This book should definitely have a trigger warning for pregnant woman or new mothers. I liked the book, but it was not as much of a mystery/thriller that I was hoping for and expecting. It focused a lot on a miserable first time mother who was suffering from post partum depression and psychosis. Those issues are very important and should be talked about and written about more in society and I appreciate the author doing that.

ecoming a new mother always has difficulties. But Natalie is struggling hard. A baby that cries constantly, no sleep, trying and failing to return to work, and a husband whose job takes up much of his time leaves her all alone. She struggles to cope.

Then Natalie meets Paul, a stay at home dad in the neighborhood who seems to understand exactly what she is going through and provides her the support and assistance she is craving.

But is Paul as good as he seems?

This book had some twists I was not expecting and, had I been a new mom, would have freaked me out!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

After loving THE FAVOR, I was thrilled to be approved to read and review THE NEW MOTHER.

Natalie, a new mother to baby Oliver, befriends her neighbor Paul, a stay-at-home dad. She believes he has her best interests at heart, but it turns out Paul has an agenda of his own.

The author’s portrayal of the MC, Natalie as a new mother was so realistic, I had to keep reminding myself I was reading fiction. I found Natalie’s character relatable, and I feel the author touched on postpartum depression with respect and grace.

I enjoyed the cat and mouse game between Natalie and Paul and there were plenty of twists and turns that kept me engaged throughout the story. Fans of domestic thrillers/neighborhood dramas will enjoy this one!

Be sure to read the Author’s Note at the end!

THE NEW MOTHER by Nora Murphy is a slow-burn suspense novel with a creepy twist of new motherhood and life in upscale suburbia. Natalie Fanning just gave birth to her precious son, Oliver. She and her husband, Tyler, are both attorneys, but Natalie is now staying home with her newborn while Tyler returns to work. Finding herself alone all day in a new house with a colicky baby that never sleeps, Natalie is soon frustrated, depressed and absolutely exhausted. One day she meets her neighbor, Paul. He was a stay-at-home dad when his daughter was young and he seems to be the only one who understands what Natalie is going through. He has an uncanny knack for instantly calming Oliver and soon, Natalie is spending time with Paul, taking advantage of his help with Oliver so she can finally get some rest. But Paul is not who he seems and it becomes increasingly clear that Paul has an ulterior motive for helping Natalie. Can Natalie escape Paul’s sinister plan before it’s too late? I enjoyed this story, but the first part of the book was a bit slow-paced and repetitive for me. Once it was clear where the plot was heading, I had to read quickly to see how it would end. I did appreciate the underlying message about post-partum mental health and its dramatic impact. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

I was expecting more of a domestic thriller along the lines of Nora Murphy's debut 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓 when I started reading this one, and to be honest, I was not ready for the in-depth, accurate portrayal of motherhood. Read when I was on maternity leave and starting work again, this story hit me hard, but it's so honest and raw that it's a must-read for anyone thinking of having a baby!

We hear a lot about the difficulties of pregnancy and labor, but then you have this tiny human and everyone expects you to just know what to do and how to manage everything. Spoiler: it is impossible to do it all in those first few weeks and you shouldn't feel like you have to.

Due to the brain fog of exhaustion that comes with having a baby, it was hard to tell if Natalie was a reliable narrator which made the murder of her neighbor's wife a fun plot twist.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮:
👩‍🍼like domestic thrillers
👩‍🍼want a real look at what it's like to care for a newborn
👩‍🍼enjoy dual POV stories

Natalie is a new mother. And motherhood is nothing like she thought it would be. She is physically and mentally exhausted. Her husband doesn’t understand. She makes friends in an unlikely place - a stay at home father who lives a few doors down. When a murder takes place and Natalie looks like the prime suspect can she figure out how and why she was framed?

Alright y’all. I have some feeling about this one. I liked this one and I would describe it as a slow burn domestic thriller. The first half of the book is spent with Natalie and her feelings towards being a new mother. I think the author captures the complete exhaustion of being an anxious mother perfectly BUT for someone looking for a thriller this may be a bit of a miss. After that the murder investigation picks up as does the speed. Overall enjoyable but be prepared for the slow burn and a lot of introspective thoughts.

Nora Murphy returns following her smashing debut, The Favor, with her latest twisty, gripping suspense—THE NEW MOTHER, when a young suburban mother gets caught up in a sinister game of murder.

It wasn't the sort of neighborhood for murder. Yet that was precisely what had brought her here —Detective Jill West. So we know something menacing and sinister is coming.

They had neighborhood watches, doorbell cameras, security systems, and where the parents felt safe allowing their children to ride their bikes with their friends.

Natalie is a new mom in her thirties, sleep-deprived, and caring for her young son, Oliver. She breastfeeds, and it seems her baby will not sleep unless she holds him. She is exhausted.

Tyler, her husband, gets to go to the office. She envies him. He is an attorney; she was also an attorney and put her career on hold before the baby. She wishes she could get dressed and speak to adults. But she tried it, and it failed —too much with the baby, the breastfeeding, his schedule, lack of sleep, and stresses. (plus other things).

Natalie feels isolated, lonely, and tired. She is depressed, exhausted, and sleep deprived. Her husband is of little help.

Then enter the neighbor, a stay-at-home dad, Paul Riley, a former college professor. He is a Godsend! He is great to talk with and good with Oliver. He listens to her problems and always gets Oliver quiet. He is her new best friend!

Paul's daughter, Petra, is ten and in school. He seems like a caring father and husband. Yet he still is at home, married to a wealthy woman that controls him. He is supposed to be writing a novel but failed to produce anything. His wife is tightening the reins on him. He would like to get rid of her.

Even though Natalie thinks Paul is her friend, he has different plans for her. He has alternative motives —she will be just a pawn in his devious game.

When someone winds up dead, and Natalie is a suspect, she must dig deep to find the strength to save herself and her son.

Told in four parts to the Epilogue, where all is wrapped up. The author gets into the devious mind of Paul, and parts are dark and witty. I appreciated the author writing an honest Author's Note about her experience to share with other mothers and a list of resources.

THE NEW MOTHER is a spine-chilling game of cat and mouse, with manipulation and gaslighting. Paul's character was so deceiving, and could see how a sleep-deprived mother could get pulled into his web of deceit.

The author does a fantastic job of creating a claustrophobic atmosphere —and the many struggles of a new mother— mental health, postpartum depression, and psychosis with compassion and sensitivity. Any mother will appreciate this book.

Murphy, a new mother herself and lawyer, knows the ins and outs of new motherhood apparent in the novel.

We all remember those days when our babies would not sleep. I was young, age 20 and 21 when mine were born —my two sons were only 18 mos apart, and neither was a sleeper. My mom told me it was PAYBACK because I never slept, driving her nuts. (I still have insomnia).

I was fortunate to read the e-book and listen to the audiobook narrated by Dylan Moore and Lee Osorio for an engaging performance for both voices. Highly recommend the audio.
Can't wait to see what the talented author comes up with next!

Thank you to #MinotaurBooks #NetGalley and # MacmillanAudio for a gifted ARC and ALC for an honest review. #MinotaurInfluencers

Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: May 30, 2023
May 2023 Must-Read Books

I generally do not enjoy books with postpartum depression or psychosis as the main plot. The New Mother beat the odds. I enjoyed the dualing perspectives of Natalie and her neighbor, Paul. The chapters from Natalie's points of view had me up in my feels as I remember dealing with similar feelings after giving birth. I also found myself annoyed with her at times but there is a genuine level of authenticity in the way she is portrayed. I wasn't sure how everything would come together but I was racing to the end to see it to the finish. I found The New Mother to be a fast paced, entertaining thriller.

I was really looking forward to this thriller involving a new mother but unfortunately it wasn't for me. I appreciated the author's focus on serious postpartum issues, however the story was so slow moving and repetitive it didn't keep my attention.

I sympathized with new mom Natalie but there was way too much about the baby crying, Natalie not sleeping and refusing her husband's offers of help. This took up half the book. While it seemed realistic that Natalie's issues weren't recognized until they reached a crisis point, the ending was abrupt and rather anticlimactic with an epilogue to wrap up the crime.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an e-copy of this book.

Disclaimer: The thoughts represented in this review are solely based upon my personal reading experience with this book. They are by no means meant to disparage this author, or anyone who has enjoyed this story. There is a book for every Reader and a Reader for every book. Unfortunately, The New Mother was not for me.

