Firstly, I would like to thank Netgalley for affording me the opportunity to read/listen to this fantastic book. Right from the get go I was hooked. I love a good psychological thriller and let me be completely frank with you...this one did not disappoint. Jill Childs got the balance between speculation, expectation and twist perfect.
Enjoying, by the sounds of it, a well earned and much needed family holiday, Ros befriends a fellow mother, Lottie. The two quickly strike up a mutual friendship and partake in an obligatory drunken last night out. Once sober and back to the reality of her post holiday life, Ros is shocked to see Lottie and her daughter move to the same town, almost in the same street.. Now in close proximity every day (living behind one another) and feeling that Lottie is slowly encroaching on her life. Ros starts to present as somewhat paranoid if not a little obsessed about the real reason why Lottie is there, as well as questioning what deep dark secrets she actually divulged on that seemingly harmless drunken night out
. You find yourself questioning if Lottie is really that bad and then you get the back story of a very sad and heavily traumatised child who now, as an adult, is looking for answers.
I was gripped from page one and although I expected twists, I'm not going to lie I was not expecting the last two..
If this book were turned into a film it would be an edge of your seat one that definately keeps you guessing.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this book and if I could give more than 5 stars I would.. A word of caution though, do not start reading this if you can't invest the time to finish it as it is an unputdownable book that makes you want to finish it in one sitting...you have been warned!!
Enjoy

Ooooeeeer! Single White Female for the playground set! Crackling fun beach read Protagonist is a bit TSTL but I devoured it.

The entangled connections slowly surface and build. There’s a lot going on in this book as the story unfolds. To what extent, you don’t really figure out, until the end, when the loose ends are tied up and any suspicions you, the reader, might have are confirmed. I liked it.
Thank You to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity enjoy the audiobook version of this ARC.

The Mother at Number 5 by Jill Childs - this book was all over the place.. IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE. I had no idea what was going on, so many twists and turns and an ending I never, ever saw coming. The ending tied everything up perfectly. The narrator was fantastic! Thanks NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ARC!

Good audio thriller. The author weaves multiple time frames together. I would have liked some clues or anything that tied into the surprise ending. I felt it was a bit out of left field. But it was an entertaining read. I especially LIKED that I could understand the narrator. Sometimes the accent is so strong that it really inhibits the story.

Oh snap! Another hidden gem by Bookouture.

I was actually not expecting a revenge story due to the synopsis but it definitely was a very welcome surprise.
'You Can't Hide' is a very predictable read and it reminds me a lot of the latest Liv Constantine book, 'The Senators Wife', in this sense that whatever you are thinking happened, happened; nonetheless, it's a well done and fun book so this factor didn't bother me at all.

I wouldn't really call it a popcorn thriller per se because it's well written, not OTT at all and it doesn't leave you with that feeling of craziness after finishing it.
Definitely will be checking out more of Childs's books!

I am having a real run of good luck with my books. This was a wonderfully tense book. A woman hunting down and destroying the men who caused her pain. We are slowly drip fed her life story, and discover the event that sets the ball in motion is not the one we are initially led to believe. The game is a long one, but not everything is as she, nor the other characters, believe. Some beautiful and nasty, dark twists, leading to the same outcome but in an unimaginable way.
Great book that I didn’t want to stop listening to

What a great story, I listened to the audio version. The narrator has a great voice with loads of great expression. She changes her tone when acting out the characters. She narrated the story well and was easy to listen too.

Roz is on holiday with her family when she befriends Lottie. She them goes on a drunken night out with her, but can’t remember if she told her the secret. When Lottie turns up at the gates of the school her children attend she’s worried.

A fast paced, shocking read with a sudden ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

This was an excellent premise but failed to deliver the thrills I hoped for.

On vacation, Ros spills all of her secrets to a new friend, Lotte, whom she just met in one drunken night of mistakes. Lotte then moves right near Ros' home. Lotte and Ros go into a power struggle with each other and roping in another one of Ros’ friends.

The plot never felt suspenseful and was never fully engaging. I wasn’t bored while going through the story but I also wasn’t enjoying my time. The ending of this book dives into some heavy topics and it all just felt rushed. This entire story felt like a sprint to a big reveal that never really happened.

I love thrillers and I have plenty of them I can recommend, unfortunately, The Mother at Number 5 is not one of them.

This book kept me hooked from the start. The shocking twist at the end… Wow! Will definately see what other books the author has.

When trust is short lived.

During her vacation, Ros becomes friends with Lottie. They have a wild night together, but when the vacation ends, Lottie mysteriously shows up in town with her daughter and settles down. This makes Ros nervous because she can't remember what happened on that wild night and what secrets she might have revealed to Lottie. Another storyline revolves around Ros's 8-year-old daughter Sophie, who has been misbehaving and hurting other children, including her 4-year-old sister.

At first, I wasn't sure if the plot would unfold smoothly. It jumped around a bit, and I found myself losing focus halfway through. The book was clearly building up to something significant, but the slow pace made me doubt if it would ever reach that point. I felt that Ros was unaware of what was happening with Sophie, which bothered me. The ending had a satisfying twist, although I had my suspicions about some aspects of it.

The narration was good and managed to hold my attention during the slower parts.

I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen and review this audiobook.

The Mother at Number 5
by Jill Childs, narrated by Charlie Norfolk

Poor Ros, things are coming at her from all directions and it all started when she agree to a "girl's night out" when she was on vacation with her husband and kids. Apparently, lacking any willpower to say no to a stranger she just met, she allowed Lotte to push booze on her in a nightclub hot spot and then...what, what happened next? Maybe some oversharing by Ros and...men? All Ros is sure of is that she awoke naked, in her hotel room bed, with a huge hangover and her husband trying to keep the kids quiet.

Back home, Ros wants to put that vacation behind her. Thank goodness she'll never see Lotte again, What was she thinking? But, oops, at the first day back to school for Ros's daughters, there is Lotte, having enrolled her daughter in the class of Ros's youngest.

Ros can hardly broach the subject with her husband because he considers her overly paranoid due to some incident years ago where what she said caused a world of trouble. Still, Lotte hints at things that almost sound like threats. And Lotte inserts herself into all parts of Ros's life. Something is very wrong here and, for some reason, Ros's business that she is just getting started has begun to falter with no one calling or returning calls.

I enjoyed Charlie Norfolk's narration and I also enjoyed the fact that even though the story starts from the POV of Ros, eventually we get the POV of Lotte, too. For all of Ros's inability to keep things on an even keel, she is not going to let Lotte destroy her family. The scary thing is that it's hard to figure out what is really going on, who is to blame for what, and how Ros will ever undo what has been done.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Mother at Number 5, by Jill Childs.

When Ros and her family go on holiday, they meet Lotte, a single Mum on holiday with her daughter, at the same resort.

Lotte invites Ros for a girl’s night out, and the two women get very drunk. The following morning Ros is unsure of how much she told Lotte about her life, and whether she said too much…

A few weeks later, Lotte appears at the school gates; not only has she moved to the same town as Ros and her family, she has enrolled her daughter in the same school and rented a house, just around the corner. Assuring Ros that her secret is safe, Lotte is a chilling presence in Ros’s life. Surely it’s more than a coincidence that the woman she met on holiday is now here?

This book gripped me from the outset, there are several “heart in your mouth” moments, as Ros and Lotte‘s stories intertwine with an explosive finale and more twists than a pretzel!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

3.75-4 stars

This book started out as a quick and fairly typical domestic thriller. Although it’s revealed closer to the end that the story actually touches on some heavier topics, it’s a mix of lighthearted and suspenseful until that point, and I was grimly satisfied with the conclusion. It was a nice, quick read.

While reading this story, I had to laugh once I was deep into the plot because Ros (the main character) kept telling the other characters that Lottie was NOT her friend! I felt her rage. Without giving away spoilers, this story is about a woman named Ros and another named Lottie who meet on vacation with their daughters. Lottie convinces Ros to have a girls' night out where alcoholic drinks were involved leaving Ros waking up the next day not remembering the end of the night. Ros thinks that she’ll never see Lottie again, but fast forward, Lottie and her daughter move to Ros’ neighborhood, where all the chaos begins. I enjoyed the plot twist of thinking one thing about multiple characters and then learning things that changed my mind. This is the beauty of mystery/thriller books that I love. I would warn readers that the book has a few triggering themes. This is the first time I’ve read a novel by Jill Childs and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for an ARC of this audiobook. Just FYI - the person reading the audiobook has a British accent. It will be released on 21 June 2023 and I recommend getting a copy!

Thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture Audio for allowing me to review the audio book The mother at number 5 by Jill Childs.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters had good depth. For once, a thriller that I didn’t work out the ending!!

This was a fun read.

Throughout the book, there was plenty of twists and turns to keep this thriller enticing. I felt on the edge of my seat and could not stop listening.

I am looking forward to reading more work by Jill Childs very soon.

Thank you NetGalley, Jill Childs, and Bookouture Audio for allowing me the chance to enjoy this ALC.

The Mother at Number 5 by Jill Childs had me completely hooked from the very beginning. This gripping audiobook had me on the edge of my seat, eager to unravel the secrets that unfolded within its pages. The narration by Charlie Norfolk added an extra layer of brilliance to the story, making the audio version highly recommended.

Ros and Adam's vacation takes an unexpected turn when they meet Lotte, a woman who quickly becomes entangled in their lives. After a night of revelry and too many drinks, Ros confides in Lotte, revealing a dark secret she never intended to share. Little does Ros know that Lotte will soon become her new neighbor, infiltrating her perfect little town and threatening to destroy everything she holds dear.

The Mother at Number 5 is a masterful psychological thriller that keeps you guessing with its twists and turns. While the story starts off at a slower pace, it quickly gains momentum, building tension and suspense with each chapter. I found myself completely engrossed, eager to uncover the truth and discover the lengths Ros would go to protect her family and her secret.

If you're a fan of books like The Girl on the Train or The Housemaid, you'll be captivated by this gripping tale of family secrets, guilt, and lies. Prepare to gasp out loud at the shocking twists that await you in The Mother at Number 5.

This is the first Jill Child’s book that I have ever read and I loved it! I could not believe it when the mother at number 5 moved in! I was tense the whole time I was listening, I was stressed out trying to figure out what the motive was…I never did figure it out. I was shocked at the end.

Thanks NetGalley for thé free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I’m in between with this book. The beginning didn’t hook me- Roz meets Lottie on vacation and they have a girls night out with drinks. I thought I missed the secrets that were spilled at this outing, so when they were alluded to throughout the novel I ignored it, assuming we (the readers) knew.

While the end of this book was a decent surprise and there were well put together plot moments, it had more moments where I was wondering “what’s the purpose of this?” I didn’t feel the main characters and maybe that’s why I couldn’t understand the level of anger that Roz and Adam had.

Overall, the book was fine though. I kept listening instead of closing it to move on because I did want to know the ending.