I was picking up my son up at the prison gates when I spotted the mother of the girl he had murdered”

A drug induced haze, ended in tragedy when then 17 year old Stefan murdered his girlfriend Belinda. After serving a three year sentence, Stefan is released, but still held prisoner within the community. Still grieving and with no memory of committing the crime, all Stefan can do is accept that he was responsible for her death.

Beautifully written, The Good Son is a poignant, complex and compelling tale of family, redemption and a mother’s love. Told through Thea’s eyes, the story is multi-layered and while there are times that is moves at a slightly slower pace, its outcome more than makes up for this. A very thought provoking tale that is well worth reading.

The book starts with Thea picking her son, Stefan, up from prison after serving time for killing his girlfriend Belinda. Thea unexpectedly spots Belinda's mother at the prison. The thrilling start to the book pulled me in, but the middle was slow and drawn out. I did not finish the book, but appreciate the opportunity to read the book from NetGallery.

I enjoyed the mystery of the story, although there were parts that could be figured out pretty easily. The Good Son is an emotional account of a mother's fight for her son. I had a hard time moving past the focus on Thea's thoughts... it was very "stream of consciousness" and didn't always flow. There were times I was confused on the time frame she was referring to. I would have really like to have heard more from the other characters as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Mitchard's probe into the mother-son bond, and also her examination of life in a small town. The book opens as Thea greets her son as he is released from prison. She thinks that the hard part is over. But Stefan was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, and many people in their town find that hard to forgive or forget. Protestors picket outside their home, their car is set on fire, and a threatening presence watches their every move. But when Thea decides to confront the details of that horrific night, she gains an enexpected clarity.

***I received an ebook copy from the publisher at no cost***

This is an emotional read that had me on the edge of my seat. A wild ride for sure.

Families have secrets and that's certainly the case for this one. Stefan was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Belinda, and jailed at 17. Three years later he's out and his mom Thea is doing everything in her power to make his transition back to society pa positive and easy one.

That's not how it works though.

Both Thea and Stefan have their own struggles they go through as this book unfolds. Stefan is ostracized by the community. Not only does he have to learn how to function in society again but he also has to learn how to forgive himself for what happened to Belinda. Thea struggles to watch her son try to reintegrate and also uncovers some secrets from the past.

These characters have depth and I feel like the author handled a lot of difficult topics in a delicate way. The author had my attention from the moment the book began and held it the whole way through, and there were twists and turns thrown in that made it even more of a suspenseful read for me.

Check this out if you like psychological thrillers.

Five stars to this novel!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Jacquelyn Mitchard tells a heart-rending story about a mom fighting for her son. Loved it!

Thea, a college professor, has a son who arrested for the murder of his girlfriend. He doesn't remember what happened that night because he was having a psychotic episode while on drugs. His fingerprints are on the murder weapon, and he was the only other person in the room. He is sentenced to prison and when he is released, picketers surround his house and the media is relentless.. Forced to take a sabbatical from her job, Thea starts to receive phone calls from someone who says she knows what happened.

Most people will figure out who the caller is long before the end of the book. That is the only element of the book I didn't like.

“The Good Son,” by Jacquelyn Mitchard, MIRA, 352 pages, Jan 18, 2022.

Stefan Christiansen, was just 17 when he went to prison for the murder of his girlfriend, Belinda McCormack, while he was in a drug-induced episode of psychosis. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

He is released just under three years later. His mother, Thea Demetriou, picks him up at the prison. His father, Jep, is a university football coach. They live in Portland, Wisconsin.

Thea is surprised to see Belinda’s mother, Jill, once Thea’s good friend, in the prison parking lot. Jill is a widow. Belinda was her only child. Jill once saved Stefan from drowning. Now she rallies the community against him to protest in her daughter’s memory.

People still picket the Demetriou’s house because of the light sentence. Meanwhile, Thea is getting calls from a young woman who wants her to tell Stefan to keep quiet about what happened. And a man is vandalizing their home.

Thea struggles to understand her son. At times, he is still the sweet boy he has always been; at others, he is a young man tormented by guilt. Thea is asked to go on sabbatical and Stefan is having trouble getting a job. He then comes up with a major project of good works which comes to fruition a little too easily.

The writing is excellent and characters and insights are strong. But the plot moves slowly. While the final reveal is unusual, it isn’t entirely believable.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I am having a hard time writing a review for The Good Son by Jacquelyn Mitchard. As I was reading, I kept hoping to get to know the characters better but so much time was spent in Thea’s head, I never got to know any other character, other than the surface view. I felt Thea’s thoughts were very disjointed and there were times that I wasn’t sure what time period she was thinking about. The mystery at the core of the story is what kept me reading and that part of the book was satisfying.

3.5 stars
I had high hopes for this one based on the synopsis alone. Sure it had all the elements it needed to be to be a psychological thriller with a loyal and determined mother doing whatever she could to find the truth and prove her son innocent of the crime he was sent to prison for. But it just felt, lacking at moments. Things were drawn out unnecessarily and other things never developed.
The beginning was solid but quickly lost steam about 20% in. I was really hoping to get into this one but just couldn't. I do like that the ending was wrapped up nicely, but it was slightly predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The basic story involves a young man’s return home after serving a prison sentence for murder. It is an interesting premise but one that was bogged down with inadequate character development (except for the mother/narrator), stilted dialogue, endless pages building suspense, and a lot of pontificating. Unfortunately the ending did not live up to the promise as it was fairly easy to predict ahead of time. That said, there were many occasions in the novel that caused me to reflect on the what if’s in real life.

Thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for the ARC to read and review.

