I've never read anything by this author before. But I'm already investigating her others. So that tells you alot about how much I enjoyed this book. It feels.a.great privalege to review these books. And even more so when you come across a new author to pour into.
This is a book packed with punch. Lots of emotion. Lots of family ties. Lots of need to protect. It all ramps how invested you are in the characters and the story. And I was following the increased inte situ with the writer as I desperately needed to know what was going to happen.
It so brought lots of thinking points. What would we do for those we love. And how? And who do you trust at that point in time.
There is a mother at the centre of this story. Who has already lost so much which if anything makes her more determined to save what she has left.
I wasn't sure who was on whose side for some of this. And if you ever can be all for one when you've got your "own" person to protect.

It was never my dream to clean the Levinsons’ mansion for a living, but since my daughter passed away, I’ll do anything to keep my family afloat. Helen Levinson is a mother like me, but that’s where the similarities end. I’ll keep her house spotless, but will I keep her secrets?! Good book! It was sad at times but still a good read! It had good suspense, mystery, murder, dark secrets, intrigue, and a few wild twists! The story was interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

How far would a mother go to protect her only child...?

Ed and Christine Carter are struggling financially, raising their only son Conor and paying for the care of Christine's mother who has dementia. Though Conor is their only child, they had a daughter Cora who they lost to meningitis twenty years before but the pain remains. A parent shouldn't have to bury their child. And so they have poured all their love into their remaining child as he follows his dreams to become a professional footballer.

And then one night, Conor and girlfriend Paris return from a night out and all is well until they see the news the following morning. And both are racked with worry and guilt and panic about what lay in store for them.

Christine is awoken by the young couple's frantic whispers and heads downstairs to investigate. The morning news is blaring from the TV about the murder of a young local man the night before, which only seems to sends Paris into even more wailing. Christine is shocked. She didn't even know Conor knew Paris Levinson, the 17 year old daughter of the affluent couple she cleans for to keep a roof over their heads and her mother in proper care. But that aside, the couple are frantic about something. And when she manages to get some semblence of sense from them, Christine pales. She calls for Ed. And then the doorbell rings. Everyone panics.

Enter Helen and Bryan Levinson. The rich wife and prominent MP who has his fingers in many pies. Why are they calling on them at their house at this hour on a Sunday morning? And how did they even know where they lived? But more than that, how are they going to keep their children from being charged with murder?

As the story unfolds, we see the parents bans together to cover up their childrens' involvement in the murder but it does get a little unhinged at times. Are they even on the same team?

With secrets and lies in abundance, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. Including in DCI Dan Riley's personal life concerning one of his own children. I love Riley and his team though I felt they didn't seem to feature quite as much as they have in previous books. But that's OK as I love Anna-Lou's style of blending the investigation with the lives of other characters involved in the story. However, this one is a little different than the others. I can't say how as that would be a spoiler but suffice to say that it's not tied up as neatly in the end as previous books or stories.

While it was entertaining throughout, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as all her previous ones which I believe were just phenomenal. I'm not sure what it was about this one that made it different but it just was. Well, there are a few key aspects that do make it different (none of which I can reveal) but on the whole, I'm not totally sure why. Even so, it was still relatively entertaining even if I didn't get all the answers at the end. Like...who was Bradley? And why did Cynthia keep insisting Christine had a sister? I know she had dementia, but as she featured as a key witness of sorts I kind of expected some of what she said to be explained at the end.

Overall, a fast paced entertaining thriller with a few unexpected twists along the way.

I would like to thank #AnnaLouWeatherley, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #WhatKindOfMother in exchange for an honest review.

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

This was my first read by Anna-Lou Weatherly and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will now be reading her other books about Detective Dan Riley.

What Kind Of Mother follows 2 families tied to a murder in their town and how far they will go to protect their own as Detective Dan Riley investigates. Corruption, scandals, and more secrets no one wants out are exposed as the investigation unfolds.

Twist after twist until the very end. I couldn't put this book down. It was an absolute page turner and I was hooked from the first word.

#WhatKindOfMother #Anna-LouWeatherly #NetGalley

What Kind of Mother
Two mothers would do anything to protect their teenagers as they admitted to accidentally killing someone.
Christine, Helen’s housekeeper, needs to uncover the truth about that night. In the meantime, Helen is becoming unstable.
Christine was my favorite character as she goes through so many stressful situations in order to protect her son from danger and to find out just what kind of mother she is!
Full of twists and turns with a surprise ending.

