I absolutely loved The Secret Mother and I devoured it in one sitting. A great psychological thriller that had me guessing throughout. And the final twist ...... wow I did not see that one coming.
If you are looking for a book to lose yourself in for a few hours then pick The Secret Mother up you will not be disappointed.
A well deserved 5 stars from me.

I received a free ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This book was riveting. There wasn’t a dull moment and I never wanted to put it down. I was surprised by how quickly I devoured this book.

Tessa is mourning the loss of her twins. Her daughter died in childbirth and her son died a couple eyesores later from leukemia. Her husband has left her and started a new relationship. All she has left are her memories and her job at a local garden shop. She returns home from work new day to an intruder in her home. It turns out the intruder is a little boy who says he was left my an angel. Tessa’s estranged husband doesn’t believe her story, nor do the police. Her estranged husband thinks she has come unhinged and needs psychological help, the press are staking out her home and work and the police think she abducted the child. This is a story of one woman’s resilience when the world appears to be against her.

Oddly enough my favorite books are when children go missing. The twist at the end is one I didn’t see coming

I initially found this difficult to get into, and the main character, hard to bond with, however I persevered, and boy am I glad I did! After a slow start, this book grabs you and wont let go. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a book to .read in one sitting, because once you are hooked, you went be able to put it down!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! I'm a sucker for thrillers that revolve around a mother. My heart just broke so much for Tessa I couldn't stop. There's not a whole lot I can say, but while I understand some criticism that the twist wasn't hard to figure out, I really didn't care. I was 100% invested with these characters. I can't say I loved the ending, which was why this ended up being a 4-star read. I will not hesitate to pick up a Shalini Boland book in the future!

I loved this book. Once I started it, I could not put it down till I finished it. It keeps you guessing all the way to the end. Just before the big reveal, I started to figure it out but I truly did not see this twist coming till the very end. Well written. I wold recommend this book to anyone who likes this type of book. A Psychological thriller with surprise endings.

My first read from this author. Why hadn't I discovered her before?!
I loved this book. It gripped me from the start and I couldn't put it down.

2'5*
I usually give 5 stars to everything Shalini Boland, but this time the plot was quite previsible for me. I mean, when we know that a certain someone worked in a certain place it was clear for me what all was about. Before I was thinking that she was making us doubt of the sanity of the main character so as not to be clear if she had really abducted the child or not, and I was expecting some of her usual twists, so I was surprised when all turned to be so... lineal. Maybe it is because I was expecting another kind of resolution, I don't know.
I also have to add that I was amazed by the gripping quality of the text, usual on Shalini's books, which makes you devour the book as it impossible to stop reading; and how round were all the characters.

I'd not read anything by the author before so I wasn't sure what to expect but this was the type of book that sucks you in and before you know it you have lost an afternoon.

Very well written with some great characters that are likeable and some that you would gladly like to punch in the face.

I will definitely read more by the author.

This was a great phycological thriller that made you love Tess one minute and want to slaap some sense in her her the next.
She had lost so much she wasnt always sure what was fact or fiction.
The loss of her two babies had all but destroyed her and then her marriage fell apart. Most thought she was just a nut case but one person wanted to protect her and believed in her as she struggled to find out the truth.
Shalini Boland is a great creator of fiction and phycological thrillers , I look forward to more of her books.

This was a great mystery; I would put it in the realm of Paula Hawkins (and I say this just to give others an idea of the genre type rather than saying it is exactly like the other writer; it is not).

Tessa returns home from the cemetery to find a young boy sitting in her kitchen. The young boy refers to her as his mother. Tessa, is of course, shocked and turns to her (soon to be ex) husband for help. The couple has split as they have lost their own child, and Tessa's husband is less than understanding. The police are brought in as to be expected, but soon things take a dark turn for Tessa. She is soon suspecting of kidnapping the young boy, not only by police but her husband.

What follows is an engrossing tale, tons of mystery, lots of suspense, and great fun for those who love the whodunits with a tinge of ... did this really just happen?

I thought the writing was great, and I enjoyed Tessa, the main characters, and the secondary characters, specifically the people she worked with whose belief in her never wavered.

ARC received for honest review.

I enjoyed this book and it was a great psychological thriller. I really liked Tessa and the twists involved in the book kept me hooked.

A very good thriller indeed. Look forward to reading more by this author.

The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa Markham has had it rough.  After delivering twins, her little Lily girl died of complications.  When he was 3, her remaining twin son Sam died of Leukemia.  She went a little crazy for a bit, but who can blame her.  It seemed to be the final straw to her marriage too.  Scott moved out a year and half ago, and now has someone new in his life. Tessa hasn’t quite made it that far yet.

When she arrives home one day to find a small boy sitting in her kitchen, she is confused.  When he asks if she is her new mommy, she is stunned.  She calls Scott and then the police.  From then on, her life again turns chaotic.  For no one believes her.  They assume she went a little crazy again, and kidnapped the child.  With so many against her, she starts to believe it herself.  She will have to confront the past to determine the truth, because someone is lying.

In one way this is a heartbreaking story of lost children.  It is also a fast-paced mystery, and was hard to put down.  It was good.  It’s an easy read, and the plot twists were good enough that they kept me second-guessing myself.  That’s always fun.  The characters and their actions seem very genuine.

No hesitation in picking up another book from this author, and I would definitely recommend this one.

This is the book you should stop what you’re doing and read! It is the book you won’t be able to put down! Shockers and a twist you won’t see coming! This thriller knocked it out of the park!

