Valerie, a mother of two adult children, widow and former lead vocalist in a band, lives alone in her large Victorian home with her chocolate lab, Bowie. Valerie has led a busy life and is finally settling into a more quiet lifestyle. Unfortunately, she's also noticed some disturbing changes recently with her memory. Having lost her own mother to the horrible disease of Alzheimer's, Valerie is very aware of the signs and symptoms. She is fearful she may be experiencing an early-onset of the disease.

Her daughter, Kendra, expresses concerns as well when Valerie seems to be forgetting plans they had made, like babysitting her grandson. Kendra attempts to help her mom with vitamins and diet suggestions. She's still concerned about Valerie living on her own though, with the way things seem to be progressing. Luckily, Valerie's son, Hudson, a bit down on his luck after a recent break-up, is able to come and stay with her.

Hudson has grown distant since a traumatizing incident in high school, but Valerie loves her son very much and is anxious for a chance to reconnect with him. He's a grown man now, surely they can finally put the past behind them. Kendra and Hudson definitely still have a contentious relationship though, so when the entire family is together things can get tense. After a time though, they all start to settle into a bit of a routine. It's nice.

That is until a young woman up the street is murdered in her home. For some reason, Valerie has images in her mind of Hudson being out on the night of the murder, seeing him come in late. Is she imagining this, or are these memories? She starts to think Hudson is acting suspiciously. Could he have had something to do with this young woman's death? How well does she even know her son?

I found A Mother Would Know to be highly-entertaining and addicting, much like Garza's earlier works. I was actually late to work on the day I finished this because I needed to know the truth. I could not put it down. Garza's writing style is very fluid and easy to get into. I found this story to be so compelling and I had a million different theories along the way. It was so much fun trying to figure it out.

The narrative is a nice blend of Valerie's present-perspective mixed with her remembrances of the past. A lot of the events in her current life make her reminisce on the past, both bad and good. I think this made a lot of sense considering Valerie's fears regarding her memory. A lot of the time, I felt like being in her head thinking about the past was kind of like an exercise for her, trying to figure out how much she still recalled and whether or not it was true.

We also get an additional, more mysterious, perspective that helps to build the tension of the story, as well as contributing to the final reveal.

I really enjoyed Valerie as a character. I know that she may not be for everyone, but I found her to be realistic and relatable. I genuinely liked her. Valerie was in a band, a fairly successful one, and when her kids were young, she spent a lot of her time out of the home, particularly at night performing. Therefore, her husband, was the primary caregiver for the kids. There's a lot of unresolved issues within their family because of that and I liked learning about those things and watching them all try to navigate those sensitive waters as adults.

Additionally, I enjoyed the drama of their neighborhood. They live in a fairly high-income neighborhood, where everyone knows everyone's business and there's frequently someone watching and talking about what they see. I am always down for neighborhood drama, so I felt like this was a fun backdrop from the story. Valerie and her family have a lot of history in this neighborhood too and definitely some enemies.

The mystery was compelling and I loved being along for the ride with Valerie. She was willing to do anything to figure out whether her son was innocent or not. The tension got pretty high, with a startling conclusion. Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this one and will absolutely pick up anything else Garza writes.

Thank you to the publisher, MIRA, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I have enjoyed all of Garza's books so far and am super excited to see what she comes up with next!

This story started out great and really drew me in with its set-up and premise. In the first part of the book, the story was compelling and kept me reading. However, there were so many shifts in narrator that took me well into the book to sort out who was telling the story. There were sudden shifts into current events and then memories but these were seemingly randomly inserted. I loved the idea of a mother dealing with early onset dementia and coping with regrets from earlier in her life and her family. The basic problem here is execution. To me, there were challenges in following the story and also plot holes that just didn't work in a mystery. When there needs to be too much suspended belief to make a story plausible, it is a problem with the story itself. I hope some of these issues are corrected by the editor to make this successful.

#AMotherWouldKnow #NetGalley #HarlequinTradePublishing #MIRA

I loved the idea--how well do you know your own children? In this case, how well do you know your adult children? It's a creepy concept and I liked that aspect of the book but I felt like there were some threads and subplots that didn't really go anywhere. That was really distracting and seemed sloppy. Some of the dropped storylines could have been resolved in a couple of sentences but just weren't.

Amber Garza's A Mother Would Know is terrifying. It's domestic suspense at its best. The pacing is perfect, with expertly laid clues and hints, but I was still wrong about the ending. Everybody is hiding something in this one, and, with all the secrets, something eventually has to break. None of the characters are likable, with the exception of the dog, but did it matter? Not one bit. I loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin/Mira Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this twisty tale by Amber Garza - 4 stars!

Valerie lives by herself in a big Victorian mansion that she is sure is also occupied by a ghost child. She has a fragile relationship with both of her children, Kendra and Hudson, but when she starts having memory issues, Hudson moves home. It's not quite the perfect reconciliation because Hudson is secretive, moody, and rarely home. When a young woman is found dead nearby, Hudson's past comes into play and he's the first person suspected to be responsible. But a mother would know, right?

