What twists!!! This story is about a new moms group and one mom in particular that is struggling with new motherhood. I’ll be honest that the first part of the book was hard to read and I almost stopped reading. I related so much worth Jenn that even though my kids are older, it brought back the memories of comparing to other mothers and feeling alone that so many mothers feel. I’m so glad I decided to finish the book because wow! The second half of the book was thrilling and I stayed up way to late reading.

Mother of All Secrets, a debut novel by Kathleen Willett.

At the start of this book, I thought it was going to be another mom with post-partum story. And it was in the beginning. It was quite repetitive with the tiredness, lack of productivity etc.

Jenn joins a mom group in hopes of some help and making mom friends.

When Isobel, one of the other moms, goes missing, Jenn suddenly has the energy to focus on that and not her own life.

While the book started as a typical story, once it got going in was quite original. I can't say more than that without giving it away. It is rare these days for me to find books with original plots, so I was happy this one had one.

Thanks to netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc.

Jenn is tired behind belief with her newborn and lack of sleep. One of her mom’s groups colleagues is missing and things sent adding up. Jenn herself is questioned about the missing mom.
There more to the initial story. The,plot came together nicely. Some parts of the book were implausible from a practical stand point, but it’s still a decent book.

Mother of All Secrets by Kathleen M. Willett

I struggled with this book in the beginning. It dragged a lot for me but eventually it picked up. I didn’t care for the ending. This one was just ok.

Jenn is a new mom struggling to stay afloat. She tired and overwhelmed with her new responsibilities. To add to her predicament her mother passed away and her husband is preoccupied.

Jenn decides to join a new moms group. Just when she thinks she’s getting a grip on her life, the groups leader Isabelle disappears. Jenn becomes consumed with figuring out what happened. The deeper she digs the more secrets she uncovers; secrets that force her to look at her relationship and the people she thought she knew.

Mother of All Secrets is available August 1, 2022.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

While I appreciated and related to the discussions focused on postpartum challenges (been there), this novel was a miss for me. I thought the characters were not only unlikeable but also not relatable as I spent a lot of time rolling my eyes at plot twists and internal characters thoughts. I enjoyed the humor in the text chains of the upper west side group of moms and I always love a NYC setting for a book. Heartfelt thanks to Lake Union Publishing for the advanced copy.

I liked this one! Lots of twists and I was invested right away. The storyline was intriguing and I loved the author’s writing style.

Mother of All Secrets by Kathleen M. Willett is a book about secrets, many secrets. This is a review that is difficult to write because not much can be divulged without giving away too much information about this great plot. Jenn is a first-time mother of a newborn daughter. She finds herself out of her element until she joins a young mother’s group. She finds companionship and empathy among the young women from her neighborhood. Things are looking up until the leader of the group, Isabel, disappears suddenly. Jenn feels drawn to the mystery and worries about Isabel’s safety and attempts to involve the other mothers. This is where the secrets begin to be revealed, ever so slowly, peeling back the layers of an unpredictable plot. The characters are so well drawn that the reader feels as if they know these women. Each one contributes much to the story, good and bad. The plot is fresh and original : the reader will hold their breath till the conclusion. This is a great revenge novel, the kind that draws us in and does not let go. I will reread Mother of All Secrets, just to examine each character now that I know what happens. This is my first book by Kathleen M. Willett and I hope to read more in the future. Highly recommended. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't bad by any means, I honestly didn't relate to it at all. I was initially interested because I love a good mom group honestly. I thought the story was interesting and I would read more from this author in the future for sure.

Jenn's struggles with post party depression and a pretty much absent husband ease a bit when she's invited to join a mother's group by Isabel. The women- Isabel, Kira, Selena, and Vanessa- buoy her spirits and validate her feelings. And then Isabel disappears. Her husband doesn't seem too concerned - why? but the women are. They share a secret which none of them recognize at first. This might seem slow initially as Willett builds Jenn's character and her miasma but know that it amps up. Good Upper West Side atmospherics (which could apply anywhere to be fair). Liked the characters and the twists. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Unfortunately, I found this book totally implausible. I just couldn't get behind the story. I was disappointed as so many of the reviews were so good, but it was not the book for me.

