This book easily could have been a 4-4.5 star book. Unfortunately due to some serious plot holes and implausible moments I feel that this is a 3 star book.

I felt that as an adult, Carly too readily makes decisions based on statements made by a 10 year old boy. Most adults would consider must more realistic answers before coming to the conclusions that she does much too early in the book. There is also the behavior of the police. I can understand them thinking she's a hysterical woman at first, but as evidence mounts up they all continue with the dismissive attitude. This leaves it up to Carly and 10 year old Jake to find out who is pursuing and trying to kill them. On occasion Jake shows more maturity than Carly does.

As what was intended to be a thriller, every time the book picked up speed, it lost momentum because these moments brought down any built up tension.

Thank you to Inkubator Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
#netgalley
#notmymother

This was just an ok read for me. I do read a lot of thrillers so this one was just pretty average for me, but if you don’t you may like it! I thought the concept of the ex girlfriend caring for the son was unique but as usual, the incompetency of rather lack of care from the police was cliche. I also don’t care for romance thrown into my thrillers unless it makes total sense to the plot. Overall I was entertained but I probably wouldn’t pick it up again.

Thanks Netgalley for a copy of this work in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are that of my own!

I have been looking for a book like this since I have started reading thrillers. They way this author writes leaves you wanting to know what happens next. You will think you have the book figured out, but with all the twists and turns, you will find out that you were wrong and you will have to pick your jaw up off the floor.

Jake Carter, who is 10 has an enemy and his life is in danger. His caregiver is focused on keeping him safe and find out who's intention is to harm him, with or without the police.

The relationship between Jake and his caregiver is so sweet and loving. But the twist at the end of the book will leave you wanting a part two!

I rate this book 5 stars and will recommend this book to all my friends and family!

10 year old Jake Carter has an enemy, and his life is in danger. His dad’s mistress, Carly becomes his caregiver, and is determined to keep him safe and find out who is after him, without help from law enforcement.

I absolutely loved this book! The writing is fun and kept me interested the whole time. The beginning was not intense, but still flowed steadily as you got to know each character and formed strong opinions of them. When the pace started to pick up, it got intense! I will definitely look into more books by Theo Baxter!

Thank you #NetGalley and #Inkubator for this ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

oh WOW i've been struggling too find a book too keep my interest lately but this one had me gripped i read it in a night.

its a really good read fast paced and lots of tqlwists and turns that will make you keep reading and just wanting more.

its a shame this is a one off thriller as i would love to read about these characters again you can really get behind them.

i love Jake and Carlys relationship.

The big twist shocked me i'm surprised it didnt occur to me but as there were other things going on it was a sorta distraction.

I will read anything Theo Baxter writes. This as well didn't disappoint!

As usual it had me hooked from page one. It was intense and the author always writes with the reader in mind because every time i start a book by this author i cannot put the book down. The plot was jaw dropping and i never seen the end coming. Every time i read one i say oh this is the best one written and once again i always say this is my favorite until the next :)

Great book and great writing never a disappointment.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

This was my first book by Theo Baxter. It drew me in from the beginning and loved the intensity of Not My Mother. It is full of mystery and suspense and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for allowing me to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My first Theo Baxter read did not disappoint. Immediately you're sucked in wanting to know who's chasing Carly and the little boy she's with. It left me on the edge of my seat with every page turn. I will definitely be recommending this one and reading more by Theo.

This was an interesting and unique read, centered on Carly, who goes out of her way to protect young Jake, the son of the man with whom she was having an affair, after his mother was attacked. Jake is convinced that his mother was replaced with an imposter after the attack and Carly goes to get to the bottom of it while ensuring Jake’s safety.

Carly is a likable character and I enjoyed the dynamic between her and Jake. Jake’s parents were not likable characters and I wish we had gotten more backstory on them, as I didn’t really understand their apathy towards their child. The mystery in the story was sound and I liked that the author was able to take a situation that seemed implausible make rational sense. That being said, there were multiple other parts of the story that were extremely unrealistic; I really didn’t like the fact that the police refused to help Carly even faced with evidence, and I felt that the ending was tied up a little too neatly to be realistic.

Overall, this was an interesting read with a unique storyline and, despite some issues that caused me to suspend my disbelief, I enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Solid 3.5 star thriller. This review contains some spoilers.

I found the premise of this book intriguing, but the execution was a bit lacking for me. I appreciate that Jake was able to tell right away that something was off about the woman claiming to be his mother, but I was left confused about why his father didn't notice anything to he unusual. I enjoyed the relationship between Carly and Jake, and they were both very likable characters. The biggest thing that bothered me about the story was the continued disregard by the police for the events that had occurred even when presented with evidence on video that the same man was involved in all of these alleged attacks. I understand that the allegation regarding the mother not being who she claimed to be was far-fetched, but there were multiple videos of the other man caught in the act and those were all completely ignored by the police which seemed too over the top.
Overall though, I did enjoy this book and would read another by the author because it was fast paced and kept me interested.
Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubator books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I found the plot and cover to be intriguing. I love psychological thrillers. I did like the female protagonist, Carly, however many of the remaining characters were not as likeable. I would have liked to see a bit more character development in Carly. We also didn’t get a lot of backstory until the end of the book. I would have liked to know more about her and Jake’s relationship and how it got so strong.
At times I felt like Jake, who is about 9 or 10, was wise beyond his years. And his father seemed so immature and one dimensional, I’m not sure what the main character saw in him in the first place.
I also know the police ignoring the crazy woman in distress trope but. I just find it hard to believe the police would be so dismissive.
I think there was a good amount of tension and a pretty twist. I enjoyed learning what would happen. I had a great evening reading this!

