#TheBadMother #AmandaBrooke #Review

THE BAD MOTHER 

Amanda Brooke

*My thanks to the publisher for an advance copy of this book via NetGalley*

That’s what he wants you to think…

A good mother doesn’t forget things.

A good mother isn’t a danger to herself.

A good mother isn’t a danger to her baby.

You want to be the good mother you dreamed you could be.

But you’re not. You’re the bad mother you were destined to become.

At least, that what he wants you to believe…

Well, I don't know who can resist a blurb like that! I couldn't that's for sure. I'm always drawn to titles like this, probably because sometimes motherhood can feel like one long battle against judgement and criticism so for me, this title and premise was a huge hook. 

When we meet Lucy she is pregnant with her first child. This immediately puts her at an extremely vulnerable point in her life. Not only is everything she knows set to change, which is immensely unsettling  in itself, but factor in personal issues from the past, a partner with a complicated background, raging hormones and the tension is automatically heightened. 

I think the real success of this book is in the characterisation. Brooke's ability to capture Lucy's fear, confusion and frustration is so well depicted and so well caught. It is never over written, never over played and never loses conviction. I enjoyed how her forgetfulness, oversights, mis-rememberings and apparent clumsiness filter in to the story - seemingly small things to start with that seem harmless and normal and then gradually becoming more worrying or threatening. The author has judged the pace of this novel very well and delivers the escalating drama with perfect timing, She has struck an enticing balance between the portrayal of a vulnerable woman who seems to be struggling to cope with her pregnancy while arousing the reader's suspicion that something darker is going on. For me, the best thing about this novel was how natural and real it felt. Everyone has had those moments when they have left the oven on, missed an appointment, mislaid keys or put a random item in the wrong place and Brooke's novel plays on this experience. She makes us question what would we do if this forgetfulness becomes a daily occurrence and we cannot help but want to see what fate awaits Lucy.

I think the reader can start to see what might be going on long before Lucy but I don't think that's a weakness - in fact that could be what makes this thriller more unsettling. Lucy is such a likeable, appealing and relatable character that the reader is completely caught up in rooting for her and wanting to help her see what is really happening around her. Lucy's innocence, vulnerability and fragility is endearing and what makes the story work. The reader remains engaged and invested throughout the whole novel and never stops feeling empathy or care for Lucy.

Her husband, Adam, is also a captivating character. It's not long before the reader is suspicious and sees through his apparent act as a caring husband. The dynamics between Lucy and Adam are well handled and fascinating; sometimes deliberately frustrating and always full of emotion, drama and tension. 

The Bad Mother is a quick, page turning read. It is a psychological thriller but it feels as if Brooke has managed to do something fresh. There are lots of thrillers about couples, lots about unreliable narrators, and lots that explore memory vs reality; The Bad Mother explores all of these things but in a way that still feels different.  She has taken a couple at a key moment in their relationship, for the most part made things feel like Lucy is losing a grip on things and then throws in some great back story, clues, hints and revelations that force the reader to question who they should be believing. I love it when you begin to realise what is happening through inferred comments but then have to wait -on the edge of your seat of course! - to see how the pieces will come together. And as with all the best stories, it's a race against time - in this case before both the lives of Lucy and her baby are put at risk. 

For those of you who enjoy a psychological thriller, who love to read about couples and look behind those closed doors, for those of you who have ever found yourselves forgetting things or feared you are dropping a few of those spinning plates, then this is the book for you! 

The Bad Mother was published by Harper Collins on 14th December 2017.