Just how far would a mother go to protect her son. She knew he had tendencies that were not normal, but she always covered for him, didn’t she. Now he was 18 and it was getting more difficult, It wasn't just small animals, now his cravings were getting out of control. She felt she had no choice but to bait men to her house.
This psychological thriller was one of the best that I have read in a while.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

To start with this book had me asking my husband moral questions that he found very dark ha!

As the story continued at speed the twists and turns were INTENSE until they reached a crescendo of an ending. And what an ending it was!

This is a brilliant thriller with a thought provoking question, how far would you go to protect your child?

I look forward to reading more books by Lizzie Fry.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. This is such a horrific story that I could not get into it. A mother and a son who are murdering people and covering up those murders.

I don’t know why people are calling this a page turner. It’s taken me a lot of effort just to get 60 pages in & now I’m giving up. I’ve read bad stories that somehow kept me hooked & this isn’t one. I’m not going to get through this within thirty days.

The protagonist is thoroughly unlikable - genuinely pleased at being desired by teenage boys, only deciding not to turn her son in because she fears her own prison time … & that’s only two of the reasons to find her unappealing so early on. Really, it’s every thought she has & every word spoken that makes me dislike her.

It’s also very, very badly written, & so full of cliches.. At one point the word ‘lame’ is used as what the author calls “teen-speak” - making it all come across as very cringe, as an actual Gen Z would say. ‘MILF’ makes an appearance as well… ‘trendy’… a lot of second-hand embarrassment & I hate feeling it.

I kept telling myself to give it a chance but I just don’t care about what happens to these people. I didn’t care that Steve died, & I don’t care about the fate of the obnoxious mother or her psychotic son. I’m kind of wondering if the twist is that she’s the murderer, imagining seeing her son being a monster because she can’t face her own depravity…. I don’t see a plausible ending that will shock me. And I can’t get through the bad writing to find out if that’s true. I’m both angry that I’ve wasted any time on this, and sorry for writing such a harsh review.

I've always known Jack was different. Ever since he was eight years old, and he killed his father. He was protecting me, just ike I've always protected him. But now he's eighteen and this time he's gone too far. Steve is dead. He was a good man, and God, we could have been really good together - but now he's bleeding out on our kitchen table. I must keep my boy safe. No one can ever know what he's done. what he's capable of. But Jack's got a taste for killing. And I won't let him get caught.

This is one creepy. disturbing, gripping and goriest books I've ever read. Jack, the son, is a weird character. Natasha thinks she's a good mum. She always tries to protect her son. But by the end of this book, I didn't know which one of them was the worst. There are lots of twists to keep you guessing. But some of it is a bit predictable. We are drip fed information on Natasha's past, making us aware of what had previously taken place. This is one twisted read. I struggled to put this book down.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #JoffeBooks and the author #LizzieFry for my ARC of #TheGoodMother in exchange for an honest review.

The Good Mother was good….until it wasn’t.
The story follows a mother, Natasha, and her son, Jack, from the opening scene where 8 year old Jack murders his abusive father to protect his mother and the subsequent coverup by Natasha. Then it fast forwards ten years and Jack, now 18, is showing serial killer tendencies.
From there it takes a slight turn and eventually veered into the point of no return for me. The book is slightly graphic. The characters are detestable. The situations they find themselves in are mildly unbelievable and very disturbing.
I don’t feel that there was enough research into serial killers/police procedure done to make the crimes and coverups entirely logical. The twists toward the end were surprising but by that point I was so grossed out by the characters that I just wanted to finish the book and didn’t care what happened.
As a mother, I just couldn’t enjoy this book. It felt disturbing, but not in a good way. I love horror/thriller books but this one pushed the envelope for me. I’m sure that the fact that I am a mother contributed to this immensely.
I wouldn’t discourage others from reading it but I am highly unlikely to recommend it. I will read more by Lizzie Fry because I didn’t dislike the writing style.

“What would you to if your only son was a killer? How far would you go?”

These questions are from the synopsis, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have an answer if they were asked to me. I don’t think I’d go as far as this mom, though! This was quite the implausible tale, though it did keep me interested throughout the whole thing.

