The story begins with Bree waking up and seeing who she believes is a witch looking at her from her bedroom window. From that first page to the last this book is a roller coaster of twists and turns. This is a story of revenge and how the past can come back and haunt you, but also how a mother will do anything for her child. I really enjoyed this book it was very well written and had me on the edge of my seat till the end. I would like to thank #netgalley, #William Morrow and #Book Club Girls for this ARC for my honest opinion.

It may be a thriller but it feels next to real as it relates to a case of revenge involving rape. This is one book that you can't stop thinking about after you've read the last page.

It starts with a lovely wife, Bree, with the perfect family: her handsome husband, Trey, along with two teenage daughters, Anna Claire and Peyton, and baby Robert. Her husband comes from money and works as an attorney at an established firm. They live in an upper class neighborhood and enjoy the benefits of a good school system. No worries. Right?

When Bree is at a drama practice event, she figures her baby is safe in his carrier. She's in the same area as he is and she's just chatting away. But when she glances back to where she left him, he's missing. She panics and immediately rushes out. That's when the story takes off as she has to follow the rules of the kidnapper, Cara, a grey-haired lady that Bree describes as an old "witch." Naturally, the reader wants to jump to the last page to see if Robert survives. But no; we must keep reading each chapter as it builds with continued suspense.

This book makes one pause to think about all sorts of issues: the effects of blame, the power of wealth, how tragedy with children can change a marriage, the harm of drugs and also power of religious beliefs. The story is well written and keeps you focused. While some parts may not be very realistic, the book opens up questions of justice.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Bree Cabbat was raised poor in rural Georgia. But now, she has the life she dreamed of. She is married to a loving attorney with wealth, status and power. They have 2 daughters and a newborn baby boy.

One day Bree goes to the school to watch her daughter at play practice. She turns her head for a minute and when she looks back, her baby is gone- a note has been left in his place.

Later, the person who has her baby calls her. She is told that if she wants her baby back, she better follow the instructions explicitly.....

This leads Bree on the terrifying path to find her baby
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I both read and listened to this one on audio. The audio is excellent and I highly recommend it. It’s narrated by the author and she brings the story alive. She’s able to express it exactly the way she created it in her mind, which really enhances the experience ✨I loved it!

This was a wild ride! I generally liked the dual perspectives, although occasionally it felt like they overlapped a bit too much. The details in the book really made it. I wasn't sure that meeting the other couple with a stolen child was going to come back but man did they ever. Really enjoyed this book.

Jackson’s previous novel, Never Have I Ever, was one of my favorites of last year and I sunk my attention immediately into this new one. Bree Cabot is our protagonist and seems to have the perfect life until a monstrous act happens early in the story and we settle in to see how the plot will evolve. I adored the first third, loved the second third and was initially ambivalent about the ending. The story of how far a mother will go for her child is an old one but this story feels fresh, tense and totally believable as we are led into treacherous and morally clouded waters. I completely understood and agreed with Bree’s reasoning in most of her hearwrenching decisions. This is an excellent domestic thriller with unexpected detours and has a deep inner narrative to support the story. I personally wanted a darker ending, but on reflection, I accepted and appreciated where the author took us, a reflection of today’s awareness and politics.

Someday I will learn my lesson about starting books late at night. Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson is not one of those books that you can casually start reading and then go to bed. The first line of the book “I woke up to see a witch peering in my bedroom window” haunts you and begs you to forsake sleep, eating, and work. Once you get started you need to make sure everyone is safe in the end. Bree grew up poor in rural Georgia to an anxious mother who always feared the monsters under the bed. Bree is now happily married to Spencer Cabb and has three beautiful children. She loves her role as trophy wife, mommy, and chauffeur. She enjoys the luxury of volunteering at the school so she can spend more time with her daughters. It is during one of these school events that her life is forever changed. One minute she is watching her precious baby boy, Robert, sleeping at the back of the auditorium and the next minute he is gone. Someone has taken him and left her a cryptic note “If you ever want to see your baby again.Go Home. Tell no one. Do not call the police, Do not call your husband. Be at your house by 5:15 p.m. or he’s gone for good.” I cannot imagine the shock, fear, and adrenaline it took for Beth to orchestrate a plan to make sure her girls were safe so she could race home and try to find her boy. Bree’s mind is spiraling as she wonders if this is a random abduction or if someone has intentionally targeted her family. Who can she talk to and who can she trust without upsetting the captor/s and losing any chance she has of finding her son? What is she willing to do to try and save her child? This book is an emotional rollercoaster as Bree finds herself in a tangled web as she carries out the captor’s instructions. I was so grateful when she finally ended up confiding in others to try and help her. When Bree starts to get answers she faces other difficult decisions about what to do with this information. Who is really guilty? Who can be saved? Highly recommended. The plot has intense themes of pedigree, privilege, loss of innocence, betrayal, and revenge and the nature of relationships between mothers, daughters, and sons. I would add the disclaimer to any of my pregnant friends or friends with children under the age of three that this book might be too intense for them due to the subject of child abduction. I would also let people know that this book includes themes of sexual assault that could be triggers. Thank you to #netgalley and William and Morrow for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. #MotherMayI

This is a dark thriller of revenge, that kept twisting in ways I could not imagine! Every time I thought I had an idea of what was next, the plot twisted in another direction. When Bree's infant son is kidnapped, she vows to do whatever she has to so he is returned safely to her and his family. Her search for her son takes her down dark paths she never imagined. This book kept me turning pages late into the night, particularly near the ending. The characters are complex and multilayered, including the villains. As the story progresses, so does the perception of exactly who the villains are. It is a thoroughly engrossing, enjoyable read! I did obtain a copy of the book through Netgalley, the publisher, and Scene of the Crime, and I am very glad I did!

Bree is happily married, has 2 teenage daughters and a infant son. She knows someone that looks like a witch is watching her. While watching one of her daughters rehearsal for a school musical she discovers that her son has disappeared. She suspects the old woman she believes is watching her. Bree is contacted by the kidnapper and if she wants her son back alive, she has to meet the woman's demands. The kidnapper isn't interested in money but in revenge for a incident, that happened to her daughter when she attended college, that involves Bree's husband and his secret. This roller coaster of a novel gradually reels you in and you feel like you're part of the story.

One of my favorite Joshilyn Jackson books! Dark tale of family secrets, kidnapping and murder. A very dark, domestic thriller.

This was a great read. It was very suspenseful reading about a mother (Bree) whose son was stolen right from under her nose trying to get her son back. Bree will do whatever it takes to bring her boy home and I can understand that. Finding out why baby Robert was taken is definitely a trigger warning to some. Bree managed to be a nice and even empathetic character at times while still being hard enough to do what she needed to do for her child. I finished this book in nearly one sitting and definitely recommend to people who like books in the thriller/suspense category.

The book was just ok to me. I thought the final purpose and intention of the story was certainly good and important, that the way the author laid it out ended up being often not predictable, which I enjoyed. Can’t say it was wholly realistic in a lot of parts tho and there were a number of times it got rather repetitive and rambling which is my biggest reason for the lower rating.

I was quite intrigued with the cover and premise, but unfortunately this one fell flat. I felt there were two stories; the first half lead right into Bree’s baby boy, Robert, being kidnapped. It was suspenseful and twisty because of the rules & tasks she had to follow. What extremes would mothers go to to get there kids back?! The second half felt different with new characters and mystery. It’s a bit confusing to follow and a bit long. Thank you to William Morrow, the author, and NetGalley for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

Link to my Instagram review:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKb_XtuAktl/?igshid=1ts47p1ubaitb

I should have known after disliking Never Have I Ever that Mother May I would not be my cup of tea, but the premise sounded so promising!

