In Such a Good Mom by Julia Spiro, we meet Brynn Nelson, a new mom living in a wealthy, tight-knit community on Martha’s Vineyard. Brynn grew up on the other end of the island in a working-class area that is becoming increasingly unaffordable. She doesn’t feel like she fits in on her husband’s part of the island. This fish-out-of-water experience, combined with her postpartum struggles, leaves her feeling isolated and disconnected from her old life.

Her husband, Ross, works for his father’s construction business. He’s stretched thin because his father recently retired, and their clients are wealthy and demanding. Ross doesn’t give Brynn and the baby the attention they need, but his family steps in to help, despite being the reason he’s not home in the first place.

When a family friend is found dead and Ross becomes the prime suspect, Brynn is even more distraught and confused. She attempts to solve the murder to clear her husband’s name. But the more she digs, the less it all makes sense.

Spiro puts the reader into Brynn’s shoes … the confusion, the doubt, the fear, and the obsession. You’ll be solving the mystery right along with her. Great read for fans of domestic thrillers.

I received this Advance Reader Copy of Such a Good Mom from Minotaur Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Julia Spiro’s “Such a Good Mom” blends a murder mystery with a deeply personal look at new motherhood. The story centers on Brynn, a new mom living on Martha’s Vineyard whose world is upended when a local woman is murdered and suspicion lands close to home. As Brynn investigates, she’s forced to face her own struggles with postpartum depression and the immense pressure to be a perfect mother.The book stands out for its honest, unflinching portrayal of Brynn’s mental health and the challenges of balancing marriage, motherhood, and identity. Spiro’s writing is direct and emotionally charged, making the suspense feel real, but it’s Brynn’s vulnerability that gives the novel its heart. Reviewers praise the book for its authenticity and its blend of domestic drama with page-turning mystery, though some note the rawness of the postpartum storyline might be tough for sensitive readers. Overall, it’s a gripping, thoughtful read for anyone interested in thrillers with real emotional depth.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advance readers copy of this book.

Brynn Nelson is a first-time mom with a three-month-old, Lucas. She and her husband, Ross, are lifelong locals on Martha’s Vineyard, where his family owns a very successful contracting business, specializing in multi-million dollar houses for summer residents.

Brynn, herself, is an established romance novelist, working on her third book. But the issue is that she is not working – because she is mired in post-partum depression. The murder of a young waitress, a favorite of the Nelson family, complicates the situation – especially because Ross is arrested for the murder.

What follows is an on-going description of Brynn’s depression, and her efforts to solve the crime and free her husband.

Life as a local in a prime summer destination for outsiders adds color and interest. The book also gets a big plus for shining a light on post-partum depression and other challenges faced by child-bearing women, including miscarriage and traumatic birth experiences.
However, the details and examples of Brynn’s depression are repeated over and over again, and Brynn’s self-castigation literally gets in the way of much focus on the murder and the history behind it. So many words are spent on her misery that they minimize the mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC ofJulie Spiro's recently released novel Such A Good Mom. Brynn and Ross Nelson seemed to be on the path to having it all. Brynn, an author, and Ross working for his dad's development and construction company, with the understanding that he would run it
when his dad retired, decided it was the right time to have a child. After a very difficult labor, Lucas entered the world.
Brynn was aware, from the beginning, that she did not feel the instant love or joy she anticipated being a mother would bring. Added to that she felt as the responsibility for Lucas was entirely hers; Ross seemed withdrawn, and was always working or entertaining clients. As if that wasn't enough disruption in their lives Ross was arrested for the murder of a young woman who worked at their frequently visited social club. The murder opened a can of worms that had far reaching ramifications. I enjoyed Such A Good Mom; it was interesting, had a well developed plot, believable characters and a surprise ending- all elements of a very good read. 4 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows Brynn, who is battling the stress and pressures of being a new mom. As she spends her days at home tending to the new baby, her husband Ross seems to be a bit distracted/distant.

As they live on Martha's Vineyard, the family spends time amongst the wealthy - all seems to be going well...until one day a close friend of the family winds up dead.

