Not My Mother by Miranda Smith
Genre: Domestic drama, Domestic thriller, Suspense, Contemporary fiction
Read: 24th March 2021
Published: 30th March 2021
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
What if the person you trust most in the world is lying to you?
I’d heard of the Baby Caroline case, of course. When a baby is snatched from her mother’s arms, the whole country knows about it. I knew about the parents left lying by the swimming pool, the open window in the nursery. But I never dreamed it had anything to do with me.
Today, my beautiful daughter turned one. We were unwrapping gifts and blowing out candles when the knock came at the door, and they took my mother away.
The police say she’s not really my mother. That she stole me, thirty years ago.
When I visit her, desperate for answers, she looks me in the eye, and says nothing. I can barely breathe. Is my whole life a lie?
I have to find out, but the more I learn, the more scared I become. And soon I start to wonder, am I losing my grip on reality or is my own daughter in terrible danger?
An absolutely gripping psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Miranda Smith's intriguing domestic drama NOT MY MOTHER.
After the last book by this author, which I found extremely disappointing, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, I was pleasantly surprised. NOT MY MOTHER is an intriguing thriller of sorts that keeps you engaged from beginning to end with a few surprising twists along the way.
The story takes place in North Bay, a small beach town on the east coast bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Thirtysomething Marion Sams is holding a first birthday party for her baby girl Ava in the restaurant she co-runs with business partner and friend Des. Her mother Eileen lives in the two bedroom apartment above the restaurant where Marion grew up when she and her mother first came to town three decades ago. The three women have become a family of sorts and now there is baby Ava, whom everyone dotes on.
When there is an unexpected commotion at the front of the restaurant, Marion goes to investigate only to be greeted by police asking for someone named Sarah Paxton. Marion tells them that there is no one here by that name and that they were in the middle of hosting a private party. When Eileen comes looking for her daughter, the police swoop down on her asking if she was Eileen Sams and nodding her ascent, they handcuff and arrest her, placing her in the back of the police car. Marion is shocked. What the hell is going on? Marion's best friend, Carmen Banks, is a defence lawyer and promises to find out just exactly what is happening. But nothing will prepare Marion for the truth. Eileen is suspected of custodial interference, kidnapping and murder.
Over thirty years ago back in the late 80s, baby Caroline was stolen from her parents in New Hutton. A woman broke into the rich couple's home, attacked the mother and killed the father before making off with 3 month old baby Caroline. Amelia Parker, the mother, named Sarah Paxton as the woman who took her child and killed her husband. And now police believe that Eileen is Sarah Paxton and that Marion is the missing baby Caroline.
In a matter of hours, Marion's world is turned upside down as her loving mother who raised her single-handedly sits in a jail cell accused of these unbelievable crimes. Marion cannot correlate those crimes with the mother she knows and loves. But as days pass and Eileen refuses to answer her questions when she visits, Marion begins to question everything she knows. Suddenly the past that was always just that little bit out of reach, the questions never answered, the excursions never allowed, the mysteries never explained...all seemed to make sense. Why she was never allowed to go to New York with school. Why her mother never told her anything about her father or grandparents. Why their lives never really begun until they came to North Bay. And Marion finds herself wondering...could she really be baby Caroline? If so, then her mother is not who she thinks she is.
Then a knock on the door brings Amelia Parker into Marion's life. Claiming to be her mother, she paints a sad - almost sinister - picture of Eileen, whom she calls Sarah. The two women go for coffee, somewhere out of the way where the press can't find them. Or so they think. The next thing Marion knows, she's plastered all over the paper as "Baby Caroline has a baby of her own" and photos of her meeting up with Amelia. Carmen is livid, saying this will not help Eileen's case at all. But Marion is conflicted. She loves Eileen...but if she stole her then she couldn't condone that, surely? And what of Amelia's pain? Three decades of searching for her missing child? And what about her? She's the innocent victim in all of this. As is Ava, who she must protect at all costs.
Starting off with a bang depicting the scene of the initial crime committed in the past, the story immediately reels you in. Told in alternating narratives - Marion's in the present and Eileen's in the past, with the odd narrative by Amelia - NOT MY MOTHER is a domestic drama in which the suspense builds and the tension is palpable as Marion's narrative reveals her inner turmoil and search for the truth. While she loves the woman who raised her and is angered by her secrets, lies and betrayal, she also feels a compassion and empathy for the mother she was torn away from and who had never stopped searching for her.
What we discover through Eileen's narrative is the backstory leading up to the crime, told through a series of letters penned by Eileen in the hope that Marion never has to read them. But written for her in case she must. Through these letters we hear Eileen's voice tell her story as a young, confused and disillusioned girl and the circumstances of her childhood. And then her life changes when she meets to co-workers at the cafe she worked at - Cliff and Jamie. They would become her best friends and from there on in, Eileen's life changed. It's not difficult to feel sympathy for Eileen as her story unfolds. She's not had it easy. But does it extenuate the crime for which she is now being accused?
I love a good kidnapping story and this one is just so different from others I have read in the fact it is an historic case. How a grown woman must then come to terms with that fact and the mother she has always known may not be her biological mother. It's an intriguing tale that pulls you in from the beginning. But...just when you think you have it all figured out, nothing is as it seems and everything turns on its head once more.
NOT MY MOTHER is riddled with secrets, lies, deception and betrayals. There are twists to be had, truths to reveal, lies to uncover and tangled stories to unravel. Can Marion trust anyone in her life again? And then help comes from the past giving her much needed assistance and helping her to move forward.
A thoroughly enjoyable quick read, NOT MY MOTHER is an engaging domestic drama that borders on the thriller genre and is perfect for fans of both genres as well as Lisa Jewell, Ali Mercer, Kim Slater and Shalini Boland.
I would like to thank #MirandaSmith, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #NotMyMother in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Miranda has been a staff writer at a local newspaper and a secondary English teacher. When it comes to fiction, Miranda writes about complicated women, dark impulses and Southern settings.
She lives in East Tennessee with her husband and three children.
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