Title: A Mother’s Secret
Author: Tess Stimson
Published: May 2020, Avon
Format: Papberback, 416 pages
Source: Publisher
Summary:
Of course you trust your family…
But should you?
When every mother’s worst nightmare becomes Maddie’s reality, her
first instinct is to turn to those closest to her for support: her
loving husband, her brilliant children, her caring mother.
But as
the truth about what happened to her baby starts to emerge, Maddie
realises she can’t trust anyone. Not even her family. Not even herself.
A Mother’s Secret is a taut, twisting and unsettling story of loss and lies, perfect for readers of B.A. Paris and A.J. Finn.
My thoughts: Domestic thrillers have become one of my favorite sub-genres within the thriller genre and I feel that each one has it’s own unique quality to it that sets it apart – at least the ones I’ve read so far. And this one from Tess Stimson, a new-to-me author definitely fits that bill.
This is a dark and quite disturbing domestic thriller, yet it was one that once I started reading it, I could not put down. I needed to know what was going on and how it would all play out. While I had my guesses, I totally did not see that end coming – and I loved that. When you read as many thrillers as I do, you tend to predict how things will play out and I’m so glad I didn’t this time.
I loved how the book was told. We are introduced to Maddie right away, and most of the story is told from her perspective but we are also introduced to Lydia, a young child that has the most horrific upbringing. I was so curious as to what the connection between the two characters was and could not read fast enough to find out.
This book has characters that you will love to hate (my favorite kind) and characters that you will be immediately suspicious of. Each character has their secrets and while some are eventually revealed, it doesn’t make them look any less guilty. I immediately found myself rooting for Maddie as I felt she had no one in her corner.
This is such an addicting read, though at times, the subject matter can be a little tough to digest. I still recommend it as it was quite a thrilling read with plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing all the way through.
