See link to goodreads review

Oh wow, absolutely triple wow. This was a truly magnificent read, loved it from start to finish. I was completely captivated by the story and the characters, all of which was so very well written.

Shalini has such a way with words that she just draws you in right from the beginning, keeps you enthralled throughout and leaves you with bated breath right to the very end. Which is exactly what she did with this amazing book.

I'm already looking forward to reading her other books, not to mention her future books.

Wow! What a great story.
I won’t include any spoilers but this book will have you on the edge of your seat throughout.
Tessa comes home one day to discover a little boy in her kitchen and she has no idea who he is or how he got there. It really pulled on my heartstrings as you can imagine his little voice saying ‘are you my mummy?’
The story then takes on lots of twists and turns and the ending will blow you away.
I can’t recommend this highly enough and will just say ‘read it now!’
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for sending me an advance copy to read.

This was a short easy read, perfect for a quick escape from reality, however it didn't grip me personally, I don't find myself still thinking about it now I have finished it.

Straight up: I knew exactly what had happened at 74% of the way through the book. Not bad, right? That means for 73.9% of the book I was engaged wondering where Harry came from, whether Tessa had forgotten kidnapping him, and why her boss Ben was so darn nice. Some of that was interesting and some was annoying. Ben was too nice and I kept wondering if he was a fool or the surprise twist villain. (I'm not telling you which one, if either, he was.) I did like that for once, the female protagonist actually questioned her actions herself instead of everyone else telling her. Though I would be rather worried if I couldn't remember kidnapping a child and wouldn't fight the recommendation to go see a therapist. Otherwise, characters all seemed to fall into very basic stereotypes and I thought that Tessa should have caught on a lot sooner than she did.

In the mood for a psychological thriller? I was in the mood after reading some romance novels to read something a bit more intense and darker. The Secret Mother is an upcoming thriller that starts with Tessa Markham arriving home from the cemetery where she was visiting her two children's graves to find a boy sitting on her kitchen counter with the door unlocked. She has no idea how he got there or who he is. The little boy is calling her "Mummy." Tessa calls her ex-husband Scott who evidently calls the police and soon despite Tessa telling the truth; she is labeled as a child abductor of five-year-old Henry Fisher. As the press continues to paint Tessa in a bad light and make her look like the crazy one, it is up to Tessa with the help of her next-door neighbor Carly who has not-so-good intentions but will help her uncover the truth nonetheless. The Secret Mother will lead Tessa to the hospital she gave birth to her twins at and uncover some dark secrets of what happened that night and the truth behind what happened to the second twin she gave birth too. The Secret Mother was a good thriller, and I had an idea where the story was going to lead. Being a British thriller, the pace of the story was a tad slow for my liking.

Wow totally shocking, heartbreaking and played with my head and emotions. This book had me gripped I read it in one sitting as I couldn't put it down. Didn't see the ending coming at all. Salinisation Noland has written a cracking psychological thriller that deserves 5 stars.

I have read all of this authors previous books,and I like her writing style.This book didn't disappoint and I was well into it before I started to figure out what I thought had happened, and I still wasn't sure until all was revealed.I like the pace of the book and I liked Tessa although I wasn't sure if she was all she seemed .I couldn't be sure if she was a reliable commentator or not and that is the crux of the book I'm not giving anything away all i can say is I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to other readers.

I'm not sure this is a thriller. Maybe a mystery, but from the first few chapters I figured out what had probably happened here. 

Adding to the blurb was the tag if you liked Girl on a Train. I did not care for that book or the movie. So I probably should have left this one alone.

It just wasn't for me. But give it a try! I loved another one of her books. Just not this one.

November 9, 2017 Release     Netgalley/Bookouture

I’ve read all of Shalini’s previous books and this one didn’t disappoint. I love the portrayal of the characters and the storyline. I had an inclining about who the boy was and can’t believe that the main character hadn’t realised. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Tessa Markham has been living alone since she and her husband had split up after the loss of their son. When Tessa arrives home from work one night to what should be an empty house only to find a little boy in her kitchen she has no clue what she should do. When the little boy ask Tessa if she is to be his new mother Tessa knows she must find out just who this boy is and where he’s come from.

