Not as dark as previous books by this author, still pretty seedy though.
A move away from her detective series, this turned out to be a rather sinister story.
It certainly creeped me out and there was lots of suspense.
Roz is living in Dublin and has a difficult decision to make. Pregnant and keeping the identity of the father a secret, even from her best friend and flatmate Dympna. A Catholic girl in her 20’s with not much money, she doesn’t want to have a termination so looks for other options. She finds a website for couples looking for a baby to adopt. It’s an elite site and she has to pay a fee to register. A couple of days later she is contacted by a couple who are interested. They are known as a ‘diamond’ couple which means they are millionaires and willing to pay a lot of money for a baby. These diamond couples like to keep their real identities secret until they have met the mother, they could possibly be from the world of politics or Hollywood and in the public eye.
Roz thinks she could make some money here, and agrees to fly to New York to meet them. She doesn’t tell the whole truth to Dympna, who is understandably worried about her best friend.
She’s met at the airport and taken to a posh hotel by one of the couple’s staff. Her phone is taken from her, although she also has an emergency phone hidden away which Dympna made her take.
She is taken to a fabulous house and is astonished to find out that the couple interested are none other than acting royalty Sheridan and Daniel. Daniel is a heartthrob English actor and Sheridan a US child star of her own real life show. They want to bring up the child as their own.
This sounds too good to be true!!
Roz is to move into their plush basement apartment until the baby arrives and have everything provided for her, even a visiting doctor.
A few strange things start to happen when Roz moves in. Hidden notes being left for her among other things. She starts to feel suspicious and very worried that she’s never going to see the light of day again, especially as there are no windows. Roz suspects that she’s not the first person to live in the basement suite. Sheridan’s behaviour is very erratic and she overhears conversations from the floor above that cause her concern.
Back in Ireland Dympna is beside herself with worry after hearing nothing from her best friend for far too long. She has a chat with her dad John who is in the police force and asks his advice. He has some contacts and they start to search for any information.
The clock is ticking and it’s nearly time for the baby to be born. You will need to read the book to find out what happens but it had me totally gripped.
Fast paced with a very good twist!!
Caroline Mitchell always goes to the top of my reading pile. I cannot recommend her books enough, although I missed the addition of a raven/crow in this one!
Will post to my blog on publication day.

4.5 stars. I am a big fan of this authors other books so was so keen to read this one which was different from her usual detective series. It grabbed my interest straight away and had me hooked from the very first page. Full of mystery, twists and suspense this is a great book I would highly recommend!

Roz only wants what is best for her unborn baby. She didn't plan this pregnancy, and knowing how difficult her childhood was, she isn't prepared financially or emotionally to be a mother. Roz applies to an elite adoption service, one where her baby will grow up with every advantage. It's the best she can do, so she puts on her game face and is stunned when a wealthy and glamorous NY couple is interested in her and her baby.
Roz heads to NY to meet the potential parents and while everything seems okay, things change quickly. If Roz felt alone before, now she has no one to turn to, no friends, no family, no one except for Sheridan and Daniel, and their picture-perfect life. But just like posts on Instagram, a picture only captures what you want people to see and not necessarily the whole story.
Roz unwittingly has walked into a situation that is not as it appears. I was flipping pages to see how this would end. A surprising number of twists and turns and I was so wrong about some of the characters. Lots of tension throughout and a fast-paced plot.
I enjoy Caroline Mitchell's DI Amy Winter series and though I can't wait for the next book, it was nice to read something else she has written.

I received a DRC from Amazon Publishing UK through NetGalley.

This book has every emotion covered. Funny, moving at times, scary and mad celebrities, what more can you ask for?! Irish girl gets pregnant and decides baby would be better off being adopted so joins online site to pick her baby's potential new parents. She travels to America to meet them and they're not quite what they seem unfortunately for her. Very entertaining and darkly comic. Loved it

Wow. Caroline Mitchell does it again. She knows how to set the backstory and then ramp up the suspense at all the stages of the story, revealing tidbit clues along the way.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC copy of the book. The opinions expressed above are my own.

When she finds out that she is pregnant after a one night stand Roz is in shock. She has no job and shares a flat with her friend.
She decides the best thing for her child is to have it adopted. She joins an upmarket group online to find a suitable match, looking for a rich family to pay her expenses and take her baby when it is born.
Roz is about the regret her decision.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting premise, around adoption/surrogacy and the influence of power. I could relate to Roz, and felt her despair as she became more and more aware of her reality. Overall, a good read with an enjoyable ending.

I read the synopsis of this book and thought I'd enjoy reading it. Unfortunately I couldn't get interested in this book at all. I didn't like the characters or felt any sympathy or emotion towards them! Probably just not for me at this moment.

This is my favorite Caroline Mitchell book yet! I was hooked from the moment I read the first page and the twists just kept coming! This was a fast paced story that kept my interest the entire time. In this story the main character, Roz, is pregnant but cannot keep her baby so she decides to join a website that helps mothers find suitable families for their babies. Roz gets contacted by a prospective couple and feels like she's hit the jackpot when she finds out more about them. When they finally meet things seem a little off but it's nothing too alarming so Roz decides to stick it out. This book was a roller coaster ride all the way thru. The final big revelation in the book had my jaw on the floor! I highly recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of the detective series books that Caroline writes, so when i saw this book by Caroline which was something a bit different, i had to read it. I am so glad I did. This is a book that i quickly got into and loved the strong character Roz. A fast paced book with lots of twists. This is one of those books that you will still be thinking about days after you have finished reading it. Be careful who you trust!

A very good psychological thriller, well written with interesting characters although a bit 'far fetched' in places in my opinion but overall it was a well developed story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Many thanks to Net Galley, Amazon Publishing UK and Caroline Mitchell for a chance to read this book.

Oh my! My heart is still galloping at breakneck speed. What a terrific thriller this turned out to be.

Roz is pregnant and penniless and to provide the best possible life for her child she takes a decision that destroys her freedom and her peace of mind. A celebrity couple contacts her thru an online adoption agency and it is like all her prayers have been answered. Knowing that her baby will never want for anything she flies to New York and meets Sheridan. Then the journey to hell begins. Things turn sour and Roz realizes she has no one to turn to. Meanwhile her best friend Dympna in Dublin becomes increasingly worried and with the help of her father starts looking into Roz's move to NY.

The chapters alternate between Roz and Sheridan and occasionally thru Dympna. This is an excellently written psychological thriller that keeps the reader glued to the pages. Caroline Mitchell has definitely worked wonders with the each and every character in the story. Highly recommended!

Caroline Mitchell’s last two books were wonderful. Truth and Lies and The Secret Child quickly elevated Mitchell to one of my favorite authors.

When I began reading The Perfect Mother I wasn’t disappointed. The story caught my interest almost immediately and ran with it. It felt like a book that I needed to keep reading because I was nervous about Roz, the protagonist.

However, as I read on I became a little concerned that the story was pretty far fetched. And a little bit of that is just fine. I figure it’s a thriller don’t over-analyze everything.

So with a bit of concern, I continued to hurriedly flip through the pages. I couldn’t imagine how it was going to end. Unfortunately, I was so right. The ending was a complete letdown. And one part was so unexpected. Nothing at all led up to a certain conclusion. (Sorry, I just don’t want to give away too much.)

That said, Caroline Mitchell is still right up at the top of my favorites, she just missed the mark with this story.

My Concerns
The ending was abrupt and part of it was a complete surprise. There were no ah-ha moments because nothing led up to the reveal.

What I Liked Best
Mitchell’s writing is very good and the first part of the book totally captured my interest.

This is a very well written psychological thriller with all the right elements! I really enjoyed it, and Roz, the main character is very well written. A really solid novel.

I have a real mixed bag of feelings about this book. I started out really enjoying it, it was a bit unbelievable from the start but most thrillers are so I was more than willing to keep going. I really enjoyed the story and it kept me really captivated for the first 50-60% and then suddenly it took a turn. It almost felt as if it wasn't supposed to be the real ending? It just didn't fit with the rest of the book, the writing, the pacing, all of it was a bit off. Regardless, I kept going, I always hold out a lot of hope for a great twist.

This twist/ending was the most disappointing part of the book for me, I had to put my iPad down and come back to it to make sure I read it all right. I felt like there wasn't enough explanation or fleshing out of important characters and major plot points of the book to properly wrap it up and the reactions to major plot points by different characters were so far from being appropriate or realistic. I'm not sure how else I can explain that while remaining spoiler-free. The ending of this book just felt so massively unbelievable it felt like a totally different book from the first 2/3 of the book that I enjoyed so much.

I do think I will give other Caroline Mitchell books a chance after this despite my feelings on the end because I really enjoyed the first 2/3 so much, I have a lot of hope for her other work!

This is a really good read. It had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. It is predictable in places but that adds to the suspense. Sheridan is a great character. Totally unlikeable but powerful. This book is definitely worth reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This book sounded right up my street, set in Ireland and New York, thrilling and mysterious.

Roz unexpectedly finds herself pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption to a loving couple through a website called Miracle Moms. She is hooked when a "diamond couple" show interest in her baby (ie a couple very wealthy and/or famous). Without too much interaction Roz packs her bags and lured by the money hotspots it to NYC to go stay with them for the duration of her pregnancy only when she arrives it's a radically different set up for her than she was led to believe.

I enjoyed the start of this book. However I soon found the naivety of Roz and her absolute gullibility very unbelievable, and the hints at who the baby's father was even more so as that hinted at friendships that were not that strong to begin with. I found the story quite slow paced, Sheridan just needed a good slap and the big twist towards the end made me put the book down and not finish. The book had a great premise but unfortunately I found it couldn't keep my attention. Thank you for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell piqued my interest from the very first page. By the second, I knew that I was going to be well and truly hooked. This is an emotionally engaging tale that will have you tearing through the pages with your heart firmly in your throat.

Roz is young, pregnant and alone, save for her best friend Dympna, in Dublin, when she is seduced by an online adoption agency that promises to find the best possible placement for her unborn child. When a celebrity power couple respond to Roz's profile, she believes that her prayers have been answered as she jets off to New York to meet her baby's future parents. But, as we all know, if something seems too good to be true, it most often is, and Roz has unknowingly entered into a situation that transpires in a way that no one could have ever imagined.

This is a twisty, diabolical read that I just devoured in a single afternoon. The tension is almost palpable as events unfold and, like Roz, we are never entirely certain where to place our trust.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC.

Wow. What an amazing book. Full of suspense and enough twists to not know who was good and who was bad. Roz finds herself pregnant after a night of drinking and despair. While she has told her best friend she is pregnant she cannot tell her who the father is, dreading their friendship would be over. The only path is a trip to leave Ireland and go to the US to give the Baby away. What follows is several terrifying months. The author has done a wonderful job of creating characters with flaws but who you love. She had me feeling claustrophobic as she wove the threads of this book together. I was kept guessing and proven wrong more than once. A book you don’t want to put down, full of suspense, murder, movie stars and true friendship. Roz is a beautifully strong character. Thank you NetGalley, Caroline Mitchell and Amazon Publishing for the chance to read this book.

Fantastic novel. Couldn’t put it down And read in one sitting. Great tension throughout. Another fabulous book from Caroline.