The premise of this book will pull you in with the kidnapping of a baby. Bam! You're hooked. Author Joshilyn Jackson does a great job of throwing out theories for the kidnapping but the mother of the baby, Bree Cabat, only wants to know how she can get her child back. With her husband out of town and a threat from the kidnapper if she contacts the police, Bree ultimately turns to her high school friend Marshall. Marshall is now an investigator for the high end law firm Bree's husband's family owns. The race against the clock unveils a multitude of timely topics such as the me, too movement, class privilege, good old boy's network, and college assault to name a few.
The overall story is gripping and upsetting in nature. I'd give the first three-fourths a solid four ****. The ending, however, came together just a little too neatly for me so I will give this book 3.5***

I loved this book!! It gets your attention quickly. Lately books I’ve read don’t get your attention until about 70 pages in. This book had many twists. It was refreshing to read the story and not have it all figured out! I highly recommend this book!!

Mother May I is a great Thriller that kept me intrigued until the very end. Great story about a Mother who would do anything it takes to keep her family safe. The story starts with the kidnapping of Bree Cabbat's son Robert and quickly turns into a thrilling hunt for the kidnapper while also playing her nasty games. Bree is a great character for the mother role and she shows how she will do whatever it takes to get her son back.

Great book and can't wait to read more from Joshilyn Jackson.

I listened to the Audiobook and Read along with the EBook.
Thank you NetGalley for this early copy.

This is a well written book filled with twists and turns in the plot that make it difficult to put down. The story is told through the main character Bree, who after a rough childhood,has married successful attorney Trey. They have two girls in school and a baby boy. Bree thinks she sees a witch in her yard and again at her girls school after her sleeping baby is snatched during play rehearsal. Then the action goes quickly to Bree folowing directions so she can get her baby back unharmed with a totally unexpected ending .

This book was quite the page-turner. It flew by, and there weren’t really any boring or slow parts. It was paced much faster than Never Have I Ever, which was more of a slow burn. The best part is that it starts off terrifyingly realistically–the way the baby was stolen could be straight out of a news report. This story will make you want to double check that your doors are locked and that your kids are safely in their beds (…I assume. I don’t have kids.)

The characters were very well written and well developed. Bree grew up poor but was able to fake it until she made it, and now is living the perfect life. She was no damsel in distress, though–when her child was taken, she did everything she needed to in order to get him back. Her ability to stay cool and collected in the face of tragedy made her a compelling main character. Mitchell was my favorite character, and I was torn between rooting for him to get the girl and wanting Bree to be able to repair her marriage.

My only complaint is with the way the book ended, but I won’t spoil it here.

Overall, Mother May I was an intriguing, fast-paced thriller that grabbed my attention early on and held it all the way through the end.

Joshilyn Jackson didn’t disappoint with this psychological thriller about revenge. It grabbed me from the beginning to the end. One of the best books I have read this year. A baby kidnapped and to get the baby back the mother has to complete one task given by the kidnapper. The mother finds herself doing things she usually wouldn’t do to get her child back. A great book that I highly recommend. 5 stars.

I thought this was a great thriller. I liked the characters, especially Bree. However, I wasn't a big fan of the ending. It felt too perfect to me.

Full disclosure I read Never Have I Ever and didn't care for it much, if I recall I only gave it 3 stars. This thriller however is far better. You can see definitely see growth in the author. While the book does rely on what I feel is a bit of a played out theme of surprise rich people have secrets, this book manages to keep you on the edge of your seat as the main character gets tangled up in a crime that could have devastating effects.

This story has a complex plot that sustains the suspense throughout. Often times books that start off with a bang begin to drag a bit in the middle while building to the big bang finish. Not so with Mother May I. It wasn't a twisty thriller with I-didn't-see-that-coming plot points, but more of a reveal of some of the characters past bad decisions. It caught me and held my interest throughout.

Bree is attending the play rehearsal of her eldest daughter when she turns away from her baby for a few moments. That's all it takes. The baby is taken and a note left with the usual tell no one instructions. Leaving her two daughters in the care of Marshall, a long time friend and father of another budding thespian, Bree hurries home to await ransom demands. The demand, when it comes, is not for money, but her help in drugging a partner at her husband's law firm at a party that night. Complying, she gives him what she is told are date-rape drugs, only to witness his painful, sudden death. Now she not only has a missing child, but is a also a murderer.

In the roller-coaster ride of her attempts to get her child back and with her husband away on business, she turns to her friend Marshall for help. He is a former police detective and now lead investigator at her husband's law firm who also witnessed the partner's death. The story continues to unfold from both of their POV and it's obvious that Bree's husband and his former law partner have done something in their pasts to cause this spiraling revenge drama.

Although the kidnapped child is not a new thriller plot, the way the story sustains its suspense and drags up shocking past actions of those close to Bree kept me engaged in the book. It becomes increasingly clear that the kidnapper is a psychopath who is not averse to killing a child to satisfy their need for revenge. I highly recommend this book for those who like a good heart-pounding read. 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC. The publication date is April 6, 2021.

Mother May I: A Novel by Joshilyn Jackson was one of my highly anticipated books of 2021 and I was so excited to get an early copy. Joshilyn Jackson is a must read author for me and I was able to meet her in 2019 during her Louisville author event (remember the days of in person events). She narrates the audiobook and did a fantastic job. This book was suspenseful and had some unexpected twists. There are some heavy topics covered and trigger warnings. The characters were well developed and Bree, the main character, had so much depth. Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for this review copy.

Bree wakes up early one morning and sees a woman who looks like a witch looking through her bedroom room. She wakes up her husband and he volunteers to go look in the backyard but after thinking about it, she tells him no. When she goes to her daughters' school with snacks, she sees the old woman again. While watching the rehearsal, her son is behind her in the balcony area in his car seat. When Bree goes to check on her son, he is gone, car seat and baby bag and all. She finds a note that tells her to not call the police or anyone else and to go straight home.

I was caught up in this book right from the beginning. There were just a couple of things like the repetitiveness and the very last chapter. I feel like the last chapter could have been labeled "3 years later" maybe.

This was my first novel by Joshilyn Jackson, and overall I very much enjoyed it. The character development was strong, particularly for Bree, but I will say that I found the first half to be much more captivating than the second. While there was a decent twist at the end, the grand finale was a bit too storybook happily ever after for my taste. That being said, I would recommend checking out Mother May I to friends, and I look forward to reading another of Jackson’s thrillers!

This is the second Joshilyn Jackson book I’ve read and it definitely won’t be the last. Her books are more than just thrillers or psychological suspense. They’re realistic portrayals of people that you’d meet anywhere. There are no outright “villains” – they’re people in pain or people who feel helpless and make (sometimes) horrible decisions.

I could not put this book down! The story involves an upscale Atlanta couple who seem to have it all until one of their children is kidnapped. Past lives and old friends intertwine and unravel to make the story so intense.

This was a real page turner. I read it in 2 days as it was hard to put down. The main character, Bree, is the mother of 2 pre-teen girls and a baby boy. One day in a brief moment of looking away, her baby is stolen. She learns that the baby has been taken by an old woman who she has seen near her home and near her children’s school. The story progresses with her attempts to get her son back by following the kidnapper’s instructions. The truth comes out about the kidnapper’s motive having to do with Bree’s husband’s past actions. Her baby is in real danger as the old woman has nothing to lose.

The only slight disappointment was the climax as I was hoping for a bit more of a startling twist.

Excellent thriller.

Bree Cabot has it all, a husband who is a partner in a law firm, two teenage daughters and a 10 week old son. She is a stay at home mom, who gladly spends her days caring for her family and serving on various not for profit boards. Her world is shattered when her son is kidnapped. Following instructions from the kidnapper, Bree’s actions set into motion a tragic chain of events. Secrets from the past are revealed and Bree’s life is forever changed. This is a fast paced read, which I found difficult to put down. Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC of this book! (less)

Wow! Mother May I took off like a rocket! I devoured it in two sittings within one day! The suspenseful plot continues to drive up to the very end.

Mother May I is an intense thriller about a kidnapped child. I enjoyed the pace of the story and the characters but I pegged where the plot was going early on. The story is quick because you are engrossed in the action and you want to see if your predictions are correct. There is one twist that you don't see coming and that one is a shocker.  I think I would like to read another book by Joshilyn Jackson.
Thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow, and the Scene of the Crime Early Reads for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Joshilyn Jackson did not disappoint with Mother May I. When the story begins, main character Bree sees what looks like a witch peeking into her bedroom window. Thinking she is seeing things, she brushes it off, but when she sees the same witch by her car, her instincts kick in. After her young son is kidnapped and she is caught in a web of lies from 30 years prior, we start to see the layers Bree’s character is built upon. What lengths will Bree go to in order to save her son?

The characters in this book are rich in flavor. You have Bree’s best friend’s husband who is widowed after she’s killed in the line of duty. You have Bree’s husband Trey who is not as perfectly crafted as he appears. You have Trey’s best friend, Spence, who is partners with Trey in their law firm but who Trey also keeps at arm’s length for some reason. The most intricate character, in my opinion, is the witch. (I couldn’t help but picture the “witch” like the drawing where you are asked if you see the old woman or beautiful young lady.) She is trying to right the injustice that happened to her daughter but also sees something in Bree that softens her.

Great suspense. Beautifully written. This is a book that is hard to put down.

As soon as I saw Joshilyn Jackson had a new book coming out, I knew it was on the top of my list. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this book. It was immediately engrossing from the first chapter and the storyline was really rich and impactful. I really liked how layered the book was - dealing with the kidnapping, the whodunit, the relationships between the main character and her husband and her best friends widower, as well as the expose of "what happened" that drove the revenge storyline. I will absolutely be recommending this book to everyone when it is released!