The Good Mother

By: Karen Osman

Narrated by: Emmy Rose

How far would you go to protect your children?

Catherine is a good mother and a good wife. The family home is immaculate, her husband's supper is cooked on time, but when she starts writing to Michael, a prisoner convicted of murder, she finds herself obsessing about his crime and whether he can ever truly be forgiven....

Kate has no time for herself. Caught in the maelstrom of bringing up two young children with an out-of-work husband, she longs to escape the drudgery of being a wife and a mother. Soon, she starts taking dangerous risks to feel alive....

Alison has flown the nest. But university life is not what she had hoped for, and she finds herself alone and unhappy - until the day her professor takes a sudden interest in her. Then, everything changes....

Three women - all with secrets. And as the days tick down to Michael's release, those secrets can no longer be ignored. A gripping psychological suspense thriller, with a twist that will leave you reeling.

©2017 Karen Osman (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"The Good Mother is an addictive read that had me gripped from the first page to the shocking conclusion at the end!" (Adele O'Neill)

Ok Book, Excellent Twist!

There were parts of this book I liked more than others, as in, I liked certain character parts better than others. Overalls I didn’t care much for the story. It was not exciting and didn’t grab me, although I did care about the characters and wanted good things to happen for them. As another reviewer mentioned, the twist was everything. I was astounded for a few minutes, but that was it. The twist was good enough to make it a 4 star rating, as I will wait a long time for a really good twist. It fell short of 5 though because the story was just not very good. The eventual intertwining of characters was done in such a way that I don’t see very good often.

Omg ending unpredictable

i love book when you can't see the endng coming . i recommend this audio book

Holy Mother of Endings!

I almost gave up on this book as I kept wondering what is going on. Why do we have 3 different women’s stories going on and they don’t have anything to do with each other. But I kept going as each of their stories were intriguing enough that I kept turning the pages. Let me just say “ I didn’t see that coming!” Wow wow wow. What an ending

Description a Little Misleading

The description for 'The Good Mother' is a little bit misleading and the story is very predictable. I figured out 'the twist' half way through the book. That being said, it was worth the listen.

The story line is told by different characters and the listener wonders how the characters' stories will intertwine. Osman has a knack of drawing empathy from her audience, in making women who don't necessarily make great decisions very likable. I didn't want to yell at our heroine who was being abused. I didn't want to say 'What's wrong with you? Get out!!' Instead, I found myself feeling sorry for her, wanting to hug her, and wanting to help her. This is tricky for a writer.

The story held my interest throughout and got me through a couple of long commutes to work. I would recommend it. I just didn't think the description of the book was on point. but I am still glad I took the time to listen to it.

-Wendi

Nice Twist

This was a meandering story of the lives of three women. I can't say too much without giving away the twist. I can say that after finishing this book, I might go back and listen again ... now that I know the ending. The narration was very good.

Hard to put down!

While I saw where this story was going very early on, I still found the story very interesting and engaging.

OMG

This book starts out very confusing, stick with it and the end will blow your mind. Amazing writing. Great story

Slow-Burn but Ultimately Great

It took me a while to get into the swing of the story, but I am glad I stuck with it. The characters are intriguing. This is the story of three women in different eras- one in the eighties, one in 2010-2011 and one in the current time. All three wind together to make up an ultimately compelling mystery. Stick with it- you'll be glad you did. Recommended.

Love love loved it!

Excellent story! Really careful and thoughtful building of characters and with a wonderful twist that you don’t see from miles away (or at least I didn’t, and I feel that I’m always trying to discover where the story is going to twist!) highly recommend!

loved it

loved the ending what a gripping book. I enjoyed it from beginning to end