The Mother's Mistake: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller

By: Ruth Heald

Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard

Everyone makes mistakes. But does everyone deserve to be forgiven?

She runs past the tinkling of children’s laughter that fills the park. Heart hammering, feet stinging, she reaches the riverbank, her breath catching in her throat. And then she sees...

Three years later.

Claire has everything she’s always wanted. A newborn baby. A doting husband by her side. A picturesque home in the countryside.

But behind closed doors, Claire’s life is falling apart. Her husband is barely ever home, she’s struggling to bond with her baby girl, and she swears that she is being watched in the remote, lonely cottage.

And when a threatening note is posted through her letterbox, saying she doesn’t deserve her daughter, it’s clear that someone knows about the terrible mistake that Claire made - someone won’t let her forget it. Three years ago, she would have known who to turn to. But now she no longer recognizes those closest to her or the person she’s become. Whom can she trust?

A chilling psychological thriller about a mother’s worst nightmare. Fans of K. L. Slater, Shalini Boland, and The Girl on the Train will love the twists, turns and gasp-worthy shocks of this stunning debut from Ruth Heald.

©2019 Ruth Heald (P)2019 Bookouture

Solid.

The Mother's Mistake by Ruth Heald

From the beginning, it is clear Claire was running from something.

I think Claire only ever wanted an idyllic life in the country with her husband Matt and baby daughter, Olivia. What she did get is a flawed husband, a cottage in the country filled with her husband's deceased grandmother’s belongings while suffering an undiagnosed bout of postnatal depression. Oh, I almost forgot the forever intrusive mother-in-law.

Odd things start happening at home where Claire spend plenty of time on her own with a screaming baby Oliva (who feeds and screams more than any baby I have ever met) while her husband works at setting up his veterinary practice.

Even making friends with a single mom, Emma does not help Claire feel less isolated. She continues to feel a distance from her baby and her husband is spending more and more time at work.

As a subplot, running parallel there is mention of an abused woman. This thankfully pulls together in the end.

I must admit I was second-guessing everyone from the first chapter! Sometimes the book moves a bit slow, but the ending is worth it.

Gripping… Amazing… Must readi

I so recommend this book it is absolutely stunning and I was unable to put it down… They must must read

Very good book

I enjoyed this book. Kept me guessing . I will buy more from this writer and this narrator.

Haven't Been So Shocked By A Book in Awhile

This was incredible--worth it to the end!! I didn't believe the person who said that in the review. But they're right; amazingly done... she pulled every last detail together.

Chapters and chapters of whining!

While I did eventually like this novel, Ms. Heald took much too long to "cut to the chase." Readers/listeners were raving about this book, but I was frustrated waiting for something to happen. If I heard that "Olivia was screaming" once more I was going to start shrieking myself!!!

Great book

Lots of twists and turns. Keeps you guessing until the end. You can’t go wrong with this one.

Tedious!

It was a bit tedious but I wanted to see the connections. First time I have noticed a background noise throughout the audio. Reminded me of whirling tape!

The Mother’s Mistake

I have never written a review before on a book, but I was compelled to review this book by Ruth Heald. The performance was absolutely wonderful. The story had a twist to it that I was not expecting at all. I kept you on your toes the whole time, and the ending was amazing. I don’t know how Ruth was able to pull this story together, but she did a great job! I would highly recommend this book for people that like Psychological thrillers.

A little long but GREAT!

Just when you think you’ve got it figured out too easily..... WRONG! Great twists even with the length in the long run!!

Who can you trust?

This was an enjoyable psychological thriller that managed to make me suspicious of nearly every character in the book. The twists were believable and overall I really enjoyed this audiobook version.

But there were times when the main character really annoyed me. I felt for her, getting so little sleep, but then, instead of sleeping, she made sure her husband had supper on the table when he got home. "Tell him to buy a take-away," I was shouting.
Another irritation was that all the female characters we so lacking in power, their most frequently used words were blame, guilt and shame, and I'm not even particularly a feminist.
I think I'd have liked to edit this book, make it a little shorter and give the women a bit more self confidence. Having said that, I was never tempted to abandon ship and I still gave it 4*, so they were minor gripes in the overall scheme of things.

Claire, Matt and their new baby, Olivia, have decamped from London to the peace and quiet of a rural cottage, recently vacated due to the death of Matt's grandmother. His mother and father live within walking distance and all appears to be magical. Of course, initial appearances prove to be deceptive and Claire finds it increasingly difficult to settle into the cottage. Strange things keep happening and she feels as if she is being watched, but is it just confusion caused by extreme tiredness or is someone really out to get her?
Great characters, in fact one of the strengths of the book lay in its wonderful, varied characters. Its other strengths were the twists and turns and the gradual reveal before we finally understood the whole backstory and everything fell into place.

I enjoyed the excellent narration by Tamsin Kennard, although I would have liked a little more differentiation between the voices of Claire and the unnamed 'other' person who we switch back to from time to time.
Overall, an excellent read.