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The Mother

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The Mother

By: Tess Stimson
Narrated by: Sophie Bentinck
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About this listen

She loves her family. She’d never let anything happen to them . . . Would she?

On the outside, Maddie is a happy young mother with a new baby. But on the inside, she’s afraid.

Afraid that her marriage to Lucas isn’t what she thought.

Afraid that she’s having mysterious blackouts where her memories should be.

But how can she ask for help when something terrible is done to her family?

Who can she turn to, who can she trust?

And how does she know it wasn’t her?

Full of twists and turns, this is perfect for fans of I Invited Her In and The Family Upstairs.

Previously published as Picture of Innocence

©2019 T. J. Stimson (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense

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Critic reviews

‘Dark, twisty and addictive. I couldn't put it down’ LISA JEWELL

‘More chilling than GONE GIRL and twistier than THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, this emotional, raw, dark family drama keeps you guessing until the end’ JANE GREEN

‘Truly gripping: the opening is heart-breaking and it never lets up, all the way to a genuinely shocking denouement’ ALEX LAKE
All stars
Most relevant  
This is the typical neurotic woman book, I don’t mean that disparagingly, I enjoy them, but this was so, so long, again, I enjoy long books.

I really didn’t like any of the characters, especially Maddie. Which is horrible of me because she was obviously going through a great deal of trauma. At the beginning of the book, she smiles a lot when talking about happy things and I found that irritating.

Also, I really like surprises, for me this didn’t deliver but it won’t prevent me from reading or listening to another neurotic woman book!

Sooo long!

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Frustrating to listen to. Its the kind of book I like to listen to, domestic thrillers - I was frustrated by the decisions of the woman in the book. She's just lost her baby and it doesn't seem to affect her that much, she knows full stop that she hasn't done certain things and still doubts herself and lies to the police. Her husband lies about every detail about himself and she doesn't hear alarm bells? I tried very hard to finish the book but I got to the last two hours and gave up. The narrator is good but irritating when she speaks as Maddie, talking like a timid frightened mouse one minute and then Maddie speaking normally in the next line. It is quite well written and a good story, but I had to give up.

Surely a woman can't be this stupid ?

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a few twists and turns. definitely kept me listening although felt strangely distanced from the characters.

kept me hooked

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Really loved this story. It kept me interested and I loved how many twists and turns there were in terms of where the story went.

Fantastic!!

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Great story with lots of twists and turns. It kept me guessing to the end. The only thing that spoiled it was the awful narrator!

Great story...

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While I enjoyed this book, I found Maddie irritating. She was understandably going through a terrible trauma but she seemed oblivious to the obvious situation in front of her.

Enjoyable but frustrating - dragged on a bit!

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Impossible to like characters, weird evil mean story… I liked all Tess’s books, but this one. A sick story, way too long and not one character to save grace!

Bad

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I really enjoyed One in Three so was looking forward to this one.
I gave it a few chapters but as literally nothing happened and none of the characters were interesting, memorable or likable, I gave up and returned the book.

Couldn't get past the first few chapters

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I loved 'one in three' and expected this to be good too - it wasn't. I struggled to get through it - the main character is almost stupidly naive, none of the characters are likeable, the plot is weak and the SAME things are said again and again... and again. I got to the point where I'd know the next sentence before she said it, because it was so predictable. Rolled my eyes a lot. The narrator is fine except when she does the panicky voice of the main character, which is often, and it makes her SO ANNOYING and hysterical. Guys, don't bother, huge disappointment 😒

so slow and repetitive - major disappointment

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