Ross is arrested.

Brynn is torn between believing her husband is innocent and being wrapped up with the case - being tired and worn out doesn't help the matter and she soon spirals into the craziness of the case.

I didn't see the twist coming, but it did take a bit of time for me to get into. All in all, it was a decent read.

3.5 Stars
This book is best described as a family drama layered with complex emotional issues and centered around a murder mystery.

A wealthy family, a shocking death, and a new mother caught up in far more than she bargained for.

It’s definitely a slow burn, steadily building tension as the story unfolds. Brynn, the main character, is struggling with postpartum depression and an overwhelming sense of disconnect from her newborn son. Her challenges only deepen when her husband is arrested as a suspect in a murder investigation.

The ending took me by surprise, and I appreciated the unexpected twist.

Thank you to NetGalley for the gifted copy and all opinions are my own.

This book frustrated me from the get go. I enjoyed the murder mystery but getting to the mystery you had to wade through so much monotonous stuff about being a mom. If I read the word latched or breast feeding one more time…I was going to throw this book in the yard. And don’t get me started on the rectal thermometer! This book is set in 2020. Who uses those anymore? No one! Not even doctor’s offices.
Needless to say, I did finish it. Like I said, the mystery was intriguing. Just be prepared to expect stuff not pertinent to the story.

This was an interesting read that details the main characters experience with post partum depression. The main character really struggles with this and it is detailed a lot so note that it might be triggering to some readers so please proceed with caution.

A murder takes place and her husband is accused. On top of everything else she is already coping with, she begins to investigate to try and uncover what happened and prove him innocent, but how will she do that when she is so sleep deprived she can barely keep track of her own day?

Overall, I thought that this one was good. It felt like it was a little long at times and a bit repetitive. It has the unreliable narrator trope, so it kept me on the edge of my seat, second guessing what was happening.

Such A Good Mom** Review
Julia Sprio’s new book “ Such A Good Mom” captures the stages of new motherhood and post partum along with a murder that involves her husband and his family. Brynn Nelson is an author living on Martha’s Vineyard, who married into a prominent family , that is dealing with the up and downs of being a new mother. While Brynn manages her feelings, or tries to, of what she may have given up to become a mother she is dealt a harsh blow when her husband is accused of murder. Did Ross Nelson kill a woman that the family were good friends with or is he being set up for the fall ? Brynn struggles to manage her feelings of not being a good mother, resenting that she is the full time caregiver and longs for her old life that was carefree. However, Brynn has trouble believing that Ross could kill anyone and she begins her investigation into who is really to blame for the death of a young woman. I struggled with this book because of the bouncing around from the issues of post partum to the investigation of murder. I thought that the 2 plots would have been better off as separate books. Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced e-book of this novel.

This novel is hard to categorize for me. While it is supposed to be a domestic thriller, it leaned more towards family drama for me. We spend a lot of time in the MC's thoughts about her situation as a new Mom and all the things she is doing wrong. I am a lot of years away from the newborn phase, but this brought me right back, giving me not so great flashbacks of a really rough time postpartum.
I give Spiro credit for really capturing the feeling that so many new moms have when they are feeling like they aren't able to keep up and trying to do all the things! However, for me, much more of this book was about being in Brynn's head than the actual mystery part of the novel. By the 2/3 mark, I was having a hard time sticking in it with the character and wanted her to stop blaming herself for every little thing. I am not discounting the fact that mental health is very important postpartum, I just wish we had a little more balance between the thriller part of the novel and the internal thoughts of Brynn.
The mystery itself was fairly predictable and a bit unbelievable. The novel wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow. If you like books that are messy but get all tied up neatly, you might like this. But, if you might have trouble spending time in a MC's head that has a lot of self-doubt and postpartum depression, this might not be for you.

It’s likely that this review is a case of it’s not you…it’s me.