Let's just rip the band-aid off, shall we?

I hated this book for the first 60%. I rarely say that. Hardly ever, in fact, but this story just rubbed me the wrong way. Natalie's perspective got under my skin and I absolutely loathed everything she had to say. I was listening to the audiobook and at times, considered throwing myself out of my moving vehicle to get away from her. It was that bad for me.

I get it, post-partum depression is a serious issue. It is valid and it should be taken seriously. I understand that and respect that, but the way this is presented... I just couldn't stand it. Again, you've read the disclaimer, that's just me. I am sure many Readers will enjoy this from the start and will be able to connect with Natalie and her experiences.

Around 60%, it does start to pick up a little. I wasn't completely disliking it. There's a little deviousness going on in their neighborhood, a slight glimmer, but at that point, it was sort of too little, too late. I did know someone was going to get murdered, so I sort of hung around for that. Alas, there was no mystery, no thrills, and the only real suspense was whether or not the murderer would actually be able to pull off their plan.

Frankly, I was hoping that they would.

I won't drag this out any longer. You get the gist. Not for me, not at all, moving swiftly along. As always though, I mean this, don't take my word for it. If the synopsis sounds intriguing to you, give it a go. You could end up loving it. There are certainly plenty of Readers who have already.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion.

It is the story of a woman who recently gave birth, returned to work as an associate at a law firm only to go on a “sabbatical” after a week because it was too much and somehow she ends up getting mixed up with a creepy neighbor and a murder.
Was it gripping and suspenseful and a quick page turner? Yes. Did I get incredibly frustrated at the worst decisions ever made? Absolutely yes. And not to mention, I have been a new mother and a lawyer at the same time too and while I appreciate that it was ridiculously hard to go back to work, this woman was a whiner and so unappreciative of the fact that her husband’s career gave her the ability to take a step back when she couldn’t handle it. Yet she resented him for being able to work. Hello? No working lawyer mom ever has said they miss work. And all working lawyer moms are operating on no sleep. Anyway, here I am whining. But once I got past how whiny she was, I was enthralled withthis story to see how it unfolded and how she got herself out of the mess she created.
It was a quick read with lots of twists and turns.

While this book does a great job exploring the woes of being a first time mother and starts a vital conversation about the pressures that are placed upon Mothers in general, it is not a mystery/thriller. A great description of post partum depression as it spends the first 60% focused on Natalie's experience with motherhood. However, the book is slow and hard to read as we are confronted with page after page about Natalie's misery. Only after being 2/3 of the way through the book do we encounter any thriller elements and the book doesn't ever successfully pivot from a tale about motherhood to a mystery/thriller novel.

The New Mother is a gripping tale that explores the complexities of motherhood and murder in suburbia. With relatable characters and a nerve-wracking plot, this story is both sympathetic and bone-chilling. Murphy's fresh twist on the genre will keep readers on the edge of their seats, eager to uncover the truth behind the mysterious events that unfold. This professionally crafted narrative is sure to captivate audiences and leave a lasting impression.

The New Mother was not exactly like I thought it would be as I went in thinking it was a thriller, however I didn't feel like it was really one at times. That being said, I still ended up enjoying it! This book follows Natalie as she becomes a new mom and gets settled into a new house in a new neighbourhood. There was a lot less focus on the murder in this one than there was on Natalie's experience with motherhood which does get heavy at times. I think this is why I did find the beginning to be a little slower. I did get hooked on the story once the suspense started building, which made me want to keep reading to see where the story was going. I think I would have loved more of a shock factor in this one of some sort, but liked how the author weaved her experience as a mother into the story - I really appreciated the inclusion of the author's note at the end of this one which I recommend reading as well.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and rated it 3.5 to 4 stars. If you are looking for a domestic suspense that heavily centres around the theme of motherhood that also features a cat and mouse game, check out The New Mother, out May 30!

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the advanced copy.

