‘A bad parody of a well thought out thriller.’ I saw this in one of the reviews and thought, yep, that’s exactly the right statement to summarise this whole book!

What I’m most annoyed about with this book is that it had so many reviews and such high ratings!! that were above.

Were we even reading the same book? This book was terrible. The characters and the dialogue were immature and underdeveloped.

The plot line was predictable and quite frankly, extremely boring. The whole story was totally unbelievable from start right through to finish and I found Anne-Marie‘s character infuriatingly naive.

I am a mother.
I would do anything for my daughter.
But I’m not an idiot.

Reviewers of crime fiction need not request this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Emily Shiner’s writing style is so easy-breezy, it’s like a warm cup of coffee that makes you feel comfortable while giving you strength to keep going. Have I said this before? Probably. Curiously part of this thriller is set at a diner.
This story leaves you wondering how far is too far to protect a son. Anne Marie goes too far IMO and you feel sorry for her. You pity her for not seeing the truth, but at the same time you understand her motives — she’s a single mother whose only child is her whole world.
A superb short book I raced through!

Quick, twisty read. How far would you go to protect your child? Even if you knew it was wrong? While none of the characters in this book were likable, in my opinion, it was fun to see who I could dislike more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Emily Shiner and Inkubator Books for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partne

Overall a good read, but somewhat predictable and slow at times, I felt it lacking, and the character of Anna frustrating!!

The Waitress was a quick, suspenseful read. Unfortunately, I found the storyline to be predictable and the protagonist, Anne Marie, to be insufferable. While Anne Marie is in a tough position throughout the novel, her choices and actions made little to no sense. I do not recommend this title.

A fun little novel, that should be enjoyed on a rainy day. How far would you go for your child? That is what this story is about. Whil e it is not the best book ever written, I still enjoyed it

I really wanted this book to work for me, but unfortunately it fell flat in a lot of ways. This is the most negative review I’ve ever written, and I feel awful, but there really was no avoiding it. Thankfully this was a short read, otherwise it would have taken me much longer to read the mere 234 pages than the endless 5 days it already took.

Right from the beginning I hated both characters. One is a massive worthless jerk (named Dave of all things, as a 16 year old) and the other is a walking doormat for said massive worthless jerk (who names their baby Dave anyway?). There’s really no redemption for either of them, they both just get worse right until the very end. The mom is whiny and makes excuse after excuse for this grown man terrorizing both her and the entire town just because he’s her baaabyyy boyyyy. He’s a murderer who just continues stepping up his murder game.

I found the twists predictable and lackluster. I knew both before they happened since the author hinted at them at every turn essentially shoving the answer down our throats. I feel like this book could have been much better if the characters had more depth and everything didn’t feel quite so rushed.

This is my second book by this author and the first was a 3 star read, so I feel like maybe this author isn’t for me, although I am reluctant to say that because she may wow me in the future. I’m not entirely giving up on her, but I will be more choosey in the future with her books.

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator, and the author for this ARC.
Publication date 12/3/23

Granted, this book is not a masterpiece but I definitely enjoyed it. As a mother of a son myself, this story captivated me. It was thought provoking and felt relatable. Yes, there are a lot of better thrillers out there but I had a good time reading this one.

Thank you netgalley and the publishing company for an advanced copy of the Waitress.

* well written story
* suspense
* Thriller
* Family
* Delinquent teenager

The cover is what drew me in for this book and as I was reading it I grow to feel f0r one of the main characters (The Mother), she does all she can and sacrifices so much but no mater what she does she always feels like she is failing and this pulled at my heartstrings since I believe no mother should feel such pain.... the events that you see follow in this book really have you routing for her and her son even tho her son is a Delinquent teenager with no respect for anyone or anything, but due to certain events the son is scared.

The mother in this story will do anything for her son, but in this book you have to ask uraelf how far is too far...... a mothers love has no bounds and we see that in this book - Don't try and come between a mother and her son because hell will be paid if u do.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for a copy of the ARC I received.

