Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review
I really liked this fast paced thriller. Sixteen year old Juno lives on an isolated island along with her brother and her parents. The days are spent fishing and spending time outdoors with her family. There are specific rules that must be followed to keep everyone in her family safe but the most important rule is to make sure no one sees Juno or brother or harm might come to them and the family. Then one day Juno's "uncle" comes for a visit and starts asking questions about a young girl he saw on the island. Juno's parents convince him that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Juno is so worried that she may have put her family in danger by carelessly being spotted that she tries to fix the problem by talking to her uncle and begging him not to tell anyone about her being on the island. Did she help herself and her family by coming forward or put them in greater danger???? Enjoy!!!

This was a really atmospheric and tense audiobook. What Mother Won't Tell Me tells the story of Juno, her little brother Boy, Mother, and Father and their life on a small island in Norland. Juno and Boy have to follow the seven commandments that their parents created for them and they must never, ever be seen. They are hiding from the Strangers, who will kill them if they find out they exist. Everything takes a turn for the worse when Juno is spotted by a Stranger on the island. The pacing of this novel was generally quite fast, but at times slowed down in a way that sort of took me out of the story. The narrator, however, did an excellent job. It was a pretty quick audiobook, would recommend for anyone who enjoys thrillers.

Juno is a young girl living only with her family on an isolated island. All her life she’s been told to fear outsiders, that they are after her parents, that they mean their family harm. But her whole world is turned upside down when she learns new information. I felt like it was pretty easy to predict what the reveals in this story were going to be, and at multiple times during the audiobook I considered DNF-ing because of how predictable it was.

I was left wanting more from the end of the book. I was hoping that the tiny section of an epilogue at the end would’ve been expanded. I wanted to see how the characters adjusted to a different life after the climax of the story. But it ended up feeling a bit anticlimactic to me.

This was an intriguing listen. Juno is a deeply unreliable narrator, not because the reader can't trust her, but because she genuinely doesn't know what is happening around her. Her lack of information regarding her situation leaves the listener anxious around what is real or not and very worried about how easily it is to manipulate this very naive girl. After the big twist, I honestly kept expecting it to all twist again. I will admit that the characters are a bit flat, so it reads more like a parable than a full story. It hangs on a series of mysteries for Juno to uncover more than personal development.

This novel was very suspenseful and eerie; however, it took away the satisfaction of a slow-burn mystery or a big twist from the reader by coming out with the truth very early on. <spoiler> There were very few moments of Juno investigating her doubts about Mother and Father before encountering Luca, who tells her everything the second time they meet. </spoiler> Overall, The plot is fast-paced, making it alright, and was saved by focusing on drawing interest from Juno’s escape rather than discovering the truth.

I found Juno very naïve for a 16-year-old, which I think fit well for the sheltered life she led, but at the same time, Boy was mature for a 12-year-old. I often found that Boy was the only one acting logically in some situations. It made me feel bad for Boy. I connected with his stress while Juno and other characters made poor decisions.

I really wanted to like this book more, but my enjoyment was completely thrown off by the photo album scene… It was just odd. <spoiler> Juno’s decisions were all terrible, from ignoring Boy’s clear warning that the water had been shut off to sticking an entire photo album in her underwear. I just had to roll my eyes. I don’t see how the plot would have changed if this 16-year-old girl didn’t have her underwear pulled down by a photo album. It was just a very odd decision by the author. </spoiler>

What Mother Won't Tell Me by Ivar Leon Menger— available Jan 9!

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for my free audio copy 🫶

Translated from German by Jamie Bullock 🇩🇪

Juno and her younger brother were raised on a remote island with their parents, isolated from interaction with others because they're hiding from the murderous Strangers. Fearful of the consequences of disobeying their family commandments, Juno has never seriously thought about leaving her home. Until she starts to question whether her parents are telling them the truth. Who should they really be afraid of?

Y'all this was just not it for me. I rather enjoyed the story and the writing, until I realized that there were no plot twists or reveals involved at all — a bit too straightforward for my tastes. And Juno wasn't super believable for me, she goes from über-naïve to crafty and cunning way too quickly. This is being marketed as a thriller, and it contains zero thrills at all, but if you enjoy suspense and need a short read, it'll hit the spot!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Juno lives in seclusion on an island off the coast of Nordland with her Mother, Father, and little brother for company. Juno understands they have to live like this because her father has some big enemies on the mainland. They've practiced what to do and where to hide if they happen to found. They have to follow Father's orders or they could be found and killed. After years of living a quiet life punctuated by safety drills, Juno feels comfortable she could handle it if someone found them on the island..... until it happens and it's nothing like they were told.

I really enjoyed this one! It's hard to describe further without spoilers, but the entire time I was reading this I felt like I could picture it so clearly as a Netflix miniseries. It's creepy, builds well for the first half and then is fast paced from the midpoint on.

Definitely recommended for anyone looking for a quick read thriller!

A great thriller. Would have finished in one sitting if I could have. The ending left a little to be desired, but the premise is not one I've seen before--I think--and that seems pretty hard to find these days. A big thanks to the author, the publisher, and netgalley for a copy of the arc.

2.5

While I mostly enjoyed listening to this book (narrator really captures Juno well) it just wasn’t that good. I had to suspend a lot of disbelief for it to make sense - which was disappointing because I thought the premise was pretty interesting.

Everything felt a little too cliche, like a caricature, and I really didn’t find any of the characters that compelling. There was a ton of suspense and dicey moments that had me a bit nervous but overall I just couldn’t get myself to care that much.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing an audio arc of this book.

