A mother’s worst nightmare: Bree turned around and her baby was NOT THERE! It turned out to be far from a simple kidnapping, and nobody knew who’d be alive or dead at the end of this thriller.

The chapters alternate between Bree and Marshall, her friend (and best friend’s widower), and even though his crushing on her got a little annoying, I’m always a sucker for alternating perspectives. Her husband Trey was out of town for work, which we find out was by design because she wasn’t allowed to tell him, the police, or anyone else about the kidnapping. Luckily for her Marshall is a PI and former detective, and eventually he figured out something was going on. They went down a long and windy path to solve the mystery of why this seemingly nice old lady would kidnap her son and where she had taken him.

Jackson is an expert at describing characters from different classes and easily demonstrates the different filters through which they view the world. How one event could be the end of one person’s life as they knew it and at the same time mean nothing to the others. Reading this was worth all the lost sleep from staying up to finish it! Joshilyn Jackson’s writing is better than it has ever been!

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow what a premise! Take your kids to a school function or of them is kidnapped and in order to get them back you have to harm someone. The back story on why the victim and what in the past caused this to happen were fascinating. What you do in your past impacts your future for sure. I found myself feeling bad for Bree who just wanted her family back together. I really enjoyed this one and the happy-ish ending!

My first book from this author and I very much enjoyed it! Suspenseful from the start and kept me up way too late into the night trying to finish it. Four stars.

Mother May I sucked me in from the very first pages and kept me reading late into the night. The pace is a little different than I expected, but it worked, and I really needed to know how it ended. Perfect domestic thriller: not too gory, just the right amount of back story, and plenty of suspence.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️Review⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mother May I - Joshilyn Jackson

Rating - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ohhhhh myyyy goooooodnessss! This book is one of the best books I’ve read in a while.
One of the reasons why I loved it so much was the fact that it reminded me of all my true crime podcasts that I love to listen to (especially #myfavoritemurder and #themurdersquad)! Yesterday I couldn’t wait to get off of work so I could finish it.

Thanks to @netgalley, @joshilyn_jackson and @williammorrowbooks for allowing me to review #mothermayi

Release date - April 6, 2021

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤 ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤

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This was un-put-down-able. I read it in one day and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. I was hooked from the very start and did not see the twists coming. I always enjoy Joshilyn Jackson’s books and this one did not disappoint. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. 4.5 stars

Wow. This domestic thriller hit it out of the park! The psychological suspense kept me devouring until late in the night. A gripping storyline that will open your eyes more to #metoo. A"mistake' made while young can have vast ripples of consequences... Highly recommend. #n etgalley #joshilynjackson #mothermayi #upcomingthrillers

Page turning suspense. I have enjoyed Ms. Jackson's previous books and this one did not let me down.
I did not want to put this book down- I read it in one sitting!

I am a fan of Joshilyn Jackson. This book did not disappoint. I loved the twists and surprised in this psychological thriller. I will be ordering this book for the library and I am sure many will enjoy it.

I’m a fan of Joshilyn Jackson but this one just did not hit the mark for me. The first 1/2 was ok. I love the suspense of a good kidnapping story. But then the story took a strange turn and I honestly got bored and was not at all invested. There were a lot of descriptions of the rambling thoughts of the main characters that I found myself skimming through because they did not impact the plot in any way. I kept reading, thinking that maybe there’d be an amazing twist or profound, game-changing revelation at the end, but, sadly, that never happened.

An edge-of-your seat domestic thriller that will keep you turning pages!! The suspense and the mystery-solving were top-notch, but suspend your disbelief for the second half of the book, because it all becomes too good to be true. I was also holding out hope for a seriously jaw-dropping twist, given that so much was made of Bree’s acting abilities, and how great of a mother she is. Overall, the theme of sexual violence gives the ending some weight and outweighs the wild goosechase of the climax. An excellent and enjoyable book-highly recommended!!

Mother May I is a gripping novel, I read it in two days carrying my kindle everywhere with me to keep reading. It's every mother's nightmare, Bree's son is kidnapped by an old woman seeking revenge for events from long ago. At first just Bree is involved but quickly her oldest friend is also pulled into the plot. It was a twisted tale that easily could happen as well as a study is what a mother will do to protect her child. I just finished this book but it will stick with me for a while. Some books are forgettable, this one is not. The characters are well developed even the kidnapper. When I finished this book I wanted to tell everyone I know to read it. It would be a great book club book!
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for my advanced reader copy, all opinions are my own.

This was definitely a book that I didn't want to put down! Bree is a mom and wife who came from nothing and married a successful, wealthy lawyer. Her life is perfect until the day that a mysterious woman steals her newborn son and threatens to kill him if she tells anyone. She has to stay quiet and do an unpleasant deed to get her son back alive. Nothing goes as planned. Deep dirty secrets are revealed that change her perspective on everything and make her question who she can trust.

This would make an excellent book club book. My only complaint is that I didn't love how nicely something were tied up in the end.

Mother May I
“Revenge doesn’t wait for permission.”