I thought this was a really good read and one that had enough twists that you won't see coming. It's an intriguing look into motherhood, the impact our choices make on our children, and how we view them and their actions. Told basically from Valerie's view, there are some glimpses into the past from another character that kind of took some time to figure out the switch, but were quite illuminating once things became more clear. The final twist at the end was unexpected!

"'A better mother would have known,' I say. 'The signs were there. I should have picked up on them.'"

Amber Garza established herself as one of my favorite thriller writers after her novel, When I was You. And when I finished this one my first thought was, hot damn! I could not put this book down, and I never saw those last twists coming.

Valerie is a single mother of two adult children. After her husband's death she is living alone, but beginning to believe she may be in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Because of this, her adult Hudson, who left long ago, returns to help her out. And then a woman in the neighborhood is murdered, and Valerie begins to wonder how well she knows her child.

I loved the idea of possible evil child storyline, with the twist that the child is actually an adult. I also really enjoyed Valerie's character. As always, Garza does an amazing job of flushing out her characters and making you feel as though you really know them.

There is a lot going on here, with multiple subplots. There is a ghost story, the death of two old friends, neighborhood bullies, and the alzheimer storyline. Somehow though, it all works. While When I was You is still my fave, this is going to be a close second.

A Mother Would Know by Amber Garza is a very twisty domestic thriller. Ms. Garza ha s a well written story with some very creative writing. It is told in dual timelines with some vercomplex characters. This is a fascinating read I could not put down. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing throughout the entire book. A wonderful story that makes you wonder if we actually know our children or those that are close to us. There is a lot of deception, secrets, sibling tension, family drama and murder. You will try and guess this one but will not be able to figure it out until that very twisy ending you never see coming.

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Mira and Amber Garza for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this enticing book. My opinions are my own.
#netgalley #harlequintradepublishing. #mira
#ambergarza #amotherwouldknow. #arc #htpinfluencer

Okay, if this were the finished published copy, I would probably give it 2 stars; however, I am hoping that text/paragraph formatting was part of what added to my confusion. The story is about a mother who is suffering from episodes of dementia. Along with this she is remembering parts of her past and possible interactions with a ghost that lives in her house. This all gets mushed together in a big confusing narration. Close to the end I realized that some of the parts about the past are not from her point of view. I felt relief because I thought perhaps I was having episodes of confusion. That was my first struggle and hopefully it was resolved in some way before publication. My second "what?" moments were when the mother, Valerie, broke in to two different crime scenes and found clues. Clues that would have definitely been found by the police. But not only were they not found but her illegal entry was never discovered either. This all made for a messy unbelievable story. This is my second book from this author and probably my last. Too bad because the premise of this one was really good!

Thanks to HTP and MIRA for an advanced copy of A Mother Would Kow. This is a twisty physiological thriller where a mother questions everything she knows about her son when a local woman is found dead.

This was atmospheric with the creepy Victorian and full of twists and turns but ultimately a little too much of a slow burn for me.

I had a fantastic first experience with Amber Garza's writing back in 2020, and I've been wanting to read more of her work ever since. I was intrigued by the blurb of A Mother Would Know with the Alzheimer angle and suspicions around the main character's son, and I've been looking forward to read it. I fully expected to have another excellent reading experience, so it was a complete surprise when I ended up having mixed feelings instead. The premise is still fascinating, but there were a couple of things about the execution that just didn't work for me.

Like I said before, I still like the idea behind this story. It's always intriguing to have a main character with beginning Alzheimer and/or memory problems, and A Mother Would Know is classic unreliable narrator style this way. The idea of having the main character's estranged son returning home to care for her, then slowly discovering one dark secret after the other about their past definitely helped build up the suspense. There were also some things I didn't see coming, and the final part of the story took me partly by surprise. BUT. There were also quite a few things that I wasn't as happy with.

I think one of my main issues was with the chaotic and disjointed way this plot was put together. It felt like the story didn't have any proper structure, and there are so many storylines and subplots that are mentioned only to be abandoned and never resolved. On top of this, the plot switches between past and present and even POV without any warning, which can get not only confusing but very frustrating after a while. It also highly disrupted the pace, and made it harder to stay focused on the plot.

I also struggled with the main characters. They are all highly unlikeably, and I honestly couldn't care less about what was happening to Valerie nor any of the other characters. This only got worse when certain secrets about her past were revealed... And then I'm not even talking about the multiple cheating incidents going on. I also found certain aspects of the plot to be highly unbelievable. I mean, Valerie is supposed to be struggling with her memories, but somehow she is capable of breaking into two different homes AND find evidence? Evidence that the police somehow never even saw, even though it was very obvious? I don't want to mention more to avoid spoiling the plot, but let's just say that my eyebrows received quite a workout while reading this story.

Between the chaotic plot and structure, too many unresolved storylines, constant random timeline and POV switches without warning, lack of credibility and unlikeable characters, A Mother Would Know sadly wasn't as good of a reading experience as I thought it would be.

I have loved books by this author in the past and expected to this time as well but this one wasn’t for me. It felt so scattered (which I assume was purposefully done based on the premise) but messed with the flow of the storyline. Maybe it would have worked better as an audiobook with distinct character voices but just felt confusing.

