Review: The Secret Mother

Title: The Secret Mother
Author: Shalini Boland
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Bookouture
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: November 9, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

‘Are you my mummy?’

Tessa Markham comes home to find a little boy in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children.

Not anymore.

She doesn’t know who the child is or how he got there.

After contacting the police, Tessa comes under suspicion for snatching the boy. She must fight to prove her innocence. But how can she convince everyone she’s not guilty when even those closest to her are questioning the truth? And when Tessa doesn’t even trust herself…

A chilling, unputdownable thriller with a dark twist that will take your breath away and make you wonder if you can ever trust anyone again. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, Girl on the Train and The Sister.

Review:

This is an awesome thriller. There have been so many great ones this year!

It reminds of The Girl on the Train. Tessa is an unreliable narrator. This makes us question if she actually did what she was accused of doing. It adds another layer of mystery to the novel.

I figured out the ending about halfway through the book. But it was still so exciting. There were some twists that made me doubt my theory. But I was right in the end.

One thing that could have improved the narrative, was if there weren’t so many rhetorical questions. Many chapters ended with a question, which was unnecessary. If they were removed, it would have made that final sentence stronger. Other than that, I liked the narrative.

I loved this book. I recommend it for thriller lovers!

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett