Unputdownable. Will have shivers running up and down your spine. Well told. Definitely needs a spot on your TBR pile. Well told. Flawless plot. Happy reading!

First I would like to say congratulations on JA Andrews on hid debut book Mummy's Boy. I loved the cover and the description so I was very excited to read.

Although I found the beginning to be a little too slow paced for me, I am glad I carried on reading, as Mummy's Boy is a dark, psychological thriller which was well written, the clues that were given, were well done and I was really intrigued to find out who the watcher was, no spoilers.

I will be keeping an eye out for more books by JA Andrews.

I read this book in about 2-3 hours. I couldn’t stop myself! Very shortly after starting, I told my son “I know who’s awful.” A little later, nope, not at all sure now.
This is a VERY twisted story! I can’t say too much because it’s sooo good, but wow!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I thank the publisher for this opportunity..

4☆ A Gripping Thriller, that will Hold Your Attention till the Very End!


Mummy's Boy is a gritty psychological thriller.

What would you do if your teenage child went missing?
Well that's the devastating situation Patricia and husband Thomas find themselves in.
Seventeen Year Old Andrew has disappeared, without a trace of evidence as to where or why he has gone. Has he been taken? Did he run away? Is he Alive?
No one knows.... or do they?

Patricia is beside herself with worry and as the minutes turn into days and days turn into weeks, they are still no closer to finding Andrew!
Time has passed with no leads or news. Patricia and Thomas are struggling to stay strong for each other. Patricia turns to alcohol to get her through her heartache whilst pushing Thomas further and further away!

But where is Andrew?.... and who is The Watcher?.... and why do they seek revenge?

Mummy's Boy is a debut novel and I have to say you wouldn't of known. It was really well written.
It was a gripping, slightly dark, domestic psychological thriller that is full of secrets, deceit, abuse, obsession and some well placed twists.
The characters were well developed, flawed and complex which fitted really well with the plot.
I quite liked the slower pace start it built tension nicely as the plot thickened.

Overall a gripping thriller, that will hold your attention till the very end! Enjoy!


Thank you to BOTBS Tours for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This is a deliciously dark thriller that will have you gripped from the very beginning.  It's packed full of suspense and tension that will keep you reading until the very end.

The narrative is told through different perspectives which really gives the reader a fuller view of events. 

The novel opens with a chapter from Patricia bringing home her new baby and expressing the sheer joys of motherhood.  Fast forward about 20 years and Patricia is now morning the loss of her son, not knowing if he is dead or alive after his disappearance 3 years ago.  These early chapters are devastating, watching Patricia go through not knowing and seeing the impact of this on her marriage and mental health, had a big impact on myself as a reader.  I became very empathetic for her in these early chapters.  As the plot moves forward and we learn more about Patricia'a childhood and days as a mother and things become more distorted and unclear. 

Other chapters show Thomas's thoughts and we occasionally get a snippet from the mind of a unnamed stalker, someone who seems to harbour a very strong grudge against Patricia.  These chapters really change the tone of the novel and add a much darker element.  

I honestly couldn't put this down.  The plot picks up pace very quickly but reveals information in little dribbles in order to keep the suspense high.  It's a brilliant thriller and I highly recommend.

Mummy's Boy by J.A Andrews is a dark novel that I found at times scary and chilling, mainly because it is about people and what they are capable of. Andrew was seventeen when he went missing from his family home. His mother, Patricia mourns him daily, through the alcoholic, drug filled fog she exists in. Her long suffering husband, Thomas, is there like a rock just soaking her cries in as he has done for the past three years since their son went and never returned. Patricia plays her part as a grieving mother and believes herself totally, but, in the background of her mind she has a deep, dark secret she can only hope will never come to light! If it ever did, she know she would end up truly alone. What Patricia has yet to discover is, someone is out there, watching quietly taking their own time, knowing the terrible secret in Patricia past. Just waiting and waiting for their revenge,which, they hope, will be Patricia's death!
The story is told using a dual timeline, then and the present day and also from the perspectives of Patricia, Thomas and the watcher. The story unfolds and the tension grows as the secrets spill out, one by one. This is a debut novel and I would not have known at all! The characters were well developed, not one of them perfect and all, as everyone is full of complexities true to life. Such a good, psychological thriller, really kept me reading, if only to solve the mysteries within these people. Just like life, you never really know whats going on behond closed doors! Bringing delicate subjects to the fore manipulation,abuse,control and also mental health issues which are so much part of society, but never talked about. I must thank @HeraBooks, @BOTBSPublicity, @jasona1980and Netgalley for all alowing me to be included in this great book tour!

What would happen if the motor in your life disappears into thin air?
This is a disturbing read about a family and all their secrets; the 17-year-old Andrew has been missing for three years, and Patricia Mullner’s life will never be the same. She doesn’t know how to continue living without her son, her marriage is breaking out every day that passes without any new clues of their son and her days are full of alcohol and despair. Did Andrew disappear voluntarily or something much darker happened?
The story is told in first person between the parents of Andrew, sharing their thoughts and fears about what happened to Andrew, because something doesn’t feel right…
The reader will feel from the beginning that there’s something more about the story, Patricia seems obsessed with her son, she tries to say that everything was perfect and that there wasn’t any problem at all, but as an observer you can feel that there’s something she is not disclosing. At the same time we will read the thoughts of the father, his fears and hopes to re-connect with her wife while she doesn’t seem to notice him…
This had been a dark and gripping psychological thriller, the slow burning and fear will be present during all the story; the need to know about the truth and discover all the lies hidden in the past will make any reader addicted to the story. Because the Mummy’s Boy is not a sweet and lovely story, it is dark, twisted and ready to enter to your life. Are you prepared?

Three years have passed since Patricia Mullner's beloved seventeen year old son Andrew vanished without a trace. He didn't leave a note or say goodbye and no body has ever been found. Now she spends her days in a fog of heartache,alcohol and painkillers,crying to her husband Thomas about their lost son.

But Patricia is more than a grieving mother,she has a secret and lives in fear of Thomas ever learning the truth about her deception and leaving her,just like her son did despite everything she had done for him.

Little does she realise that her past actions are about to catch up with her because someone knows her secret,someone who is watching from the shadows and will stop at nothing to take revenge. Someone who's end game is Patricia's death.

The chapters of this domestic drama/mystery flip back and forth between Then and Now and are voiced from the alternating perspectives of Patricia and Thomas. Patricia was a complex,not very likeable character who had some serious issues that she constantly blamed on the abuse that she had suffered in the past from her parents,especially her evil,cruel mother. Patricia kept insisting that she would never repeat that abuse when it came to her own son but that was exactly what she had been doing. She reminded me so much of my own mother with her everything is about me,woe is me attitude and she definitely didn't have any redeemable qualities. Thomas reminded me of my own wonderful hubby,a man who stands by his marriage vows and supports his partner through the ups and downs of married life. Some people would probably label him a wimp for loving his wife so much that he stayed loyal to her despite her terrible behaviour but I just thought that made him more likeable. Their marriage was a perfect example of how one person can be completely oblivious of another person's behaviour despite the two people living under the same roof. And also how easy it is to pass judgement on someone,completely misread their behaviour and get so wrapped up in your own worries that you fail to comprehend that maybe there is a reason behind their behaviour. I felt so much sympathy for poor Andrew as we witnessed Patricia's controlling,manipulative behaviour,the question was,what had happened to him? Had Patricia snapped and murdered her beloved son? Had he simply finally had enough and ran away? Had he been abducted or murdered by a unknown stranger? And how did the mysterious watcher fit into the story?

This is a well written tale of manipulation,revenge,abuse,control and mental health that keeps the reader guessing,pulls at your heart strings and plays with your emotions. I will be honest and admit that it did take me a while to get into this book due to the plot containing some personal triggers. But once my mental state settled down,I found that it was a very enjoyable read. This is J A Andrews's debut story and I look forward to reading more of his books in the future.

I really wanted to like this book but sadly I didn't. The storyline had a lot of promise but because I read a lot I found it very predictable and also a bit repetitive. I'm sure there will be a lot of people who will like this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hera Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book made me wonder what my life would look like if mine had a Watcher. We all love our children, but the mother in this one.. good Lord! Where is her son and why would he leave such a “loving, committed” mum?? Trust me, you need to read the book to find out! If you like creepy characters, dark plots, and constant wondering as too who is telling the truth give this book a chance.

Mummy’s Boy is JA Andrews’s debut psychological thriller revolving around a precarious set of domestic circumstances and the most nightmarish situation you could find yourself in as a mother: dealing with the disappearance of a child. However, this time the missing youngster, Andrew Mullner, is a little older than usual, seventeen years old to be exact, but that same unending feeling of not knowing whether he's dead or alive or what happened consumes his mother who is still seemingly desperately searching for answers and some form of closure. But is it destroying her due to the lack of answers, as Trish would have everyone believe, or is there something much more sinister as the underlying cause? The Mullner’s try to rebuild but find their lives and patience with each other crumbling beyond repair, and there's only so much time before everything unravels spectacularly revealing disturbing secrets and intense betrayal.

This in many ways sounds a lot like a whole plethora of other domestic-based thrillers where a missing child is at the centre of the plot, but I thought it was written in such a way that it captures your attention from the outset, holds onto it throughout and spins a yarn filled with exciting developments and chilling, twisty surprises better than some similar books. You soon learn that you should take everything the entire cast utters with a rather large pinch of salt in a story simply overflowing with secrets, lies, betrayal and duplicity, and although the role-call of characters is quite limited this allows the author to give plenty of attention to detail creating an engaging if wholly detestable cast in the process. It's a pacy, compulsive and difficult to put down offering from a new writer on the crime scene who is certainly one to watch for the future. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Hera Books for an ARC.

Starting with the scene of the birth and the love that pours out of Patricia towards her newborn son you would think she would make the perfect mother. Don’t let that fool you as she soon begins the alcohol fuelled road to self destruction, it always starts with just one to take the edge off. At seventeen Andrew vanishes and with no note or body we are helpless to watch as Patricia unravels before our very eyes. This book is not just a thriller it is a very character driven book showing the collapse of a person who has made their child their life’s obsession and what happens when they are gone.

Told from the perspectives of the mother, father and the watcher, we learn there are many secrets at play behind Andrew’s disappearance. This is one dark read covering many sensitive subjects but the tension is palpable as each secret is revealed.

I loved the character of the watcher and her narration was by far my favourite. Who is she? How does she know so much about this family? So much to be revealed and trust me you will keep reading until you get the answers behind the mystery.

With some great twists and a few clues scattered throughout this is a great debut and I look forward to his next book.

Andrew was a mummy’s boy
But he grew up and was a fat mummy’s boy
Then he was about 16 and he went missing from us
Thomas And Trish the parents of Andrew started to argue
Then the fact was that Andrew had someone to follow him
I had an ARC

Suspense and a sense of mystery dogged my steps, dread and fear filled my heart as I read the debut by author J A Andrews.

A family of three and the sun disappeared. It had been three years and the mother Patricia was slowly sinking into the world of alcohol. Father Thomas could only try to keep his wife stable until he was unsucceful. Luckily, they had a Watcher who was keeping an eye on that family… Secrets swirled around.

The story was easy to guess and as the author had peppered the prose with clues. The loving to obsessive nature of the mother beautifully evelved down the prose. Subtle hints were at play in the entire book in the first half of the story.

The second half was more about each secret being revealed with layers of the past and what really happened. I could feel slight pathos for all the characters as each steps of their past had led to the darkness of their mind to expand and surround and finally vanquish those they loved.

A good reveal of the human psyche and the dark abyss of self destruction was shown by the author. An entertaining tale over breakfast.

My thanks to Hera Books and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

This book started slow ... but then picked up speed and had me wanting to turn the pages faster than I could read them.

For a debut, I think this was an excellent start right out of the gate. Being a mother myself, I could only imagine the angst of one of the main characters of this book.

There were twists and turns, some anticipated, others totally blindsiding me.

If you're looking for a fast paced psychological thriller, with a fresh story and idea, this would definitely be a good book to start. Keeps you guessing, heart pumping, and wanting to see who is the person that is causing all the chaos in the life of Patricia and Thomas.

I have absolutely adored this book. I haven’t been able to put it down. I have been kept on the edge of my seat.

Thanks netgalley for an early copy of this one. Promising start for a new author. Well plotted with developed characters. Decent pacing kept my interest with some twists. Can't wait to read more from J A Andrews!

I thought the summary sounded interesting. However, I really struggled with this book. I had a hard time getting into it as the pace was just too slow for this genre. I couldn't connect with the characters, either. Many parts were redundant. It was quite predictable, unfortunately.

I hard a difficult time getting into this book as it starts out a little slow but after I gave it some time I got really hooked and it turned out to be really good. It's a dark psychological thriller that should be read by anyone that loves this genre. Given the chance pick up this book and read it, I can guarantee you will love it.

I knew I wanted to read this book from the compelling title and the intriguing blurb. Especially being a mother myself to a seventeen year old boy.

The story alternates between Patricia, her husband Thomas and a mysterious character that is known to us as The Watcher. Obviously my heart rate upped a level at The Watcher chapters as I was on edge as to who this person is and why they want revenge.

The cast of characters is small and none are overly likeable. Thomas, I probably had the most empathy for as he has tried his best to be a good father and husband but is quite weak in character. Patricia, obviously to start with my heart went out to this woman who had no idea whether her beloved son was dead or alive. I couldn’t think of anything worse.

The more into the story I got, the less straight forward things seemed to be. Patricia is on a road of self destruct, depending on alcohol to get her through the days. The tension and mystery surrounding Andrew’s disappearance starts mounting, making the pace pick up and having me racing through the pages.

Mummy’s Boy is the authors debut novel and as debut’s go, this is a darn good one. It’s a dark and tense read, of which the author had no problem pulling me into the story and keeping me there. There are some nice little twists that gives the reader bursts of adrenaline rushes as they take them in. Highly recommended.