The Perfect Mother [Book Review]

by | Jan 20, 2023 | Book Blog, Book Reviews | 0 comments

Title: The Perfect Mother

Author: Aimee Molloy

Genre: Psychological thriller, suspense, mystery

Description (from Goodreads):

An addictive psychological thriller about a group of women whose lives become unexpectedly connected when one of their newborns goes missing.

They call themselves the May Mothers—a collection of new moms who gave birth in the same month. Twice a week, with strollers in tow, they get together in Prospect Park, seeking refuge from the isolation of new motherhood; sharing the fears, joys, and anxieties of their new child-centered lives.

When the group’s members agree to meet for drinks at a hip local bar, they have in mind a casual evening of fun, a brief break from their daily routine. But on this sultry Fourth of July night during the hottest summer in Brooklyn’s history, something goes terrifyingly wrong: one of the babies is abducted from his crib. Winnie, a single mom, was reluctant to leave six-week-old Midas with a babysitter, but the May Mothers insisted that everything would be fine. Now Midas is missing, the police are asking disturbing questions, and Winnie’s very private life has become fodder for a ravenous media.

Though none of the other members in the group are close to the reserved Winnie, three of them will go to increasingly risky lengths to help her find her son. And as the police bungle the investigation and the media begin to scrutinize the mothers in the days that follow, damaging secrets are exposed, marriages are tested, and friendships are formed and fractured.

The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy

The Perfect Mother follows the harrowing story of a child, abducted from his mother, and the group of moms that band together to find him. This book is beyond addicting – the way it is written kept me on my toes. The narrative switches between multiple characters, each with their own very distinct voice, and my heart ached for each of them. This book was nearly perfect. The writing is absolutely beautiful, the story is riveting, the characters are compelling, and each beat left me wanting to read more. I really loved this book – but I don’t think it is for everyone.

If you have suffered loss, such as miscarriages or child loss, this book could be triggering for you. There are a lot of scenes that describe, in great detail, the anxiety that comes with motherhood and the dangers in the world. There is a constant theme of child loss, the most obvious being the abduction of a child. Please put your own mental health first and consider these things when you decide whether this book is right for you.

I have typically said that I don’t like to read about anything where kids are put in danger and I especially avoid stories about child loss. I am a parent and I related to the anxiety that these mothers have on a near-spiritual level. However, this book does not go into graphic detail in a way that is gruesome or disrespectful. The losses mentioned are somewhat brief and, while heartbreaking, they didn’t feel traumatic for me to read about. Without giving away the entire book, I think it is safe to say that the subject of the story surrounds the mothers themselves and the various ways that they cope with having small babies, demanding jobs, complicated partners, and society’s expectations on mothers as a whole.

I grabbed this book without reading the description or any reviews and I’m kind of glad that I went into this story blind. I don’t usually like to read stories about mothers because, well, I am one and I feel like a lot of the same tropes are repeated. But this story cuts through that layer where “how we perceive mothers to be” and “how they are” meet and it does an incredible job.

There is a character in this book who is a writer and a mom and she’s struggling to juggle it all. She feels like she can’t even think of the right words to put on the page and that her “mom brain” has completely stunted her ability to ghostwrite a book for a client. I really appreciated this perspective because it’s not something I talk about much and I have never heard anyone else talk about it either. There are a lot of moms that write, even when they have newborns, and I’ve never heard someone share about the reality of what that looks like. The character talks about how when she’s with her baby she feels like she needs to get back to writing and when she’s writing, all she can think about is her baby. And I know exactly what that feels like. This is obviously, not the main focus of this book because it’s about a child abduction, but it’s one example of how the characters felt so individual and so real. I think most mothers could see a little bit of themselves in each of the moms in the book and relate to their struggles. The author mentions in an interview that she used to be a ghostwriter and that she was also a part of a mother’s group when her children were little, so I’m sure a lot of this feels real because it comes from her personal experiences.

This book has an amazing ending. I immediately went on Goodreads, hoping to find someone talking about it and read how others felt. I was kind of surprised that a lot of people felt like the story was hard to follow and they didn’t like the changing narrators and some people even felt like it was boring. It’s not a gritty crime drama, for sure. It clicks along at a steady pace, and I felt like the story unraveled in a way that was brilliant. The ending made perfect sense and I remembered many moments of foreshadowing early on that would have led me to that conclusion. The mystery was heartbreaking and felt true to life. This novel is definitely worth the read if you enjoy mysteries, psychological thrillers, and books about motherhood.

One thing that I have to say is that this book has one of the most comical reviews on the Amazon page. I took a screenshot because it gave me a chuckle. As a writer, I can tell you that I stress about names quite a bit and I hope the author of this book doesn’t take it too personally. (For what it’s worth, Winnie and Token are both nicknames.)

The Perfect Mother got a lot of hype. It is a New York Times Bestseller and many of the critical reviews are glowing. I have to say it is all well-deserved. I hope some of you will pick this book up and treat yourself to a great story.

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