Once the police arrive at Tessa’s home she finds herself answering their questions over and over again. No one seems to believe that Tessa just found the boy in her home and it quickly turns into suspicion of her snatching the boy herself. Tessa even begins to question her own sanity knowing she’d been battling depression since the loss of her child but she is determined to find out just what is going on.

The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland is a highly addictive psychological thriller with just the perfect combination of a flawed main character and engaging story to keep the pages turning. Tessa pulled me into her world rather quickly and made me want her to find out just what had happened and how the child had come into her life.

The reason I’m not giving The Secret Mother a full five stars is due to the fact that fairly early on in the story I had my suspicions as to how it would work out which were pretty spot on. There was one little detail in the wrap up I wasn’t a huge fan of but the fact that I still found myself completely engrossed in the book and not wanting to put it down regardless shows just how great the writing was in this book. I’d definitely recommend checking this one out to the fans of a good thriller.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

‘Are you my mummy?’

Tessa Markham comes home to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children.

Not anymore.

She doesn’t know who the little boy is or how he got there.

After contacting the police, Tessa comes under suspicion for snatching the child. She must fight to prove her innocence. But how can she convince everyone she’s not guilty when even those closest to her are questioning the truth? And when Tessa doesn’t even trust herself…

Well,after reading some of the other reviews for this book,I think I can definitely say that I am in the minority here,I liked this book but I didn't love it as much as the other readers have.It started off really well but as the story unfolded,I found it to be rather predictable.When I start reading a thriller I hope that I am going to find myself caught up in a world of suspense and intrigue,one which hopefully contains one or two OMG moments but to me this story contained none of those elements.There where no unexpected qualities to the characters personalities,there was our heroine Tessa,who was so frustrating at times I felt like grabbing her round the shoulders and giving her a good shaking.The unbelieving ex husband,the feisty,nosy neighbour who just happened to be a journalist,Tessa`s handsome boss who just happened to have the hots for Tessa and the predictably useless police force.We all know the media don't care about reporting the truth and whether what they are reporting is ruining someone else's life,just as long as the story sells,who cares..right.The bits about the media where realistic but the rest of the story including the ending was all a bit Lifetime Tv movieish.I worked out what was going on quite early in the story but carried on reading hoping that maybe something unexpected would happen like a omg moment that would throw all my theories out the window.But unfortunately when I got to the end I was left feeling underwhelmed and a bit disappointed.

Oh yes, yes yes yes yes, this was my kind of read, I really have taken this and added it to my top 10 this year, its a screaming from the rooftops fantastic read, if you love a good thriller, if you love to guess what happens next, if you love to stay up all night reading because you simply can't switch your mind off from a book, this is it, you found it, don't look any further.

This is so fast paced it leaves your breathless. One of the best psychological thrillers that I have read that has shocked me, left me dribbling for me and wanting more from this author.


Tessa comes home and finds an angel has delivered a young boy to her home whilst she was out, hes sat there, yes sat there in her kitchen drawing and colouring in.
There is an ex husband, she calls him, but there are mitigating circumstances surrounding her past with her husband that puts Tessa in danger of being accused of abduction.

Is Tessa going mad, some would think so, even her readers aren't sure.

I have just come across this author and I need to catch up on her other books, I will most certainly be doing that.

My thanks to the author, to Bookoutour and to Net galley for my copy.

A grieving mother finds an unknown little boy colouring at her kitchen table after returning from her weekly visit to see her twins’ graves at the cemetery. She doesn't know who the child is or how he entered her locked house.
What follows is a nightmare for her as she is accused of abducting the child and even comes to doubt herself.
I enjoyed the story although there were some niggling inconsistencies in behaviour and motivation.

I sat and read this in one afternoon. I can usually see the twist coming, but this one hit me for six. I did not see it coming.

This is the first Shalini Boland novel I have read, but it won’t be the last.

Well-earned five stars.

When Tessa Markham arrives home after visiting the graves of her twins, she finds a little boy in her kitchen who asks he "are you my Mummy"? She does not know the child and she has no idea how he got in her house. After contacting the police., Tessa comes under suspicion for snatching the boy. She has to fight to prove her innocence but even the people closest to her are questioning the truth.

It took me a while to see where this story was going but it did not spoil the book for me as it is an edge of your seat plot line. None of us like to hear when children go missing and we all hope for a happy outcome from it, and that's what keeps us turning the pages in this book., we need to find out the answers. This book is well written and thought out. I just loved it.

I absolutely loved this book, it is a nail biting stomach churning read but that's what psychological thrillers are all about. I loved Tess she was in a mess after losing two children but she felt as if she was gradually getting her life back bit by bit even though she certainly wasn't ready to give up going to the cemetery to visit the graves of the children every week, her estranged husband thought it was a bad idea but it didn't make any difference she needed to do this one thing for them. This is where the book starts as Tess returns from the cemetery on a cold wet winters day, she is not prepared for what awaits and the chain of events that follow. Thank you for the ARC

Oh, this book was brilliant from start to finish. It grabbed me right from page one, held me tightly throughout and didn't let me go even after I had turned the last page.
Tessa returns home to find a small boy in her kitchen. He asks he a simple question, "are you my mummy?" She's shocked to say the least but also very much drawn to the little lad, having lost both her own children, one quite recently, and subsequently her husband since their marriage couldn't survive the tragedy. Eventually though, clarity follows and she calls her ex and asks him to come over. When he does, he is shocked that she hasn't yet called the police. He is also suspect of her story as she hasn't been completely emotionally well for a little while and he fears that she is becoming unwell again. Eventually the police do come and take the boy away. They also are suspicious of Tessa's story, especially when she demands to be kept updated of who the boy actually is. Unluckily for Tessa, she lives next to a reporter who witnesses the whole removal process. In the days that follow, Tessa is hounded by the press and public alike as more of her own personal tragedy comes to light. A tragedy that is compounded when her ex and his new girlfriend spill some news of their own. Her only port in the storm is the garden centre where she works. Her only ally appears to be her boss, Ben. Tessa eventually breaks down and tells him the whole story, how the boy told her that he was taken to be with her, he believes her and encourages her to try and find the person responsible. A simple task that takes her on a rather emotional journey to uncover the really rather shocking truth.
Oh My Goodness. I am so glad that I started this book with nothing else urgent that needed done in my life. I was completely under its spell throughout, so much so that I actually gave over my precious TV rights to my brother for a whole evening whilst I finished it. I got so emotionally involved in Tessa and what was going on that everything else faded into insignificance around it.
The characters in this book really made the story come alive. The differences between Tessa's ex Scott and her boss Ben were perfectly played out. Scott having left Tessa to set up home with his new girlfriend because that path was easier than staying and coping with the emotions after the loss of their child. Compare that with Ben who is literally thrown into the deep end with all that is going on and who takes it all completely within his stride even though he has no real reason why he has to. A lesser man would have walked away from it. But he really is a rock, especially with all his support, belief and encouragement, even though he only has face value to take.
I do admit to working the ending out a little ahead of the final reveal but, I was so caught up in it all that that hardly seemed to matter. As the questions started stacking up, it made little difference that I had some of the answers early, there was still plenty going on that had not yet been resolved to keep me going.
This is my first book by this author, she has only really come on my radar since being picked up by one of my favourite publishers, Bookouture. But on investigation, she has a pretty impressive back catalogue and, as I really loved her style of writing here, along with her interesting characters and compelling plot, I would have no hesitation in picking out a few more of her books to read.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

After Tess finds a young boy in her house all kinds of things unfold before we find out how and why! A gripping good book and which tells an excellent story.