I went into Such a Good Mom for the murder mystery. From the synopsis, I was intrigued, but, after reaching the 50 percent mark and only a small portion of the book being about the murder and the rest about Brynn’s struggles as a new mom, I was beginning to think I missed a crucial part of the plot summary. After going back and reading the description, it’s clear that Such a Good Mom is intended to be both, but, unfortunately, that just wasn’t what interested me. This book has an audience that it will appeal to, and the writing is engaging, but this one ultimately just isn’t for me.

3.5 stars. This is a mystery/suspense story with loads of family drama. The main character is Brynn, an author and a new mom who is struggling with post-partum depression. She lives year-round on Martha's Vineyard with her husband, who is part of a very successful and well-off local family. Right at the beginning of the book, the body of a young woman washes up on the beach. They all knew her because she was one of their favorite waitresses and was well-loved. The authorities declare her death a murder, and the person they immediately pin the crime on is a surprise to everyone on the island. Their arrest draws Brynn into a deep pit of family secrets.

I really enjoyed the overall storyline of this book. The setting was great and very atmospheric. I definitely wanted to keep turning the pages as the characters tried to figure out if the police have arrested the right person or if someone else committed the murder. A few things didn't work as well for me, though. The descriptions of the exhaustion and demands of new motherhood was very relatable (and might be a trigger for some readers), but it was mentioned too often for me - the point would have come across just as strongly without as much repetition of that theme. There were also a few things that Brynn did that seemed out of character. As with a lot of books in this genre, some things were maybe a little too convenient - I don't mind that but it's not everyone's cup of tea. In general, this book was a quick, entertaining read that would be a great pool-side pick. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital arc to review.

There are books that make you feel lucky you stumble to read them and this is one. Strong female characters are always a plus to me. This has strong projections of how post-partum depression can really impact a woman's world. The challenge of new motherhood is being highlighted which I greatly appreciate. However, the twist, yes there is one because this cute gem is mixed with a little dose of suspense and mystery! Good to read if you love cozy mysteries, female protagonist that are kinda unsure of themselves, family drama and the likes! I enjoyed this read and I highly recommend!

I just finished Such a Good Mom by Julia Spiro and here are my musings.
Brynn is struggling with motherhood and being a wife. Her husband has been withdrawn and she can’t manage to do her job around the baby… When a waitress at their country club is found murdered, then tragedy hits her home… Her husband has been arrested for the crime.. It looks like he did it but Brynn isn’t so sure and she will stop at nothing to find the truth.

This one was really well done. I loved the narration. It really brought me into the story and held my attention. I felt the postpartum aspects of the story were handled with care and accuracy so that was a big plus too. It was loaded with family drama and the thriller side of it felt like the secondary story which was a bit of a bummer.

Brynn was the star of the show. Her whole character was what kept me going through the whole story. The pace was a bit slow for a thriller but Brynn kept me engaged. It was a really clever story. I didn’t figure out what happened so the ending hit me hard. I was like what the SHEET!!!! I love it when I am kept guessing….

This is definitely a different type of thriller to my norm but I enjoyed the heck out of it!! The writing was great, the other characters were a bit flat but all in all… I great book, well narrated and I was entertained.


4 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio and @minotaur_books for my ALC and ARC!

Thank you Minotaur for allowing me to be an early reader.

I’m not sure this was the book for me. This book delves into postpartum depression and a little bit of mystery/suspense. I found the MFC to be insufferable at times, well most of the time. I’m not sure if the author stated how old she was, but she was very young minded. The postpartum and breastfeeding was overkill. That could be totally me. As I’m currently pregnant and my emotions are just Al over the place. Although not a FTM, I found it to be just too much.

The ending was so underwhelming. I figured out the plot twist before it was revealed and it honestly was underwhelming.

In my opinion, this could have been a women’s fiction book about friendship and navigating family, postpartum and life as a first time mom. Or it could have been a mystery surrounding the death of the young lady. Overall, the book felt disconnected.

I enjoyed the mystery aspect more which is what let me reading until the end.