This was my first book by Jacquelyn Mitchard. For the most part, I enjoyed this book. Jacquelyn puts so many details into this story, she really wants you to get the backstory and everything that is going on around. Which makes it kinda long and drawn out but it’s worth it for the storyline. Her writing is absolutely fabulous and this is an awesome thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley and HARLEQUIN for this incredible ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Good Son begins with a mother (Thea) picking up her son(Stefan) as he is released from prison after serving time for killing his girlfriend. I was immediately hooked and that lasted until the final pages of this suspenseful story.

From the start it is clear that there is more to this crime. Thea and Stefan encounter some problems on their way home and there's more to come. It's also not a simple case of being able to just move on from a tragedy as the victims mother has started a group that pickets Stefan's family relentlessly. There's lots of crazy stuff going on.

I found the everyday challenges that both Thea and Stefan faced were very realistic. Finding a job, keeping a job, dealing with the judgement of neighbors and friends -- these were uncovered in a way that helped to present these different situations with some sensitivity and honesty.

The story also delves into how much love is too much. Thea loves her child, but how did she contribute to what he did? And Stefan loved his girlfriend -- but was that too much? This aspect made me wonder the same thing -- when does love become too much?

There are some new revelations at the end of the story as Thea's tormentor is revealed. The ending wasn't a huge surprise for me, but there was some satisfaction in how it all turns out.

I liked this more than I thought I would going in. It held my interest until I hit the final pages, and while there were some slow spots, it left me feeling like I just didn't read a book, but more like I experienced something that made me think about some things, and I love that when a book effects me that way. So for that reason, I'm rating this five stars. It wasn't perfect, but this is definitely a book I will remember.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest, I had higher hopes for this book. I was expecting a little more strife, a little more angst. The two biggest mysteries in the story - who is the mysterious figure in the hoodie, and who is the mysterious person who keeps contacting Thea - are extremely drawn out and become more bothersome than suspenseful. As a parent, I appreciated Thea’s unrelenting search for the truth, but as a whole, I did not think the book description accurately portrayed the content of the book itself. It was a good story, but was not the suspenseful psychological thriller I was expecting or hoping it would be.

What do you do when the person you love best becomes unrecognizable to you? For Thea Demetriou, the answer is both simple and agonizing: you keep loving him somehow.

Stefan was just seventeen when he went to prison for the drug-fueled murder of his girlfriend, Belinda. Three years later, he’s released to a world that refuses to let him move on. Belinda’s mother, once Thea’s good friend, galvanizes the community to rally against him to protest in her daughter’s memory. The media paints Stefan as a symbol of white privilege and indifferent justice. Neighbors, employers, even some members of Thea's own family turn away.

Meanwhile, Thea struggles to understand her son. At times, he is still the sweet boy he has always been; at others, he is a young man tormented by guilt and almost broken by his time in prison. But as his efforts to make amends meet escalating resistance and threats, Thea suspects more forces are at play than just community outrage. And if there is so much she never knew about her own son, what other secrets has she yet to uncover—especially about the night Belinda died?

I really wanted to love this one but I could never connect. The opening was solid but by about the 15% mark- the propulsion of the plot fell off a cliff. I appreciate the resolution of this story but I don't think the payoff was worth it.

DNF at 32%.

Stefan is convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Belinda, and is sent to prison for three years. Upon his release he returns to his parents' house, and his mom, Thea, struggles to understand her son and what really happened the night Belinda died.

I thought the beginning was ok - thinking about how you'd feel and react if someone you loved was convicted of doing something horrible was interesting. However, when Stefan started listing his accomplishments during his *three years* in prison, I lost it. He starts a football team that "within a few months... was the envy of the Great Lakes region" AND gets local chefs to come to prison and do cooking demonstrations AND sets up a prison library from scratch. Sure.

I just can't make myself finish this book.

The Good Son presents a sympathetic point of view for people released from prison. Thea steadfastly has supported her seventeen year old son Sefan, who is imprisoned for murder. Stefan got an abbreviated sentence because he was under the influence of drugs when the murder happened, but when he is released his friends and the community in which he lives will not accept him back. He has difficulty finding a job, his house is picked by supporters of Belinda and his mother loses her tenured job at a univeersityy because the school is embarrassed by the publicity. Stefan is off drugs, and finally finds some redemption and Thea discovers that the true story of the murder was not what it seemed. I loved the writing and the point of view. Highly recommend. I read this as an ARC, and was under no pressure for the review.

Stefan's just been released after spending three years in prison for killing his girlfriend Belinda and his mother Thea is there to help him. The murder and tragedy was huge and has had rippling impact. Belinda's mother Jill was Thea's best friend but she's spent the last years protesting outside her house and she's not going to forgive or forget. Thea's losses don't compare but she's struggled to understand what happened. And now a mysterious young woman is alleging that there's more to the story- that she knows the truth. The mystery part of this wasn't so much of a mystery and the stronger parts of the novel involve Stefan's reintegration and Thea's efforts to rationalize and normalize. There are plenty of issues that are more interesting and canny readers will suss out the real story quickly. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Mitchard is a good storyteller and this is a thoughtful novel.

Wow this is a very moving emotional book!!!!!!!!!!! I've never experienced grief of a loss of a child & I pray I never do but the eloquent, real way that the author describes it makes you think she has personally experienced it. The emotions in this book will move any mother to tears many times while at the same time keep us right there beside these characters. I highly recommend this book.

#netgalleyarc I’ve enjoyed this authors works for awhile now and this new one did not disappoint. I was hooked right from the beginning and could not put it down. It reminded me a little of Jodi Picoult’s story, The Pact, because of the young characters who were in love and fell to tragedy but this story was different and very thrilling. This was the perfect snow day read and I devoured it in one day. A great read to start the new year off with.