Ivy's life seems to be perfect. She has a loving husband, a gorgeous house, and a family that gives her everything she has ever wanted. All that changes when Sandra Steele knocks on her door claiming to be her biological mother. As far as Ivy knew, her mom died in an accident 6 months ago. But with Sandra's appearance, everything changes. The police reopen the investigation into her mother's death and Ivy begins to find flaws in Sandra's story. Sandra claims that Ivy's mother, Patsy, was going to tell her the truth, but now she has to rely on a stranger and the family she thought she knew so well, to tell her what's going on. Can Ivy find out what's fact from fiction? Especially while she's hiding her own secrets?

Don't Trust Mother delivers on the suspense but it didn't quite land for me. The setup is intriguing and sounds promising and Baldwin does do a great job building up the tension. My main problem was how some of the twists are way too predictable so it felt like the impact was dulled instead of shocking. The character development also felt a bit uneven to me, especially with the secondary characters. Overall, I did find it an entertaining read, I just wasn't feeling it as much as I thought that I would.

Thank you to NetGalley, Carey Baldwin, and Bookouture for this ARC! Publication date is July 22nd 2025.

This book has so many twists especially towards the end that makes it a enjoyable read. I managed to read it in two days it was that good. Highly recommend.

Don't Trust Mother by Carey Baldwin is a fast-paced and exciting read! I thoroughly enjoyed Carey Baldwin's style of writing and how well the book flowed.
The characters are fully fleshed out and real.
It was well written and had just the right amount of suspense and build up.
Excellent writing and an absolute must read.

Ivy gets a knock at the door and sees a woman who looks similar to her. The woman says she is Ivy’s birth mother. Only as she gets to know her she sees holes in her story. Is she really her mother or I s she hiding something? Ivy sets about to find out.

I liked the premise of this one as it sounded like a fun concept. I enjoy books that keep me guessing, where I don’t know who to trust. This book did do that and had lots of twists and turns. There are also quite a few unlikeable characters, although I found I didn’t really connect to them. The story takes a while to get started and I found the pacing a bit slow. Even though this wasn’t a favourite read, it was still an interesting enough story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This book is twisty, chilling, and deliciously unsettling throughout. It had me suspicious and second guessing every motive, memory, and “Mother.”

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC! absolutely LOVED this book. I was hooked from the first few pages and could not put it down. Lots of twists and turns and didn’t expect any of them. This was a fast-paced, super engaging thriller that will keep you on your toes from start to finish. *4.5 stars* Also left this review on goodreads and Fable!

A really enjoyable read, I loved all of the twists and turns and the story unfolded nicely. The first half of the book is much stronger than the second half in my opinion.

Found I didn't really gel with any of the characters but that didn't take away from the reading experience, I certainly didn't trust any of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC.

A book filled with unlikeable characters and you aren't sure who is telling the truth and who is lying. Ivy is devastated after her mother past unexpectedly in a car accident. She is bereft with grief and having difficulty moving on. Her husband Clayton keeps her dosed up on pills and tries to help her. you wonder is her really a doting husband or something more sinister?

Then Sandra Steele shows up at the door claiming to be Ivy's biological mother. This news comes as a shock to Ivy as she didn't know she was adopted. Sandra Steele claims Ivy's mom was going to tell her the truth the night of the accident. Ivy is shocked and talks with Becky Walters a staff member who has been like a second mother to her. Becky tells her to give Sandra a chance.

Sandra showing up starts a catalyst of chaos. Ivy isn't sure anymore who is telling the truth and who is lying to her. Hang on to your seat as once the drama starts unfolding it is one wild ride until the end.

Don’t Trust Mother was not at all the book I was expecting - and honestly, that made the experience even better. I follow the author, Carey Baldwin, on social media and had seen posts teasing this release. Aside from the striking cover and the line “She says you’re her daughter. She’s lying…right?”, I went in pretty blind.

This isn’t a super dark thriller full of nonstop violence or shocking gore - it’s more of a “thriller-lite,” and that’s exactly what I needed. It served as a perfect palate cleanser while still delivering plenty of suspense, a strong plot, and twists that kept me guessing. I was constantly reworking my theories, which is always a sign of a compelling story.

The characters are mostly unlikable and deeply suspicious - so many bad decisions - but if you’re willing to suspend a bit of disbelief and go along for the ride, it’s well worth it. This was my first read by Carey Baldwin, and I’m excited to dive into more of her work.

One thing I really appreciated: the author doesn’t wait until the end to hit you with twists. She drops bombshells early on, and I found myself open-mouthed more than once in the first half alone.

Ivy, the main character, is sweet and naive, grieving the recent loss of her mother. Her father and husband treat her like she might break at any moment - and then a strange woman shows up on their doorstep, claiming to be Ivy’s real mother. That’s when everything spirals into a chaotic and wild unraveling. From questions surrounding her mother’s “accidental” death to shocking truths about Ivy’s adoption, nothing is quite what it seems. Nearly every character - Sandra, her father, her husband, the lawyer, her maid - is hiding something.

