3.5 rounded to 4

This is one of those books where I thought I figured it out, then the author would send another fork in the road to make sure I'm always on the edge of my seat. I think this was a good book.
A lot of thrillers don't really hook me on. I had a bit of difficulty reading this, but I 100% recommend it to other people. Some books just aren't for everyone.

The Better Mother is a story about an unexpected love child coming in and causing distrust in a seemingly perfect marriage. The story is told from two points of view, the wife and her new stepson (both of whom are annoyingly repetitive). This book was fairly predictable as it kept playing out the same theme over and over, but the plot twist really did save it. It was very unexpected, though maybe rushed? Didn't hate it, not my favorite, but it was something that made me want to finish it.

Life can change in a blonk of an eye and everyine has a different perspective on it. This is the story of zoe who is hppily married to Ethan with their daighter Anna but one night a 13 year old boy Micha turns up saying his mother is missing and Ethan is his father. Zoe takes him without hesitation. .
This then deals with their relationship and perceptive of each other and the situation. At times the chapters are predictable and the story xa little drawn out. The final twist made it worthwhile and you could see why it was written that way. The title and burb set up the reader gor a fab 4 star read.
Im hoping a sequel in on the cards. Thank you netgallery and publisher and author fir thus cracking reading

This was diabolical, fast, twisted and a real mind F! Emily is such a fantastic story teller. I loved this book from start to finish and can't wait for more from her.

The queen of revenge plots, Emily Shiner (favorite author), returns following The Wife in the Photo and The Hotel with her sixteenth novel, THE BETTER MOTHER. Unsettling and darkly sublime, the author deftly explores twisted family dynamics and devastating secrets in suburbia.

Zoe (stay-at-home mom), Ethan (Dr.) Steele and their preschool daughter, Anna, are happy and a seemingly perfect family. What could go wrong? Then, her husband gets a late-night phone call. Wrong number, he says.

Then, a thirteen-year-old boy, Micah, shows up at their door. He says he is Ethan's son. He looks like him. He informs them his biological mother, Rita, is a drug addict and has gone missing. Zoe is compassionate and invites him into their home.

He soon begins to call her mom and constantly looks at her; she finds photos of herself on his computer before he moves into their home. Was he stalking her? Will she be a better mother than the one he has now?

Strange things begin happening, and she is not sure she likes him spending so much time with Anna.

Then, on the news, his mother, Rita, is found dead. Is Micah a killer? Who has she invited into their home? She finds clues. Ethan says they do not know what terrible things he has lived through.

Ethan can protect Micah, but the only one Zoe is protecting is Anna. She must get Micah out of their house and prove he killed Rita, his biological mother.

However, nothing is as it appears. What happened to Rita, and who is the murderer? Is Micah innocent? Will he be her savior or her killer?

Shiner keeps the reader in suspense throughout with a final jaw-dropping twist with an exploration of nature vs. nurture. A domestic suspense that peels back the veneer of suburban perfection to expose the decay beneath.

THE BETTER MOTHER entertains and chills! This twisty, addictively thrilling domestic suspense novel about a perfect family’s perfect façade will keep you turning pages until its explosive ending. I highly recommend Emily Shiner's books!

Thanks to Inkubator Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4.5 Stars rounded to 5
Pub Date: Oct 22, 2023
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Thanks to #NetGalley and #InkubatorBooks for the ARC #TheBetterMother by #EmilyShiner. This book blew me away with deception, murder and lies. I am really hoping there will be a sequel to this book.

The Better Mother by Emily Shiner is a fast-paced read that had me gripped from the very first page.

Zoe is enjoying life with her surgeon husband, Ethan, and adorable three year old daughter, Anna, when a knock at the door will set her world spinning on its axis. Micah, a thirteen year old boy, claims to be Ethan's son, and their features are similar enough that Zoe has no doubt. Inviting the boy into her home seems like the only conscionable thing to do after he tells them that his mother has gone missing. But as Micah quickly infiltrates himself into the family, Zoe questions the logic of accepting him at face value.

This is a page-turner that I devoured in a single afternoon. I felt myself being fully absorbed into Zoe's apprehension, and had almost a parallel reaction to Micah's behaviour. If you are new to the work of Emily Shiner, this latest is the perfect place to start.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an ARC.

