This is a book I probably should have skipped.... not because it wasn't a good book, it was just a bit much for me. Definitely a mystery/thriller..... it was okay and I finished it but at times had to put it down and take a break for a few days.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC copy.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom, all alone in a big new house, but this is particularly compounded when your baby is collicky and won't stop crying. Natalie Fanning loves her son Oliver unconditionally, but being a mother is not measuring up to what she thought it would be. Enter Paul, the helpful neighbor. Finally, Natalie can rest! Unfortunately, it turns out that Paul wants something in return .....

This book was a quick read - very suspenseful and surprising with lots of twists and turns. It kept me guessing the whole time, I did not see the ending coming. I highly recommend it if you like thrillers.

Natalie is a new mom, complete with the adorable newborn and all of the anxieties.
Her insecurities and loneliness cause her to befriend Paul, a stay-at-home dad who lives in her new neighborhood. She thinks he’s a savior, but he might actually have plans that are a bit more nefarious than swapping recipes and sharing parenting tips.
Natalie was pretty whiny and annoying , but the book was fun and engaging.
Thanks to #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for this #arc of #thenewmother by #noramurphy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for a free copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review. I have been sitting on this one for a sometime while I process my thoughts and digest what I read. I guess that speaks well to what Nora Murphy did in her execution! At times I loved this and other times, I struggled a lot with staying engaged and suspending disbelief with some of the events in this book. The struggles of motherhood were EXTREMELY HEAVYHANDED and while I know that was intentional to portray the perspective of some women after giving birth, it really overtook the story and overshadowed the thriller aspects of the plot. The entire first half/60% had so much baby talk in it that I'm sure it will turn some readers away. The second half did pick up and it was rather scary the way the protagonist's memory and sleeplessness really messed with her judgement and put her in danger. Overall, this is sticking with me, but there were so many problems with that I can't truly call it a well-balanced and effective thriller.

Murder and motherhood in suburbia! This book about the trials of motherhood really turns things upside down yet seeks to highlight the all too real effects of postpartum depression and psychosis. I found this an engaging read and definitely recognized some aspects of my experience as #thenewmother. Thank you to #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for this book to read and review, all opinions are my own.

I love the family suspense genre and this one certainly did not disappoint. I hadn’t read this author before and i’m very glad I got introduced to her.

This wasn’t my favorite book of the year, but it was definitely worth the read. I will continue to read books by Nora Murphy in the future! Thank you so much NetGalley for this ARC.

Not only is Natalie a new mother, but they also moved into their new house right before she had her son, Oliver. She loves her son, but motherhood isn’t what she expected. Oliver is colicky, she is on her own, spends all her time trying to quiet him and be the perfect mother, and she feels like she’s failing. It’s even harder for her because she was a successful attorney before her maternity leave and her husband, whose star is rising, just doesn’t understand. Enter her neighbor, Paul, a stay-at-home dad who seems to have the magic touch with Oliver and understands what she’s going through. Natalie is relieved to have a friend, but is Paul what he seems? Is he truly the lifesaving friend Natalie thinks he is?
This was a tough one, especially with its subject-matter. Natalie had a tough time adjusting to motherhood and no one saw it, leaving her vulnerable in more ways than one. There were twists, and I was happy when things started to come together. I am not sure I liked Natalie as a character, but I certainly empathized and rooted for her to find her way and come out on top.
In THE NEW MOTHER, Nora Murphy tackles the tough subject of post-partum depression and post-partum psychosis, and it is a difficult topic. For me, the set up was a little harder to get through, but the twists had me turning pages to see how it would come together and who would come out on top.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#THENEWMOTHER #NORAMURPHY #MINOTAURBOOKS

The New Mother was my first book by Nora Murphy. Now, as an avid thriller reader I was excited for this one after reading the blurb. However, this was faaaar from a “bone-chilling” thriller as marketed.

This is a family drama at best; which isn’t a bad thing, but this book just didn’t work for me. Let me explain why…

The title of this book is 100% what the book is about, a new mother. It’s all about breast feeding, and crying babies, and a worn out mom. How hard it is to go back to work and a career after having a baby, yearning to stay at home with a the baby instead…And on and on. By 20% in I was over hearing about “nipples” and was ready for something to happen.

I’m not going to lie, I wanted to DNF this one more than once. By the time we got to the murder, I’m not even sure I cared anymore. I know this book is for someone, but just not for me.

This was a thriller for the ages! Kept me on the edge of my seat. I love a book that keeps me turning the pages!

The New Mother is aptly named. Nora Murphy did an excellent job of making you feel the complex feelings of motherhood. I felt the isolation and exhaustion that Natalie was going through.
I thought Murphy was really able to get the reader into the headspace Natalie was in before moving to the mystery which really helped with understanding how she got herself into the mess she was in.
I do wish we dove a little deeper into Paul's character and thinking. I realize the unveiling of his intentions and motivations was part of the mystery, but I felt it made me less invested in the story. A lot of time was spent in understanding Natalie, so when the twist arrived, we were already so far into the book, it felt like we didn't get a lot of tension. Overall though, I still thought this was a solid neighbourhood mystery and would recommend.
Thank you St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had way too much info on postpartum depression and didn’t hit the mark as a suspenseful thriller.

I really wanted to like this book because I very much appreciated the representation of postpartum depression. I could relate to the sleep deprivation and the first few months with a newborn but I couldn't connect with Natalie nor did I like her very much. I found the story slow and repetitive and the mystery didn't factor in until much later in the story. I wanted more from the mystery.

First of all thank you so much to the publishers and to netgalley for my early read of The New Mother in exchange for my honest review.

