Those who know me - know that Suspense/Thrillers are not my typical reading fare. But I really enjoyed Aimee Molloy's The Perfect Mother .
I read this for a book club and was blown away by the expert pacing and plotting of this domestic suspense novel. I also never saw the twist coming in the end - so points to Molloy for stumping me and keeping me on the hook all the way to the end. It reads similarly to Liane Moriarty's work ( Truly Madly Guilty and Big Little Lies) - so if you're a fan of hers, check this one out.
In this quickly paced novel, a group of first time mothers work together to bring home an abducted baby. On a sweltering Fourth of July night, during a Mom's Night Out, a baby is stolen from his crib. His mother and her friends, members of a mommy group called the May Mothers (named for the month of their children's births) all blissfully unaware that anything has happened until the babysitter calls telling them that the baby is gone. Reeling from the shock that something this tragic has happened so close to home and to one of their own the women work to unravel the events of the evening.
The story is told from the perspectives of three of the women, all with their own secrets to hide. Loyalties are tested, each chapter more revealing than the last. The narrative is clever and wonderfully misleading, causing the reader to second guess every move the characters make. Also, those snarky May Mothers emails that arrive daily in the women's inboxes - man I wanted to push delete so badly!
Molloy does an incredible job of misdirecting her reader - I was stumped throughout and never saw the end coming. She does an amazing job of revealing the insecurities, pressure and judgement that comes along with motherhood - especially the misconceptions we believe about ourselves and other moms out there. The writing is nuanced and never overwrought - the characters are relatable and realistically flawed, each with her own issues. It's very well done.
I'll definitely be checking out Aimee Molloy's next book.
Book Gawker's buy it or borrow it recommendation: Buy It
Buy It
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