Hooked me from the start. Was in the mood for a thriller, and this hit the spot. Engaging writing style. The storyline pulled me in effortlessly. Thank you!

This a was an enjoyable read which brought back many memories of having a newborn baby in the house. Yea, I remember the exhaustion, the screams, the lack of sleep, yet sweetened by the love for the baby.
Our main character joins a new mother’s group and is envious of how well put together they are. Then one mother disappears.
Great suspense. Unusual plot; the author Willett put a lot of thought into her book.

This is a fully engrossing mystery that brilliantly takes the life-upturning experience of being a new mother and makes it the background for a missing persons case. I could not put this book down, and just when you think you have things figured out, the story morphs into something different. A gem of a book!

This is an excellent debut novel and certainly, if you're a young mother, I'd imagine you can really relate to the lead character who is really going through it with her newborn.
Jenn is a sleep deprived new mother who joins a group of similar women and then, one disappears.

What follows is definitely a focus on the trials and tribulations of young mum's - so, for those not, it can be slow and repetitive. However, stick with it, as there are twists and turns to come and it's all nicely rounded up at the end.

Overall, a decent drama / thriller and I'm grateful to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to preview.

3.5 rounded up due to this being a debut novel.

I was instantly sucked into this book. New mom Jenn has a tough time adjusting to her newborn and life after baby. She's in a mom's group with Kira, Isabel, Vanessa, and Selena. Their weekly meetings are a good way to meet people but it seems pretty superficial. After Isabel goes missing, Jenn gets crazily obsessed with finding out what happened to her. When we learn more about the group members, including Jenn, we realize that they are all tied together in an unexpected way and it's not by accident that they ended up in the same mom's group.

When we learn more about the group members, including Jenn, we realize that they are all tied together in an unexpected way and it's not by accident that they ended up in the same mom's group.

Highly recommended!

Mother of All Secrets
By Kathleen M Willett
Release date 08/01/2022

From the book :
Sleep-deprived and overwhelmed, first-time mom Jenn is struggling to adapt to her new role. Frustrated with her loving but preoccupied husband and still grieving the death of her own mother, she feels isolated and depressed. It’s only when she joins a new moms’ group that she starts to think she’s finally getting back on track.
Until Isabel, the group’s leader, suddenly disappears.

My Review
4 🌟🌟🌟🌟S҉҉T҉҉A҉҉R҉҉S҉҉ for this debut author. I read this book easily in one sitting. Jenn is a struggling mother, and she indeed shows an honest reflection of what I am sure all first-time moms feel and go through. (My hats off to all the mamas out there, truly🫶🏻)
Isabel goes missing, and Jenn can’t let it go. She is on a mission to find out what happened to her. And boy does she.
Finding out how all these women in the mommies group connect is jaw-dropping. Add this book to your tbr asap

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#motherofallsecrets

Wow. Aside from the actual plot, which had me hooked from the beginning until the end, the descriptions of early motherhood here made me feel like I identified *so* closely with the narrator. There were some trigger moments in the story, but really… wow. Will definitely be recommending this to others.

I really enjoyed this book as a whole. Some parts felt repetitive but there was such mystery that I was pulled in quickly and HAD to finish it. I loved that this book touched on the “taboo” topics such as PPD and anxiety as well as the uncertainties of new motherhood. The mystery was intriguing and the ending wrapped it all up nicely. Overall a great book.

Wonderful premise that kept me engaged throughout I really enjoyed the characters and the unfolding of the story. Sometimes slow, but at least that helped with the pacing. I would recommend.

This was a really fun mystery that I enjoyed all the way through! It wasn’t entirely gripping for me but enjoyable enough and there were loads of secrets and dark truths to uncover!

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC. Unfortunately this book simply wasn't for me.
This book was unremarkable for me. I read 2 books about mothers back to back and I always forget this one. The characters were not relatable at all and the book was really underwhelming. Even though I did not see any twists coming, when they were revealed, there was no 'What!' moment.

An engaging twisty thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. Themes of friendship, motherhood, loneliness and postpartum depression run through the novel and kept me turning the pages. 5 stars from me!

Jenn is a new mom and, though happy, really struggling with it. She's exhausted and anxious, and struggling to remember things. She's worried that she's not a good enough wife or mother. Jenn is very lonely and feels like she has no one to talk with about her insecurities, until she joins a group for mothers on the Upper West Side. She barely has time to feel better before Isabel, a member of her group, disappears and there's evidence that she may have been involved.

