I’ll Be There for You: #TheMothers by Sarah J. Naughton @SarahJNaughton @Tr4cyF3nt0n @TrapezeBooks #BlogTour

Next time to walk past a group of mothers, don’t assume they’re only talking about nappies…

 

Title: The Mothers
Author: Sarah J. Naughton
Date of publication: 9 January 2020
Publisher: Trapeze
Format: e-ARC
Number of pages: 288
Source: NetGalley

Five Women.

They meet at their NCT Group. The only thing they have in common is they’re all pregnant.

Five Secrets.

Three years later, they are all good friends. Aren’t they?

One Missing Husband.

Now the police have come knocking. Someone knows something.

And the trouble with secrets is that someone always tells.

The Mothers…

More than just mothers, the main characters in this book are wives, women, and friends. Different but standing close, like the colours on a painter’s palette. They don’t mix, but they have the possibility to create worlds. Or destroy them. Sarah J. Naughton plays with tones and paints a disturbing canvas of friendships and secrets.

Addictive and highly toxic, this novel seized my attention with a prologue that left me speechless. Claustrophobic and anxiety-inducing, it played its role perfectly!!! Who? Why? I was hooked!  Sliding from the present to the past, from the police to four women, the pace of The Mothers is creative and efficient. Each protagonist voice is clear enough so you don’t forget who you are following. I loved how I got to know Iona, a detective hoping for a good case to work on to take her mind off her workplace crush, Maya. Would a missing husband do?

I thought the book would keep me with Iona for the entirety of the story but as I turned the pages, I could feel the writing tearing me away from her, pulling me closer to Electra, Chrissi, Bella, and Jen.

Bella and her missing husband. Her so-called friends barely hiding their contempt for one another. Sarah J. Naughton impressed me with her clever way to introduce the reader to the characters, making sure you get hints to build a first impression of everyone… before planting seeds of doubt. The narration slowly reveals secrets and cracks coming from all places. Scars and arguments, struggles and tears helped me feel for the four women. Everything I thought I knew was ripped apart.

No matter what your situation is, being a mother is big. And different. And it pushes you to the edge. The question to ask yourself is who is by your side to prevent you from falling. Who is the person you call at three in the morning to bury a body?

Bella’s missing husband case turned into a twisted exploration of relationships and hardships, turning this thriller into something more. Something big and shocking. The more I dug into the mystery, the less I could see clearly. The only constant element throughout the novel is the bond between those four friends. A bond that proves to be much stronger than I could have imagined.

When I neared the ending, the author threw another twist my way and it was a cold shower. A freezing and gob-smacking bomb that completely took me by surprise. Talk about manipulation and deceit!

The Mothers is a gripping psychological suspense with multiple layers and enough material to keep you on your toes until the last page.

You can find the book here

I would like to thank Tracy Fenton for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

 

Sarah Naughton’s debut novel, The Hanged Man Rises, was shortlisted for the Costa children’s award. It was followed by a second young adult thriller, The Blood List. Her thrillers for adults, Tattletale and The Other Couple (Orion) are Amazon bestsellers. Sarah lives in London with her husband and sons.