Nicholas Sparks is acknowledged by the author as an influence, and I love that so much. It starts as a Southern second chance romance and turns into an intense work of horror. A creepy-crawling nightmare of body horror that took me by surprise. Thumbs up!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of What Kind of Mother by Clay Mcleod Chapman!

This book is like reading a dark Nicholas Sparks second chance romance with a touch of body horror. We follow a down on her luck mom as she's moved back to her hometown in Virginia so her daughter can get closer to her estranged father. In walks the boy who got away, now a man all grown up with a tragic past. Henry McCabe is looking for his missing 8 month old son after he discovered him missing and his wife dead one tragic night five years ago. The reader is in for a southern gothic twisty gruesome ride. This book captured me and didn't let me go until I had turned the last page. I would definitely recommend this book for horror fans. It is utterly unique.

I used to love eating crab legs at least, until I read Clay McLeod Chapman’s newest novel “What Kind of Mother.” Now, I want to run from them!

Chapman struck the payload with this novel; just the right parts horror, mystery and the love/strength of family.

Chapman really nails the emotions that a grieving parent would go through and just how far they are willing to go to get back what is lost.

This novel as well as others of his, takes place in Virginia, and the detail of which he describes the area made me miss my time living there!

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves reading, loves horror and mystery, loves the feeling of their skin crawling and also for anyone that has a love/hate relationship with crabs!

🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀/5

I chose to read this because it was described has being a combination of horror and domestic suspense. I would describe more as horror/fantasy and just down right bizarre. It did not make sense and was highly disturbing.

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

This one is weird, and I say that with the best intent. Here I am at 3:30 in the morning after having powered through the remainder of the book... So, yeah.

Chapman has this uncanny talent for packing the emotion in while making things creepy and wrong. You tend to walk away feeling a little icky about the whole endeavor. This odd body horror is no exception.

If you like a little bit of trauma or have an affinity for broken parents and crustaceans, this might be the read for you.

I have never read Chapman before and I was not prepared for this! It has an innocuous beginning with Madi as a palm and tarot card reader whose daughter, Kendra now lives with her dad. Madi lives in a run-down motel room and barely survives on her "artistry" but then she runs into old boyfriend, Henry whose son Skyler disappeared five years ago leaving his mother, Grace to hang herself. If you think this is gruesome, just wait! I was "hooked" by the concept but had no idea what was to come; we see Henry's point of view as Chapman leads us to the real reason Skyler disappeared. Holy crab! This is horror at its finest, but I need a breather now!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

First-time horror book reader!!!

This story classically pinpoints the harsh truth that when you’ve lost something, you never want it back as much as you grief for it. Because in nature’s tricky way, what you may get back (if you’re to have it back) wouldn’t be what you lost. It would never be the same. And you don’t want to risk finding out how different it’ll be.

Every page in this book is a wonder. The author tells this story almost like they’ve lived it. Flows so smoothly I get lost in its world and when I recover, I’m marveled that it’s a work of fiction.

The story explores grief, loss, pain, and identity as the characters grapple with what their version of reality is or which they want to hold onto. Every character was developed as necessary.

I liked the person of Henry, felt his pain and was sorry for his loss. But as Madi’s second thoughts about his situations just kept growing, I couldn’t help to think in her direction too. Madi wasn’t paranoid in her thinking and her constant self berating were not close to spiraling out of control — which is a huge plus for the character.

Madi who has just recently lost the connection she had with her daughter chooses to foster a relationship with a creature made solely out of her imagination and that of Henry. Because she seems to have lost what she treasured most, holding onto this new relationship no matter how unnatural and toxic it could be fills her with hope and meets her desire if wanting to be be needed by someone….or rather something as it happens.

And a chance to start over again…build a life with her ex

And what extent a father could go to mourn the death of his most wanted son and even farther to find closure and accept his loss.

The subtle links between the past and present of the book give it a full-circle-moment ending. The author cleverly tied all loose ends in every event. No occurrence felt forced. They really just fell into place as the book progresses.

I wouldn’t say it’s as horrific as the cover page review says. But it does provide an exhilarating experience and exciting read time. Or maybe my horror threshold is higher than yours. But overall, there’s nothing so much to fear in these pages except you’re not keen to psychic performances. Gave me the chills sometimes. [⚠️Correction, I typed that before I got into the part 3 or is it 4? of the book. It heavily creeped me out.]

Recommendation: read this by the water if you can and have the stomach for the flood of emotions that may come…lol. But I bet you’ll enjoy yourself being in the scene the overall title is created around.

First time reading Chapman’s work and will now definitely read anything he authors, going forward. 4.5/5

A Southern Gothic take about mothers and children, a father’s love, and how the water gives and takes. There is body horror as well in this story of a single mother drawn back to her hometown when her daughter’s father finds religion and decides he wants to parent.
Trying to scrape by reading palms, Madi and her seventeen year old daughter Kendra try to keep their family together as they deal with the introduction of Kendra’s father into the mix.

Madi’s high school beau, Henry McCabe, a recluse and fisherman reconnects with Madi at the farmer’s market where she is reading palms. Five years ago, Henry’s infant son Skyler died. Reading his palm gives Madi strange visions and nightmares as she’s drawn into the strange world the water promises.

What starts out as a domestic suspense novel becomes more supernatural and disturbing as the book enfolds. The grief Henry feels is palpable and seems to mirror Madi’s sense of loss as she struggles to adapt to sharing her daughter after years of being a small, tight family unit.

Recommended for those who love suspense but are open to some horror and supernatural elements. Also for horror fans who like body horror, folk horror, and exploration of grief.

Original and genuinely scary. I loved the way the story developed. This is a must read for horror fans!

I'm not sure what it is about Chapman's writing, but it gets under your skin like an army of ants. What started out as a tame story gradually morphed into one of the most terrifying books I've read. I will never look at crabs (especially horseshoe crabs) the same way again. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Utterly fantastic. Clay McLeod Chapman writes books that just work for me. I adored Ghost Eaters, and I was hopeful that What Kind of Mother would be equally good. I was not disappointed.
Madi is a woman who comes back to her hometown after some hardships, and she's holed up in a motel, doing palm readings to make ends meet. She reconnects with her high school sweetheart, Henry, who's been keeping to himself after a family tragedy. I won't spoil anything here, but suffice to say that pretty much nothing is as it seems in this story.
The book begins as kind of a small-town family drama, with a few elements of folk horror or creepy moments peppered in a larger story about a small town where most folks derive their living from the river surrounding them. The setting and the people living here feel fully realized, and Chapman's prose is great, of course. I felt as though, as I started reading, I was really pulled into this town and these characters, riding with them in a boat down the river, slow and safe. Then all of a sudden the water gets deep and you're drowning in a nightmarish horror novel. Twice when I was reading I needed to take a break, I had been so engrossed in the story and was struck by utter dread as I realized this was going in a much worse direction than I had originally thought. Chapman pulls the rug out from the reader so deftly by the time you realize what's going on, you're in too deep.
Sometimes, you find an author whose writing resonates with you in such a way that their stories really sing. I think Chapman is one of those authors for me. His writing just works for my brain in such a satisfying way and I'm so thankful I got the chance to read an early copy of this (thanks to Clay and to Quirk for the eARC).
Disturbing and heartbreaking, I highly recommend this book.

Clay McLeod Chapman is becoming my go to author for horror books that focus on grief. After loving Ghost Eaters last year, I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of this one!

Madi fled her small town on the Chesapeake Bay as a pregnant teenager, but now she’s back with her teenage daughter in tow. As her daughter begins spending more time with the father she never knew growing up, Madi reconnects with her high school boyfriend, Henry. Henry’s infant son went missing 5 years ago, and he has never given up his search. Madi gets swept up in Henry’s quest to find Skyler.

This book had a small town southern feel and beautiful imagery. The water itself almost seemed to be a character at times. The horror starts off slow with real life tragedies and builds to supernatural horror that I could not stop reading! I loved the exploration of grief, loss, and guilt.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quirk Books for the arc!

5 stars

Now this is a 5 star reading experience. This is what I love. This is deep pain, grief, love with no bounds. Horror of the best kind. Clay McLeod Chapman has been an instant buy for me for a long time now, but this book sealed him as one of the best of the best!

Wow, this one was a mess. I really loved the first half and devoured it in about an hour and a half, but that second half...yikes. I despised it, and I normally really like southern gothic horror. Not this time. Hard nope.

A combination of the psychological kind and Southern Gothic. This author has become an instant read for me-- I just know that I'm going to get a dark and terrifying, sometimes a little gross, story from him and I love it. I think Chapman excellently and gradually weaves the supernatural into the story...it was unexpected but it just makes sense. I constantly found myself audibly going "jesus fuck" and that's pretty high praise in my books. What more can I say, just read this and enjoy a really good fucking book 🤷🏻‍♀️

Received this from the monthly ABA box we get at my bookstore. Good thing I'm the only horror reader at work, otherwise I definitely would have thrown down a glove and had it out with them 🤣

I love horror and southern gothic but this book just read like the thoughts of two sick people. The author seemed to write the same things over and over again, with words, sentences, thoughts and it left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Clay is back with another absolutely stunning read! I'm going to be honest, I think this one is my favorite of his. It hit all the right buttons for me.

Madi moves back to her hometown with her daughter in tow, and finds herself wrapped in a missing child case that is as tumultuous as the tide. Henry is convinced his son Skylar is still out there - he unfortunately is the only one. When Madi reads his palm she finds that he might very well be right.

What follows is a beautiful story about parenthood, grief, loss, and growth. The imagery created through the narrative is beautiful and appalling. When things take a dark turn, you are already so enraptured by the characters that you feel pulled right along side them. Their pain and their fear becomes yours. It's absolutely stunning work. I cannot stress that enough - the writing is breath taking. Descriptions and dialogue alike just beautifully done.

I can't recommend this one enough - probably the most gorgeous read of this year so far. Absolutely get your hands on this when it releases, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you so very much to NetGalley, Quirk books, and Clay McLeod Chapman for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

CMC is back with a new terrifying tale that'll make you scared to get back into the water.

If you think you know Clay, you better think again. He comes at you hard with this book. It reaches out from the depths and grips you by the throat. Not letting go as you gasp for breath. It knows that you are seconds away from death but it never lets up. It stares at you as the light leaves your eyes and when you are on your last breath, it lets go. That panicked feeling is this book. It's mesmerizing.

This starts as a thriller and turns confusing and gross. I appreciate the body horror and the premise, but this one left a lot of parts unresolved.