Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Not what I was expecting to be honest! It took me a bit to get into- a few times I questioned what the heck was going on and I also didn't really like any of the characters but did end up enjoying it for the most part. The narrator did a good job.

Maternal Instinct

By Becky Masterman

Audiobook :- 10 Hours & 40 Minutes

Narrator :- Gail Shalan

Book :- 288 Pages

Don't let them know what you're thinking, Althea Deming tells herself. It's your best defense. Althea didn't want her good natured but thoughtless step-son Hal and manipulative daughter-in-law Grace to move in with her, relegating her to a corner of the house that was once just hers, but she doesn't have much choice. She's been powerless since her beloved husband Robert's death. According to the will, everything that was hers now belongs to Hal - and to Grace.

Grace Deming didn't want to uproot her family to care for her difficult mother-in-law, but she's determined to make the best of it for the sake of her daughter Shyla's future. Their new home is enormous, the neighborhood prestigious. If the worst of it is that Althea dislikes her, she can cope.

Review...

well well, starting this audiobook i was not expecting much but maybe a woman who's a little bitter, but this book is more then that with the main character Althea Deming (I see her as a toxic character) after moving in she points out changes and also you can feel her disgust for daughter-in-law Grace. During the book slowly you see Althea doing small steps to twist and manipulate the situation and also the people around her ( in as well as out side the house ). The way Althea is written comes off as off settling as well as toxic, with some of her actions making my mouth fall open ( turtle ) (if you know you know ), I also have my suspicions that Althea killed people and felt no remorse... I even have had thoughts that maybe Althea is a sociopath. Once I started this audiobook i could not stop & the narration by Gail Shalan was greatly done really helping with the submersion and it really helped me get into the story being told ( I find it hard to get along with all audiobooks, certain voices don't work for me ).

I found this book really good dealing with a toxic In Law & trying to do the best you can but nothing you ever do being any good, you are the villain no matter what... but the actions of lies, manipulation, gas lighting and so much more done by Althea has made Grace think she is losing her mind and also that she is the only one who is suffering but she is not because even her daughter at times gets unfair treatment but to others it looks like Althea cares when she doesn't... the book mentioned in this book (how to deal with people with borderline personality disorder & not walk on eggshells - I have a book in this series but for dealing with bi-polar or narcissism ).

I give it 4 stars out of 5

highly enjoyed and was able to draw allot of emotions out of me

I love Becky Masterman's Brigid Quinn series, and have been hoping for another one, but sadly, I fear Brigid Quinn has truly retired. So when I saw that Masterman had a new book coming out, I jumped on it. It's a different type of book, more of a domestic thriller and an excellent character study. It's also a good modern look at the friction that can come from having three generations suddenly living in the same house. Those frictions are only exacerbated by the fact that the "matriarch", Althea, is now living in the newly renovated house she and her husband once owned, but living with her stepson and his wife and teen daughter in an arrangement engineered by her dying husband. It's an arrangement that no doubt seemed perfect on the surface. But no one left to deal with the consequences of the arrangement is truly happy or comfortable with it. Althea feels displaced in the home she once owned and isn't happy that she's no longer the "Queen Bee"; her stepson Hal misses the the job he loved and had to leave; his wife Grace misses her friends and her old job. Their teen daughter, Shyla, also misses her friends and school. Most of all, though, Grace is increasingly distrustful of Althea - and with good reason. As events escalate Grace becomes increasingly concerned about Althea's stability and for Shyla's safety. The narration of the audiobook by Gail Shalan was very well done - she did an excellent of giving the main characters their own voice. I'll continue to hope for more of Brigid Quinn, but now I know I can safely look for more of Becky Masterman's books, even if there's no more about Brigid.
Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

There is a whole lot of crazy happening in this twisted psychological story. Not your garden variety crazy, but truly sick and twisted crazy. There isn’t a decent adult human in throughout. I kept listening and waiting for I am not sure what. It was an interesting ending.