But I don't like the voice and I don't like the main character, so I really don't care what happens to her or her family. That sounds awful when it's a book about a kidnapped baby, but this one wasn't for me. And I think I'm going to close the book on trying this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow through the Scene of the Crime book club for making this advance copy available for review.

This is the first Joshilyn Jackson book I have read and I will be reading more! Every once in a while I like to mix things up and throw in a good thriller/mystery book. Mother May I was such a good read. Starting off seemingly innocent, and then right away you are in the thick of things trying to figure our where the story is going. A very good read that kept me guessing.

Mother May I was a great Book. I really enjoyed it. I always enjoy books by Authors from my home State. Bree is strong women raised by a strong single mother. She will stop at nothing to get her son back. This book sucks you in and is chilling page turner. there are a lot of dark secrets in this book. I don't want to give to much away! It isa must read! I give it 5 stars. I could not put it down. Thank you for the opportunity to read the arc copy!

Wow - every time I had to put this book down, I couldn’t wait to pick it up again. A baby is abducted, and of course the mother will do ANYTHING to get her son back. She follows the abductor’s instructions, and things spiral out of control in a hurry. She is horrified to find out that an episode from her husband’s distant past is the reason that the family has been targeted. A lot of suspense - will they get the baby back? Can the marriage survive the revelations from the past? I’m giving 5 stars, though it’s really 4.75 — I could see early on how one thing was going to end up - though how the story would twist its way to that ending, I didn’t see. My favorite Joshilyn Jackson book.

Thank you @bookclubgirl, William Morrow and #netgalley for allowing me to read an arc of Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson. What a page-turner! I knew from the blurb that Bree was going to have to do something to get her son back, but what? And then I was OMG.
I loved Bree, who was doing her best to hold everything together and how her background gave her insight. I liked how Marshall was always on her side and involved in what she was doing.
While the story line was pretty typical, the writing was really great. I appreciated how the concepts of privilege and perception were woven into the story.
If you want a thrilling, roller-coaster of a read, this is it.

“Mother May I” is a thriller in which Bree Cabbat, who is married to Trey, a wealthy upper class lawyer, has her infant son abducted by an elderly woman while Trey is out of town on business. Expecting a ransom demand, Bree is surprised to discover that the woman wants her to go to a law firm cocktail party and spike the drink of one of Trey’s law firm partners, who also happens to be his cousin and fellow college alum. When things go awry after Bree follows the abductor’s instructions, using the drugs provided by the kidnapper, Bree turns for help to Marshall, a childhood friend, former cop and investigator for her husband’s law firm. What ensues is a race against time, as Marshall and Bree try to find out who the woman is, why she appears to have a grudge against Spence, and where she might be holding Bree’s infant son.

Although I have read and enjoyed most of Joshilyn Jackson’s YA books for their beautiful prose and well developed characters, her latest thriller, “Mother May I” is not up to her usual standards. Awkward, stilted prose with short choppy sentences, and uneven pacing make this a difficult book to enjoy. Another annoying aspect of the book is the confusing chronology, in which the narrative doubles back in time and repeats events from another character’s perspective. These different perspectives alternate between a first person account where the story is told from Bree’s point of view, and third person where Marshall is the focus. At the start of each chapter, it takes awhile to figure out who is the focus because there are no chapter headings to provide a clue.

This book had an interesting premise and would have been satisfying but for the issues with choppy prose, uneven pacing, and a confusing chronology. If the reader can set aside these issues, the storyline itself is entertaining.

Well written with good character development but very predictable to me. A woman’s baby is kidnapped and she is encouraged to do some unspeakable acts to get her baby back. But why? It honestly was a struggle to get through this. Too many twists and turns I was getting whiplash and confused. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4+ stars

Bree wakes up one morning convinced a witch was peering into her bedroom. Later on her infant son is kidnapped and Bree must do something in exchange for getting back her son.

I have read several Joshilyn Jackson books and she has a great way of building characters. Mother May I was a solid mystery that made you want to keep reading.

I ended up reading half and listening to half with an audio book. I liked listening to the author reading her book.