Written fairly well, but I did have trouble with a couple aspects, particularly around believability. For example, that the police would not do anything about a man charging toward someone with a knife in broad daylight was a bit shocking. But in all, the book was entertaining to read and kept my attention. The only other thing I would say is there was far too much “fretting” going on. The word seemed to pop up in every paragraph which was slightly annoying at best.

This book had me addicted from the start! It was so intense that I could not wait to see the twist. Authot knows how to deliver the breath taking, draw dropping twist that we all know and love and never expect the ending. I believe this book is her best one yet but I say that everytime I read one of her books. Thank you for allowing me to read your book in advance.

I was going to give it 3,5 stars but with this ending i decided that it would be more like a 3 stars close to 2.
I can say it was a good book overall, and it did kept me wanting to read more, but what i really miss was this connection with the characters that just wasn´t there.
In thriller books its very common that the characters story is kinda "erased" because of the suspense and plot, but as the book keeps going, the author finds situations where they tell more about the backstory (with flashbacks or memories for example). In this book the characters seem to not have a past at all, Carly just talks about her childhood 1 time, doesn't give any backstory about Dave or her brother, and i think even when Selina explains how her sister moved up in life is kinda vague and too fast (as well as any of her explanations about what really happened)
The plot is other thing that was kinda disappointing on me, twin sisters? really? I think nowadays that´s so predictable that even authors put that as an option of plot in the book just to confuse the readers. It did have, a few differentials, but i think even that was kinda messed up when Selina ended up having a cause with her own cousin, i just think it was too much. That was another thing, Selina being unconscious being under her cousion´s brother cause i mean, even she was really small and he was really tall, i think she could have find a way out idk, just seemed too easy for the police to find her and Carly escape. About that WTF WAS CARLY RUNNING BACK INSIDE???? I swear that was really a screaming moment. Ok she was a gun pointed to her, but cant you just try to crouch, move fast idk something NOT RUN INSIDE AGAIN.
About the police, i just think it was kinda tiring the uncountable times they were made dumb and incompetent, i believed it until they said there was a "miscommunication" about Nelson and Jake being home and okay, like really? she literally gave them a second address and said they were in danger.
Nelson´s death, that i thought wasnt going to be explained, was a really WHATTTTT???? Like, ok he can´t kill Carly and Jake with a gun because it would be cold blood murder but can kill Nelson while his back was turned? Its not cold blood murder if you dont see the victim´s eyes?
The epilogue was what ruined it all to me fr, it was just so much omg. I wouldn't mind reading 100 more pages if it meant that the ending wasnt going to be rushed. Beginning with Jake not having ANY more relatives, i see that Amanda´s side of the family would be understandable to not have anyone alive or trustful, but Nelson´s side should have, cause i can perfectly see Jake having grandparents that would have wanted his legal custody.
I wont even mention that the end was just 100% cliche but all rushed, it was like the author put all the normal things that happy stories have and mixed it together. Marriage proposal, moving in together and a new baby. All 3 things? Idk...just doesn't seem right.
I would like to read another of this author´s book, but one that has more than 280 pages, where he can truly let his creativity flow and write a more detailed, not rushed, story.

She isn't his mother.....or is she? This book hooks you from the very first page. The complicated relationships throughout the story only make it that much better!

Not My Mother is a gripping novel with the perfect blend of feel good moments and horror. You will grow to love half the characters and loath the other half. While this book is not full of huge shocking plot twists, it is a book that delivers fully on mystery and suspense! A page turner you won’t be able to put down!

Thank you Net Galley and Inkubator Books for providing an ARC of Not My Mother by Theo Baxter for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Let me start by saying, overall the book was a good read. It kept me entertained and anxious to see what happens next. I felt like I couldn’t trust anybody. I thought for sure Carly’s new bf Hans had to be involved somehow. I was angry at Jake’s parents and even more angry at the police officers who kept brushing everything off. I did sort of see the twist with Amanda coming, but then again with books like this you just never know. The somewhat disappointing part of the story is that I thought the “That’s not my mother” was going to be much more climactic. Like “Amanda” was going to be some random woman being picked up from the hospital and Jake was going to look at Carly and be like “Carly, that’s not my mother!” But everyone else was going to try and pass this woman off as Amanda. However, I guess the book wouldn’t really have work if it had been that way. Overall, I would rate the book 4 stars. It’s engaging and has some twists you don’t really see coming.

Theo Baxter always has me and edge and guessing and this one was no different. This book definitely had me gripped.

Well written and easy to follow book. The plot was engaging. The only thing that could have made this book better would have been more twists that you didn't see coming. Overall a great read.

This was a quick easy read, kept my attention, had some good surprises with likable and unlikable characters. I kept waiting for the ending to get twistier but it kind of just ended. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

Thanks for the advanced reader Netgalley!