Entertaining and engaging. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

After her husband Robert’s passing, Althea Deming discovers that he left his estate to her stepson Hal, under the condition that they allow her to reside with them in the inherited house. Despite Hal, Grace and their daughter Shyla selling their previous home and business to accommodate Althea, who had a mother-in-law suite added during the house’s renovation, she remains dissatisfied with her new living situation, felling confined to a small portion of the house that once belonged to her. Once Althea moves in with them, tension begins to escalate. While the rest of the household holds Althea in high regard, Grace harbors suspicions about her trustworthiness.

While initially drawn in by the appealing cover, intriguing title, and promising premise, I ultimately found this book to be disappointing and considered DNF, but curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to see how it all panned out. It fell short in delivering the suspense I was hoping for and veered into unbelievability and was extremely over the top which I personally don’t enjoy. Additionally, none of the characters resonated with me, as they were all highly unlikable and two dimensional. The opening scene in Chapter 1 caught my interest, and I kept waiting to see how it would tie into the story, but was sadly let down by its significance when it was finally revealed.

Although <b>Maternal Instinct</b> by Becky Mastermind is listed under Mystery & Thrillers, I would classify it as more of a domestic drama with a splash of suspense. The audiobook was narrated by Gail Shalan who did a great job giving voices to the different characters making it easy to differentiate them.

While there are many 4 and even some 5 star reviews for this book, it just wasn’t a good match for me. 2 stars💫

Trigger warning: unnecessary animal cruelty.

My thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

DNF
Animal cruelty and unlikable characters, and poor narration stopped me from finishing the audiobook. I have read and enjoyed Becky Masterman's books in the past. This was not what I expected when I selected this title. Something terrible has happened to the author, obviously.

This book wasn't my jam, I had a hard time getting and staying into the book. This was my 1st book by Becky Masterman but I will definitely give her another try!

#MaternalInstinct
#NetGalley

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator is one of my favorites, she was as amazing as she always is! The storyline was creepy and dark. A lot of creepy things happened including some harm to animals. I enjoyed the author’s writing style with the different POVs. This isn’t going to be a favorite of mine but all in all, it was a solid book and I would read more by this author.

I just did not love this one. It was so slow for me and not particularly gripping or thrilling. There was no real character development and because of this, the incidents in the book made very little sense, especially towards the end. Just when you thought the story was going to get good, it got slow again.

I had a hard time getting into this book and I had to take a break about 1/4 of the way in thanks to a creepy, animal-related incident. (A trigger warning would’ve been helpful.) The story started to gain momentum about halfway through at which point it really drew me in.

The characters gained some depth as the story progressed, but I didn’t end up liking or connecting with any of them. The end of the book held a few surprises but didn’t offer the satisfaction of a big reveal.

This was my first Becky Masterman book and though I didn’t love it, I really liked her writing style. I’ll likely try one of her other books soon.

3.4 rounded down to 3.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the arc.

From the author Becky Masterman (Brigid Quinn series) comes a wicked domestic suspense - psychological thriller MATERNAL INSTINCTS —A husband's death, a widow (a step-manipulative mother-in-law), his son, wife, and daughter all in one house. Which one will survive this nightmare?

Robert Deming (was rich, powerful, handsome, and menacing) has passed away. Hal will receive the inheritance and the house.

His second wife, Althea Deming (ten years younger), has been living in a senior Onceview while they renovated. The house was left to his son, Hal Deming, and he has moved back into the house where he grew up with his wife, Grace, and 13-year-old daughter, Shyla

According to the will, along with the house, they must take care of stepmother Althea (she has been assigned a suite in the home), so they move her back home.

However, they have no clue how opinionated, hypocritical, judgmental, and resentful Althea is. (passive-aggressive). At first, Grace thought moving into this stunning, prestigious home in Delray Beach, FL would be a great idea.

