is this just the worst type of new anyone in the world could get. someone turns up and tells you your life is a life. or worse still up front and tells you your parents arent yours. ive read a few books both thriller and not with this as a premise and it never fails to throw you into the characters emotional state at that news. its like watching long lost families but more intense!
i think i inhaled this book so eager was i to keep reading. and a few deep inhaling moments i had too! full of jaw dropping twists and turns but done in a sharp and clever way so it never felt like i was done just for 'likes' so to speak.

this book brings us Ivy whos already having a tough time of it since her mother died. and lets just say the people around her arent exactly being what you'd want in the support side of things. anything bu in some cases.
then a knock on the door brings her worse news that she could have imagined at this time. her mother wasn't her mother? because this woman at the door says she is her birth mother and that Ivy is adopted.
it cant be.
but this woman looks like her. this woman LOOKS like her. is Sandra, this woman telling her the truth?because there was something her mother wanted to tell her. shes knows this as she never got to hear it as her mum was soon killed by a car. could this be what her mum needed ti finally tell her? but why now? and what about the crash.....?
sp who is telling us the truth? is anyone telling us the truth? is even the author teasing us because Carey is one clever author i would out it past her to make me think one thing but its actually another. or more to the point i probably just follow the wrong lead!
this is one complex family to try and break through and you are never quite sure. because there is an underlying sinister vibes from them to start with. so some are already kind villains really. but murder? or cover ups?
a super smart and addictive read. and Carey is truly becoming one of my fave authors of this genre. i can rely on her to give me the goods every single time. im in awe of her skills.

I will admit, this took me a wee while to get into. From the start, the family dynamics were a little confusing but as you go on through the book you gradually remember how everyone is connected.

I liked the dual POVS and getting various thoughts and opinions for events. This book had many twists and turns, most being unexpected which I think is what makes the story strong and I liked how it kept me guessing throughout.

Thank you to Bookoutoure for sending me a copy!

First things first, thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

What will you do when you just buried your mother - and then a stranger knocks on your door, claiming they have been your real biological parent all along? That is exactly what Ivy has to ask herself after the deadly accident of her mother Patsy. Both her husband and father insist this is all only Ivy struggling after the incident. That the woman - Sandra - is a liar. But Ivy feels like something had been going on with Patsy right before the accident. So, she does not believe this is only some sort of inappropriate joke, and that there could be some truth in what Sandra is telling her...

The book was a little slow, but also suspenseful enough to grip my attention. Although I have to admit that, and the several POVs the story is told in makes me giving it 4 out of 5 possible stars. Still very well done!

This is a mind bending psychological thriller with some odious characters, and twists galore.

I felt sorry for the main character, Ivy. She was lied to all of her life, and it carried on in her adulthood. The people she loved the most betrayed her.

The title was misleading - in this book, it was don't trust anyone who is a mother. Not much can be said, as I don't want to spoil the book for anyone.

Betrayal, lies, family secrets. It is all in this book.

I recommend.

4.5/5 stars from me.

WOW!! This was absolutely not what I expected and I loved it.

Ivy grew up with privilege and became an adult whom married who she thought was the perfect man. Was he? Or was he up to no good? Secrets start to slip, people almost died and the truth slowly began to unravel.

So many twists and turns, complete with a nice, solid and satisfying ending that had me almost in tears. It's very rare to find a thriller that has a heart. This one does.

Loved this book! Ivy is really struggling with her mental health after her mom dies in an accident. Then suddenly. her birth mom shows up-BUT WAIT! It turns out this lady has secrets of her own, is getting paid by Ivy's dad, and is trying to turn the tables on him. This book has characters basically from two familes. how are they all connected? Who is good and who is bad? As Ivy starts to wonder who she can trust, she almost dies, she finds out other people are missing etc. Great suspense! Lots of twists I Did not see coming!

This novel is a slow burner but it's worth sticking with! Once it got going, I was really invested in it! Just who is this mysterious woman on the doorstep? i thought I had it figured out a few times, and I was wrong! It's fast paced and I really enjoyed it!

This one started a little slow for me, however once I got into it I couldn’t put it down! Fantastic read and my first book by this author! Will be looking out for more now! Great story, just when you think you know everything you are hit again with another twist!

A great read which I read in one sitting as I had to know what was going on because everyone was lying and who knew what the truth was. We meet Ivy a young woman who is still trying to come to terms with the death of her mother when a stranger turns up at the door claiming that she was adopted and that she is her birth mother. As her whole family seems to be lying to her she is unsure who to trust and when her only trusted adult in her life mysteriously leaves is she putting herself in danger to find out the truth and can she trust anyone close to her? A great thriller not to be missed!!

<i><b>“The stakes in this diabolical game she was playing had officially been raised to life and death.”</b></i>


When a woman knocks on Ivy’s door, she is told that she’s adopted and that this woman is her birth mother. Ivy feels lied to and doesn’t know who she can trust. Is she really her mother? Everyone is hiding secrets but the truth always comes out in the end!

<i><b>"All families have secrets, Dalton.
Maybe it's time ours stopped keeping them from each other."</b></i>


The arrival of Sandra results in strange accidents and a possible killer on the loose; can Ivy trust Sandra or is she hiding secrets? Who is it, Sandra or could it be someone else? Find out July 22, 2025!