Absolutely loved this book and I was hooked right from the start , it starts when Tessa gets home to find a little boy in her kitchen with no explanation as to how he got there , she calls the police but suspicion soon falls on her as both the police and the press believe she abducted the boy . It hurtles along at a good pace and I found myself really rooting for Tessa , she has no support from her ex husband who has moved on and doesn't believe her version of events , its only her boss Ben and her colleagues at the garden center who support her , it was a brilliant read and although I pretty much guessed the ending it was no less enjoyable for me .

A brilliant read! Not exactly a thriller, and I have to admit to sussing out the 'twist' quite early on. Nevertheless, the book was well written and very enjoyable.

"In practice, my mind is fragile. Anything out of my carefully constructed routine could tip me over the edge, and I don't quite trust myself with this kind of change. I don't know if I ever will."

I read this book in less than 24 hours because I could not put it down! This is one of those books that will have you reading on your lunch break and during any down time you have. You might just have to take a few extra "bathroom" and "coffee" breaks at work because this book is just that good.

The book starts with a bang. Tessa, the lead character, finds a little boy in her flat after coming home from a long day of work. She has no idea who he is, or who brought him to her place. She calls her husband, Scott, from whom she is separated, looking for support and advice. We learn that Tessa has had a tumultuous past, one that involves the loss of not only one child but two. Tessa lost her job and sanity after their passing, and ended up being found at a local park pushing another woman's infant in a carriage. The boy's appearance opens up old wounds, bringing all the emotions of the past to the surface once again. Is she losing her mind? Did she kidnap the child to replace the two children she has already lost?

Word gets out to the media about the little boy and Tessa's past, and almost immediately the media descends on Tessa's flat, hounding her with camera flashes and questions about the little boy every time she goes outside. The police also suspect Tessa of foul play, making things worse for her. The only thing keeping Tessa from losing her sanity is her boss, Ben, who is handsome, Italian, successful, and single. Ben offers to help Tessa unravel the mystery of who the little boy is, and how he ended up in her house. Tessa reluctantly accepts his offer, hoping that she'll still have a job after the mystery is solved.

Tessa believes that the little boy's appearance is somehow related to the two tragedies (I won't spoil them here) that took her twins' lives. She begs her soon to be ex-husband Scott to help her figure out what is going on, but he pushes her away, chalking up everything to Tessa's past mental instability. Could Scott be hiding something? Is his new love interest, a much younger woman named Carly, responsible for the little boy's kidnapping?

Tessa's neighbor, who was nosy when Tessa and Scott lived together, also gets involved. She's a rogue journalist, and wants a good story to sell in order to pay off debt. She offers to help Tessa solve the mystery of the little boy, but is she really being a good friend, or does she have ulterior motives and plans in mind? Did she, for instance, orchestrate the kidnapping to make money off of Tessa's tragedy?

Have had a few books by this author on my TBR list and kept postponing due to exams but this came to me as an AC and took as an sign to take the time out to read it. By god was i happy loved this book. It read seamlessly and kept me guessing. Without saying too much, the book had me guessing to the end. The main characters history was hinted at regularly and kept me wanting to know more. i was hooked from the first page. I'll be reading the rest of this authors books. keep them coming

Before reading The Secret Mother i felt in a bit of a reading slump.  I just couldn't motivate myself to do much reading.  Whether this was because of moving and a lot of other things happening I could't say but The Secret Mother helped me break this slump as I couldn't stop reading it.  I have to be honest, it wasn't one that grabbed me right from the start but the more I read the more intrigued I became as more and more odd things came to light.  I soon found that I was racing through the pages eager to find out more and discover the secrets behind the little boys sudden appearance in Tessa's kitchen.

The author does a brilliant job in slowly increasing the tension int he book, which was so intense at times I had to skip ahead to find out what was going to happen.  This made it hard to put down and I often found myself trying to sneak a few more pages in.

I felt a lot of empathy towards Tessa and her predicament.  Regular readers of my blog and my blogger friends will know that I also lost a child and therefore understood exactly how Tessa was feeling.  The author does a great job in describing the emotions and behaviour of a recently bereaved mother, so much so that I think I would recommend this book to others just so they could understand more about how it feels to lose a child.  I felt that she was very misunderstood and that no-one in her life, at the start of the book anyway, listened to her and let her get her point of view across.  I did find myself almost screaming at the book because of some of the things she does trying to discover the truth.  She seems quite a together lady sometimes but when it comes to discovering more about the child she doesn't always think straight.  I think this is quite true to life as I remember being quite capable in some areas but going to pieces over very small things.

I'm not sure if it is pregnancy hormones but I seem to be reading about a lot of characters I'd happily hit at the moment.  Ellie and Scott are another two that are so well describe that they made my blood boil.  I hate people who act like that and couldn't believe they weren't more sympathetic towards her.  They were also very real characters as I have, unfortunately, met similar people in real life.

The ending was brilliant and very unexpected.  I had a lot of theories in my head about what would happen and how it would end but none of them proved correct.  I love it when this happens and an author is able to keep me guessing until the end.  I also liked that the author included a chapter on what everyone's life was like a few months down the line as it was very interesting to see how it all turned out for each of the characters.

This is the first book by Shalini Boland that I have read but it definitely won't be my last and I will look forward to reading more from her in the future.  If you like perfectly plotted thrillers that make you think then you will love this book.

Thank you to Kim Nash and Bookouture for giving me a copy of this book and for inviting me on the blog tour.