Natasha’s son, Jack, killed his father when he was only eight years old. Now, he’s about to turn 18 and become an independent man, but his mother knows that can’t happen. Jack will probably never be able to live independently…if he wants to stay out of prison. What can Natasha - a single mom who works as an archivist - do to keep her son safe from himself?

The answer to that question will probably shock you, because this mom goes to extreme lengths to keep her son from hurting others. As the book goes on, things become more twisted, in more ways than one. I didn’t care much for the writing style, but this story itself is decent, if not slightly absurd. I enjoyed this though, and while I didn’t love the ending, I didn’t see it coming, either. 3.5 stars for keeping me entertained, but not really blowing my mind.

(Thank you to Joffe Books, Lizzie Fry, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be published on February 4, 2023.)

Thank you to Netgalley, Joffe Books, and Lizzie Fry for this book.
What a novel. A mother tries to protect her son after he stabs his father at the age of eight and spends the next ten years protecting him and hoping he’s not a serial killer. Natasha protects her son from everything and everyone not dating anyone after her husband was murdered. Jack, her son, kills her latest boyfriend Steve when he realizes that this could turn into his parents marriage and her hurting him like she did with his dad Dave. Natasha has it in her twisted mind that what she is doing is justified and even makes their basement into a killing place for her son and chooses his victims and his lures them to her house. She only chooses men she believes to be bad people. She works with an archivist and helps a true crime podcaster named Aaron find a letter proving that an old lady who died was in cohorts with a serial killer and ends up dating him. She ends up finding out he was using her and tells Jack to kill him and Jack ends up befriending and dating Aaron who is bisexual. Jack ends up killing his mom after she locks him in the basement along with Aaron when Jack wants to leave and they have to escape before she kills Aaron. Aaron ends up killing Jack because he doesn’t want to hide for the rest of his life and make his podcast a huge success because he’s the only one still standing and nobody would know otherwise. I mean Natasha killed her own father, the only father figure Jack had because she believed he was going to tell but he wanted to help and get Jack the help he needed. Natasha molds and shapes him into a killer so she wouldn’t have to kill anyone else and she would keep him forever.

The Good Mother was such a good read! It has a unique story that was enjoyable and kept me guessing which is what I love in book. This book is very well written. I couldn't help feeling bad for the characters even with the awful decisions that they were making.

Oh wow, I actually enjoyed this book even more than I thought I would! It was compelling, and the twists!

Wow, this book was so good, twisted and dark. The story revolves around Natasha and her son Jack, both very strange. The story starts ten years earlier when Jack kills his father then jumps to ten years later. What happens then is quite frightening. This is the first book i have read by Lizzi Fry and it won't be the last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of The Good Mother in return for my honest review.

How far would a mother go to protect her child?

In the wild, animal mothers hunts at night, facing unimaginable dangers to feed their young.
A mother’s instinct.

When Natasha’s husband is murdered in their home, she does everything she can to protect her 8 year old son Jack.
She’s a good mother.

Now a single mother to Jack, Natasha will do anything she can to keep her 18 year old baby boy safe.
She’s a good mother. The best.

When Jack’s grandfather passed away, she will sacrifice everything to help him fight his daemons.
He’s a good boy. What are mums for?

When Natasha meets a young true crime podcaster who comes to town looking for a connection between a famous film pioneer and a local serial killer, none of their lives will ever be the same.

This book was twisted!
The first chapter was insane, then after a slow start, it became a real page turner about halfway through. The characters are awful, but in the best way possible! Stories about creepy kids are my favourite… but did you ever wonder where they got it from?