I clean house for Helen Levinson. Helen and her daughter, Paris are weirdly secretive about certain rooms in their mansion. Paris and my son Conor are shivering in my doorway, stating that they think they killed someone. Do Helen and I lie to keep the childern safe or go to the police?

I must save my family. I must discover what happened the night Conor and Paris showed up on my doorstep. I believe the answers are behind the locked door at the Levinson's mansion. What will I find behind that door. Thanks netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book! The twists were unexpected, and the fast pace kept me hooked from beginning to end. Although this is the eighth book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone, which was great for me since this is my first book by this author—but it definitely won’t be my last!

The story of two mothers trying to protect their children, each hiding dangerous secrets, was absolutely gripping. The suspense was intense, and I loved how the tension kept building. The characters felt real, especially the dynamic between the two mothers.

If you’re looking for a thrilling, well-crafted story full of twists, this book is definitely worth reading! Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Detective Dan Riley series never fails to impress me. Brilliant twists, excellent characters and pacy plot lines mean all of these books are my favourite.
I enjoyed the element of the corrupt MP and cop in this but I mainly enjoyed the fact it’s drawn together by a loving family. This was a brilliant read, thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley,

Wealthy people behaving badly sums this book up. “What Kind of Mother” is eighth in a series involving DCI Dan Riley, but it can read like a stand alone. This was a first read for me from author Anna-Lou Weatherley and it won’t be my last. DCI Dan Riley and his team were very likable so I would like to read more about him in previous books. This book kept me guessing from the beginning with a lot of twists and turns, but I did feel like some of them were a little far fetched and felt like they came out of left field.

Christine, who lost an infant daughter many years prior, will do anything to protect her remaining child, Conor. When he comes home with Paris, the daughter of a wealthy couple whose house Christine cleans, both covered in blood, she doesn't know what to think. But she will do anything, along with her husband Ed, to protect him. When Paris' parents suddenly become best friends with Christine and Ed, it baffles Christine and the police as well. But the two couples agree to dispose of their children's soiled clothing, and stick to a story of innocence.

This book had a number of unexpected twists and the suspense remained high throughout, with a satisfying conclusion. I would definitely read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Anna-Lou Weatherley does a fantastic job in writing this psychological thriller element that I was looking for. It had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed the elements in this. I was invested in what was happening with the characters and enjoyed going on this journey with the characters.

Terrified teens, a murdered man, secrets, lies, and a mother wanting to protect her child set the stage for What Kind of Mother! I found this book to be gripping, fast paced, and intense at times! I had no idea going into this book that it was the eighth book of a series. It worked perfectly as a stand-alone for me.


Christine and her husband Ed are shocked when their son Conor and her employer's daughter, Paris, woke then up with news that they may have killed someone. How far will a mother go to protect her child? When Paris' parents arrive, all the parents talk about what should be done.

What seemed like a simple tale of a mother will do to protect her child, turns into much, much more. This book kept me on my toes as more twits and revelations came into play. I loved that there was never any down time in this book. Secrets, lies, power, deviance, corruption, and drugs come into play.

This book had a nice amount of tension, dread, danger, and shocking twists that kept me fully invested and turning the pages! Whew! What a ride! I had no idea where this book was going but enjoyed the ride, the investigation, and a mother's quest to save her child.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Holy Cow Anna-Lou Where have you been throughout all of my Literature era?! I have never heard of this Author, and after finishing this book I have no idea how no one is talking about this woman!

Right from the get go this book takes off with the action and pretty much never stops, it seems every chapter there is a "What!?", "How!?", "Who!?" kind of jaw dropping plot twist! I usually have some sense of what is about to happen, some guess as who did what, Whose blackmailing who, but I COULD NEVER imagined half of this crazy fast paced thriller, like who thinks of these things!?

It felt like I was dropping my jaw again, right after just picking it up off the floor from the last chapter! I was racing through the pages and still couldn't get through this story fast enough to satisfy my brain! Imagine my surprise when I come to Goodreads to see if everyone else felt the same way I did about this book, to find out it's a WHOLE SERIES!? I absolutely love thriller series, and I just about never read them out of order but when i requested this book netgalley didn't say anything about it being the 8th book in a series, but turns out it's perfectly okay It reads perfectly fine as a stand alone book. You would have never known you missed anything, usually is the case with detective series, one case tends to have nothing to do with the other cases, which is great because Now i just found a new author to look forward to and some more books to seek out!! I am going to start collecting those to read after I get through my Netgalley approvals! This is the first book I was approved for so hopefully this means many more great things to look forward to, but it's going to be pretty hard to get this one off my mind!