Natalie, a new mother moves into a new neighborhood with major paranoia. Her every thought seems to surround her new baby and all the craziness of being a new parent.

Paul, a neighbor across the street is also a parent who has a knack for both writing and people watching. Told between two neighbors and the main characters of the story, The New Mother explores just how real and raw parenthood is but with a crazy twist. Just how far is a parent willing to go to protect their child?

As a new mother myself, this really hit home in so many ways hearing Natalie's experience with Oliver. The anxieties, the frustration, the sleepless nights and and the brain fog were all so heavily relatable. I found myself drawn to this story for these things alone. Tie that together with a more seasoned parent struggling in a different way while bored and searching for some sort of escape plan with twists and turns. I love that Murphy really keeps you guessing with what will happen next in her writing and how she tells the story back and forth between Natalie and Paul. You truly question each character's intentions, including Natalie's. Blown away by this one. 5 stars!

The New Mother is about, well, a new mother that has a baby, tries to go back to work but fails. It's a slow burn but it sizzles. There is a little altenating POV between the new mother, Natalie, and her greasy gaslighting neighbor. You immediately feel sorry for Natalie and hate the neighbor and his wife. I actually would have liked a little more from Paul's POV, especially after the penultimate twist. There's a nice lesson about PPD and feminist trying to do it all tendencies. Not a bad book, looking forward to more by this author.

The New Mother
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Nora Murphy

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Isolated. Lonely. Tired. It's hard being The New Mother. Sometimes it's murder.

Nothing is simple about being a new mom alone in a new house, especially when your baby is collicky. Natalie Fanning loves her son unconditionally, but being a mother was not all she wanted to be.

Enter Paul, the neighbor.

Paul provides the lifeline she needs in what feels like the most desperate of times. When Paul is helping with Oliver, calmed by his reassuring, steady presence, Nat feels like she can finally rest.

But Paul wants something in return. It’s no coincidence that he has befriended Nat—she is the perfect pawn for his own plan. Will Nat wake up in time to see it?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed the author’s debut book “The Favor,” and was slightly disappointed by this one. Overall, it was thrilling, I was just expecting more as in the previous novel. The classification of this book as a mystery/thriller is not correct. This is more of a domestic drama and the effects of postpartum depression and how tough it can be undiagnosed. The author explores the dark side of the c-section and after the birth, how hard it can be for a woman. After the birth of their son, Natalie, has difficult feelings towards her son and rage against Tyler. Her saving grace is the neighbor Paul, however Paul has a different plan.

The story primarily is narrated by Natalie, in her POV. Natalie’s voice comes across as whining about breastfeeding, sleeps deprivation, and other elements that come with being a new mother. We do get a few chapters from Paul, in his POV. Paul’s character could have had a more impactful aspect to the story as the villain. Natalie resented her husband because he could continue his career as an attorney, as if they did not have a baby. Being a new mother is hard and extremely demanding, and could lead to an emotional breakdown.

This was not a bad read, I did enjoy the story. I just felt it could have been better, especially with Murphy’s amazing storytelling abilities, she can create twist after twist, even when you thought the twists was over, boom another one. I will definitely read more books by her.

Natalie and her husband are new to the neighborhood. She has a baby Oliver. As an exhausted mother she is adjusting to motherhood and all it entails. One day she meet a neighbor Paul who also has a daughter. Pauls wife warns Natalie to stay away from her husband- understandable.....and then she goes missing. What is behind the disappearance? Is in sinister or just a break from family life?

Nora Murphy is a new to me author, but I was not disappointed! The New Mother makes me think a little harder about the people who have been my neighbors for years. Kept me on the edge of my seat!

Post-partum depression is real. I loved that it was brought up in this nerve-wracking read. Bravo to Nora Murphy for addressing this sensitive topic.

The Short of It:

Buy a copy and read it.

The Rest of It:

Natalie Fanning and her husband Tyler are two law professionals, living in a new house and neighborhood, when their first son Oliver is born. Everything should be golden. Both are partner material at their respective firms, but Natalie’s expectation of motherhood is not at all what she imagined.

Oliver is a hard baby to love. He cries non-stop. Wants only Natalie. Won’t sleep. Seems to know exactly when to push Natalie’s buttons. Natalie’s plan was to return to work after two months but how can she? She’s had zero sleep and Oliver rebels whenever she is not around. Punching the air in her absence, Oliver is anything but sweet and Nat’s husband Tyler, although sympathetic to Nat’s struggle, proves to be useless, always using the excuse that Oliver only wants Nat. Not him. He can’t do feedings because Nat nurses Oliver. He can’t take over night duty because the kid just screams and screams.

As Natalie hits her breaking point and realizes that she is not at all herself anymore, she meets Paul, the neighbor across the way who raised his own difficult child, who is now 10. Paul’s experience with this kind of difficulty gives Nat a sense of comfort and he’s always home, as the stay at home Dad for his family. His wife Erin, provides for the family. Nat immediately takes to Paul’s kindness and finds herself desperate for the brief breaks he provides during the day.

But all is not what it seems. Their pristine little neighborhood is filled with secrets and nosy bodies and what begins as a kind gesture quickly becomes something else.

Oh! This book. It’s so good. I plowed through it. The details of mothering a difficult child is spot on! My daughter did not sleep through the night until age 4! I was nearly hospitalized by my doctor for exhaustion, so I could relate to Nat’s struggle in a very personal way. But then a little something extra is added to keep it interesting and I gotta tell ya, I was riveted. I’ve not read anything else by Murphy but she is going straight to my list of must-read authors. Highly recommend.