I really enjoyed First-Time Mother a psychological thriller by A.J. Campbell.

Annie is married to Max and is stepmother to Jasmine and Jacob children from his first marriage and she has a baby daughter Lola with Max.

Annie feels like the walls are closing in on her when she suspects that her family are trying to gaslight her. She also has the extra burden of workmen in and out of the home whilst she is feeling fragile and unwell.

Max, Sean and Samantha who is Annie's sister are all business partners and are going through an arduous time winding their business down.

Everyday tasks get harder for Annie especially with looking after a baby suffering from colic and feeling Max is not as attentive as he was toward her.

Samantha has been found dead and Annie has slept right through it. The police say it could be suicide but on further investigation there are grounds that she has been murdered.

There are a great many suspects along the way and what an eye opener when the perpetrator is revealed.

This was my first read by AJ Campbell and I absolutely loved it!

Annie is a new mom struggling to get by.. She's having blackouts and trouble sleeping. Luckily, she has the support of her husband, Max. Her two teenage stepchildren? Not so much. They seem to hate Annie. Annie's blackouts increase and she is napping during the day. Things take a turn when she wakes up from a nap and discovers that her life will forever be changed...I won't say much more as it is best to go into this one blind.

So many twists in this one! A super crazy and wild ride. I really did not know which direction this one was going or who to trust. I kept changing my loyalties throughout the novel. The author did a great job at pulling the reader in. I really felt for Annie and her struggles. The environment was tense with the crazy family dynamics and poor Annie's postpartum issues.

I will say the synopsis for this book provided by the publisher is not accurate. This book is NOT about a missing baby.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great thriller! There were so many layers to this story and so many great twists. I loved this thriller and really enjoyed this book. I was on the edge of my seat and could not wait to find out how the whole story would play out. This was a great and fun read!

This was a really gripping read - I think it brings back the feelings of being in a post-partum haze so well! The twists are well handled and breadcrumbed well throughout which is my favourite thing in a thriller/mystery!

Annie is a new mum to her baby girl, Lola. Which is stressful enough. But she is living in the house her husband shared with his ex wife. And his teenage children seem to hate Annie and Lola. Annie finds herself feeling tired and unwell constantly, being told by everyone that she is clearly depressed or drinking too much. She knows that isn't true. But why is she so ill, and why is she always forgetting everything? When her sister is found dead in their home, Annie feels like somebody is doing this to her on purpose. But who? And why?

Another great read from AJ. And it really brings back all of those moments I felt as a new mum, constantly feeling tired and feeling like I was losing my mind.
This was a fast-paced read with so many twists. Just when you think you know whats going on, something happens and you're completely in the dark again. Definitely one of my favourites from this author.

Absolutely gripping! I was left shocked! AJ Campbell is a must read author for me! She writes her books so unique that has me floored when I'm done wanting more! The second best part was my nickname being the main character, but the greatest being the rollercoaster ride of how the freak is AJ Campbell going to toss her readers for a brain scramble!

This book was great, it just took a little too long to have everything unravel to reveal the twist. But it was a very satisfying ending.

This is a twisty read, full of suspense, who can Annie trust?
Max and Annie are not long married, they have a new baby daughter, Lola.
Max’s first wife is deceased, his twin teenagers live with Annie & Max.
Annie cannot decide if she has baby brain or if she is going mad, she knows she is seriously sleep deprived as Lola has colic and doesn’t sleep much, she cries incessantly . Strange things happen around the house for which Annie can offer no explanation, keys go missing, empty wine bottles which she can’t recall drinking, a fire in the kitchen. To add to her stress they have a team of workmen in doing renovations, the twins play up no matter how hard she tries with them. She finds herself falling asleep during the day for long periods, awakening after one of these sleeps she finds her sister dead in her en-suite, it looks like suicide!
Annie no longer knows who to trust, her sister is dead, Max thinks she can’t cope, he is hiring a nannie, Zoe to help her with Lola.
Things escalate further when Zoe does not return from an outing with baby Lola, why is she not bringing Lola back?
There are some clever twists and turns, and we learn that Annie is also hiding a huge secret!!
This is a story of revenge, lies and secrets. I thoroughly enjoyed the read, it is my first book by this author but I will definitely be reading more.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
4.5 stars

This book pulls you in with a quiet kind of dread. What starts as a story about a woman navigating motherhood quickly warps into something darker—something unsettling that creeps beneath the surface.