<i><b>”I’ve gotten away with this before, and I will again.”</b></i>


Don’t Trust Mother is a psychological thriller with jaw-dropping moments and unexpected twist!
Perfect for fans who love Freida McFadden, The Wife Between Us, and The Girl on the Train.


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I devoured this book! This book had me on my toes from the jaw-dropping moments to the twist and turns! Just when I thought I knew everything Carey hits me with a bang of emotions and left me second guessing.

The ending was what got me and I never saw it coming! It was so unexpected and left me needing more!

It definitely had some slow moments but trust me when I tell you it picks up and it’ll blow you away and leave you questioning everything!


<b>Thank you to Carey Baldwin, NetGalley, and bookouture for the chance to read and review this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions remain my own.</b>

So many secrets and lies!! i really enjoyed this mystery book but the narration was a little off for me.

I started this book last night and just found it bizarre. Unfortunately I won't be finishing this one. Couldn't get into it.

Wow, they were not kidding about the 'jaw-dropping twist'!!

Ivy is struggling after her mother Patsy's death in an accident. Her husband Clayton insists in giving her pills and her father Richard is wealthy and well-known in the community. On day Sandra knocks on the door, and tells her that she's her biological mother. Patsy was going to tell her before her accident. As Ivy tries to uncover the truth, is she getting too close? Was her mother's death really an accident?

Don't Trust Mother was a fantastic read, I don't even know where to begin without spoiling things to others. It has fantastic character development. amazing family mysteries and the chapters are short and straight to the point.

An absolute page turner!

A slow burner for me in the beginning but I soon got into the storyline and there were plenty of secrets and some surprises along the way.

The characters were well described and it was very well written.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

The knock jolts me from my tears. I’ve been in a daze since my mother died. But the stranger at the door—Sandra, she says her name is—has brown eyes the same as mine, hair exactly the same shade. She says she’s my real mother. I’m her daughter. She’s lying… Right?! Great read! This book had suspense, murder, mystery, gaslighting, dark past secrets, intrigue, and a few shocking moments! The story was very interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I thoroughly enjoyed how there were so many secrets and surprises sprinkled throughout the entire book!

Ivy learns that she's adopted and meets her biological mother but after her adoptive mother has passed. So many secrets come out and soon she has no idea who to trust - especially when someone has tried to kill her!

This book was from several points of view but is so well written and flows so well.

Definite must read!

Ivy has been having a hard time since her mom, Patsy, died in a car crash six months before our story starts. Her husband, Clayton, has been hovering over her, trying to get her to take pills instead of go to a counselor. Ivy’s father, Richard, is a man of wealth and is well-known in their community. Having a daughter that can’t pull it together wouldn’t be okay, so Ivy lays in bed and Clayton feeds her pills…that she sometimes doesn’t take.

One day, laying in bed and thinking of her mother, there is a knock at the door. When she opens it, she sees a woman with her eyes, her hair - this woman, Sandra, is telling Ivy that she was adopted as an infant, and she is her biological mother. Ivy has a half-brother named Dalton, and Sandra claims that Patsy was going to tell Ivy the truth…until the crash that killed her. That actually sounds right - soon before she died, Patsy left Ivy a message that she wanted to talk to her about something important. Unfortunately, they never got to have that talk.

This book has a lot of twists and spoilers, so there isn’t much more that can be said. There are some crazy family dynamics and a lot of lies in this story - the question throughout is, who is telling the truth? I loved all of the twists, but I have to say I didn’t really care for any of the characters, except perhaps Ivy, but she was pretty weak too…at first. Then she got her strength back, but was it too late?

This book isn’t as good as others I’ve read from this author, but it was still a decent story. The beginning was great, but the middle started to lag and get a little far-fetched. The ending was also very far-fetched, but I didn’t figure out a few things, so there was some good surprises. I wouldn’t call this a cozy mystery, but it was a slower story that will probably interest mystery readers more than thriller readers. 3.5 stars.

(Thank you to Bookouture for inviting me on this book’s tour! “Don’t Trust Mother” is slated to be released on July 22, 2025.)

The title of this book strikes me as both disturbing and intriguing. A mother should be the one person every child—young or old—can trust and rely on. I’m curious to see what this “mom” will be up to.

What would your first thought be if your mother had passed away, and suddenly someone shows up at your door claiming to be your biological mother? Would you believe it and start realizing that you’ve been lied to all these years? Or would you be more cautious and try to figure out whether this woman is the liar?

Usually, the twists come later on or at the end of a story, but the author chose to drop a few bombshells early in the book. I really enjoyed being left open-mouthed already several times so early on.

The author clearly dug deep into her drawer labeled "untrustworthy characters” to bring this story to life. I had the impression that I could trust only two people—and it turned out even that was one too many…

On the one hand, I could understand Patsy, but on the other, her actions weren’t really fair to Ivy, her daughter. But, as is often the case, once the ball starts rolling, it’s hard—sometimes impossible—to stop, and things spiral out of control.

This leads to some people getting what they deserve, while for others, the future still looks very bright.

Sometimes the liar turns out to be genuine and trustworthy after all, and the person you confide in is actually the one spinning stories. It just takes time before you finally see it for what it is.

I thought this was an amazing book. I had my suspicions aimed at all the wrong people again, and once more, I was completely off the mark.

The author definitely succeeded in creating a gripping story. 5 stars.

Thank you

This book was slow to start and it took me a little while to get into it. Things gradually pick up pace. Stay with it. There is a surprising twist at the end.