A good thriller with mean moms. Misfits considered lower class try to find their place among high class jerks. So many shocking moments. So many unlikeable characters. A wicked, fast read.

A twisty read about a mom who will do anything to fit in with the inner circle of Queen Bee's running her son's prestigious school. She is insecure and uncertain about her place in the world, being stuck in a dead end entry level bank teller job, and her son has trouble fitting in with his posh peers. So when she is invited into the Circle she thinks it's the answer to her prayers. However the women running the Circle are beyond awful. While the main character was annoyingly insecure and naive, I raced through this to find out what would happen.

Helen Monks Takhar’s SUCH A GOOD MOTHER is a dark and twisting thriller, the story of a mother who would do anything to fit in and to ensure her son Charlie’s future at the prestigious Woolf Academy. Rosie O’Connell, a working mother, has more responsibility than one woman deserves. Her son is struggling at school, her marriage is shaky, and her house is in shambles. If she could only win a spot in the elite group of ruling parents called The Circle, then her problems would be solved. Rosie soon learns that the school motto “Magis el Magis,” meaning “more and more,” is the high price one pays to wear the coveted gold circle pin. The author spins a tale full of death, disloyalty, and deceit.
This is a story of sacrifices and trade-offs. The writing is strong with characters who are striking and memorable, ones who still wander through my thoughts and lead me to ask, “How can someone who looks so good on the outside have within her a soul that is so bitter and ugly?” And what if the very thing we fight so hard to achieve becomes our curse? At the back of the book are a list of questions for book club discussions. Do not miss the Author’s Note, a discourse on the power of negative events in early childhood and the damaging effects of guilt and hopelessness. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

Dark tale of the lengths some people will go to for their children. Rose and her husband are doing the best they can to raise their son right. They are barely making ends meet with both of them working, living in a small apartment and trying to give their son the best start possible. When the fancy school in their neighborhood has an opening for their young son they jump at the chance, at least Rose does. Being a child of a con man, Rose understands the dark side of people more than most, but she doesn’t realize the extreme dark side of the school and the women who are in charge. Smart thriller that’s not to be missed.

I absolutely adored this book even though it's a little "Mean Girls Grow Up"! Rose is determined to get her son Charlie into The Woolf School as it's the most prestigious school around. But there's something so odd about its secrecy and one of the administrators has been found dead of a suicide near the playground. But Rose wants the best for her son and is willing to overlook the rest of the moms who appear to look down on her even as she remembers her own schooling there where she was called "Rotten Rosie." And so begins a frightening tale of family life and parents, teachers, and admin who will do anything to get ahead...and even more to get their hands on money! Takhar speaks to themes of resentment, desperation, jealousy, entitlement, gender, and economic inequalities as she takes you on a rollercoaster ride that has you plummeting to the ground in no time! Pacing is spot-on and I literally could not put it down! Now to investigate her other novels as this is sure to be a fan-favorite!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Rose is bitter and her life is in shambles – she and her husband are struggling to make ends meet, their marriage is shaky, and their once humble neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying around them. Part of that gentrification includes a prestigious and progressive grammar school, The Woolf Academy. After Rose’s son Charlie manages to snag a much-sought-after spot in the incoming class, she thinks they’re all set. But Rose, in her uniform for her dead-end bank teller job, doesn’t fit in with the fancy rich moms of and Charlie doesn’t get off to a good start either. So everyone is shocked when Rose is invited to be the newest member of The Circle, the elite power group of Woolf moms. The Circle moms have power, influence, and are the envy of the other moms. But everything comes with a price, and Rose quickly finds that life inside The Circle could be her worst nightmare.

I love a good “mom who will do anything for their child” tale, and this dark, clique-y, mean moms story has it in spades. The moms in The Circle are all deliciously horrible in their own special way, especially queen bee Amala. Now, I would have run and never looked back after the open house night at The Woolf, but Rose doesn’t do that – otherwise there would be no story. She’s desperate to give Charlie a better life, and The Woolf in all its gilded glory represents that to her. In doing “whatever it takes,” Rose becomes a hard character to like, and the storyline and motivations get a little chaotic near the end, but overall this is a compulsively readable book about being careful what you wish for.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I thought this book was ok but had some trouble connecting to the main character. The story centers on Rose, who wants her son to attend a prestigious local school without realizing that there is a price to pay for his inclusion. Rose becomes enamored with the school’s leader, Amala, and goes out of her way to fit in and ensure her son’s future.

While Rose’s backstory provided some insight into her current behavior, her insecurity and naïveté really grated on me. There were some twists that came along later in the book, but I had some trouble reconciling them with what I had seen from Rose before then. Speaking of twists, there were definitely some surprises that I appreciated, some of them which I didn’t see coming.

Overall, this book didn’t really do it for me, mostly because I never really connected with Rose and felt that there were some inconsistencies in her character. I’m clearly in the minority based on other reviews, though. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this dark and twisty read! Any mom with school-age children is familiar with the fact that relationships with other moms can get tense, but this novel takes that to a whole new level. The last of 5 books I read on vacation, I really enjoyed the page-turning pace. I couldn’t wait to see what happened to Rose and her family. Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC of #SuchAGoodMother I appreciate it very much!

Such a Good Mother
A Novel
by Helen Monks Takhar
Rose O’Connell is barely surviving. Her marriage is rocky; her son isn’t fitting in at his new school, the prestigious Woolf Academy; and their tiny apartment in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood can barely contain her family. As she struggles to make ends meet on her junior bank teller wages, Rose finds that life as the only mom in a name tag and uniform at the Woolf’s shiny school gates isn’t easy.

