Book review: The Mother’s Mistake by Ruth Heald

I was in the mood for a proper psychological thriller so was thrilled to get my hands on this one.

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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, it’s a different story.

And when a threatening note is posted through her letterbox, saying she doesn’t deserve her daughter, it’s clear that someone knows… 

Someone knows that Claire doesn’t deserve her perfect life. Someone’s going to make sure of it.

My review

I was immediately hooked by the setup with Claire moving into a house belonging to her husband’s family and the claustrophobic tension as she tries to assert her independence from her difficult and domineering mother-in-law. It reminded me of Philippa Gregory’s The Little House and I already felt I was in for a treat. As the story unfolds she becomes increasingly isolated and unsure of her own sanity.

I thought the characters were brilliantly drawn, especially the mother-in-law. From the beginning it’s hard to know who to trust. One person in particular was obviously not what they seemed but I had to keep turning the pages to find out what their motivation was. I was also intrigued by Claire’s past and desperate to find out what it was she’d done.

Trust, deceit and betrayal are at the heart of the story.

Suspense builds throughout, there are twists aplenty and lots of angst and paranoia. So it absolutely delivers as a psychological thriller and I can’t wait to read more books by this author.

The Mother’s Mistake is published by Bookouture and is available in kindle and audiobook formats.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the book. My review is my unbiased opinion.