I’ll start by saying I LOVED the cover! It’s what drew me in and made me interested in the book. Now about the book…I was torn on 3.5-4⭐️. This wasn’t as much of what I’d call a thriller, maybe because it didn’t grab and hold my attention quite as much as some thrillers I normally read. But I did enjoy the book. I mean you have a main character that right out of the gate you feel like you can’t side with as who can say they like a mom that lets their kids get away with murder 😉. And then there is her son who is the epitome of spoiled, getting off the hook for every misdeed. The cover mentions a breakneck twist and I didn’t feel that it was there. All in all a good book, just not what I was hoping for.

Anne Marie’s life isn’t easy. She’s a single mom in a dead-end waitressing job with a beater car and bills to pay. Adding to the pressure, her teenage son, Dave, is out of control, and no matter what she does, Anne Marie can’t seem to get through to him.

I'm not a parent, so I can't speak to Anne Marie's feelings as a mom. But, boy, did I hate Dave and his shitty attitude. The mystery was solid and the prose was good, but it was hard to root for these characters.

What I enjoyed most about the The Waitress was observing how a down-and-out single mother's total denial of her son's violent and anti-social behaviors compels her to protect her son at any cost. Ann Marie Kerns refuses to see that her teenaged son, Dave, is not a good kid. Dave is cold and manipulating, and he uses his mother's blind love to his advantage. Whenever Dave suddenly starts acting "good," Ann Marie is convinced that he has changed. Whenever he reverts to his cruel and reckless ways, she is eternally optimistic that he can be good again. I found the dynamics between mother and son to be fascinating, although at the same time, I was frustrated with Ann Marie for refusing to see who her son really was.

Weaved into the unhealthy and flawed relationship between mother and son is an engrossing murder mystery, full of twists. This was a very quick read with a good amount of action to keep you page-turning. This was my first book by Emily Shiner, but I will definitely be reading more by her.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy!

This book was really thrilling. It gripped me so much that I couldn't put it down. It's easy to read, and the plot is very thought out. There were some parts that irritated me, but overall, this book was a pleasure to read. Look forward to reading more from this author.

This was not the best book I've read by this author. interesting story line though but too predictable. I was able to guess what was going to happen before it did.

Unfortunately, I found this to be a rather boring book for the most part. Nothing really happened until the end.

This book was a page turner. I could not put it down and kept wondering what the next page would reveal!

This book had an interesting premise but didn’t really do it for me. The plot was both predictable and unrealistic. The story centers on Anne-Marie, who is struggling with her teenage son, Dave, who keeps getting in trouble. Anne-Marie refuses to believe that Dave is anything but just a little misguided and she is committed to protecting him no matter what.

It was hard for me to get into this one because Anne-Marie’s unwillingness to see Dave as who he really is bordered on ridiculous. There were a few different major events that I just didn’t think were believable. Also, I figured out the big twist early in the book and didn’t really love that either.

Overall, this wasn’t really the book for me but hopefully others will have a better experience. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, it just was not for me. I found this quite predictable.
Ann Marie really thinks her son is perfect, until he commits an unforgivable crime, not once, but a few times. According to Anne Marie, her son Dave is just misunderstood. He has had a hard life and because he looks like an adult, he is treated as much. I feel others would enjoy this, it just wasn't my cup of tea, The writing was good, but it just didn't sit well for me as a police officers wife.

I really recommend this as an intense, anxiety ridden thriller - we follow from our main character point of view just trying to make ends meet and keep an eye on her troubled teenage son, a murder hit and run happens on her street and it turns out her son was driving the car.. what follows is a rollercoaster, it is a well written thriller which had me guessing to the very end and I really enjoyed it

Highly recommend to all

4 stars

I took a break from my Christmas romance books and read this thriller. I’m honestly impressed and truly enjoyed it! I guessed a couple twists but for this book it didn’t ruin anything for me! Can’t wait to read more by this author!