Give it a read You WILL NOT be disappointed. I will leave you with a quote from this book that will sure to have you intrigued enough to check it out!

"It all started with a lie - an unwitting lie at that - and then one had followed right after the other, multiplying like lemmings until they'd taken over completely and become something else entirely."

Not sure about you but that would have had me curious for more, and that title!?!
What kind of mother what!? I need to know more! And Boyyyy did I get the more i was asking for!!

Name :- What Kind Of Mother
Author :- Anna Lou Weatherley
Genre :- Psychological Thriller
What Kind of Mother is a chilling domestic thriller that explores the moral dilemmas of parenthood, the weight of secrets, and the terrifying lengths parents will go to protect their children. With an intricate plot and morally complex characters, the novel delivers a suspenseful and emotionally charged narrative.
What I like :-
1 Moral Complexity: The central question—how far would you go to protect your child?—is woven seamlessly into the plot, making readers question what they might do in the same situation.
2 Tense Atmosphere: From the moment Christine discovers Conor and Paris covered in blood, the story plunges into a web of lies and escalating tension. The uncertainty surrounding each character’s motivations keeps the reader hooked.
What I didn't like :-
1 Pacing Issues: While the beginning is gripping, the middle sections occasionally lag, as Christine’s inner monologue and repetitive tension slow the momentum.
2 Underdeveloped Detective Riley: Although integral to the plot, Riley feels somewhat one-dimensional, and his investigation could have been explored in greater depth.
Overall :- What Kind of Mother is a gripping, emotional thriller that effectively captures the raw desperation of parents protecting their children. With its intricate web of lies and suspense, it offers a thought-provoking look at the consequences of morality, guilt, and deceit. While not without its flaws.
My Rating: 4/5

This book is apparently part of a series, which I did not know. It can definitely be read as a stand alone, though. It was well written and I liked the character development. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. I will definitely check out more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

I didn’t realize this was number eight in a series, but it did fine as a standalone book. It’s a dark twisty thriller with some really messed up characters! If you love thrillers, give this one a try.

Anna-Lou Weatherley delivers a gripping and twisted psychological thriller in What Kind of Mother. From the very first page, readers are plunged into a gripping mystery centered on a dead man and two teens who insist on their innocence, even as the evidence seems to suggest otherwise. The tension ramps up as the teens’ story unravels, leaving parents scrambling to protect their children while navigating the dark secrets that begin to surface.

What makes this novel so compelling is Weatherley’s ability to layer twists upon twists. Just when you think you’ve pieced together the truth, another shocking revelation emerges, keeping you hooked until the final page. The story dives deep into themes of family, loyalty, and the lengths people will go to protect their loved ones.

The characters—both the teens and the parents—are intricately developed, showcasing a mix of vulnerability, desperation, and resolve. Weatherley masterfully explores the dynamics between them, highlighting how even the most well-meaning actions can have devastating consequences.

What Kind of Mother is a rollercoaster of suspense, perfect for fans of complex psychological thrillers that keep you guessing. With its relentless twists and emotionally charged narrative, this book proves that in Weatherley’s world, nothing is ever as it seems.

Wow I loved this so much I didn’t want it to end but had to know how it was going to end so was on the edge of my seat throughout. It was my first book by Anna-Lou Weatherley and it definitely won’t be my last. I usually don’t like detective books as I find sometime it drags out but wow I was so impressed by this. It was a gripping read which I found really difficult to put down and I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this great book.

This book is an absolute page-turner! Anna-Lou Weatherley has written a psychological thriller that’s packed with tension, emotion, and jaw-dropping twists. The dynamic between the two mothers is intense and filled with moral dilemmas that kept me hooked.

The suspense builds perfectly, and I couldn’t stop wondering who to trust—or if anyone was telling the truth. The twists hit hard, and the emotional depth made it impossible to put down.

If you love thrillers with real heart and shocking secrets, What Kind of Mother is a must-read. Highly recommend! 🔥📖✨

Detective Dan Riley #8

A good mother will do all that she can to love an protect her child, even id she wouldn't morally do them. But not all mothers are doing just for their child, they are doing it to save face, hoping it will work out in their favour. But not every mother is a good mother.

How far would you go to protect your family, even if they might be responsible for someone's death?

This is one twisted story that's filled with secrets, lies, and red herrings. Detective Dan Riley and his team are4 back, doing what they do bet, solving intricate crimes.

Published 8th January 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #AnnaLouWeatherly for my ARC of #WhatKindOfMother in exchange fpr an honest review.