Another twisty masterpiece from Kathryn Croft - the title sums it up pretty well, it really is the tale of 2 mothers, friends who having been previously reunited through having infant daughters of the same age, who find themselves struggling to find their equilibrium following the tragic and untimely deaths of one of the daughters.

Holly, a journalist, is the mother of 3 year old Luna, she is married to Elijah and finds her work embroiled with her personal life as some of the stories she reports on involving Rachel (the other mother), a secondary school teacher in a local school. This novel starts with every parents worst nightmare - Holly goes to check on young Luna in the middle of the night, only to find that she has disappeared, presumably snatched ... what follows is so twisty and so thoroughly entertaining! Another great read from this author.


This is a well written , gripping story that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

A little girl goes missing. Was it her mom's best friend who took her while grieving her own daughter? A neighborhood is shattered by the kidnapping of a girl, who later is returned. Suspect after suspect.

I was surprised by the ending for sure! This book kept me reading without any slow moments. #netgalley

I found this a bit lacklustre, unfortunately. The plot was meandering and failed to grab my attention, and there were parts that just didn’t hold true. The good points are that I thought the characters of Damian and Rachel were well-written and well-rounded, however others felt two-dimensional.

Apologies not to be able to give this a better review, and with thanks to the publisher for providing access to this ARC in return for an honest review.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Two Mothers’ written by Kathryn Croft in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Holly and Elijah’s two-year-old daughter Luna is snatched from her bed. Holly’s best friend Rachel is there to support her despite losing her own daughter Evie in a car accident the year before. Luna is found wandering in a park two days later, dirty and traumatised, on the same day that Rachel’s husband Damien reports her missing. He hands Holly a grey cuddly lamb that’s Luna’s favourite toy saying that he found in his house. Holly can’t believe Rachel would take Luna but can’t think of any other explanation.

‘Two Mothers’ is a exciting thriller with two threads, a missing child and a woman who disappears, and a story that’s in two timescales told in alternate chapters by Holly and Rachel. The beginning of the story had me gripped but then slowed down and it wasn’t until I was three-quarters of the way through that the tension started to build up again. It’s a well-written thriller that’s cleverly thought out with unexpected twists and turns that lead to a conclusion full of action, drama and suspense and I’ve enjoyed reading it.

This one really intrigued me as I'll always read books about mothers.
This one is about two friends Rachel and Holly. Rachel's little girl died in a car accident and has been suffering since, then their lives and secrets become tangled when Holly's little girl Luna goes missing and then Rachel. All fingers are pointed at Rachel for taking Luna, but Holly will not believe that.
This was a page turner, and the more I read the more questions I had. One of the aspects of this read was I didn't find Oscar or Logan believable characters. They are young boys who both seemed far too mature for their age. They both understood thoughts and feelings which I believed far beyond their years and it didn't feel believable for me. I think as well the other characters didn't feel quite right but the storyline itself was interesting to me. Would be interested to read more from this author.

Waw, lle i ddechrau? Mae Kathryn Croft yn bendant yn gwybod sut i dynnu sylw’r darllenydd, doeddwn i ddim yn gallu rhoi hwn i lawr ac eisiau gwybod mwy wrth i bob pennod ddirwyn i ben! Dwy fam yn ffrindiau gorau, un wedi colli ei merch fach ac yn ceisio ymdopi â holl heriau ei bywyd wedi hynny, a’r llall yn magu ei merch fach hithau cyn iddi fynd ar goll un noson. Mae’r nofel yn llawn troeon annisgwyl gan adrodd yr hanes yn y presennol a’r gorffennol, a doeddwn i’n bendant ddim yn gallu dyfalu beth fyddai’n digwydd nesaf. Gwych, wir wedi mwynhau’r stori!