Read this if you like…

🎙️ True crime podcasts
📺 Dexter
🧠 Psychological thrillers
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family drama

If you thought everything was going your way, you probably haven't read The Good Mother yet. Nothing is what it seems here. I loved the amazing twist. To this day, I can't get over it. When I found out the truth, I was deeply shocked. How could this have happened? Do you believe that if you grow up in an abusive home you will grow up to be abusive adults? Jack grew up in a very bad home. His dad abused him and his mother. The boy saw his mother being beaten by her husband. He wanted to help her and unfortunately he killed his father. He was 8 years old then. What would you do in Natasha's place? Would you tell the truth? 10 years have passed since this event. The boy grew up to be a very violent young man. What he did throughout this story made my heart stop. Unfortunately, his mother is no better. She tries to protect Jack at all costs. I think it's a very toxic relationship. I don't think she can accept the fact that her son is no longer a small child. Will she let Jack go to study in another city? Will Natasha fall in love again? What tragedies will all this lead to? In short, it will be very dangerous, dark, bloody and there will be plenty of murders. The Good Mother is a very dark psychological thriller. I couldn't stop reading, so I finished the book last night. Perfect work. Congratulations to the author. She showed the relationship of mother to son and son to mother very well. Sometimes it's hard to let go of your own child and let him live on his own terms. She perfectly showed us what the future of a man who was the child of an abusive father could look like. I sincerely hope that the story in this book was not based on facts. I really liked the surprise ending. It's great that it turned out that way.

Who is the Camden Killer? Do you guess?

Wow this was a good read! I really thought I had the book figured out, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there were a lot of twists I didn’t see coming.
If you love thrillers with a psychological element then it’s for you. Its starts off with Natasha”s 8 year old son Jack killing his father. Then it jumps to 10 years ahead and the mother son relationship.
I was very entertained and the book was not what I expected!
Thank you

B O O K R E V I E W 📚

Title: The Good Mother
Author: @lucyvhayauthor
Publisher: @joffebooks
Read via: @netgalley

S Y N O P S I S

Jack killed his father at 8 years old. Since then, his mother Natasha has always known he was different. This time he’s gone too far…

R E V I E W

Firstly, I am loving reading @netgalley reads on my new @amazonkindle scribe 😍 so thanks to @netgalley and @joffebooks for this one.

This book explores the mother and son relationship, in a very dark, sick and twisted kinda way 😱. I flew through this one, looking forward to the next wild plot twist. I was turning the pages at the speed of light!

The main character is pretty unlikeable. Well in fact, most of the characters are pretty much wronguns but it really added to the appeal of this book.

I’d recommend this one to anyone who loves a good thriller. There is a bit of gore but nothing too off putting, but something to be mindful of!

R A T I N G

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


To be published on Instagram week commencing 23rd January 2023 and will be found at www.instagram.com/kayleyisreading

OMG! this book was good! From the first pg to the last pg, this book kept you intrigued.
Natasha just wants To be a good mother. But how far would you go to prove. If your son were a serial killer, would you enable him and help him hide it at any cost or would you turn him in.
Jack is a werid child no doubt, but just how crazy is he
Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book
It was awesome

A single mother with a nearly 18-year-old son. Natasha prised herself as a good mother. Her son Jack killed his father at age 8 and ten years later other murders happened…. I have mixed feelings after reading the book.
It’s a little bit different from other thrillers. For sure it’s a page-turner but the plot has many flaws. I did not like any of the characters and the murders were unrealistic.

A real page turner from start to finish, would 1000% recommend. Full of twists and turns and complex characters, the perfect crime thriller style book.

Good Mum, Bad Mum? You decide.

There's a lot of the past that will be shared to make you think who done it.
Natasha is Mum to Jake, her soon to be 18 year old who's thinking about college. Lots of interesting stories about raising her teen.
Steve is her current boyfriend. Dean was Jakes Dad.
Aaron is into crime stories for his podcast exposure.

I will admit several times I wanted to smack, shake and scream at Tasha throughout this book. Also, many times I felt that some crimes were a bit unbelievable as far as how they would get away with such unrealistic investigations, come on!

There's so many twists and turns in this psychological thriller you will be unable to put it down as you want to know what happens next.

3.5 stars due to the lack of crime investigating.

A great read, thank you to the Publisher, the Author and to NetGalley for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have never read one of Lizzie’s books before but I really enjoyed it, kept you going until the very end and I can’t wait to see what she brings out next