Thank you Macmillan Audio, for the ALC and Netgalley/St. Martin’s Press, #partner for the advanced e-copy of Such a Good Mom in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book I have read by Julia Spiro and while I enjoyed the mystery part of it, I think because I am not a mother, I am not really the target audience for this book, as it leans very heavy into post-partum depression and all that comes with it. While I choose not to DNF this book – I really was quite intrigued by the mystery/thriller aspect of the story, I did get a bit overwhelmed with the other parts of it. That’s not to say that I am not surrounded by mothers in my life, so I could appreciate, to an extent, what Brynn was going through, and I did find it added a bit of an unreliability to her character, which I am always for, no matter what the circumstances.

Was this the book I expected it to be? Not exactly…but I did love the author’s writing and I would definitely pick something else up by her. I just feel that in this case, the mystery played second fiddle to the post-partum issues – that was really what the author wanted to write about and if the book had been marketed that way, I never would have picked it up.

Brynn is a spiraling new mom struggling with the transition that inevitably happens when welcoming a new baby. She doesn’t recognize herself and the new vibe in her marriage, and most worrisome to her- she cannot yet connect emotionally with her son. As if that isn’t enough, her husband is suddenly the suspect in a murder investigation and gives her a cryptic clue she is supposed to use to uncover what really happened.

Whew! This one was okay but I can’t recommend it. Brynn’s headspace is understandably tumultuous and the author did a good job portraying the vulnerable time that is new motherhood, but I don’t enjoy her perspective. The murder mystery was playing second fiddle to the story the author seemed to really want to tell which was what it’s like to feel lost as a new parent. Maybe this would be good for moms who need to feel seen in a book? I also worry it would be triggering as it contains scenes of traumatic childbirth, breastfeeding difficulties, and depression/anxiety. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.i

While this wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, I still really enjoyed it. New mom Brynn is struggling with new motherhood. She’s tired, feeling neglected by her husband and is playing that comparison game with other mom’s that never ends in her favor. When a murder occurs that is connected to Brynn’s family, she starts to connect dots and doesn’t like where she sees it going.

This has a twisty plot but even more so, I think it explores the reality of disconnection and feeling alone even when you’re not.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for this gifted copy!

Such A Good Mom by Julia Spiro is a twisty but vulnerable thriller/mystery about a new mom who is already struggling with postpartum depression when her husband gets accused of murder. Some TW include: miscarriages, postpartum depression, abortion, murder and death.

Brynn is utterly and bone numbingly exhausted. As a new mom to 3 months old Lucas, she is always tired and uncertain about her new role as a mother. After a traumatic birth experience, bonding with Lucas has been extremely difficult for Brynn leaving her concerned about her lack of maternal instinct. Thankfully she has help in the form of her mother in law who is a natural when it comes to childrearing. But Brynn's already fragile world is rocked once again when after a woman's body is found, the police arrest her own husband. Shocked and overwhelmed, Brynn knows that Ross is innocent, surely her husband wouldn't be able to kill anyone... right?

So this novel is definitely not a straight up thriller, more like a mystery but I still really enjoyed it! Some parts are a little hard to read especially when talking about Brynn's intrusive thoughts, so just be aware if you are a new mom or struggling with postpartum. I have struggled with postpartum myself so I felt like I could relate to Brynn with the mind numbing exhaustion and general fears and concerns. I really liked the vulnerability that came across and I appreciated how Spiro did not shy away from some hard truths. Overall I think this was a good book about a woman struggling but not getting the help she needs overlapped with a mystery that is way too close for Brynn's liking. Definitely interested in reading more from Julia Spiro!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Julia Spiro, and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC!! Publication date: April 29th 2025.

In Such a Good Mom a new mom, a local in Martha’s Vineyard, gets involved in solving a murder when a local woman is found dead and her new mom’s husband is a suspect. It is a mix of a psychological thriller with a taste of women’s fiction mixed in, dealing with postpartum issues and the stress of being a new mom. It was twisted, with lots of background details to set the stage. I also liked seeing what life is like on the island for the locals. At times the whining was over the top and made me more interested in the murder than the day to day struggles of the new mom. But I was invested until the very end to find out what really happened.