new mom with postpartum depression takes a sabbatical to stay at home with her new baby and befriends a neighbor she thinks is safe.

My thoughts: I have two children and being a new mom is HARD. Being a mom is hard period. Having a colicky baby is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone but, I never wanted to harm my baby. Some of the main characters thoughts about her baby made me feel some type of way. No matter how much my baby cried and I cried I just never had those bad thoughts. Personally that was a little hard to read when those would pop up. I know all moms are different though.

I also felt like both main characters were a bit crazy. The new mother was creepily obsessed with her neighbor. The neighbor just wanted to use her and the whole thing was a little sad. I didn’t feel any suspense from this one. Something would build up and I would think something crazy was going to happen but, it would fall a bit flat for me.

I think the writing is done really well and the idea of this one is good. I personally felt like the ending was rushed and I wanted a little more from the overall experience of reading The New Mother.

The New Mother will be out on May 30th 2023 and I think it would be a perfect read for a book club.

Thank you @minotaur_books books for this arc to review.

This one had so many great reviews so I was really excited for it. Unfortunately it wasn’t my favourite. It was very slow which usually doesn’t bother me too much but I couldn’t get into it. The main character Natalie was also way too obsessed with her newborn. I did like seeing the perspective of the new mom fear but I think it was a little over the top. The ‘thriller’ part of the book doesn’t happen till about 3/4 of the way through making it more of a drama than a thriller.

Thank you to NetGallery and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC.

Natalie Fanning can't sleep. She just gave birth to a son named Oliver who seems to cry all day and night. Natalie is struggling to adapt to the sleepless night, being away from work, and motherhood in general when she meets a neighbor named Paul. Paul is a stay-at-home dad and seems to instantly calm down her colicky baby. Natalie is happy to have someone help her so she can finally rest but Paul has his own hidden motives for helping Natalie. Soon after their budding friendship begins, Natalie discovers that her new pal may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

As a mother of two, this book instantly transported me back to the days of being a new mom. Having a career and being a mother is a struggle for all women so I could instantly connect to Natalie. The beginning was a bit too slowly paced for my taste but halfway through it began to pick up and I could not put it down until I finished it.

I really enjoyed Nora Murphy’s debut novel, The Favor and I found The New Mother equally as entertaining. I can see a lot of fans of domestic thrillers enjoying this one!

The New Mother by Nora Murphy Will be available on May 30. Many thanks to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy!

Thank you to @netgalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC. Natalie is at home with her newborn - exhausted and lonely. Paul, her nice neighbor gives her attention and helps with the baby - things she isn't getting from her husband. Little did she know that Paul was up to something and Natalie will look like the guilty party.
I felt like it took a while to get to the good stuff of the book and that the ending was rushed. Personally I think that the author should have spent more time on the investigation than the build of the story of an exhausted SAHM. I did like how the story ended!
#TheNewMother #NoraMurphy #May2023 #MinotaurBooks

Wonderful thriller that will suck you into the story. It kept me up half the night to finish it in one day. Loved it so much. Great main character that you can relate to.

As a new mom and lawyer myself, this book really hit home for me. I empathized so much with all of the feelings and baby happenings. The descriptions were so spot on. The thriller part of the story line fell a little bit flat for me, though. It read more like a drama or women's fiction than it did a thriller. I figured out the story line pretty quickly. But if you don't go in expecting a whodunit, I think many moms will really connect with this book!

Tense chilling well written. A new mother a neighbor a story that kept me turning the pages trying to figure out what was going on.Will be recommending #netgalley#st.Martins

Nora Murphy does it again with a well written, quick, can’t put it down read. I was invested from the get go. Young, overwhelmed, new mom and a seemingly, well intended neighbour….. what could go wrong? The intrigue twists until it finally unravels.
Thank You to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press (Minotaur Books) and Nora Murphy for the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC.