This book was just ok it didn't wow me as I expected. In my opinion this book was not much of a thriller, it was slow at times, and I found it hard to believe Faye was that stupid. The ending saved the book for me. Thank you Net Galley and Quercus Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

THE WRONG MOTHER is a really captivating mystery that follows Faye, a 39 year old woman who is desperate to have a child, so desperate that she joins a co-parenting app to find someone to have a baby with. She does find who seems like the perfect person to have a baby with, but as you can imagine it’s not a simple happily ever after. This story is told in two different timelines, a year earlier when Faye joins the app and then in the present when Faye is on the run with baby Jake, lodging with a mysterious woman called Rachel who has her own secrets…

This was a really great mystery that kept me hooked the whole way through. It switches between the perspectives of Faye and Rachel and we get an insight into both of these complicated woman’s lives and secrets and it’s hard to know who to trust. There were a few twists that weren’t particularly surprising but that didn’t take away from the story at all and I couldn’t put it down! I’d definitely recommend this to mystery lovers, this was fantastic!
Thank you so much to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

received this as an arc and tbh that is the only reason I didn’t DNF it.
The plot had potential to be really good, but the execution just didn’t match.

The first 80% was just so slow and consisted of a bunch of filler chapters that didn’t push the plot along.

Then around the 90% the author essentially gives you a word vomit of information and “plot twist” from characters that weren’t previously mentioned, so it had no impact as far as twist go.

The book was filled with characters that didn’t give you anything but a reason to dislike them, so when something did happen to them you couldn’t even PRETEND to feel bad.

Nice psychological thriller! The characters were interesting and the twists were wild. Highly recommend!

When we meet Faye she it’s in a hurry to get home but at the same time trying to console baby Jake who is screaming for feeding. When she finally makes it to her basement apartment she quickly feeds the newborn ready-made milk and then quickly packed a bag and gathers all her money. She needs to get away from London and away from someone name Louis. In another part of England we meet Rachel hey 60 something-year-old woman who lets out her extra room at her cottage and eventually the extra room will be what brings these two women together. Faye who is going by Fiona at first thanks Rachel is a gift from God but soon she starts to think there isn’t anything heavenly about Rachel after all. Both of these women have secrets and in the end they will all come out but who’s the bigger Monster? I found this book to be so good I did not want to put it down and I kept rereading certain chapters because this book was that delicious. I honestly think Charlotte Duckworth is a genius when it comes to writing thrillers and I know in all the reviews people have said Faye was quite ignorant but for someone who spent all her life doing what others say her personality definitely fit with a knife woman who hasn’t lived life the way others have. I totally enjoyed this book it can’t wait to read more from this author. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The Wrong Mother by Charlotte Duckworth was a a creepy psychological thriller and a great read. This was a book that had great twists and turns from beginning till the end with characters that were excellent. I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend this latest book by Charlotte.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and especially to Quercus for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review. I loved it.

This is a creepy psychological thriller with interesting characters. It's hard to work out who are the good/bad guys as they all have their own agenda. I liked the twists and turns and originality of this read. It's one not to be missed.

I really enjoyed this book first one I have read by Charlotte Duckworth . It is well worth a read I thought I had Rachel worked out but I was wrong .

As you keep reading it, you can’t help but think that everyone is mad here.
And for a good reason. Because everyone IS mad there and you can’t really figure out who is the good guy, who is the bad guy, and why they are good or bad.
There is a lady who found a guy on a co-parenting app to have a baby together. And then she is on the run from the baby’s father. Then there is a lady who is looking for a tenant. Then the two meet. Seems easy, right? No, it isn’t. Nothing in this book is what it seems to be.
At some point, it gets so confusing, as some details are way too vague to make sense in the big picture (like repeating that the baby’s father is “a very bad man” and not elaborating), and then it kind of clicks together, but as you keep reading you see that, in fact, wrong things have clicked together in your mind.
Also, who is the baby’s mother, but for real this time?
Then, the ending. Ok. Ok. That was nowhere near anything I could have expected. Like, ever. Ok.
This is the ultimate twisty read. Ultimate crazy read. This was my first book by Charlotte Duckworth, but I don’t think this is my last.

Faye is 39 years old and still single. She longs to have a child of her own but with out any prospects on the horizon it appears her wish for motherhood may never come true. That is until she stumbles upon a mating app. That's right, not a dating app, a mating app where other single people that want children can meet other likeminded people and can co-parent together.

Here she meets Louis who seems like the perfect man. Well to do, well spoken, well dressed, kind, caring, and better yet he seems to be interested in Faye. Faye hopes that as the process and pregnancy wears on that Louis will fall in love with her and they will become a proper family.

Many red flags are apparent but Faye is blinded by her own idiocy naivete to see them.

Then Faye finds herself on the run with her baby. She must get away from Louis. She finds an ad to share a cottage in a remote Norfolk village with Rachel. The price is right and it should be far enough away that Louis won't be able to find her. What Faye doesn't realize is that Rachels last tenant disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Soon she'll find out who the real threat is.

Compulsively readable as are all of Charlotte Duckworth's books though this is my least favorite I have read. Faye was a difficult character to root for because she is just too dumb to be believed. If she were 19 or even 29 I may have been a little more forgiving but she is 39 years old!!! Her mind is like a romantic fantasy land that is not reflective of reality at all. Never once does this guy give her any reason to believe that he wants a romantic relationship with her yet every comment and gesture he makes she misconstrues as his love for her. She was so pathetic that it was cringeworthy. Did I mention that Faye's a slob too? Maybe she'd have a little more self esteem if she took care of herself and her surroundings. I've no patience for those that live in filth when they are more than capable of picking up after themselves.

Rachel was much more interesting than Faye and I was all in on wanting to learn her secrets.

I thought the ending wrapped up the story perfectly. I may not have been completely wowed but I was definitely entertained. 3 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for my complimentary copy.

The book summary is a lot like the first half of the story: vague with not much info to get a good idea about the characters and/or storyline, which has me asking myself, “what made me choose to read this book?”

Unfortunately, at least for me, I’m one of those kinds of readers who needs to like at least one of the MC(s) in order to enjoy the story. None of the MC’s in this story are likeable characters or reliable ones either. In other words, the way that Duckworth tries to present them is dubious and I didn’t believe anything she tried to “tell” me about the MC’s. Furthermore, because she refused to “show” me much (at least in the first half) about the characters that would confirm and/or support the characterization she’s trying to push, I just felt bored by the story she was telling. After about a handful of times it was stated that “Louis is a very bad man.”, I’m thinking, “Alright already! Louis is a BAD MAN! Are you ever going to show us WHY?”

The story flips back and forth between Faye/Fiona and Rachel as well as between present day and a year ago. Pretty early in the story, I began to develop my own suspicions about Faye/Fiona as well as Louis. I don’t know if this is because I have just read too many of these types of stories or if it’s a sign of a weak story and/or plot or just plain poor characterization.

Shortly into the second half of the story, I actually set aside the book for a few days and read something else. Once I picked it back up, I was determined to finish it as fast as I could so that I could move onto something else. Thank goodness for dreary and rainy Saturday afternoons, I guess. Duckworth finally “shows” a little more info about Louis. A bad man??? Yeah, ok, but what I found more annoying was how incredibly naïve and stupid Faye was. Good grief!!! Louis’s red flags were flapping in her face from day one. As reader whose fave MC’s are smart, savvy, bad@$$ women, Faye is the absolute antithesis of my fave MC’s. I have absolutely no sympathy for her.

Finally, I reached the point where the timelines and storylines began to merge, and my earlier suspicions about the demise and status of the relationship between Louis and Faye were pretty spot on. The final 10% or so was a bit of a hot mess and the finale was just plain weird. This story was a solid 2star rating, for me. Under normal circumstances, I would have DNFed this book at around the halfway mark. However, since I received a free eARC from the publisher, I was compelled to finish the book.

I want to thank NetGalley and Quercus Books, for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

@NetGalley @Quercus Books @TheWrongMother

I loved this because you just basically hate every character. They're all messed up. It is beautiful. You don't know which perspective to trust or what is really going on until right at the end. Of course, I couldn't put this one down. I read it all in one go.

Enjoyed this book. Surprised by the ending! Did not have the ending figured out. Was glad I read it but felt like that the book dragged in a few spots. But was shocked by the ending.

Another dual perspective book, this had the reader bouncing between characters, and time. While the story line had promise, it took me way too long to get into this book, and I was glad to finally finish it. There were a lot of questions left unanswered - could have dug deeper into the reason for the backyard overgrowth and the history of Rachel. And the business dealing of Louis at the end seemed to just be thrown in. I failed to sympathize with the main character Faye, as she was just so very naive.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy.

Had an enjoyable time reading this book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read the ARC netgalley! This book was okay. It wasn’t anything I would choose read again. It didn’t feel very well written and the characters were underwhelming. The book was slow until the very end then everything is just crammed into the ending. The characters were super frustrating especially the main character. It was just an okay read.

Will the real mother of Jake please stand up!
Holy hot coals...what is going on with these ladies?
Faye is 39 with a biological clock that's a ticking time bomb. She wants to bear child and soon but with whom.
Enter a dating app in which she encounters a few contenders with special interest in Louis Horton Jones.
He wines, and dines, and they seem meant to share in their happiness.
Until, she uncovers a side step or two...
You see Louise is another of those busy 'working type' guys but in a different sense of the term working.
Wait...did you say someone has a knife?
Oh, boy ...rapid fire escalation is upon us and someone's going down!
Police are coming. I hear sirens off in the distance. They're fast approaching.
There's apparently a mistaken identity problem or is there?
By word my head is spinning in a good way thanks to Charlotte Duckworth who wrote this gem.
Where's Jake? Who is watching him?
There's so many avenues for those having difficulty with natural child birth so perhaps we should explore....
Oh, shiite! WTH the housekeeper ? Are you sure?
There's some type of larger scale operation in the works but it's hidden from plain view until the doors are locked (ya might say) so I must get out while I still can...
Thank you to Charlotte Duckworth, Quercus Books, Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Run don't walk for this thriller! Due out in March!

Wow, I can’t believe I have not read a Charlotte Duckworth book until now. The Wrong mother is a thrilling page turner and it will not be my last book from the author.
Widow Faye is nearing her fortieth year and thinks that time is running out for her to have a baby. She is single and the only experience with children she has is babysitting for her sister Hannah’s kids. When she hears about an app called Acorn that matches people together that want to have children she decides to give it a go. She meets Louis who owns a company of gyms and decides to have a baby together. She also hears that many relationships have also developed using this app, she hopes for the same for herself.
But months later when baby Jake arrives, she finds out that Louis doesn’t want anything to do with her. So, she leaves taking baby Jake with her and goes into hiding. She meets Rachel who takes her in, in her double bedroom in Norfolk. Not giving her real name encase Louis comes to find her. But as time goes on , Faye realises that retired school teacher Rachel is also has secrets of her own. She better watch out.
Thank you, Quercus, for a copy of ‘The wrong mother’ I didn’t realise that this has already been published when I requested it on Netgalley. But I needn’t have worried. This is and excellent read full of tension and lots of red herrings along the way. 5 stars from me.

I really enjoyed this book. It was full of twists and spins. Everything is not what it seems with this novel, and Charlotte does a beautiful job portraying the abused naive older woman that is Faye, as well as her older live in roommate Rachel.

I really liked this book and enjoyed the building of the characters as far as Rachel and Faye. Towards the end, I was happy with how it ended. I was happy for Rachel and baby Jake, and all the way things turned out. Overall, it was a great read (I read the last half in one sitting) and I definitely would say this is a great novel for people who love quick paced thrillers.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC!

Wow! Charlotte Duckworth never misses, but she's outdone herself in the creepy lady department with this one! All of what you want- the bad man, the unreliable narrator, the woman off her meds, the blood stains, the disappearances, the baby of unknown parentage- it's all here. If this is what you like in a thriller, you'll love this!