2.5⭐

Our protagonist ,Natalie is a new mother in her early thirties who puts her career on hold to take care of her newborn son. With her husband Tyler, also a lawyer, at work during the daytime she spends her time alone at home caring for her baby, Oliver. Her return to work after her maternity leave proved to be difficult and though she yearns to get back to work, she decides to focus on her child. But depressed, exhausted and sleep deprived, Natalie struggles to take care of her colicky baby. Her husband doesn’t quite seem to understand what she is going through. Enter her neighbor, former college professor and stay-at-home father of a ten year old daughter Paul Riley, who seems to be the child whisperer, helping calm Oliver down, befriending Natalie and offering solid advice and a sympathetic ear to her troubles. But Paul has his own reasons for befriending her and beneath his friendly demeanor is a manipulative mind who intends to use Natalie as a pawn to further his own agenda. Will Natalie be able to see through Paul before it's too late?

Having enjoyed Nora Murphy’s The Favor, I was eager to read her latest offering. While the premise of The New Mother was interesting, the execution fell short. The author does an excellent job of depicting the struggles of a new mother suffering from Post Partum Depression and Psychosis with much sensitivity. Natalie’s struggles with motherhood, her anxiety and stress, her conflict over putting her career on the back burner and the strain it puts on her marriage cover more than half of the novel, which wouldn’t have been a problem had I not been expecting a thriller. Viewed from that perspective, I found the narrative repetitive ( I really don't feel like going into details here and I mean no disrespect to anyone who has gone through what Natalie goes through as a new mother!) and the pace dragged until after the second half of the novel and even then, I was not quite invested in the story which I felt as a tad simplistic (no twists or surprises) and contrived with an ending that was abrupt and less than satisfying.

Many thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel is due to be released on May 30, 2023.

The reviewer found this book emotionally challenging to read for personal reasons related to recently giving birth. Despite this, they found the book to be excellent and praised the author for their ability to accurately portray the complexities of motherhood. The reviewer also enjoyed the two main characters and their interactions. Overall, the reviewer highly recommends this book.

I found this book took a very long time to get to the suspense part, it was more than half way through before something bad happened. Prior to that it was very detailed description of a new mother, her very cranky newborn and her husband who can't seem to do anything right. The new mother, Natalie, or Nat if her husband is happy with her, has never experienced children previously, sure she's read books, but the whole child birth and being handed this wee little bundle that she alone (in her mind) is tasked with keeping alive. Tyler, her husband, does try but it seems like every time he tries to hold Oliver (the baby), he starts to fidget or cry or (most commonly) scream hysterically which makes Nat take Oliver and feed him (honestly I don't know how this baby doesn't weight 50lbs, she feeds him alllll the time). Anyway, Nat meets Paul, a neighbor who has a bit of a shady past, that you don't really find out about until much later. Paul who has a daughter and a wife (who he doesn't really get along with), starts to be a life saver for Nat, he shows up and watches Oliver while Nat sleeps, he brings over muffins for her, and a number of other incidents. Then the bad thing happens and the story does get a bit exciting, and I did enjoy the last bit of it, but you have to have a ton of patience to get there. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Minotaur Books for the ARC.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was approved for this book prior to my miscarriage, but unfortunately I did not get to read it. Due to the potential triggers in this book, I am unable to read it at this time.

Love love loved this book!

Nat is a new mother to a collicky baby. Feeling isolated and alone, she befriends her neighbour Paul. Paul has the magic touch with baby Oliver, being able to calm him almost instantly.

Paul almost always appears when Nat needs him most. Until suddenly Paul is cold and avoids Nat at all costs. What did Nat do?

Nora Murphy does a great job at writing what postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression feels like. I think that's what I liked so much about this book. I was able to relate to Nat and her feelings

I rated it 4 stars, while I love this book and will recommend it to friends, I feel it did drag a little at the end.

2.5⭐️ I really enjoyed the favor by this author and was excited to read The new mother even though I didn’t find the title appealing.

I am a mother and Natalie, goodness, so much writing about her complaining, how she is “trying” so hard to be a good mother, yet half the arguments she has with her husband are purely selfish and about her needs. Goes on and on about how she’s not sleeping, like at all, also a nurse here, she is sleeping some for crying out loud. Refuses her husband’s help, her mother in laws help but yet befriends the male neighbor for his “magical touch” with her baby. It’s just weird storyline. I appreciate the author trying to draw attention to post partum depression but don’t think this quite shined the light like she anticipated. Definitely didn’t find this to be “thriller” worthy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Nora Murphy for inviting me to read an advanced electronic reader copy in exchange for an honest review.