5 stars!

Ruth is a successful psychotherapist who specializes in trauma patients. She is the director of a well known and highly respected therapy centre. This story provides an intimate look into her work life with her patients and staff as well as her personal life with the tragic loss of her son who is missing. Ruth is confident, hard working and determined at the office but holds much pain and suffering for her family life inside her heart. Lines begin to get blurred when she takes on a new patient who resembles her missing son.

I loved this book! It was such a unique, raw and honest storyline with endearing and vulnerable characters. I thought it was so very well written - it had me hanging on every word. The pace and flow were perfect - I was invested and curious right to the very end.

Ruth was an extremely intriguing character. The book explores motherhood so deeply. There were several sentences and paragraphs that held such power that I found myself pausing to appreciate what I just read. There are several heavy topics covered within these pages — childhood trauma, suicide, depression, loss of a child, self harm, ending of a marriage — a lot to think about and contemplate.

This book was a pleasant surprise that I highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!

Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Bav Thomas for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

I was intrigued by the premise of the book. Well-experienced and well-known psychotherapist, Ruth Harland, finds herself in a tricky situation. One of her new clients looks like her disappeared son and against a better judgement, she continues to work with him. She fells into the trap of her own trauma.

I believe that most of the characters are very well-developed and the flow of the story is quite smooth. The narrative goes back and forth in telling Ruth's story. The transition between past and present is always flawless. There is no misunderstanding on what is when and where.

I wasn't satisfied with the ending, as I feel like there were not enough explanation regarding Dan's story, but overall it was quite entertaining.

What I learn is that if your child gives you his/her favorite book to read, you'd better read it!

I loved this gripping, emotionally charged, and at times, gut wrenching book. This is not a typical mystery/thriller though it contains those elements. The author having been a practicing mental health professional is able to develop the characters in such a way that you feel their emotions and their pain. It is definitely not a light summer beach read! However, I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys excellent writing on a serious subject.

I love a good psychological story! I was excited about A Good Enough Mother and while I thought it was a slow burn, I still enjoyed the story. Where it lacked the action-packed aspect I look for in a book, I still wanted to keep reading and find out how it would all end. If you love family drama stories, this one is for you. The reader gets to read about how grief and guilt affects people and their relationship with others.

I found Ruth to be an interesting character. She has been a successful therapist for 25 years but when she meets Dan, she can't seem to follow the rules and crosses every professional boundaries. I also thought she made a lot of poor decisions.

This was a well-written book and a great debut novel. The story was interesting and captivating but the ending left me with a few unanswered questions.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for my copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed the quickness of the writing. Although the story line jumped frequently between current and previous events, the writing never seemed to get muddled. The story flowed well. I found some of the inner dialogue a little repetitive, but as a therapist who is seeing the same patient, I'm not surprised by that. I did struggle a little with wanting to stay engaged in the story, finding it hard to pick up for the next reading session. Once I had a chance to really sit with it though, I does really pull you in. I'd say this is best read in a few sittings, not over a long period of time. I was a bit shocked by a few of the twists, I definitely didn't see them coming. All in all, a good read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy...

It was okay book but I find that nothing much news about “ him” since that he was found in Alaska..

I give it a try for the author next time I see the new book out soon..

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review

Well, this was not exactly what I was expecting. Domestic drama more than suspense, I felt the novel's plot moved very slowly. Realistic in the sense that the novel explores the cracks in the health system; the central storyline of the protagonist's(Dr. Ruth Hartland)missing son, Tom never really hooked me.

Many of the chapters give the backstory of Ruth's life with her much loved son. As the story is told completely from Ruth's perspective, it happens very quickly that Ruth is in denial and a bit resentful of how others see her relationship as being that of a hoverer.I came away feeling more than just a little sorry for Tom's twin sister, Carolyn and his father, David.

As I previously mentioned, most of the story is centered on Ruth's work as a traumatic care counselor. She makes many mistakes along the way and two particular patients cause Ruth to act very unprofessional. I just couldn't help cringing! Also the last 20% of the novel was a bit of a letdown.

Others appear to have enjoyed The Good Mother , but it failed to captivate me.

Goodreads Review published 25/04/19

I really enjoyed this book. It kept my interest throughout. Good summer read. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Bev Thomas, and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

The title and premise of this novel caught my eye from the outset, as Bev Thomas pulls on the heartstrings of the reader while offering up a mysterious tale of love and loss. Ruth Hartland is a psychotherapist at a highly specialised facility in London, handling severe cases of trauma. Her professional life is full of accolades, both those that adorn the walls and the high regard in which she is held by those around her. However, there is something deeper and darker that she shares with no one; the disappearance of her son, Tom. Ruth has waited two years for something, but there is no news, not even a notice that he may be dead or hiding away from her. Ruth’s marriage is being held together by a thread and her daughter has made herself scarce. Could the bubbly exterior soon falter as Ruth’s inner self is riddled with trauma of its own? When Ruth agrees to take on a new patient, she is soon left with a sobering realisation that Dan is so very much like her disappeared Tom. Can Ruth keep her professional boundaries high enough to be able to help him without sucking Dan into her own drama, replacing the missing Tom with his new-found presence? Much will be revealed in this piece that pushes the limits of a mother’s love with a need to come to terms with loss in a therapeutic manner. Likely of interest to those who like a deeper and more emotional mystery, though I struggled throughout to make sense of much.