Grace and Hal have rental property. Grace is a property manager and takes care of the vacation rentals (cleaning). There are some very funny scenes.

Soon, they realize what life will be like living within these walls. From Althea's cat, Ruth— and Shayla's tortoise, Gonzo (creepy), an urn with Robert's ashes, and imaginary talks between Robert and Althea.

What happened to Joan, the daughter (Hal's sister) who ran away from home as a teen? Hal and Althea had traveled all over Europe to find her. What happened to Clare, his first wife?

The living arrangements are tension-filled (total family dysfunction), resulting from lies, deceit, manipulation, religious differences, gaslighting, and secrets. Althea thinks Grace is manipulative and dangerous. No one trusts anyone. However, Althea fools all the outsiders into thinking she is a saint. Does she have Hal fooled?

Is Althea dangerous, a killer?

Grace is at the end of her rope. Her mother, Fiona, suggests Hal and Grace get away for a weekend away from the tension. (Watch out for the pool, drinking, and meds.) They would have Althea and Shayla, and finally, Grace would give in since her mother would be there to oversee things.

However, when they are away, a tragedy occurs. Was this an accident, or is Althea a liar? Can they trust her? Is she a monster stepmother-in-law?

MATERNAL INSTINCTS is darkly comic, twisty, and wicked—madness and Mayhem and very entertaining. A woman you do not want to be living with!

I have lived in Palm Beach County for many years, only 15 minutes from Delray Beach, and was expecting to see a suitcase murder (Althea's body parts thrown in suitcases in the Intracoastal waterway- an actual murder)!! I loved all the familiar local mentions.

AUDIOBOOK: I listened to the audiobook narrated by a favorite narrator, Gail Shalan, who did a great job with the creepy Althea and all the character voices! Laugh out loud, snarky banter!

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ALC for an honest review.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4.5 Stars (audio)
Pub Date: Mar 12, 2024
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Thank you Netgalley for my copy.

I felt this book started very slow, too slow and at 30% I wanted to give up. Hal was such a drop, I wanted to pick him up by his throat and shake some life into him.
I'm glad I didn't in the end, it turned out to be exactly what I had wanted from a domestic thriller. I quite like the fact the "baddy's" background is thread through but it also made me really sad.

Anyway, happy to read more by Masterman.

This book was kind of slow for my tastes. It felt like you could fast forward to at least 50% and listen from there and still get the gist of the story.

It was a decent story, and you can sometimes see from both Grace’s and Althea’s point of views and how things were taken out of context or maybe with no malicious intent at first.

The story ended up in a weird spot, and not to give spoilers, but it wasn’t totally shocking just odd who ended up where.

The narration was good, I listened at 2x and it was a decent pace.

All in all, it wasn’t for me but entertaining enough to finish.

After reading the excerpt I couldn't wait to listen to this book. The premise hinted at a thrilling, dark, and sinister story. The first few chapters met my expectations, but things took a bizarre turn as I reached the end. I hoped for disturbing twists and shocking revelations, but they never came.

Althea Demming and her daughter-in-law Grace can't seem to find common ground. They don't trust each other and living together becomes a constant struggle. Will they be able to reconcile and coexist peacefully?

Just when it seems like things couldn't get any worse, someone from Althea's past resurfaces, causing chaos and destruction in their lives. And now, there's no turning back.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the free audio copy of the book.

#MaternalInstinct #NetGalley

Thank you Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for the early copy of the audiobook version of this book.

This was a bit slow-paced for my taste. I feel for Althea. I have a bias toward elderly characters in books. She was traumatized in her childhood years and was able to bring it with her even into adulthood. I wasn't expecting a lot of religious talks here, which makes me wonder whether Althea was good or bad. Who knows? It's for the reader to decide, I guess. I believe this would be a good book to choose for a book club.

I loved it when Althea corrected their grammar whenever they were arguing. It was realistic, and I couldn't help but giggle. I loved reading from her POV.