Well that was insane!!
What a thrill this book was. I couldn’t stop turning my digital pages to get to the outcome of this book and it did not disappoint!!! Thank you very much to William Morrow and NetGalley for this advanced copy to read and review. As always, I am truly blessed!!

This story follows Bree Cabbat, married to a very wealthy man and they share two beautiful daughters and a son, Robert. The book sort of takes off in a bang with the drama happening first thing. She sees a “witch” peering into bedroom window which her and her husband chalk up to a bad dream. Then, a few hours later, she sees the same woman at her daughters school mere minutes before her son Robert vanishes! All she finds is a note that tells her if she involves her husband or the police, she will kill the baby! She is told to complete a seemingly illegal task and she will get her baby back. She will do anything to satisfy the old woman; and her actions lead to devastating results. During this journey she finds out terrible secrets that change her views forever! I can’t get too in depth with this one without giving away spoilers and this book needs to be experienced first hand. This book will be released April 6, 2021 so pre order your copy NOW!!! You won’t be disappointed.

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Mother May I is Joshilyn Jackson's second foray into the thriller world, and she doesn't disappoint! You won't want to put down this book, and when you have to it will keep calling you back. Characters are well-developed and plot is fast-paced.

Bree Cabbat grew up with a cash strapped and anxious mother obsessed with protecting her own security and that of her daughter. Bree had never met her father, who by all accounts was a piece of work, but as a gifted performer in amateur theatre she hoped that this might provide a gateway to the future life she dreamed of. But one day she met a man from a rich family and the mutual attraction was immediate. What followed was marriage, children and a privileged life in a nice house a few miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

When we pick up the story, Bree has two school aged daughters and a brand new baby boy. Her own hopes of a career in musical theatre had never gotten off the ground but it seems that she’s passed her abilities on to her oldest daughter and today she is to attend a rehearsal for a production at her school. Her husband, Trey, is a lawyer and he’s going to be away on business for a few days. The day had started badly when Bree had woken to find a what she thought was a witch staring at her through her bedroom window. However, she’d tried to dismissed this thought as potentially the over active imaginings of a sleep deprived mum. But this was to be a fateful day. Later, as Bree sat enthralled by the action on stage, her sleeping baby is stolen and in place of Robert is a note instructing her to return home immediately and not to inform the police if she wants to see him again.

After a slow start the action had suddenly ramped up tenfold. A panicked search of the school confirmed Bree’s worst fears and hadn’t she spotted a figure suspiciously similar to the witchy woman from her bedroom window in the school car park earlier? With Trey away she is forced to lean on the help a male friend, whose daughter is also in the school production, for support. But what is she to do – to comply and return home might protect her son but shouldn’t she really ignore this and contact the police immediately?

I have to say that I was quite unprepared for the emotional rollercoaster ride I was now to be launched on. There’s a lot of raw emotion here and I was never quite sure how this was all going to end. Added to this there are a number of twists that stopped me in my tracks and made me re-evaluate the ever changing picture I was seeing. And the sense of urgency, of time passing too quickly, became a real thing for me as I found myself rushing back to the book at every opportunity such was my desire to track events, my brain working overtime trying to assess whether the actions being taken were the right ones.

I’m almost never totally satisfied with the ending in mystery novels and to some extent I’m still evaluating how I feel about this one. What I will say is that there’s a secondary narrative that makes its way into this tale which requires a degree of interpretation, though it’s pretty clear where the author is leading us. How readers react to this will, I feel, colour their feelings regarding the final outcome. Either way, I definitely found this to be a well-crafted and gripping story – in fact, it's one of the most interesting and absorbing books I’ve read in a long time.

This is definitely a 5 star book when delivered with twists, and shocking details from Joshilyn Jackson. A chilling tale on how a mother will go to no end to protect her own child. It begins almost as a fairy tale with young mother Bree Cabbot sees what appears to be a witch peering in her window. Dismissing it as seeing things, the mysterious woman appears again at her daughters’ school when Bree is waiting for them. She looks away briefly then notices her infant son Robert has been taken and replaced with a letter stating she will never see her son again if she calls the police or tells her husband and asked her to complete an unthinkable crime to get her son back.
Bree joins forces with an old friend as she hunts for her son. The puzzle comes with a deadly price entangling her in a deep dark web of disturbing secrets and lies. Shocking, but delivered well this book is full of psychological twisted details and will surprise you when you just think you know the person who resides with you. Thank you for the copy NetGalley in exchange for my opinion. #MotherMayI #NetGalley
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A pulse pounding thriller that keeps the reader in suspense from the very first pages. Why would a mother kidnap another mother’s baby? Why would she ask her to drug a man ? There were so many questions that kept me guessing and I couldn’t put the book down. Excellent read for fans of suspense.

Such a dark, creepy, suspenseful book! It hooked me right away and kept me wanting more page after page. I will definitely recommend this one to people who like fast-paced psychological suspense with plenty of twists and turns.

Another great domestic thriller from Joshilyn Jackson that I read in 2 days flat! Lots of action, believable characters, and good pacing! I liked that the conflict wasn't resolved with a nice tidy bow at the end of the book and brought up morally uncertain situations that made me think about what I would do in the characters' places. Highly recommended!