Description:
Everyone makes mistakes. But does everyone deserve to be forgiven?
She runs past the tinkling of children’s laughter that fills the park. Heart hammering, she reaches the riverbank, breath catching in her throat as her eyes take in the small body, tangled in the reeds, pale and lifeless.
Three years later.
Claire’s life is picture perfect. A new home in the countryside. A new-born baby. A doting husband by her side.
But behind closed doors, her life is falling apart.
And when a threatening note is posted through her letterbox, saying she doesn’t deserve her daughter, it’s clear that someone knows about her past…
Someone knows that Claire doesn’t deserve her perfect life. Someone’s going to do everything in their power to destroy it.
An atmospheric, chilling and absolutely unputdownable psychological thriller about a mother’s worst nightmare. Fans of K.L. Slater, Shalini Boland and The Girl on the Train will love the twists, turns and gasp-worthy shocks of this stunning debut from Ruth Heald.
My thoughts:
Wow! What a debut.
I can’t express how much I loved this psychological thriller. Perfectly paced, chillingly atmospheric, creepy, disturbing, disorientating – these are a few words which immediately come to mind when I think of The Mother’s Mistake.
We see adverts day in, day out, full of happy parents with their perfectly smiling babies. Babies don’t cry or smell in these adverts. Parents all look perfect, clean and happy. They don’t have baby sick in their hair – we’re sold an illusion. Having a baby is the most life changing act there is and it isn’t all rosy. Add to the mix, postnatal depression – a common condition that isn’t much spoken about, you know that this book is going to be a cracker. It tackles the subject with authenticity and sensitivity.
I felt Claire’s loneliness bearing down on me as the reader. I wanted to march over to that creepy little cottage and rescue her from her mother-in-law, the mountain of clutter and all her problems. Excellent read! One of my favourites this year. If you’re a psych thriller fan, this has to go on your list. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this one. Loved it!
By Carla Kovach – author of Amazon and iBooks bestseller, The Next Girl. 