I think when I initially downloaded this book, I thought it would more of a "based on a true story" style fiction book. The fact that is presents the facts of several real-life incidents is heartbreaking. Very well written

This book was wonderful. So informative yet so personal with the case studies and I loved the introduction by the author. Made me want to go read her fiction book to determine what was fact, part of her real life, and what was fiction. These case studies in this book were so intriguing. Very sad and heartbreaking at times, but very interesting. As someone who studied psychology with a degree, the study of why people do what they do and seeing how they do them deliberately is very interesting to read about. I'm talking about this book to everyone because it truly is so fascinating why people would do what they do to themselves and to those they love.

I was given this book as a complimentary copy from netgalley. I chose to write a review and all opinions are my honest feelings.

WOW! This was a mind blowing read and I’m familiar with MBP and FD! It was so well written and organized, I couldn’t put it down. I’d definitely recommend this if you’re interested into Munchausen Syndrome or MBP. It’s wild to me that moms like this exist, but I’ve seen investigations in my career in pediatric healthcare and seen it happen in front of my face. The motivation of attention is a huge one. Everyone wants to feel seen and valued, these moms just take it way too far. Brilliantly done, definitely read this book!

I received a free copy of, The Mother Next Door, by Andrea Dunlop, Mike Weber, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Munchausen by Proxy has always fascinated me, mothers are supposed to protect their children, not make them sick. This book has 3 mothers: Mary Welch, Hope Ybarra and, Brittan Phelps, mothers who were supposed to take care of their children, not make them sick. This was an interesting and horrifying read.

Such a great book!!!! I was so hooked on this book that I read it in one day! I couldn’t put it down. So intriguing yet sad reading about what these parents tried to get away with and shocking that the detective mentioned how prevalent it was. It wasn’t to heavy on medical terms and jargon but the right balance to convey what the parents did.

I was very intrigued to read this book because it is all about Munchausen by proxy which is something that I haven't heard a lot about besides one famous case (which is referenced in this novel). This was a nonfiction account of the disorder however it read like a fiction novel, very fast paced and a nice flow not different stories that don't fit together. This made for what was, and is, a very sad, and serious topic to be a little bit easier to digest for the reader because it wasn't all dark. The book is told through a woman's eyes but she also goes on to tell about three different women's who had gone through this in one form or another and what their stories were. I love how it was done like that because it gave so much detail on such a depressing topic but it felt very informative. The three cases that are discussed in this book were very different but all boiled down to the same subject. It was fascinating to see how these women deceived so many people, friends, families, doctors and who are you to question a woman with a sick child? It breaks my heart for the children and families suffering. This was such a sad book however it was very informative and I found that we were able to get all of the information without becoming overwhelmed by it. I highly recommend this book to anyone in a medical field but also to any parent or family members of parents, it could give you the information that you need to help someone in need. Great read and while it was sad to have this topic even discussed I'm very glad that I got the chance to check out this book.

I received a copy of this audiobook via NetGalley. This is an incredibly eye opening and informative book. Although true stories, it read like fiction (in a good way!). I wish it were fiction, because the idea of children going through things like that are horrific to consider. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

A very informative and eye-opening book about Munchausen by proxy, a very twisted and psychopathic form of child abuse (not that any form of child abuse isn't psychopathic!) The author provides us insight into three cases where mothers themselves were horrifically abusing their children. By fooling doctors into providing unnecessary and even life-threatening medical procedures to their little children just so these women can garner sympathies and praise from the people around them.
The most shocking aspect of this book is how easily these women exploit doctors and at times even the "justice system" to go scott-free and live as normal people in society.
I would have appreciated the author's backstory too given how many times she keeps referencing without elaborating anything and assumes the reader already knows or maybe that's a tactic to get readers to but her previous books.
Overall a very informative and thought-provoking read about the dangers of overlooking smaller red flags in the medical profession that could very easily prove lethal for a helpless child.
Thank you to the publisher for this ARC in return for a review!

Wow. MBP I believe came to the forefront of people's minds with the story of Gypsy Rose. Little to people know how often cases of medical abuse happen. This book delves into 3 different stories of MBP and each one is unbelievable. It's just shocking how these mothers are able to deceive, and the difficulty of getting people to see the whole truth is so difficult. This was a very educational book that kept you turning the pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for gifting me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A horrifying and illuminating non-fiction narrative of 3 cases of Munchausen by proxy written by an investigator and an author whose own family had been rocked by MBP. I like that the authors treated the child victims with such respect and it was encouraging to know that these kids can grow up to live healthy normal lives if there's successful intervention. This was not an easy read. It is never easy to read about kids being harmed, especially by their own mother. That said, I could not put this down -- largely because it was written with such compassion and I wanted to know how each kid made out in the end. The authors make a good point that women are just as capable of evil as men are, but our preset ideas of "mother" can get in the way of acknowledging a crime, even when it's happening in front of our nose.