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Wow, where do I start? Kathryn Croft certainly knows how to capture a reader’s attention, I couldn’t put this one down and was desperate to know more as each chapter finished! Two mothers who are best friends, one who’s lost her daughter and tries to cope with the challenges of her life after the tragedy, the other raising her daughter before she disappears one night. This novel is full of unexpected twists and turns, with a dual timeline in the present and past, and I certainly couldn’t predict what would happen next! Excellent, I really enjoyed this one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I couldn’t put it down a real page turner as are all her books. Rachel and Holly are best friends both with a daughter one of them loses her daughter in a tragic accident and the other one her daughter is kidnapped but by whom, soon after the kidnapping Rachel goes missing.

It certainly keeps you guessing until the end definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC

This book was great! It was a bit slow at the start but it got very interesting. Two mothers who are friends both have daughters. One has been killed in an accident and the other has been kidnapped. Will the mothers turn on each other? Will their grief become too much? Will they find the missing girl? Definitely a book very worth reading!!

TWO MOTHERS by Kathryn Croft
⭐️ rating: 7/10

read if you like:
🧒 missing kids
🔥 slow burn mysteries
👯 multiple POV’s
⏰ time jumps

summary:
This book is about two best friends — Rachel, grieving the recent loss of her daughter alongside her husband and son, and Holly, whose daughter is kidnapped at the start of the book. Shortly after Holly’s daughter Luna returns home, unable to tell anyone where she had been or who took her, Rachel disappears. Does her disappearance having anything to do with Luna’s? Has Rachel’s grief overcome her in a way that she wanted to fill the void with her best friends daughter?

This book moves surprisingly slowly, with Luna returning home and Rachel disappearing in the opening pages, only for the mystery to carry on throughout the book. But what it lacks in speed, it makes up for in depth. Both women are incredibly interesting and deep, and hearing the story from their alternating POV’s before and after Rachel’s disappearance creates a complex web of truth and deceit. There is also a uniquely interesting dynamic between both women and their husbands that forces you to think about —- what makes a supportive partner? There is also a secondary storyline where Holly, a journalist, is chasing down a story about two teens in an alleged sexual assault claim. Ultimately the ending brings everything together in brilliant, satisfying AND surprising way.

Thanks to @bookouture and @netgalley for the advanced copy. Check out this book when it comes out on July 5!

Rachel and Holly are friends, who have little girls the same age. Rachel's daughter, Evie, was killed when she was hit by a car several month ago. Holly and her daughter, Luna, provide a sense of comfort and healing for Rachel. When Luna goes missing, everyone thinks that Rachel had something to do with it, until Rachel goes missing too.

I don't want to give too much away in my review. This one had me hooked. It is told from both Holly and Rachel's POVs. Holly's POV is the "now", while Rachels is the "before." At times having several perspectives in a book can be confusing, but in this case it worked very well. We are also introduced to the husbands and other secondary characters who make an impact in this book.

I am usually pretty good at figuring out who did it in these kinds of books, but in this particular one I failed. There were themes of mental health issues and domestic violence in this book and each theme lead me down a different path. In the end, I was shocked by who actually did it and the ending was good, but made me a bit sad. I just wish that it could have been a happier ending for everyone.

All in all, this was a great read and my first from this author. I will definitely be trying to get my hands on more of her work!

Thank you to NetGalley, Kathryn Croft and Bookouture for the ARC!!

I found this book somewhat slow albeit enjoyable once I got into it.

I found myself liking the lead female character Holly a great deal finding her character well developed and interesting- unfortunately the plot had a few holes.

Thank you Netgalley

Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and Bookoutune and the fantastic author Kathryn croft for an early copy of her book to read.

Another fantastic read from this author, this book is about friendship between Rachel and Holly they both have children the same age,Rachel is married to a brute of a man,her child dies it was a tragic accident,her husband blames her.A year later Holly daughter is taken it all leads to her friend Rachel..Holly is convinced she wouldnt take Luna..was it Rachel or someone else? Kathryn croft writes great psychological books keeps you guessing to the end..looking forward to reading her next book.a five star read.



