Ivy is grieving the loss of her mother when a woman turns up and is claiming that Ivy is her daughter. Ivy can't believe it because if it's true the woman that she thought was her mother for her life may not be. This is a difficult story to process mainly because I never knew who to trust or believe. It had my head literally spinning with the many lies and deceit. By the end I had no idea how it would be summarised but it seemed to come together and the ending totally knocked me out of the water. I never seen it coming.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.
WOW, I loved this book from start to finish. I was gripped from the very start and didn’t know where it was going but it kept me guessing all the way through.

The story telling was great, I could picture everything so clearly and didn’t want it to end. I’m
Glad that I was on holiday whilst reading this as I could not put it down!

I could not put this book down! I always love a dark and twisted book about someone’s ‘mother’ and this one did not disappoint!

Title: Don’t Trust Mother
Author: Carey Baldwin
Genre: Psychological /Domestic Thriller
Publisher: Bookouture
Pub Date: July 22, 2025
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Pages: 331

Flagstaff, Arizona
Ivy and Clayton Pinnacle are both shocked when Ivy’s mother Patsy Kane, dies in a car accident. Ivy is having a difficult time accepting her death and keeps having nightmares. Clayton, find her crying and thrashing. He knows she needs some proper sleep and has been trying to get her to take tranquilizers. Additionally she breaks sometimes breaks out in hives so he also has antihistamines. However, Ivy really doesn’t want drugs. In fact, she doesn’t want to sleep!
Her father Richard owns and manages the Flagstaff Kane Ranch and wants Ivy to be able to “pull herself together” or at least have the community believe she is doing okay. So she agrees to get some sleep by taking the pills that will help her.
One day there is a woman a stranger at the door. When Ivy opens the door, the woman tells her she is Sandra Steele her biological mother. She states Pasty and Richard adopted Ivy when she was an infant, Sandra goes on to say she has a half-brother, Dalton.
Sandra states she aware Patsy had not told her but was planning to tell Ivy the truth…but then there was the terrible crash that killed her. Ivy is speechless and left shaken. She loved her mother but how could she have raised her yet keeping this a secret?
When Ivy gives more thought to last phone call she had with her mother. Patsy insisted they meet, just the two of them. But that never happened
Ivy wants her to leave. Clayton tells Sandra he will drive her to her place of lodging only he takes her to his father-in-law’s home.
Hmmmm
In the meantime Ivy wants to talk to Becky Winters who has been the family housekeeper since before she was born, In fact, took care of Ivy her entire life her. Ivy believes she will be honest with her and perhaps knows her mother’s secret.
As the story moves on -there is some weird family dynamics going on I wasn’t sure who to trust or if any truth has been revealed. In any case- story had my full attention!

Turned out to be a WOW read. True I did need to drawing a 'Venn Diagram' to make it clearer as to who was who and if they were truly connected!
I went into this story knowing nothing about only that I love - author Carey Baldwin.

About the Author ~ Carey Baldwin is a USA Today bestselling author of psychological suspense. Also a dedicated physician, she holds two doctoral degrees, one in medicine and one in psychology. Her experience in the fields of medicine and psychology is obvious in her writing. You will find more about her on her web site~
https://www.careybaldwin.net/
This is my third ` Carey Baldwin| story, h read " The Marriage Secret" which was my first by Ms. Baldwin I knew I found a new fav author.
So when I saw this eGalley I knew I wanted to read.it!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 22, 2025.

Imagine after the death of your mother, finding out you might have been adopted! A lady shows up at your door who looks a lot like you and she tells you that you are her child?
Is her life a lie or is this woman crazy? Ivy knew her mother wanted to have a talk with her in their last phone call, but they never got the chance. She has sunk into a deep depression and her husband wants her to get help. Her father does not handle Ivy’s emotions and does not want his perfect world to be shaken or disrupted with a daughter who is acting up.
Whom do you trust?
So many plot twist, which makes this psychological thriller fun to read.

Imagine finding out your mother may not be your mother....could this be true or is something more sinister going on? I loved this book. The transitions were great and was a page turner for me. I could not put this one down. Filled with suspense, drama, and thrills, I loved not knowing the truth until the bitter end. True definition of who can you trust type of read. RUN and get your copy!

Thank you NetGalley for eArc!

The premise for this one really intrigued me, but unfortunately I was just not able to get into this one at all. I felt the writing or the narration felt off to me and it just wasn't connecting with me. I had to DNF.

A great thriller, gripping and page turner full
Of twists and turns that will leave you guessing and second guessing your theories

Loved the premise and how everything unfolded. It felt like so much was obvious, but as the story unfolded, subtle changes added to the tension. High drama in the end, and ultimately, I didn't quite buy off why it happened the way it did, but it kept be glued. Always enjoy the author's books.

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.