TITLE/AUTHOR: Mother May I; Joshilyn Jackson
PUBLISHER: William Morrow and Harper Audio
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2021
GENRE: Fiction / Mystery
FORMAT: combo (eGalley/ audio) LENGTH: 336 pages and audio (12 hrs 51 min.)
SOURCE: Net Galley
SETTING(s): GA
ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: Just how far will a mother go to get her abducted child back?
BRIEF REVIEW: Bree Cabbat grew up poor in Georgia but, that seems to be all behind her now. She lives in a beautiful home, is married to a successful lawyer from a powerful family and is the mother to two teenage daughters and a beautiful baby boy. She should be happy and calm but, one day all that changes. She thinks she has seen an old woman resembling a proverbial witch peering in her window. She brushes it off but later the same day she thinks she sees the same woman when she is at her daughter's school event. What happens next is every mothers worst nightmare. Her infant son who is asleep in his carseat disappears when she takes her eyes off him just for a minute. A note is left instructing her to avoid contacting the police and to follow instructions she will be given. Who has taken her child and why was her child targeted?
As the story progresses we learn this abduction was personal and not the type of for ransom kidnapping we more commonly might read about, the motivation is very different. Bree has a task to perform if she wants her son back but, doing so could put an end to her once happy life. This story starts out as a mystery and before long becomes something with another serious subject matter. I started listening to this one on audio (read by the author) but, I hard a little trouble following the POV so I switched to my eGalley copy which worked out much better. I've read many books by this author and she does knows how to draw the reader in. This book as well as her last one have ventured into the mystery or crime genre. I thought she did a decent job but, I found myself much more invested in the first half of the story.
RATING: 3.5/5 stars
Too bad it was only half good, sounds like it had a lot of potential.
ReplyDeleteI had a very similar reaction to this one, rating it a three-star book. I find that I prefer Jackson's earlier books to her later ones. She used to stand out in the crowd because her books were not crime thrillers...they were about interesting people. I wish she'd go back to that style.
ReplyDeleteI have not read Joshilyn Jackson for a while. I liked what I read though.
ReplyDeleteI've been aware of this author for awhile now, but have never tried any of her books. Sounds like this one was good, but not great.
ReplyDeleteScary plot about the abduction. Good gosh that would have my pulse high! Too bad about the 2nd half.
ReplyDeleteEvery mother's nightmare and to have it be personal makes it even worse. Too bad the execution wasn't up to snuff.
ReplyDeleteThe cover is nice and creepy.
ReplyDeleteSorry this one wasn't a little better but it still sounds pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this author yet but she does have a huge fan following. I'll probably pass on this book - not ready to read about kidnapped kids.
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