This book will be reviewed on goodreads and Amazon uk.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me the opportunity of an early read of this 5 star domestic pschological thriller.
This was a story as the title suggests, about two mothers who experience terrible tradegies involving their young daughters and the fall out thereafter. Two best freinds, Holly and Rachel who both have professional careers, sadly are unaware that one of them is a victim of domestic abuse behind closed doors, which inevitably leads to extreme lengths of behaviour. The other has a husband who isn't faithful.
This book was a page turner from the start. The twist and turns were amazing, I didn't guess the ending!
A 5* read Publishing 5th July!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookoture, and Kathryn Croft for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

This was one long slow burn. I’m not a mother so maybe it didn’t resonate with me the same way it has others. This book felt like it took forever to get to the point. I wanted to put it down so many times. It took till about 60% completed to become slightly interesting.

There wasn’t many characters to keep track of so I’m thankful for that. However, the characters just weren’t interesting. They were all obnoxious in different ways.

There’s a lot of plot holes and unfinished storylines. I’m confused why Luna thinks Rachel is bad. What happened to Damien? And why was he never questioned? Why did we never learn about Rachel’s plan? I felt like it just ended abruptly with loose ends.

Overall, it was just ok. I wouldn’t say it was bad but it just lacked that level of thrill to keep me interested. It took me days to read this and normally I crush a book in a few hours.

This was a NetGalley ARC.

Great book! The story was a web of intrigue right from the start.

Reading from the perspective of both the mothers the story unfolded gradually and kept me guessing up to the end.
It’s a fast paced read and it was addictive once I’d started.

Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I felt a few of the storylines were left up in the air.

Loved it and would defo read more by this author

Two Mothers, written by Kathryn Croft, is a suspenseful story of two friends, ripped apart by tragedy. When Rachel’s daughter Evie is gone (vague to avoid spoilers), her life seems pointless. Her only reprise is visiting friend, Holly, and spending time with her daughter, Luna. But then Luna disappears- without a trace. Could Rachel be responsible? Is her grief so much that she took her friend’s daughter?

There’s a lot to unpack in this story, including background noise about other things happening in the character’s lives. When the story finally comes full circle- the reader is left shocked with the discovery. Two Mothers was an enjoyable read that questions how well we really know each other and the secrets in our lives.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

Thanks for the early copy of the book Netgalley. I would definitely reccomend this book. It had the perfect amount of suspense and intrigue. I read a lot of thrillers, and I really thought I had it figured out. They ending was such a shock. I also like that there were red herrings, but the ending was not completely implausible.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was very interesting and had a great twist. The story was drawn out a bit and I would have liked a more concrete ending, but all in all, it was a pretty good mystery. The only thing that bugged me was the questions after statements: "It isn't good for the kids, is it?" I think this was more of a difference in British and American speech.

**Also, the blurb for the book is told in first person. The story is told in third person, so I don't feel like they flow well together. Rachel never describes her feelings, actions, and thoughts. This is done by the narrator. The blurb should reflect the point of view used in the book.

This one totally captured my attention. Lots of interesting side characters, but the plight of the mother whose baby is stolen is so tragic and captivating. I kinda knew who took the child, but I missed the real villain in it all. Obviously not obvious, but definitely had me guessing. I will definitely keep reading more from the author. I enjoyed how the past and the present were illuminated, plus the use of phones and distractions kept me intrigued with so many different plot lines ultimately coming together in a smashing way. Looking forward to more books by the author.

This was a traditional psychological thriller which gave you little clues and red herrings throughout. Lots of twists and turns which made it hard to put down and Rachel and Holly are both written in a way which makes you want to root for them both. Time jumps help keep the action moving whilst explaining why things have happened. 4 stars for me as the ending was a bit meh in my opinion- I was hoping for a bit more twist to the story.

Kathryn delivers another amazing story.

This one starts out slower but the build and final reveal make it worth it. Love the different POVs and thr back and forth to the present and past.

Holly and Rachel are neighbors and good friends. When Rachel's daughter dies, Holly is there for her friend. But Rachel's grief is deeper than just losing her daughter, her marriage isn't what everyone thinks it is. Even Holly has no clue.

When Holly's daughter suddenly goes missing everything in Rachel and Holly's lives start to drastically fall apart.

Thank you Netgalley, for this ARC.