Thank you to NetGalley, Andrea Dunlop, Mike Weber and the publisher for the ARC and opportunity to review this book.

I gave it 3 stars because the fact that it is non-fiction and the authors were able to bring this disorder to light was well done. I found that it was overly repetitive in many sections which led to less interest in finishing it.

I have to be honest and say that I was very let down by the fact that the author referenced her own family and this disorder many times but never actually told readers what happened in her family. To assume that readers know her family history should never be done by an author. Many of us love to step out of the box and read new authors. I generally never read non-fiction so I had no idea who she was or what happened to her family.

While it was a good read, it lacked in my opinion. I feel like it was really just ‘notes’ about cases on the disorder and it didn’t flow nicely from one family to the next.

It felt more like a case study in a textbook.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is an important book that I hope finds a wide readership. The authors have done an exceptional job of making this phenomenon come alive for the reader. The three families illustrated provide a compelling look into this incomprehensible form of child abuse. Dunlop and Weber provide an effective level of detail without overwhelming the reader. Highly recommened.

While I found the cases in this book to be fascinating, and I did enjoy the pacing, I could not give a higher rating for this one...

The author references things that happened in her own life and in here own family. However, she never actually explains what the events were that occurred. Every time they are referenced, it reads like the reader is just supposed to know already. An author should NEVER assume that a reader is already familiar with them or their previous works but it's very obvious that this author did exactly that.

There are times when I found the book to be a bit repetitive, going over the same evidence over and over.

I also felt like there were several instances where the author spends a lot of time talking about things that just didn't feel relevant to the cases.

At one point while talking about the Mary Welch case, the author says that Gabriel's test for autism came back "negative". This is not even remotely how tests for autism work. There is no negative or positive. It is a scored test where a psychology reviews the responses and gives an overall score (a number) that tells the psychologist where on the spectrum a person falls. This alone cost major credibility points with me.

Told from the perspective of a person who has a close family member who was the victim of Munchausen by proxy, this book looks at three cases of child medical abuse. The author helps a layperson understand how a parent is able to deceive medical professionals, through lies about their educational and professional backgrounds and false reporting of events and symptoms in their children’s lives. An interesting and important read!

Wow what a tragically sad well written book. It's always so cringy to read about the horrible things that happen to kids let alone at the hands of their own parents

Riveting. My jaw dropped several times. Dunlop's story-telling is comprehensive while keeping a good pace. So often with criminal cases, authors will get wrapped up in the court proceedings, which unfortunately can make readers' eyes glaze over (much like a juror overwhelmed with legal jargon and repetitive questions).

Most importantly, we're brought into this niche area of the law where victims are extra vulnerable - children at the hands of their mothers. I will definitely be listening to Dunlap's podcast for more interviews and perspectives of those involved.

Such a good read. Great way to tell the story. Felt the respect of the authors when talking about the mother who did have a mental illness instead of just treating her as a villain.

This book is a deeply disturbing look at child medical abuse, which is often made salacious in dramatizations. It establishes patterns that parents (in the book's case, all mothers) display in the course of their abuse. The most hopeful thing is that this book does emphasize how the children who are freed from their abusers do go on to thrive. The stories are frequently jaw-dropping and horrifying, and it might send you into a bit of a spiral at the cruelty some people can stoop to. The author's position as a family member of someone investigated for medical abuse gave her an interesting level of distance from the subject-- neither intimately involved nor at such a remove that she can't see subtle effects. This is a good book and a quick read for anyone who wants to be clued into what to look for in these rare but devastating cases.

The book is about MBP. It's interesting to see how the cases come together but heartbreaking to read. The book drags in parts. It's crazy how many women suffer from it and how much they put their children through. It's hard to digest how many professionals fall for the mom's stories. Mary's mom was distressing to read about or relate too.

An easy understanding yet informative book on MBP. This book brings out a lot of emotions. Disbelief, righteous anger, inspiring and yearning for ways to help out.
Dunlop and Weber are a great team. Reading that cases sometimes can take years to solve is mind blowing. The confusion and thought provoking goes towards the committees who make the decisions. Because removal and protection of the child has to be immediate.
Thousands and thousands of paperwork, HIPPA, interviews.