I liked the twist about halfway through, and I love a second twist, but I think the third may have been superfluous. I'm not saying I didn't like the ending, but I think the pace of the latter third was disproportionately fast compared the the beginning. it seems like three disparate plot points are jaggedly stitched together.
I actually had a very difficult time staying engaged through the first half. The back copy does say that Jenn is a new mom and is exhausted and trying to keep up; I went in expecting a significant amount of the story to be about motherhood, bonding with baby and postpartum depression. I didn't expect its entirety to be about motherhood. I understand that it's a subgenre that a lot of people appreciate, I would venture to say there are just as many folks who are put off by it.

I had difficulty understanding the full motivation of many of the characters. I understand that to some degree, ambiguity is necessary for some of the reveals later, but there wasn't either sufficient context or enough character development to really get why people behaved the way they did--protagonist or antagonist.

It was a quick read that once it got going, really went. All in all, it was an entertaining popcorn thriller that, for a debut novel was very good and really did keep me guessing until the end.

I am a huge fan of thrillers and Mother of All Secrets did not disappoint. I think Jenn is accurately portrayed because if a member from my group went missing, I would also obsessively investigate their disappearance.

At times, the book moved a bit slow, but it was overall a great book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union!

I had a hard time with this one. I think it's because I am in the middle of mom things with a young toddler, and I am in the middle of many mom groups. As my kid gets older, I find the groups kind of annoying where everyone starts to compare milestones and they are extremely judgmental. I had kind of hoped this book would lure me in at the beginning, and it didn't. I'm disappointed. I tried several times but I needed something more to be able to finish!

Mother of All Secrets is the debut novel by Kathleen M. Willett about five new moms living in Manhattan. The title, the cover, and the premise all had me excited to jump in! I really enjoyed the beginning of this book and felt like Jenn's struggles were palpable. She's exhausted and lonely; she spends her days dealing with a difficult newborn, a loving but slightly useless husband, the grief of recently losing her mother, and she's harboring a lot of secrets. I think Willett did a great job of portraying the challenges that many women face during the postpartum period (but don't always talk about!). Jenn spends her limited free time scrolling through social media and is bombarded with those "grass is greener" feelings. Every other mom seems to be thriving whereas Jenn can barely unload the dishwasher.

By about 20% in, I started to get a little bored of the repetition, counting down the hours until it was acceptable to open a bottle of wine, and Jenn's inner monologue about how difficult things were. That's not to say she's wrong- her life is incredibly difficult! I just wish she would have even considered getting professional help (nothing like an armchair diagnosis!). At one point, Jenn's husband wakes her up after she's fallen asleep standing over the baby's crib which is terrifying and he points out that she took a walk outside late one night that she doesn't remember taking. She’s clearly overwhelmed, likely depressed, and a lot of problematic thoughts and feelings are quickly dismissed throughout the book.

Jenn may not get professional help but she does join a weekly support group alongside four other new moms in her neighborhood. Things are going pretty well until one of the moms goes missing. Naturally, Jenn decides she's the ideal candidate to solve the crime! I will add that one of my favorite parts of the book was when a mom from the group calls Jenn out pretty directly about her privilege and her misguided beliefs. It was a conversation I don't see often enough in thrillers.

What follows is a pretty twisty chain of events but the twists and turns don't really happen until the last 25% of the book. I can honestly say I had no idea what was going to happen or who was connected and why. I think a lot of readers will enjoy Mother of All Secrets, but just keep in mind that the writing is pretty heavily focused on the monotony of Jenn's maternity leave and it is definitely a slow burn. I felt like things wrapped up a little too nicely for my tastes. Overall, a fun read and I look forward to seeing what Willett whips up next!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Kathleen Willett for allowing me to be an early reader

Mother of All Secrets shows us just how far a woman will go for her friends and how far a mother will go for her children.

This book is a quick, enjoyable read. I like the way the author introduces and develops each of the women in the story. The story is told from the perspective of main character Jenn, as she develops individual friendships with the women in her new moms' group. So, it's almost like the reader is getting to know these women along with her. But do you ever really know anyone? Through most of the book, I honestly thought I knew where the plot was going, but by the end, I was pleasantly surprised by the twist.

Mother of All Secrets is relatable for all mothers, especially new moms, even if you're not quite living in an Upper West Side apartment. I will definitely be recommending this book to others and will look for more by this author.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

Another book that made me glad I haven’t reproduced. The baby years sound horrible and to often lead to death and mayhem. In this case a few women band together when another goes missing I did feel like the first bit was slow but it picked up once the women were on the case. I was frustrated by the loser husband, Why do these men get married and have children?

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! This thriller was a keep you on your toes with multiple plot twists make sure to check this one out! Not only a thriller but tackles big issues with motherhood especially postpartum, which does not get enough attention and we should talk about more freely. Having suffered it I know the shame, isolation and loneliness I felt wishing I felt comfortable to talk to others. Thank you Kathleen for this heart racing book that also opens up dialogue about an important issue impacting so many women!