I would recommend this to all the mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws who don't mind reading slow thrillers.

When her husband Robert's will insists that Althea allow Robert's son, wife & child to move in with her, no one is happy. Althea wanted to live alone after she become a widow and Robert, Grace & their daughter have their own lives they're not eager to give up. Working through things together turns out to be difficult since none of them trust each other.

I wanted to like this one, it's an interesting plot for a domestic thriller but I just couldn't get into it. The characters are mostly unlikeable and it made it difficult to root for any of them and I didn't love the religious overtones. Ended up just not being very compelling. The writing was good, though, as was the narration, so I would probably give the author another go if the characters were a little more relatable.

Maternal Instinct is a creepy thriller that will keep you wondering what will happen next. The dynamics between the two women (daughter in law and mother in law) are very interesting. How they view situations from their own perspectives is contrasting and intriguing. The mother-in-law does some things that keep the reader guessing why and whether she’s imagining.

This is a creepy one, and if you love thrillers, definitely check this one out. Definitely check out content warnings though.

I listened to the audiobook which was well done by the narrator. She did a good job creating distinction between the two women as well. I listened at 1.75x speed - 2x speed (my normal).

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced audiobook.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media & NetGalley for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great premise: Althea, stepmother to Hal, widow of Robert, has spent the past year in an independent living facility, waiting for renovations to be completed on the house she once shared with her husband. As part of Robert's will, Ha has agreed to take possession of the house only if Althea may also live there in a MIL suite outfitted with her favorite pieces from the old house. Hal's wife, Grace, and teen daughter, Shyla, complete the family unit. But Althea chafes in her new suite: she is not allowed upstairs on her own and she dislikes the modern renovations on her former home. Shyla, at 13, is a handful and not ladylike or humble enough for Althea, who is a hardcore old-school Catholic of the type Mel Gibson would find impressive. Althea has been permitted to bring her beloved cat, Ruth, to the house, but Shyla's pet tortoise and Ruth don't get along.

The reader feels bad for Althea at first, but she goes off the rails quickly: she starts indoctrinating Shyla straightaway, and takes advantage of Hal's milquetoast personality to run roughshod over the whole family, Grace in particular. Things start getting real when Althea, who may or may not realize that she is doing things and not just imagining herself doing them, <spoiler>cuts the head off the pet tortoise, and, later, doses Grace's visiting mom with a triple dosage of Ambien in a glass of wine, causing her to drown in the pool.</spoiler> Althea also spends most of her time talking to a hallucinated version of her late husband, who assures her that she is perfect and her interactions with her family are reasonable.

Just when you want to jump into the book and strangle Althea yourself, Hal's missing-presumed-dead sister, Joan, arrives on the scene. Joan claims to be there to help Grace deal with the Althea problem (by this point Althea is all but accusing Grace & Hal of elder abuse), and Althea thinks she is dead <spoiler>but has held back her possession of Joan's death certificate so that she can have Robert squire her around Europe with an aim of "searching for Joan"</spoiler>. But Joan has other, darker ideas than Grace, and suddenly we are in Bizarro World <spoiler>and Grace is fully Team Althea.</spoiler>

I got the sense that Masterman didn't know how to wrap up the story and so introduced the boogeyman of Joan, but didn't know quite what to do with her. Honestly, her appearance could have been pretty great, but she mostly just hangs out being vaguely evil. And then Masterman unites her two MCs against a common enemy, and boop! The end. It keeps the book from being really great after three quarters of it being a lesson in entertaining dread.

3.5 stars rounded up before I second guess myself

Woahhhh what a wild ride! Anyone with a mother-in-law will agree that all our troubles with them suddenly appear to be harmless!
I loved to hate certain characters in this story, okay without wanting to give too much away: I despised Althea! She is sooooo evtl that I could not stop listening to the beautiful narration by Gail Shalan
Thank you #Netgalley #Dreamscape Media for this audiobook