Jenn is a new mother and has all the new mom feelings. Exhaustion and overwhelmed. She decided to join a new-moms group for support and things seem to be going well, Until everything falls apart. A mom of the group goes missing. I really enjoyed this book and was excited to learn the ending. Looking forward to other books by this author.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Just a little slow and unbelievable at some points. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC!

4 stars! Mother of All Secrets follows Jenn, a sleep-deprived, overwhelmed, new mother who is part of a new mom's group when the group leader disappears. Jenn is then consumed by the investigation and starts to uncover deep secrets as she searches for Isabel.

I thought this was a really strong debut! I didn't see the twist coming at all, which I enjoy, and I thought the author made a very compelling mystery. The main thing I didn't love is the "villainy monologue" that many thrillers fall into, but I would definitely read more from this author!

A story of early motherhood, love, friendship and betrayal. The struggle of mothering during those first weeks and months is clearly portrayed. Finding community with others living a similar life is important. Unfortunately the evil of one who you trust can unravel your very existence especially if you're barely hanging on. Twists aplenty will keep you glued to the pages. Enjoy and hate as you read this well-crafted story.

First of all, the cover and title are just perfect. I was intrigued before I even read a word. And man does it have the story to back that up!

This book grabbed me and pulled me in from the first page, I was hooked. I try to go to bed at a decent time but stayed up late to finish this one!

I really don’t want to say too much about the plot because I don’t want to spoil any of the amazing twists and turns coming your way. So I’ll just assure you that there are some great twists in here, most of which I didn’t see coming! Seriously, could not put this book down once all the pieces started falling into place. How it all comes together is just brilliant!

I’m not a mother yet so haven’t experienced the newborn struggles but I have a faint awareness of them so it’s refreshing to read a book talking so candidly about them. It also helped to make Jenn a very relatable and likable character!

I definitely have my eyes peeled for any other books coming from Kathleen Willett because this was a fantastic debut
This comes out August 1 so make sure to preorder a copy on Amazon if you haven’t already!

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. Absolutely loved this book, loved the twists, didn't see the ending, brilliant.

There is nothing I love more than supporting teachers, and I was excited to have the opportunity to read and review this debut novel by Kathleen Willett (a teacher). I never would have guessed that this was her first novel. It was well written, had so many twists and turns, and the ending had me mind blown! I thought it was fantastic, and I’ll be highly recommending this to others!

Such a thrilling thriller. I really enjoyed the story, it kept me hooked from the beginning to the end. Cannot wait to read more from the author.

I love the premise of this book. It makes for such an interesting read and the author did such a good job. The story was so well-written and I found myself trying to guess what would come next.

This book was a miss for me. Told from Jenn’s POV it starts off with Jenn struggling with new motherhood. It tells of her sleeplessness, inability to manage household chores and an inability to soothe her crying baby. Then it tells us about her sleeplessness, inability to manage household chores and soothe her crying baby….you get the drift. Her mother died when sh was 6 months pregnant which partly explains her depression but many of us have been there ourselves. I had my children in a relatively new city with no family support too.

Things improve a lot when she joins a mothers group. The infants are all just a few months old and the five mothers enjoy their weekly get togethers. While things improved for Jenn, they did not improve for me. The first half of the book was very slow and repetitive. Then, at last some actIon, one of the mothers, Isabel, disappears. She misses one of their meetings and does not answer her phone. Jenn and Kira stop by her house but learn nothing. Husband, Connor, seems very uninterested and Isabel’s mother, who seems like a really good sort is staying there to look after the baby.

Jenn, however, becomes obsessed with Isabel’s disappearance and gets herself in a quite a state about it. By the way, this part is still very tedious. After nearly a week with still no sign of Isabel one of the other mother’s suggests they spend a child free couple of nights in the Hamptons. A friend has offered her the use of a luxury home. The break will do them all good.

And that’s where I guess the plot finally got more interesting but also pretty silly. And I can’t even tell you why. But I found it just totally implausible. Maybe the first part of plan A may be something you would do. But what ended up happening, I guess this is supposed to be the twist. Of course you wouldn’t guess it because no one with half a brain cell would do this. There was much eye rolling I can tell you. Many thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.