The Guilty Mother by Diane Jeffrey
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 6th August 2019
(release date: 2nd August 2019)
★★★★ 4.5 stars
Somewhat different to what I expected - although I'm not sure what I did expect - THE GUILTY MOTHER is a crime story about a woman who was convicted for murdering one of her twin baby daughters. Even as the story unfolds, you find yourself asking - "did she or didn't she?"
Melissa Slade was in prison for killing her 3 month old baby daughter.
But her story doesn't begin there. Nor does it end there. It begins with her second marriage to Michael Slade and the birth of their twin girls - Ellie and Amber. But all is not well in the Slade household. Melissa has a teenage son - Callum - to her first husband, whilst Michael has a daughter - Bella - to his first. Melissa isn't coping with motherhood the second time around, possibly suffering post natal depression. A friend suggests a nanny. What they get is a French au pair, Clementine - young and barely out of her teens.
Clementine favours Ellie, a happy baby who is no trouble at all. Leaving Melissa trying to deal with and bond with Amber, who is always crying and colicky and never seems to settle. Why Clementine never sees to Amber is beyond Melissa, for it would be nice just to give her a break for once. After all, she was hired to "help" Melissa. And Melissa needs help with Amber. But she is left to see to her on her own. Despite the constant demands, Melissa adores both Ellie and Amber and would do anything for them. Of course, husband Michael is no help...leaving one to wonder, just what does he do?
When it is suggested they have a dinner party, Melissa isn't sure. She is still tired and Amber is still fractious. Still, it goes ahead with just a couple of close friends. Clementine has Ellie...but it's been ages since Melissa has heard a peep out of Amber, who would normally be screaming the place down by now. Concern filling her, she goes to check on her daughter. It is quiet. There is no sound from her cot. Amber lay there on her tummy - still, lifeless and cold. Melissa screams and the guests come running, but it's too late. Amber has been dead for a while.
But if Melissa thought her world had fallen apart then...it was about to get a whole lot worse. But what could be worse than finding one of your twins lifeless? A victim of cot death?
Just a few short weeks later Melissa would find out...when she discovers her second twin has suffered a similar fate. But this time, there are anomalies. Ellie was suffocated. And Melissa was arrested, charged and tried for her murder. And found guilty.
Now in prison, Melissa has one final chance at appealing her sentence when new evidence has come to light that had been concealed from the original investigation and subsequent trial. Evidence to suggest that the second post mortem was suspect...and which supports the findings to be in conjunction with those in Amber's death.
So what were the prosecution hiding? Did Ellie die from cot death as well as her sister?
That is the basis of Melissa's last ditch appeal and Jonathan Hunt, a journalist with the local paper, is tasked with uncovering the truth having been on the case 5 years before with the original investigation. But he is reluctant to do due to personal reasons, which are reveal in due course, but his editor is having none of it. Together with his protege, Kelly Fox - who, unbeknownst to her and everyone else, has a personal connection of her own to the case - they do some digging into the old case files, chase up family members and witnesses to try and piece the puzzle together and uncover the truth.
And then they receive Melissa's diary that she has been writing whilst in prison. But do they believe all that she has written? Is it the truth or her version of the truth? After all, these writings are based solely on her memories from five years ago.
Is Melissa Slade manipulating everyone? Or has she been the victim of a miscarriage of justice?
Slowly, chapter by chapter, pieces of the puzzle are revealed from the alternating perspectives of Melissa, Jonathan and then Kelly. Each had a personal connection and each had a tragedy that was triggered by the ensuing events. Each trapped in a whirlpool of secrets and personal tragedy, the secrets and stories uncovered in this story are simply chilling.
I enjoyed each of the characters and their perspectives of the story. Melissa was somewhat of an enigma and while it was difficult at times to connect with her, that was her role in the story. Still I found all three to be relate-able and well-developed and I loved delving into each of their personal stories. The relationship between Jonathan and Kelly was engaging and comfortable and I liked the way they worked together; they complemented each other. I was completely engaged from start to finish despite the long chapters.
But the question remained - was Melissa innocent or guilty? Did she kill one baby and not the other? Did she kill both babies? Or was she innocent altogether?
Throughout the story, I constantly changed my mind as to who may have been behind the death of one or both babies. There are some questionable and/or detestable characters throughout as well as some completely endearing ones too. It's hard to know which way to look...but I had my suspicions. Long before it became evident. Whilst I guessed correctly, I didn't foresee the motive...which, when it becomes clear, will just break your heart.
For me throughout the story, I couldn't help but draw parallels to the world-renowned case of Lindy Chamberlain and the disappearance of her 9 week old baby daughter Azaria in 1980 here in Australia. She said a dingo took her baby; yet everyone believed she had murdered her. As in this book, Lindy was found guilty in a trial by media. And as in this book, I believed Lindy to be innocent as I believed Melissa to be. Despite the overwhelming evidence, in my opinion, it was all circumstantial.
THE GUILTY MOTHER is so full of secrets and lies, you never knew what was going to happen next as each revelation keeps you on your toes throughout. It is easy to be held hostage to such an intriguing story and the twists delivered make it a compelling and thrilling read.
...and that Epilogue just took my breath away!
Also published as "The Appeal", THE GUILTY MOTHER will have you questioning who do you believe? Is she innocent or guilty? You be the judge as I encourage you to discover it for yourself. But I guarantee, in the end you will be left with jaw dropping revelations that will have you scratching your head. Not in confusion, but it was as simple as that.
I would like to thank #DianeJeffrey, #NetGalley and #HQDigital for an ARC of #TheGuiltyMother in exchange for an honest review.
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