Not so for those in the elite and secretive Circle—a tight-knit group of wealthy mothers, led by the charismatic and glamorous Amala Kaur—who rule the school. When the mysterious death of one of the Circle’s members creates a vacancy, Rose dares to hope she could fill it and transform her life.

Amala’s shocking decision to invite Rose into her clique provokes resentment among the Circle, especially when her fortunes, self-esteem, and status start to soar. But Rose soon realizes the true price of being on the inside. Far from being a dream come true, the Circle proves her worst nightmare. Unlike the woman she replaced, can Rose escape with her life?


This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Random House Publishing Group- Random House, and by #NetGalley. The opinions expressed are completely my own. I enjoyed the book. A cliquish group with some mean and funny included.

I love love love these. I love any book that highlights the difficulty that it is to be a mother. The mundane, the repetitive day to day. It allows others to see that the hardest job there is is mother hood. Loved this thrilling book. Thank you netgalley for the copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to receive an arc in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own!



This book was chaos in a good way. Mean girls meets suburban moms. Lots of moments to say “what? No! Leave!” Which I enjoyed in a twisted way. Excited fo add more from the author as I hadn’t read anything previous!

I have to be honest with you. These characters irritated the (insert your favorite expletive here) out of me. As in what the actual…

These people are warped. I liked two side characters and hated every other character.

The book is entertaining with a touch of nasty. The reasons behind everything are a little unnecessarily complicated, and then get even more unnecessarily complicated. But it’s a popcorn read and I was happily munching along to the bitter end.

I…can’t really tell you that I enjoyed it. There’s a pervasive ‘ick’ with just about every character interaction. But I was definitely entertained!

• ARC via Publisher

Now I have to read Precious You, because if its half as great as Such A Good Mother ill be so thrilled!

Rose is barley getting by. Marriage is a bit problematic, her son is having issues at school and the home life feels like its squaring in on her.
Rose is struggling truing to make ends meet at her job being a bank teller, and life at her son's respected school Wolf Academy isn't easy either!

Especially, not for those wealthy, close-knit, upper class mothers who have their own secretive Circle, lead by mesmerizing and alluring Amala Kaur, who ultimately runs the school. Rose spots her chance when a strange death happens to one of the the Circles members and it creates an open spot.

When Amala decides to to welcome Rose into their Circle it starts a tense irritation between among the other mother's.
Especially when her life, confidence, and prestige start to rise. Soon Rose realizes the hard truth of what it truly means being inside this group. And it's starting to become a nightmare. Will Rose end up being like the mother she replaced? Or will she make it out alive?

I’m telling you this is a great, unputdownable, entertaining read.
I found everything I crave in a thriller right here in Such A Good Mother.
I very much enjoyed the characters dynamics. All of the characters are so fleshed out and it was such a great mystery from the very start!
Takhar's writing style was fascinating.
A wonderfully captivating psychological thriller with great characters and lots of secrets and twists and turns that keeps the reader engaged throughout it all.
An utterly, riveting, wild story. One I highly recommend picking up!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Random House Trade Paperbacks,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Books that have the “moms/neighbor murder” type troupe are a hit or miss for me and this one lands somewhere in the middle. It put you smack in the middle of the action in the beginning however in my opinion the story unraveled slowly afterwards. Overall it was just an average, ok read fir me.

Rosie O’Connell has a lot on her plate. Her son is having a rough time at his new school Woolf Academy and her marriage is on the rocks. Her house is in shambles and she is the other mother who sports a name-tag, working a dead end job. To the other mothers in the group named the Circle, of Woolf her life is a mess by comparison.

The Circle rules the school and is led by the picture perfect Amala Kaur. These mothers participate in fundraising and hyping up the image of the school. In exchange their kids get special privileges, the moms get high paying business opportunities and are the envy of the town.

Rose aspires to join the group and after one of its members are found dead and Amala invites Rose into their world. She is thrilled and thinks that this could help her family more ways than one. However, the deeper Rose gets in the Circle, the more she realizes that this could be her biggest mistake.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my gosh I loved this book so much! It was very compelling, and it hooked me from chapter one. It just goes to show you that what you see isn’t always what it seems. I loved every chapter of it! I look forward to adding a physical copy to my library soon!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Random House Publishing Group- Random House and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Wonderfully written, perfectly crafted characters with charm and charisma.

This book is amazing!! The story and the characters were perfectly done. It almost feels like the story could be real life. It sucks you in from the first few sentences and doesn’t let you go even after the book is done.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced read.

This was a great little thriller revolving around a mother who would do anything to fit in. First step is putting her child in a well known prestigious school that happens to be across the street from their apartment. From here we learn about the interworking of the school/academy that is ultimately led by "The Circle" a few mothers who run the school behind the scenes. Immediately, Rose knows she needs to enter the circle to gain the status she has always wanted as she tries to escape her past that was ruined by her father. We follow deaths, betrayal, fraud, and so much more. Kept me guessing until the very end!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC.

I'm still not quite sure what to make of this one. This was a page turner that simply left me confused and not completely satisfied in the end. The epilogue could of done either without or with more. It was just too much to untangle for me but the overall story was good, twisty, and at times, thrilling.

This book is a story that could be real...written by a talented and gifted author...a can't put down until finished book. That being said, it does move slowly at times, and the reader has to determine what is going on when...what might happen in the end. Suspense...friendship...school...children...wanting what is best for the children...yet maybe not always...prestige...this book was sent to me electronically for review from Netgalley.