The Perfect Mother

By: Matthew Farrell

Narrated by: Kate Handford

My daughter is gone. She’s been taken. I grip the phone so hard I think it might break, and try to focus on what they’re saying. I realize I’m not crying, even though I feel like I’ve been split in two. And then they say a name that makes my blood run cold....

Suddenly, my past and present collide. My heart pounds in my chest, memories flooding my head. I have to focus on my daughter, Nelle, but I can’t escape the panicked questions rushing in. How do they know about Betty? And what else do they know?

I picture Nelle’s beautiful green eyes and freckled cheeks, knowing that I have a choice to make. Just how far am I willing to go to protect my beloved family—and my secrets?

They give me an address in a tiny lake town upstate. I know another mother, a better mother, would call the police, but in seconds I’m driving as fast as I can away from my perfect white house with its perfect green lawn and the whole perfect life I’ve built since I last heard that name, my knuckles white on the steering wheel.

I’m terrified I’ll never see Nelle again. But I’ve been hiding behind my lies for 20 years. If the truth finally comes out, will my daughter ever forgive me? I don’t know. But I have to save her first to find out.

From best-selling author Matthew Farrell, this unbelievably twisty, unputdownable psychological thriller will keep you guessing right up to the final word! Fans of Freida McFadden, My Lovely Wife, and The Couple Next Door will be hooked.

©2022 Matthew Farrell (P)2022 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

First time listening to this author

I really enjoyed the twists and turns all the way to the very end great job Matthew

Didn’t see that coming!!

This was another one of those stories that you don’t want to stop. I never saw the ending coming! Very good story!!

Mind Blown!

This is how a thriller is supposed to be done! Matthew Farrell is a new author to me who will undoubtedly be on my radar from now on.
I really enjoyed this.

Suspenful!

I like how there were parts of the story that it didn't fully explain till the end. It left you hanging! very great story!

My Take

Quite readable (listenable) but a little more harsh than his usual. I enjoy a more likable narrator! But I am certainly looking forward to Farrell’s next!

So intense!!!

Really enjoyed this my heart rate was racing !!! So many twists and shocking surprises wow

No words!

I don’t have the words to describe his much Io ve this book!! 10 out of 10!

OMG!!

The absolute hands down most Gripping EVER! Absolute must read or listen... A story of family love . Then when blood and lies are thicker than reality. . . How far would you go is what your last thought is before you know who you really are!

Sometimes A Good Person Does Bad Things

Laura is a good person.
Sometimes a good person does bad things. When Laura's past and present collide she makes questionable decisions that most wouldn't understand. Her daughter, Nelle has been kidnapped and the clock is ticking. Laura has instructions from a mysterious caller on a cell phone found in her car to go to her mother's house. Although her mother is dead, isn't she? The 2 1/2 hour drive has detours and Laura's addictions interfere, at times she needs a "treat". All the while the caller is watching, listening on the phone. Who are these people and why did they take Nelle? Laura will have to look to what she's done in her past and who she used to be for the answers.

This is a great listen, I really enjoyed the flashbacks and twists. I wanted to dislike the main character Laura, but found myself feeling a bit bad for her.

Matthew Farrell has hit this one out of the park!

Hard to Sympathize

It wasn't because of her addiction. I could sympathize with that. But she just made one awful decision after another and never seemed to learn. Even to the very end. Her redemption was non-existent. I felt pity for he'd because of her childhood & her awful parents. I understand how she became an addict. But the decisions she made throughout the entire book were just...dumb. Some predictability in there and some things that just made absolutely no sense & seemed to have been tossed in just as plot devices to cause twists. The kidnappers plan to get her there, for instance. They risked her leaving breadcrumbs even though they had (and arbitrarily used) an alternative method...It was painfully obvious what was going to happen when she charged the door & the villain behind the whole thing ends up doing one of the most unforgivable clichés explaining method & motives in that dreaded five minute diatribe. And then I did this and they did this because of that and that's why this thing earlier in the book happened because I did this...I hats those scenes. That said, the story did keep me engaged. There were just too many times I had to roll my eyes at some of the elements of the story.