While the premise of What Mother Won’t Tell Me sounded extremely intriguing, the book itself didn’t work for me.
Maybe it was the writing style that seemed somewhat odd, maybe it was the characters I couldn’t connect with, or maybe it was the plot that occasionally seemed to drag, but in the end I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I’d hoped I would.

This is an intriguing novel about a group of children living in isolation on a secluded island. Although the plot was interesting, I couldn't connect to the characters and felt that some parts of the story were too slow. However, the audiobook format was well-executed, and I was able to listen to it while doing chores around the house, without getting bored. Overall, it was a decent experience.

Thank you NetGalley for an opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars rounded up for goodreads

Reading this book required that I suspend belief - a lot. I found that frustrating as it pulled me out of the story and reduced the impact of big reveals and events. That being said, this was a good audiobook to listen to while I was packing up my apartment. It kept me entertained and I was interested enough to be entertained while slogging through the packing. Would I pick up another book by this author? Maybe not. But I think if you're particularly interested in stories in which children are raised in hiding and isolation in the woods until the real world comes to greet them, you may enjoy this one more than I did.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

What Mother Won’t Tell Me captivated me from the start as a locked-room thriller full of simmering suspense. The main character Juno's upbringing on an isolated island, shrouded in mystery, drew me into a world both complex and intriguing.

The characters were richly developed, revealing their motivations gradually and creating a slow burn that kept me deeply engaged. The writing was taut, and the mystery unfolded seamlessly throughout the narrative. I found the translation of the original to English to be very smooth.

As a devotee of character-driven stories in confined settings, the evocative and desolate island backdrop resonated deeply, vividly bringing Juno and her strange family to life in my imagination.

While the plot flowed smoothly, I occasionally found myself grappling with moments of over-explanation of key plot points. Potentially a byproduct of the translation? Overall the story piqued my curiosity, keeping me on edge and questioning until the end — an unmistakable hallmark of a well crafted thriller. I became so absorbed that I found myself carving out time to keep listening.

I thoroughly relished this listening experience and I eagerly anticipate more works from this talented author.

This book was intriguing, absolutely grasps you and holds you. This book is told from 16 year old, Juno’s point of view, she lives on a stranded island with her Father, Mother and brother, Boy. Her parents have very strict set of rules for the two siblings and they mustn’t abuse any of them or there will be consequences. Juno is a curious girl, learning that there is life beyond their island. When she starts to investigate odd things, she finds herself asking many questions, but who can she trust?

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape for the Advanced readers Copy of What Mother Won’t Tell Me. I thoroughly enjoyed this riveting and fast paced thriller!

I really liked the concept of this and as the plot progressed I was definitely interested in what was going on, but I felt like no one in this acted like a real person, they just felt like cheesy characters. I don’t know if that’s just because of the translation or what, but I didn’t particularly like or enjoy reading about any of them. If they felt more like real people I’d probably have really liked this book.

Book Title: What Mother Won’t Tell\
Author: Ivan Leon Menger
Narrator: Ella Lynch
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Audiobook Pub Date: January 9, 2024
My Rating: 3.6 rounded up
Pages: 318

Fifteen year old Juno and her little brother Boy live in a cabin on small remote island in Sweden. They live with Mother and Father. They live in constant fear as are told strangers want to take revenge on their father and destroy the family. June is told that they are in the witness protection program.

When Luca a young man approaches Juno isn’t fearful of him as he doesn’t seem like one of the strangers. He tells her more about who she ‘really is’ as well about her so called family.

June now realizes that her real fear isn’t across the island but much closer.
As Mother and Father become more abusive it becomes clear and she and boy have to escape.
Story becomes one of survival.

Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for granting me this early thriller.
Audiobook Publishing Date scheduled for January 9, 2024.

This book is about a teenage girl who lives on a small, deserted island in Norland with her mother, father, and younger brother. They live in constant fear of being discovered by a gang known as Strangers, who want to take revenge on her father. They have drills and alarms to prepare for if another person comes onto the island. Then one day, Juno meets a stranger on the island and upends life as she knows it.

This audiobook was well narrated and held my attention. The twists were believable and shocking. Overall, I enjoyed this atmospheric thriller and would recommend this audiobook to anyone looking for a quick domestic thriller.

Thank you @dreamscape_media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

(This review was also shared on the Barnes & Noble website.)

Three siblings, One Island, Complete Isolation.

Since early childhood Juno and Boy have lived on the island with their mother & father.
Living in constant fear & under strict rules, number one - Never Leave the Island.
When Juno is spotted by a Stranger she sets in motion a chain of frightening events.
Thrust into a new reality, she starts to discover horrible secrets about her and her siblings.
She doesn't know her parents at all, she doesn't even know herself...

Thanks to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the ARC of this audio book for an honest review!
3.5 I would have liked to know more about before the island!

What Mother Won't Tell Me
By: Ivar Leon Menger
Narrated by: Ella Lynch
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Release date: 01-09-24

A teen and her brother set out to discover the truth behind their secluded island life and what deadly secrets their parents are hiding from them.

This book kept me on my toes, that’s for sure. I can’t really go into many details because the whole book is a spoiler, but the plot starts out in a way that you think you know what’s happening, but you don’t! You really don’t! The twists are surprising but not completely far-fetched or outrageous, so I didn’t feel cheated or deceived by the author. A really good book!

I received a free audiobook copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I love this audio addition of this book! I read this as an Ebook and I was hooked so naturally I needed this audiobook.
I loved it!
The narration was better than I was expecting even!
Absolutely give this one a listen. It is the right amount of creepy and sad.