All I wanted was to help women become mothers. When I met Alice Monroe, we instantly connected. She was as passionate about motherhood as I was, and I couldn't wait to support her through this life-changing experience.
But the day that should have been Alice’s happiest, turned into a nightmare. And after Alice’s dreams were shattered, she blamed me. Even though there was nothing I could have done, she wanted to ruin me. I lost my business, my reputation. My world fell apart.
Then, I discovered I was pregnant. That’s why we moved hundreds of miles away to the remote Derry countryside. Now, with this beautiful baby, we can have a fresh start.
But then Alice sends me a message. She knows where we are. And I realise, it doesn’t matter how far we’ve moved, I am not safe from her. My baby is not safe.
She would have been the perfect mother. But if she can’t have her happy family, she's not going to let me have mine. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)
For most of The Perfect Mother, I really felt for Mel. Her life’s goal and dream is to assist women dealing with various struggles and obstacles during their pregnancies and deliveries, in order to have a more organic birth–but in the end, her experience with Alice ends up shattering her goals and dreams. Alice places total blame on Mel, even though that is extremely debatable. It’s enough to send Mel packing, family in tow, across the country in order to attempt to start fresh elsewhere. But Mel quickly discovers that she’s not anonymous or safe, no matter where she goes.
There are various nefarious events that occur, and no one has any answer for it. The obvious answer would be Alice, but it doesn’t add up. Mel doesn’t know who to trust, even in a small town where she doesn’t know anyone, but they appear to think they know all about her, especially after social media and chat boards continually hash out the past, never letting anyone forget. Never allowing Mel to move on. She lives in a constant state of anxiety and fear, without much support. No one believes her theories.
The experience for me felt psychological, because the reader is in Mel’s head, and we never really know for sure if we should side with her ideas or if they are farfetched. There are a few scenes that are expertly placed in an effort to throw the truth off the trail, but even with that I had my suspicions on where the truth lies. The latter third of the book set everything in go mode, with some similarities to the movie The Hand That Rocks the Cradle–and I kept thinking to myself, why didn’t Mel agree to move to Australia like her husband had recommended? Maybe moving far away would have prevented a lot of the trauma that Mel endures. But then again, I have a feeling it wouldn’t have mattered.
The Perfect Mother was a fast-paced experience, one of those page turners that was really hard to put down–primarily because I needed to know the answers, just as much as Mel needed to know, too. It was a definite five-star experience for me!
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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