Poor Ivy! You want to protect her, yet she proves she’s stronger than she seems. As she starts digging for the truth, the story ramps up with secrets, dead bodies, mysterious “accidents,” gaslighting, and a growing sense of paranoia. The twists keep coming - each more shocking than the last - leading up to a final reveal. I loved watching Ivy rise to the occasion and come into her own. I also loved the way some familial stories were tied up.

I would definitely recommend this one.

This story definitely reeled me in right from the beginning. I liked Ivy but was unable to relate to Sandra. I wish that there would have been more character development in the beginning but the suspense kept me intrigued. The ending was satisfying for me. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Oh my gosh this book was incredible! This gripping page-turner left me second guessing every single character as the story unfolded. Talk about family secrets! Don’t Trust Mother truly is an unputdownable thriller — I read the entire thing in one sitting!

This book was a great suspenseful read. One of those heart-pounding thrillers where you need to know what’s going to happen but don’t want it to end as it’s so good.

I was hooked from page 1 and flipped pages long into the night! There was so many twists and turns in this spectacular, heart pounding, pull your hair out by the roots, throw your Kindle into the fire good book!

I loved it! I will not forget this one for a long time it’s definitely a MUST READ!

A massive ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from me!

This book was very twisty and so very good. I thought I knew how it was going to happen, but everything I thought was revealed in the first 15% of the book. I was shocked, my jaw opened a few times, there were a few gasps and that ending was just so fitting.

Enjoyed this gripping thriller immensely! It's usually hard to surprise me with twists that I haven't already figured out, but there are several in this I didn't see coming. Story plot is unique, setting is sublime and I read this in a weekend. Highly recommend.

Don’t Trust Mother by Carrie Baldwin is not the book I thought it was going to be but just as good! Ivy recently suffered the loss of her mom Pat in an automobile accident and has since been having nightmares that her seemingly loving husband wakes her from nightly. Soon after one of these nightmares while getting ready for the day someone rings the doorbell and it turns out to be a woman named Sandra claiming to be the real mother of Ivy; who didn’t even know she was adopted. While Ivy is reeling from the news Sandra is looking around trying to discern how much she can get from this interaction. When Ivy’s husband Clayton says he’ll bring her to a hotel, he really brings her to Richard‘s house Ivy‘s adopted dad. This is where the beginning of a story that’s going to change in meander to the conclusion begins. Ivy was very close to her nanny Becky Winters growing up and we will learn Becky has a lot to do with the story and is part of the first twisty secret you’ll learn as you’re reading it; not to mention the stepbrother and the dubious intentions of most people involved in this includes the lawyer. it seems Sandra was hired to play Ivy‘s adopted mom but they should’ve hired her to stay away instead. The truth can be deadly something most involved will learn before it’s over. I really was rooting for Ivy and felt bad for her and I did kinda like Becky Winters and thought she was a caring person although a terrible mother I still really enjoyed this book the majority of it was twisty action packed the end was kind of unbelievable but I don’t mind suspending belief for a great plot and this was definitely that. #NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #CarrieBaldwin, #Don’tTrustMother,

Thank you for sending me this arc book. This was the first Carey Baldwin book I’ve read & it won’t be the last. Really did enjoy this one, it was one of those books where I didn’t trust a single character. Really enjoyed the twists & turns and the ending all came together nicely.

This book was really good.
Plot: Original. Yes, there are several stories about a untrustworthy mother or fake mother, but this one turned out different. I thought it was a generic one, but this turned out to be totally different. A different type of a untrustworthy/ suspicious mother story or should I just say "stories" on top of that. It's for sure different. Lots of twists and turns...really surprised me. It was a really fast read as well. Not boring.

Characters: Great character development. Characters do grow in this story and change, whether it's for the better or worst. They are believable. Great backstories and well thought out.

The setting fits the story. Takes place in modern times. I was not disappointed. The book was action packed. The chapter sizes were manageable for bite sized reading sessions, if you just only had time for a chapter.

Ivy is still reeling from her mother’s death when a woman shows up on her doorstep claiming to be her birth mother. Ivy was not aware she was adopted, and in an instant everything she knew about herself and her family is in question. Is this woman telling the truth? Why would her parents lie?

As the story progresses more lies are unearthed, as Ivy’s life gets more and more upended. Just when you think you know what’s going on another twist appears. This keeps it exciting. This is told from multiple points of view and this is always something I appreciate in a book.

It took me a while to get into this book. I felt at times it got pretty messy. At the beginning I strongly disliked the characters and it was almost a DNF. Ultimately I am glad I stuck it out. Once I became invested I couldn’t whip through the pages fast enough. I finished this in mostly a day once I really got going! The ending felt a little rushed and again, a little messy. It did tie it all up, though.

3.5 round up to 4.

DONT TRUST MOTHER BY CAREY BALDWIN.
Release date set for the 22nd of July 2025.
I really enjoyed this book and loved the premise and how it all unfolded.
Such an easy read for me.
This is my first book by this author and it won't be the last.

Six months after losing her mother to a fatal car accident, another woman suddenly shows up to Ivy's door claiming to be her mother. Now she must unravel family secrets long buried.

The story does a good job of trying to throw you off with several potential suspects. The ending just really did not feel authentic to me given the character that was detailed in the rest of the novel. Towards the end it was sort of messy trying to tie up all the loose ends. This was just an okay read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC!