The Mother’s Mistake by Ruth Heald

Published:  June 11, 2019 by Bookouture 

Dates Read:  June 9, 2019 

Genre/Category:  Psychological Thrillers  

Read For:   ARC from Netgalley for Review 

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

5   stars 

 

   

OMG   Why is this book NOT all over the internet right now?   Psychological thrillers are so extremely popular, I’m shocked this one didn’t pop up in my radar long before its publication date.  Ruth Heald may not be a household name, but it will be after this book.    

This is the story about Claire, married, new baby, trying to get away from the city, trying to get away from the terrible mistake she made years ago that continues to haunt her. She and her husband decide to go live in the country at her in-laws, where they own a cottage on their property.  But once Claire gets there, she doesn’t feel the freedom that she longed for, she feels like someone is watching her and that someone is intentionally moving things around in the cottage.  When a note is passed through her mail slot saying that she doesn’t deserve her daughter, Claire’s feels like her past has caught up with her, and she has nowhere to turn.  With a husband who is never home while setting up a new business, and a mother in law who is extremely judgmental, Claire has no one she can trust, and nobody seems to believe her.   

This book was amazing from page one, as soon as you start, you will not be able to put it down because it draws you in so fast.  It’s extremely fast paced, and I was able to read it in one sitting.  (Part of that was because it was so good, I was completely consumed). There is an alternate voice in the story, approximately every other chapter, and it doesn’t tell you the same story as Claire.  In fact, the alternate voice is telling you a completely different story, and you will spend the entire novel trying to figure out who this person is and how these two tales intertwine.  I will tell you right now, you won’t find out until the end, and when you do, you will never have seen it coming.  

 I try so hard with every psychological thriller to figure out who the culprit is before I reach the story’s ending.  I will be honest; I had a really good idea who the “bad guy” was and I know most of you will as well.  Trust me, having this knowledge does not affect the book at all, because having an idea of WHO this person is; is very different than knowing the WHY.   At no point in this novel will you figure out the WHY until the very end.  This one was a stumper; I just couldn’t put it all together, but that’s because you really don’t find out all the facts until you finish the book.   

The premise behind this story is brilliant.  What Ruth Heald did, and how she was able to form a story around these characters while leaving out such simple details about them was amazing. You don’t even notice until the end, when everything comes together, that there were certain things and details that we just normally overlooked and accepted as ok, until we become aware of them.   (I would be more specific, but in doing so, I would point out said details, and then you it may spoil things for you).  Probably one of the best things about this novel is that it takes the direction of your typical psychological thriller story-line, but ends in a completely unexpected twist that you could not have possibly imagined, truly a shocker.  At this point you realize how much thought really went into creating this story, because the backstory is so unique. The suspense in this one is gripping. I can’t say much more about it without telling you the entire awesome story and ruining it for you.  What a brilliant debut for this author.   It’s not easy for me to give out 5 stars, I am extremely stingy, but The Mother’s Mistake deserves them.  I hope Ruth Heald has more like this in her, because I will be first in line for the next one.  

Thank You so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of The Mother’s Mistake for an unbiased and honest review.