One should never judge a book by its cover. While this is used primarily about criticising a book deserving of one’s time, I seek to offer up that not all books that seem to be ‘unputdownable’ are just that. I struggled from the outset with Bev Thomas’ novel and never felt that I truly found my way. Meandering throughout, I picked up only the barest of literary crumbs in order to formulate some semblance of order with this book. Ruth Hartland proved to be the struggling protagonist who wants nothing more than to appear placid while she tears apart her insides, seeking something to right her way. Be it the loss of her son, alienation of her other family, or that she cannot practice what she preaches, Ruth is the epitome of hypocrite and it shows from the reader’s omnipotent perspective as they read. Others who grace the pages of the book prove to be interesting secondary characters, pushing the narrative to its limits while offering the story some flavour, though I still found it somewhat difficult to navigate. Perhaps it was the style of writing or that I could not connect to the characters from early on, but I struggled repeatedly to find my groove in this book. Thomas has no issue stringing together ideas and placing them in a seemingly cohesive manner, but I found myself floundering to make sense of the story, the nuances found within the narrative, and could not affix myself to any of the characters. I struggled to care throughout, making this read all the more tiresome. While I see others found nothing but praise for the piece, I suppose I could have missed out on what many others found. Alternatively, Thomas may just have failed to hook me in my efforts to ride a wave of sensational books. Either way, it’s a toss up for the curious reader.

Kudos, Madam Thomas, for seemingly winning many others over with this piece. I suppose there have to be those outside the trend to balance things.

Seventeen-year-old Tom has disappeared without a trace over a year ago and Ruth has been lost ever since. She misses her son so much and constantly think she sees him sitting at a café or standing on a train platform or walking on the opposite sidewalk. It is never him. Movie obsessed Dan is her new patient and he resembles a lot Tom. As a therapist, Ruth knows that she should pass on Dan’s case to another therapist but she can’t let go. Dan is a very disturbed young man who has just been traumatized. Ruth sees the signs of danger but is blinded by her desire to redeem herself. She is hoping to rescue him and erase the guilt of her failure with her own son. Dan in getting too close and Ruth has trapped herself in too many lies. When Dan discovers the truth, he unleashes his anger. Who will get hurt? Who will suffer?

This is such a great psychological thriller. It is a very emotional story which deals with mental diseases, the loss of a child and the inability to move on. Bev Thomas slowly paints the story and delivers a surprising punch, and completes the story with a triumph. Beautifully written, I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this fantastic book. A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas will be available at your favourite bookstore on April 30, 2019.

Overall this was a good read but not great! I felt it dragged on and found it hard to get through. I guess I was expecting something more.

I really really Loved this book and it kept me interested throughout. Thanks for the chance to read it.

Each character in this novel is shown with all their flaws and strengths in achingly real scenes and images. Ruth, as the director of a trauma therapy unit, is supposed to heal victims of horrific crimes and circumstances who are living with emotional trauma, but she has suffered herself as well, and she has no one to turn to for her own healing. Reading this novel is like watching a car crash in slow motion: you know what's coming but you just can't stop looking. Brilliantly compassionate and satisfying read. Good to the last page.

I tried so hard to finish reading this book. I was so interested in the main character, and truly wanted to understand what happened with Tom, but felt inhibited by the format of the book. Is it just the Kindle version that is sent with the numbers and breaks between each line? It was so broken up that the continuity was therefor broken and interrupted as well. Unfortunately I only made it through half before being uninterested in finishing. I apologize!

This is a suspenseful story of a missing child, and the as the title suggests, it tries to explore the complexity of being the good mother. I was expecting contrasting narratives to compare various types of mothers, their outlooks and style of parenting .But this is a first person story of the mother who is also a psycho therapist. Her sessions with her patients could have well been a book by itself but the focus is how 'human' a therapist can be when her personal emotions affect the relationship with patients. The consequences are inevitable hwen boundaries are crossed. The final chapter which I waited for with anticipation turns out as I guessed .The best portions of the book are the ones describing the family, childhood and relationship and most importantly the changes brought in by adolescence ..To me this book was refreshingly different from the psychological thrillers of today which are tending to become more are more similar in plot and narration.

I loved this book! Bev Thomas writes beautifully....her story flowed in such a way that I had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction.
As mothers I think we have all wondered if we were doing a good enough job parenting out children.
I sympathized with Ruth. I believe she did the best she could....being a mother I believe the hardest job in the world. The most rewarding for sure, but so very hard. We do the best we can, but I believe that even with the greatest intention we never truly know what we are in for. The responsibility it so huge, yet at the time I don’t think we realize the enormous obligation that we have to get it right.
I encourage everyone to read this book. It’s certainly not a feel good story....but I feel it’s very relevant for the times we are living. Thank you netgalley, if not for you I would not have found this wonderful author.