I really enjoyed the delivery of this book even tho it was quite predictable. The husband in this book was super annoying and I think a lot of people feel the same way. This book was a quick interesting read. It kept me turning the pages and I did not see the twist in the epilogue coming. Overall a good read.

Thank you to Inkubator Books and NetGalley for the arc copy of this book in return for my honest review

Zoe and Ethan are living the perfect lift with their young daughter, Anna. During dinner one night the doorbell rings and when Zoe answers the door she cannot believe what she sees. The teenage boy standing in front of her looks just like her husband. How did he have a son she didn't know about? He has shown up because his mother has disappeared and he didn't know where else to go so they bring him into their home. As days move on, Zoe starts to question if this was the right thing to do because she is noticing Micah doing weird things. She starts to question what really happened to his mother, could he have been the one to murder her? What has Zoe gotten herself into and how can she protect her daughter?

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for my ARC!

What a wild read!! Thank you Netgalley, Inkubator Books, and Emily Shiner for this crazy read!! I was able to guess the twist but it still worth the read and just so crazy! I love when a character gets under my skin and it was just like that towards the husband in this book! I couldn’t believe the other twist in the ending though!!

3.5 ⭐️

Zoe Steele seemingly has the perfect life. She is a stay-at-home mom to daughter, Anna and is married to the illustrious Dr. Ethan Steele. Her world is suddenly turned upside-down when a 13-year-old boy shows up at her door claiming to be her husband's long lost son. The boy - Micah - tells Zoe and Ethan that his biological mother is a drug addict and has gone missing. Zoe prides herself on being a caring person and agrees to take the boy in to their home.

But she soon finds herself uneasy around Micah. He calls her "mom" almost immediately and she notices him sneaking around the house and watching her. She also finds a cache of photos of herself on his computer, photos he saved long before he moved into their home. Then the news comes that Micah's mother has been found dead. Have Zoe and her husband just invited a killer in into their home?

This story is told from the POV of both Zoe and Micah. Zoe is maddeningly ignorant, which makes for a slightly frustrating read at times. It was also pretty obvious who the culprit was from about 25% through the book, but it was overall a quick, interesting read.

Thank you to Inkubator and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Better Mother by Emily Shiner is impossible to put down. Zoe is happily married to Ethan, and they are enjoying life as parents to Anna, when out of nowhere, a teenager appears alleging to be Ethan’s son. Micah shows up on the doorstep of Anna and Ethan’s grand house, with just a bookbag and the clothes on his back. His resemblance to Ethan is uncanny and cannot be argued. Zoe feels compassionate toward Micah and invites him to live with them as his mother is missing. However, Zoe gets more than she bargains for, as she begins to question how Micah’s mother disappeared and begins to wonder if Micah had something to do with it. Micah seems to integrate quickly, perhaps too quickly into living with Zoe, Ethan, and Anna. This has Zoe concerned, very concerned. It was an easy to read book, with a twist at the end. I wish that I would have seen even more character development of Ethan and wish that the epilogue would have shared more details. Other than that, this book was a top psychological thriller and was quite enjoyable and a quick, easy read that I didn’t want to put down. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Dark, Twisty and disturbing! Yes, you would expect these to be the theme of the book but it wouldn't be the darkness or the twist you would expect. A few actions mentioned seemingly normal would still make your skin crawl. What seems to be good decision actually comes back to haunt the protagonist. Highly Recommend!

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for t he ARC. The publication date is the 22nd Oct 2023, Wow Emily Shiner does it again what a fantastic, fast-paced page turner of a book! It was a great domestic suspenseful book and had an engaging plot.

I was hooked from the prologue and this kept me reading well into the night! My favourite character was Micah the disclosure at the end about Micah was brilliant. I did not see that coming and wow what an ending!

Overall, a brilliant book that was well written and likeable characters.

She just wanted to help...now she may have a killer in her home...

A fast paced entertaining quick read and my new favourite by Emily Shiner. While some of her books have been hit and miss with me, this has got to be one of her best. It is fast paced with short snappy chapters and a simple storyline that holds your attention throughout. It may be a tad predictable but it certainly didn't ruin my enjoyment. I loved every minute of this quick read which I devoured in a matter of hours.

Zoe lives a happy life with handsome surgeon husband Ethan and their three year old hurricane Anna. Their lives are perfect...until one day a knock on the door changes everything. As soon as Zoe opens the door, she could see the teenager standing on her porch was her husband's son. There was no denying the similarities between them. What was she to do? She let him in and welcomed him into her home.

Thirteen year old Micah has had a very different life to the one he's just walked into. His drug addict mother would disappear for days on end, returning when her money ran out. But this time was different. She's been gone a week without a word and the power has been cut off. Micah had no choice but to seek out the father she had told him about and see if he would take him in...even for a short while. At least until they found his mother.

Ethan is shocked to see the boy who is clearly his son. But he knows nothing about his life and if he poses a danger to the carefully curated life he has created with Zoe, or their little daughter. But Zoe is kind and compassionate and refuses to turn her back on the child who so clearly needs to be take care of. But to Ethan, he's a stranger. Does he want him here?

It isn't long before little things begin to happen that are a little creepy, if not odd. A missing photograph later reappearing as a crafted photo-chop of Micah and his mother. Rita, his biological mother? Or Zoe, his new mother? A carefully curated collection of photos of Zoe on his laptop sends her into a tailspin. Micah is not what he appears. Why was he stalking Zoe? And what is he hiding?

When Micah's mother Rita is found dead, Zoe's heart goes out to the boy despite her growing fears about him. But does he know more about his mother's murder than he is letting on? His disturbing activities lead her to suspect this to be the case leaving her feeling torn between her committment to Ethan and her family and the realisation she has made a grave mistake in letting this child into her home.

This tale is both heartbreaking and disturbing. I felt for Micah and sympathised with his situation and yet there was also that nagging doubt as to his guilt. But of what? The further you delve into this story the more it reveals. It's shocking in a sense and yet it isn't because of its predictability. But I still lapped up every word of every page because for me it's the entertainment factor. And I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish, though I figured out the twist almost from the start it wasn't hard to, but it was still an addictive and captivating tale.

And then there was that nice little sting in the tale twist at the end...

I would like to thank #EmilyShiner, #Netgalley and #InkubatorBooks for an ARC of #TheBetterMother in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

The Better Mother really surprised me - the twists and turns I did not see coming and Emily had me on the edge of my seat in every chapter! I read this within a day I was so hooked!

The Better Mother was the first book that I have read by Emily Shiner. I really liked this book, but it did fall short. I liked the build up through out the book and that I couldn't put it down. I read this book in less than a week. One of the big things that I didn't like about this book was the ending. It felt a little rushed and it wasn't what I was expecting. I do with that it ended diffeently because it did feel like other books that I have read before. I would have to say that I may give Emily Shiner another chance in the future

A good read if you’re in the mood for an easy domestic thriller. Ethan and Zoe are living a life of domestic bliss with their young daughter until one day a teenage boy turns up on their doorstep and explains that he is Ethan’s son from an old relationship. His mother had never told Ethan she was pregnant and she had recently disappeared. They take the boy in and Zoe is keen to be a good mother to him, until things start happening that make her question what actually happened to the boy’s mother…

An easy and enjoyable read.

The arrival of Micah, Ethan's son, at their doorstep, disrupting Zoe's and Ethan's idyllic world of a picture-perfect family. Despite Zoe's sense of betrayal, Ethan was completely unaware of his son. Zoe invites Micah into her home, even though she has conflicting feelings and Ethan is uncertain.

It becomes apparent early on that Micah is not quite right. Despite its predictability, I couldn't help but find it addictive. I found the characters to be well-developed, the pace to be steady, and overall, I really enjoyed this book.

Emily Shiner is making her way up my favorite author's list at a fast pace.

This was a fantastic psychological thriller which kept me gripped throughout. It was told in a dual point of view which I always loved and I think it helps build the suspense. It had me guessing throughout and I really didn’t know how it was going to end and wow; the end was so good.

Highly recommended.

I wanted so much to like this book as I previously read an arc by Emily Shiner and loved it. This one however just missed the mark for me.
It was just sometimes so unbelievable. For instance, the police are just not going to really investigate a child showing up on his dad's doorstep with no real proof of paternity? They just say ok, you can have him with no questions asked? And saying things like...well maybe he never learned his address? Also the school isn't going to have information on Rita? Zoe nor Ethan asked the school anything? They just took Zoe as his mom and said sure take him home with you.

Just so unrealistic. Had such great potential but fell flat for me.