An ok read. The narrator kept switching, which was confusing because it was still in first person so I had to read a couple of sentences before I discerned who it was. The transitions were choppy and jumbled.
A sad, dysfunctional family. The house description sounded great, however.

Valerie has had a fraught relationship with her daughter Kendra and son Hudson but now Hudson has moved home to help her out as her memory fades in and out. There's something bad in his past which won't be explained until deep in the novel when something else bad happens. To be honest, Garza telegraphs the answers although there's an interesting twist I didn't expect (but doesn't make sense without a much needed and absent explanation). The challenge with this novel is the structure, as it moves from first person narration by Valerie to first person narration by someone else who is not identified and it's not clear how the two link up for a long time. While it's a bit of a page turner, I also found it frustrating. And I never understood the point of the ghost in the house. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I'm sure others will enjoy this more than I did.

A Mother Would Know by Amber Garza

Read this if you enjoy unreliable narrators, books you can read in one sitting and stories filled with suspense

A mother questions everything she knows about her son when a local woman is found dead.

Valerie has been forgetting things. Her daughter worries about her being on her own in her big Victorian house—one rumored to be haunted after a tragedy decades earlier—and truth be told, she is a little lonely. With few options, she asks her adult son to move home, but it’s not quite the reunion she hoped for. Hudson is taciturn, moody and frequently gone.

The neighbors already hold a grudge against Hudson, and they aren’t happy about his return. When a young woman is found murdered a block away, suspicion falls on him immediately, without a shred of evidence. While Valerie fights to defend her son, she begins to wonder who she really invited into her home.

It’s a horrible thing for a mother to even think…but is it possible she’s enabled a monster? A monster she is living with, alone?

Coming out on December 13

Overall a fast paced twisty book that I love the sudden changes in the narrator every so often was confusing and took awhile to realize who is talking as most of the book is Valerie.


Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Valerie, a widowed ex-band member, has been having issues with her memory and decides to invite her estranged son, Hudson to move in with her. Hudson comes with baggage after being blamed for the death of his highschool girlfriend and neighbor. Soon after, two women are murdered in the neighborhood and Valerie begins to wonder if her son is somehow involved.

I thought I had the story figured out but boy was I wrong! I enjoyed going down the rabbit hole with Valerie as she not only questions her sanity, but also her son's actions. As a mother myself, you will do anything to protect your children and I can relate to some of Valerie's choices and the things she did.

This story will have your head spinning twist after twist and I had a hard time putting it down.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my e-ARC,

Short and sweet review time.

I’m a big fan of @ambergarzaauthor and really enjoy her storytelling. This one was no exception –– a slow burn with some excellent twists, wild revels and nothing as it seems.

Fast paced and filled with secrets and regrets, this one kept me turning the pages late into the night.

My thanks to @_mira_books_, @htpbooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book before its publication date.

Valerie is a mother who now lives a quiet life alone. Her daughter is married and her son hasn’t wanted to spend time with her in years. But a medical condition makes her think that having her son Hudson move back home with benefit both of them. Trouble is a cloud has hung over Hudson for years and soon Valerie wonders if he is the child she loves or someone she should fear.
This one has plenty of twists and turns as we get to know Valerie and what happened all those years ago when her children were growing up. Most of the story is told from Valeries POV and probably the only thing that at times pulled me out of the story were some of Valerie‘s questionable decisions( chalk that up to her possible medical condition though). I saw part of the end coming but was still surprised when all the cards were laid out on the table. This one kept me flipping the pages to see how it would all turn out. 3.5 stars.

Disjointed storytelling plus unlikable characters made for a very meh experience.

Valerie is having memory issues, and since her own mother had early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, she's pretty sure that's what is going on with her. Her adult daughter Kendra is busy with her husband, baby, and attending nursing school, so Valerie invites her adult son Hudson to live with her to help her out. He's had some problems recently so he is in need of a change of scenery. Then someone in their neighborhood is murdered, and Valerie remembers another death in the past. Could Hudson possibly be involved?

I had so many issues during my reading of this book. The storylines are scattered all over the place, and some things are brought up and then abandoned, never to be seen again. Valerie was a terrible mother when her kids were growing up, and I didn't really care one bit about her, even though she was the one we are supposed to root for. She takes risks and does things that no one would do, and then she covers things up until it's impossible for her to do so anymore.

About 80% into the book the narrative jarringly switches from Valerie's first person perspective to someone else's and it took a while to figure out who was narrating at that point. It happens a couple of other times as well. The book also goes between past and present without any sort of indication that this is happening so it's a matter of playing catch-up every time to try to get back into the flow of the story.

This could have been a decent novel if the random switches in time and narrator were fixed, but for me it was just too disjointed to get into the flow of the story and appreciate the twists as they are revealed.

I’ve read all of Garza’a books and this is BY FAR her best one! My hand kept flying to my mouth in shock! It has more spins than the teacup ride at Disneyland! I love the first person perspectives and the nonlinear timelines! Two of my favorite things in books! Days later and I can’t stop thinking about that ending!