I loved this tense, fast paced thriller packed with twists. I just could not put it down. Absolutely brilliant. A masterpiece.

Leah Mercer, The Mother Next Door, Bookouture 2023.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Leah Mercer has brought together a neighbourhood of mothers and children which shows the vulnerabilities of women faced with the complexities of finding childcare while they proceed with the complexities of juggling work, family commitments, time for themselves and the numerous demands and expectations exceed their abilities. This is a pattern which is worthwhile investigating, as is the way in which the reader might view the reliance on the mother next door as a carer on so many occasions.

Lou, the mother next door, is available as other mothers arrive late to collect their children, rely upon her with unshrinking regularity, and seemingly have little appreciation of her as an individual. Each feels that she has a special relationship with Lou, the ultimate source of assistance for the five years she has lived in the commuter town in Surrey.

The book begins with a threatening prologue, a body in a river, a shoe, screams and the warning of horror. The first chapter introduces Fiona who has arrived at Lou’s dark house, thirty minutes late to collect her children. Unlike Fiona, Lou has arrived on time as usual to collect several families of children from the school. Alison, contemplating her great achievement of a fashionable gym also finds that her child is missing – she was supposed to be dropped at home to her father. Jasmine has relied on Lou to collect her daughter and finds that she is not at home when she returns from her Botox session.

The development of the way in which each family responds to the realisation that their children are missing is well drawn. Secrets and fractures in family relationships are revealed, and shortcomings in friendships, children and adults, are gradually shown to have their foundation in the pasts of the women.

All of the threads make for a tension filled novel and the development of a twist a natural outcome. However, I found that the twist was too predictable, and the tension dissipated. This novel did not meet my expectations. However, Leah Mercer does provide good social commentary on the issues that provide background to the plot.

What a thriller!! Leah Mercer had me hooked from the first chapter. I start a book with the hopes off figuring out the twist before the author reveals it. I had ideas with this one, I had HUGE hopes that I had it figured out…I did not have it figured out. I am not upset about that because oh what a twist.



The characters in this book are all relatable. They are moms, they have mom lives, and mom dramas. I could relate to each of them and could have been living their lives. The fact that there was more to each character than I first glance just added to the mystery of where Lou and their children were.



The Mother Next Door is a phenomenal thriller. I could not put it down.

Great Read ⏳

Told from a few perspectives, many secrets but which of them holds the key to getting their children back. Will they work it out before all their secrets are aired, or it’s too late to save them?… the clock is ticking ⏱

I’ve not read any by this author before, definitely would lookout for more. Great read.

Fiona, Jasmine, Alison and Tabitha were childhood friends and all went to school together. Now their children also go to the same school Lou is a woman who is in charge of looking after the children and the four women entrusts her with their children. But then one day, when it's almost seven in the evening, their children haven't returned home from school and they start fretting with worry.

The story is told in those four women's POV--Fiona, Jasmine and Alison and Jasmine each with a different set of unique characteristics so as a reader you would know what each of the characters are dealing with the situation. The chapters were timed and there were snippets of the chapters to show what really happened to the children. The book was fast paced, with twists and turns, and the story line itself was interesting. The twist at the end was completely unexpected and overall, this book as a whole was unputdownable and unforgettable. This was the second book I have read from this author and I would strongly recommend this book to anyone.

So if you are into missing children trope with twists and turns, then this book is one for you--worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC!

I'm a sucker for a good thriller and this book did not disappoint. I'm sure I would have read it in one go if my own kids hadn't interrupted me. As a mom, sometimes reading books about bad things happening to kids makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, but I never felt that way in this book. I loved peeling back all the layers of this story. I'll read more by Leah Mercer.

I read this book in one sitting!
The story is told from different POVs, including a POV from one of the children, which gave us insight to what was happening to them. Each mother in this book is different and as you learn more of their history you notice that they really have not changed much nor were they able to escape the secrets from their high school days. Loved the twist in the end!
If you like a good suspenseful and exciting drama that you can devour in one sitting this book is worth checking out.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for ARC in exchange for my honest review.

★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)

You trust her with your children...but now they're gone...

I love stories where the secrets of the past and collide with the present and in THE MOTHER NEXT DOOR, three women discover that you can't always escape your past and that the secrets you bury often don't want to stay buried.

The story unfolds through the multiple narratives of the three women - Fiona, Alison and Jasmine - and Fiona's daughter Tabitha. Each of the first four chapters throw the reader headlong into the deep end as we try to unravel exactly what is going on and why.

Fiona is returning home after a busy day, relaxed in the knowledge that her neighbour and best friend Lou has collected her twins, Tabitha and Tim, from school. But when she arrives home and no one is home, she isn't immediately concerned. After all, she trusts Lou with her life...and her children are her life. She knows no harm will come to them in Lou's safe care.

But then time goes by and by 7pm the children still haven't arrived home and Fiona starts to get a little worried. A quick call to the school earlier confirmed that Lou had indeed picked up her children. Surely Lou could have phoned or messaged her if they got held up by now.

But Fiona isn't the only one who has entrusted Lou with her children. A couple of other mothers, who happen to be old frenemies/adversaries from school, have given their trust over to Lou with their daughters. Without any of them even knowing. And it seems that Lou is "besties" with each of them, having inveigled her way into their lives and somehow become indispensable to each of them in turn. After all, why else would she have collected each of their children from school that afternoon, unbeknownst to one another?

A storm is brewing and the police are called when Lou's car is found abandoned on the shoulder of the motorway with her mobile phone and the children's belongings inside. But where were Lou and the children? The parents are desperate to find out what's happened to their children and why Lou suddenly decided to take them. But someone knows why.

With her own children safely with their father, what plans does Lou have for Tabitha, Tim, Gabby and Juniper?

And then...the women each receive a text message from Lou telling them she has their children and urging them to confess... What is the secret that binds Fiona, Alison and Jasmine?

THE MOTHER NEXT DOOR started off with a bang that kept me glued to the pages, eager to find out where it all lead. But it wasn't long before it became obvious to me where it was heading and there endeth the suspense factor. I mean, if it wasn't one outcome it was the other. You didn't need to be Hercule Poirot to figure this one out...and believe me, I had it pieced together long before the halfway point. But that never ruins a good story for me.

But in this case, I found the story a little average. It wasn't gripping enough and I didn't much like any of the characters. In fact, I loathed Jasmine (which wasn't difficult as she was so incredibly vain and shallow) and Juniper wasn't much better. Alison was a little flaky considering how far she had come since "the event" and Fiona? Blaming herself for something that one could clearly see wasn't her fault felt a little martyrish to me.

Although much of the story was predictable, I still guessed the twist because it just seemed like the obvious outcome to me. Maybe I'm just a domestic thriller nerd that nothing much surprises me in this genre...lol But don't be disheartened, this is still a, entertaining reach for much of the story. And I did enjoy it. It's just with a few more twists and tweaks, I think it could have been better. I'd read more by this author though because I can see the potential for some great thrillers.

Overall, an entertaining read that had me intrigued but it wasn't mind-blowing.

I would like to thank #LeahMercer, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMotherNextDoor in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

The Mother Next Door had me on the edge of my seat from the description alone and the book did not disappoint. It was fast paced and twisty and I loved the multiple points of view. I highly recommend The Mother Next Door.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

This book was suspenseful, emotional and so captivating! I loved the characters, the plot twists and the ending!

Told in multiple person first person point of view, we meet Fiona, Alison, and Jasmine. All mothers, all friends with Lou. There are also chapters from Tabitha, Fiona’s daughter, which give you an insight as to what is happening to the children. It seems everyone has a secret, including Lou, and Lou wants those secrets revealed. What is that secret? You’ll never guess! The chapters are timed, and take place only over 2 days, so it makes the pace of the book spot on. I didn’t guess at ALL what the secret was. Once the secret was revealed, I definitely didn’t see the twist coming! The book was very tense, and the addition the husbands’ anxiety over what was happening really added to the atmosphere of the book. However, I really didn’t like all of these women, especially Jasmine. I honestly liked the husbands more because they seemed to care about the children more. There is also a small lesson to be learned here. Overall, a great book!

Next door neighbor and loved by all, Lou, picks up three different families children from school on the same day. As nighttime starts to come the parents begin to worry as none of their children have returned home. The police have found Lou's car with all the children's belongings inside but no sight of the children. The families start to wonder, who really is Lou and should they still trust her.

I am not sure why the synopsis is told in first person as the book is told from multiple POVs. There are many characters to this story: three sets of husbands and wives and their children. It was a little difficult to keep everyone apart for the beginning 50% or so of the book. After a bit I got used to the characters, but it did make the story a little more hard to follow and I found myself having to go back and forth some. There wasn't enough character development at first to help keep them separate although this did improve as the book went on. The storyline was fast paced and had me captured, however the reveal of the twists fell a little flat. The twists were good, but the way they were revealed lacked a bit of wow factor. They just kind of came out without much suspense built up behind it. If you like fast paced thrillers I would recommend this one as an easy and quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book!!!! I can’t say much without spoilers but you won’t want to miss this book. Three mothers have a friend pick up their kids from school but the kids never make it home. The three mothers will do anything to get their children back.

The book is told in multiple POV so you can see into each of the mothers minds. I loved the twists and the multiple POV’s.

I am definitely in the minority with this review and I really had high hopes for this book since it does have A LOT of 5 stars but how can I be the one of the very few who just didn’t “get it?” Maybe it’s not for me, I don’t know. There were so many characters to keep track of and I made it to 50% which to me is plenty of time to either know if you like a book or not. To me, it dragged on and on and on and it was very repetitive. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release but it’s just not a right fit for me.

This is the first book I have read by @leahmercerauthor and I quite enjoyed it.

Three mothers share a dark past which has come back to haunt them. Lou, their neighbour vanishes during a really bad storm with their children. When it becomes clear that it is a secret related to their childhood, the three mothers must be truthful not only to themselves but also to their families in order to save their children.

This is a well crafted thriller with multiple PoVs and lots of secrets. The fear of the mothers for their children's safety and a raging storm makes up for some perfect tense moments in the narrative.

The main characters, in this case the mothers were so different from one another, sometimes you loved them and sometimes you disliked them and my views about them kept changing everytime I read through their PoVs. The final reveal was a bit shocking and I liked the ending.

Overall a twisty thriller that was intriguing and engrossing. Definitely on the lookout for more from the author.

A very clever story of old secrets, betrayals and the continuing guilt and trauma from the past. Three families will face their worst nightmare and the only way to get their children back will be to tell the truth. Well-developed characters, even plotting and some surprises along the way make this very readable!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

This wasn’t what I hoped for. It started off well and then it slowed right down and dragged along. Didn’t enjoy this one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This was a quick read - while I found the plot to have a few twists the book dragged ! I didn’t love this one and felt it was a chore to finish ! The book didn’t have much happen other then kids are taken by a neighbour they trust !

The Mother Next Door is a gripping psychological thriller that had me completely engrossed right from the very start. You trust one of your very dear friends to collect your children from school, yes of course you would. You’ve been friends for many years and the idea of something happening on a school pick up wouldn’t even occur to you. Well this is what happens and we hear the POV’s from the mothers involved. I will admit to finding all the different people and their roles in the story a little confusing at first but I soon settled down and got to grip with all the characters. Like many psychological thrillers I ‘think’ I know how everything is going to develop but in this book I was proven wrong a number of times. This to me is the sign of an excellent author when they completely out manoeuvre you ! So for me this book is an excellent psychological thriller that i highly recommend.

Three mothers are anxiously awaiting their children to arrive home from school. They’re being transported by their good friend Lou. But the kids are overdue and Lou isn’t answering her phone. And the storm is imminent.
My heart pounded as I read. I knew something bad had to have occurred in their collective pasts. The stories began to tumble together and it was disturbing to read what had happened, I pieced together a few clues from parts of the dialogue and read fast to see how it would all culminate.
It’s a heart pounding, getting your comeuppance read.