Sophie, our main character, is adjusting to life with a newborn. But everything is off. The people around her seem to be hiding things, and she’s not even sure if she can trust herself. Is it postpartum anxiety? Or is something far more sinister happening?

This is one of those psychological thrillers that plays with perception. It blurs the line between what’s real and what’s imagined, and keeps you guessing about whether the danger is internal or external. The tension builds slowly, but steadily. And when things unravel—they really unravel.

What I liked:
- The atmosphere: claustrophobic, domestic, and unsettling.
- The theme of isolation in early motherhood felt incredibly real.
- Smart use of unreliable narration—Sophie’s mental state adds genuine suspense.

What didn’t quite hit:
- Some reveals felt a bit rushed near the end.
- A few characters felt underdeveloped, especially given their importance to the twist.

Still, this is a compelling read if you’re into domestic thrillers that mess with your mind and tap into real-life fears. It’s less about the who and more about the why—and that’s what makes it stick.

Annie is married to Max and they have just had their first child together, Lola. Max has teenage twins from his first marriage, his wife died some 8 years previously. Annie has moved into Max’s house and there is resentment on the part of the twins about this. Although Annie would have liked to a new house Max has decided to have an extension built.

Briefly, Lola is colicky and is always crying giving Annie no rest whatsoever. The noise from the builders is relentless and with everything going on she is always exhausted and making all sorts of mistakes. Or is she? Things are being moved or going missing and there is a fire in the kitchen; Max and the twins think she is imagining it all. Matters come to a head when she falls asleep one afternoon and waking up discovers a body in her bathroom!

With shocking truths coming out one after another this is a clever and twisty psychological thriller, with a massive twist which to be honest I never saw coming. I love an unreliable narrator and you definitely get that. A slow burner and a fairly quick read this was an entertaining and enjoyable book.

Annie, a first-time mother, is experiencing difficulty in establishing a bond with her four-month-old daughter, Lola, while residing with her husband Max and his teenage twins from a previous marriage. Despite her deep affection for Lola, Annie feels overwhelmed and chronically sleep-deprived, leading to episodes of blackouts and accidents within the household. While Max attributes her struggles to postpartum depression, Annie harbors suspicions that there may be more malevolent forces at play in their domestic environment. The situation intensifies when she discovers Lola missing after a nap, prompting her to reevaluate the safety of her surroundings and the motives of those around her.

The narrative unfolds as a psychological thriller imbued with suspense and unforeseen twists. Annie's experiences encapsulate the challenges of motherhood, particularly when exacerbated by the complexities of blending families. You are drawn into her escalating paranoia as peculiar incidents, such as the inexplicable disappearance of baby bottles and a kitchen fire, amplify her sense of foreboding. As Annie grapples with her mental health and the condescending pity from her family, the story provokes inquiries into trust and perception, leaving you in a state of suspense.

At times, I was ambivalent regarding Annie’s character. At times, she seemed incompetent and unbelievable, but at other times, I really resonated with her character. I wanted more character development of her sister and their relationship. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this thriller, and it kept my attention to the very end- a surprising end that I never saw coming.

Annie's in a brain fog daze. She has a newborn who cries constantly. But, as soon as someone else holds her, she stops. She's getting scatty and forgetful. As a mother myself, the thoughts and feelings that Annie goes through are very relatable. I remember those early days of sleepless nights and a complete loss of who you are.

However, is it just the newborn brain fog? Or is there something else amiss in Annie's life? Well, given this is a psychological thriller by A J Campbell, you can bet your bottom dollar. There are some twists and turns along the way.

I was very suspicious of everyone in Annie's life. But that was due to the way Campbell has written Annie's thoughts so perfectly. Did I figure things out? Nope. I was deep into this story that the twists hit me and made me gasp.

Another great book by my go-to author now. ☺️☺️

This book messed with my mind for a good portion of it. I didn't know if her mental health was declining or if she was being gaslit.

This edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller is the perfect read by the incredibly talented AJ Campbell! I’m always so excited when she writes a new novel & even more this time because she reached out to me personally to share it with me!
The ending! I can’t say enough about the intense twists and excitement of those turns! It’s a favorite for 2025!!! It’s a must read!

Prepare to stay up all night reading!

First Time Mother is another great thriller by AJ Campbell! I have read several of her books and they all have been so good! This book had me hooked from beginning to end! I did figure out one of the twists early on, but there were several more twists that kept me guessing until the end! I didn’t want to put this book down!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!

A.J. Campbell has a remarkable way of bringing the story to life. This was the first book I've read by her and I can already tell it won't be the last! I'm already looking forward to reading more from this author.

A little info about the book:
From the very first page, you're thrown right into the middle of a mother's intense struggle. You can really feel how strongly she loves her baby, Lola. That strong feeling every parent has to keep their child safe no matter what. But then, things start to feel… off.

While reading the story in my dark room (yes, a dark room so I can really feel the intensity this book brings!).... I question what's real and what might be imagined.

Family dynamics? So interesting! You see the love, yes! BUT you also get this feeling that "something dark" might be hidden underneath. It really makes you wonder who our main character can truly lean on. Every time I turn the page, MAAM! I have trust issuesssss!!!

The author is SO CLEVER at dropping in these little hints that make you feel uneasy. The tension just keeps building, little by little. Those weird "accidents" happening at home kept me totally on edge. And once again, MAAM I'm trying to figure out what was really going on. The author expertly plays with your perceptions, and I can tell A.J. Campbell will make you doubt things just like the main character.

If you're looking for a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the VERY LAST PAGE, you absolutely need to pick this one up. Trust me, you won't see it coming!

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DISCLAIMER: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to Bookouture and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this early.

I feel like this book had a lot of potential but just kind of fell flat. I was honestly confused a lot at different points in this story. There were a lot of things that I felt like didn’t make sense. One being what the story was about. The tag line on the cover is “A baby is missing, everyone thinks it’s my fault”. The description also doesn’t match what the book is actually about. There’s no missing baby until about 75% into the book.
The book is really about a new mom, Annie, who is sleep deprived and struggling with postpartum while taking care of a colicky baby. One afternoon she passes out and wakes up to find someone dead in her bathroom.
This story was very hard to actually get into because it was so hard to follow.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

AJ Campbell in back with her signature style in First Time Mother. AJ's books always have propulsive bingeable chapters. You can't help fly through the book.

Annie is a scatterbrained new mom, her memory is challenged, she is absent minded, and she feels like she's losing her mind. She begins to doubt herself, her memory and her actions.

As unfortunate events keep piling up, she thinks everyone is guilty, maybe even herself.

If you love am unreliable narrator and an unstable new mom, this one is for you.

Bingeable and entertaining

This is the very first time I have read a book from this author. Let me tell you I was hooked by the second I immediately went and bought this book on Amazon so I could also have the book in my hand. I have never found another author that I like as much as Freida McFadden, until I read this book. She is such an amazing truly author. And her writing to just grab you. I can't wait to read another book by her.

5⭐️

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A masterful thriller compact with unanticipated twists! 🔥

What a fantastic psychological thriller this was. Campbell grabs you by the neck with the horrifying prologue and continues to grab hold of you until the final page is turned. What a feeling this was!

Having read many of Campbell’s previous books, I can proudly announce that this is one of her best yet! Gripping, shocking and packed with red herrings, this book had it all.

I knew something was amiss from the onset and I was wracking my brain trying to identify what was wrong. Although I predicted a few of the smaller twists, Campbell truly walloped us with the continuous edge-of-your-seat big twists.

I found myself effortlessly turning the page throughout as the unremitting tension truly had a grip on me. The premise was clever and how the book unravels is a joyride. Add in the mixture of characters and this thriller really was impressive!

A huge thank you @ajcampbellauthor and @bookouture for having me on the Book Tour for First-Time Mother which is out now! ❤️

You must check this book out. 😍

⚠️ Please check out the trigger warnings! ⚠️