The Mother at Number 5 by Jill Childs
Genre: Domestic thriller, Domestic drama, Suspense
Read: 15th June 2023
Audio Links
Published: 21st June 2023
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
I told her my darkest secret. Then she moved next door…
Once you find our perfect little town nestled between the gorgeous hills, you never want to leave. My husband and I both grew up here and we knew there was nowhere better to raise our two sweet girls… But when the moving van pulls up, and a mother and daughter jump out, my blood runs cold.
I met the mother once on our summer holiday and I let slip a terrible secret, something no one here must ever know… Fear rushes through me as I remember that night, but I’m sure I never told her where we live. As if she can read my mind she leans in close and says, ‘Don’t worry, you’d had a few drinks. Your secret’s safe with me.’ But I don’t trust her – why has she moved to my street?
I try to warn my kind, loving husband to stay away, but he laughs me off and invites her into our lives. When she lets my precious daughter get hurt, she’s gone too far. I know she’s here to destroy my perfect life.
But the mother at number 5 has made a mistake. She has underestimated me ever since the night we met. And she has no idea what I’ll do to protect those I love and keep my secret safe…
A completely unputdownable psychological thriller from the USA Today bestseller about family secrets, guilt and lies. If you love The Girl on the Train, The Housemaid or Lisa Jewell, you will gasp out loud at the shocking twists!
MY THOUGHTS:
You thought you’d escape...But then she moved to your street...
This is my first foray into Jill Childs and I thoroughly liked what I read. I'm a sucker for a good domestic suspense and THE MOTHER AT NUMBER 5 was all that and more. Filled with secrets, lies and cleverly woven deception, this thriller will have you turning the pages with the speed of light until the very end.
Ros is on holiday in Majorca with her husband Adam and their two daughters Sophie (8) and Bella (4). She is lounging by the pool one day when she strikes up a friendship with Lotte, single mum to Caitlyn who is also 4. Before leaving the Spanish island, Lotte invites Ros out for one last night in which they both let their hair down. So much so, Ros has no recollection of the night beyond the onslaught of cocktails and the hunky blonde she danced with. Still, after that holiday she won't ever see Lotte again so who cares what went on the night before? After all, what went on in Majorca stays in Majorca...right?
Back on terra firma and reality, Ros welcomes the familiarity of the school mums at the gates when dropping the girls off after their holiday. Feeling a little teary as it was four year old Bella's first foray through the doors and she hoped her big sister would look out for her, despite her sudden spiteful moodiness. She falls into step with the mums and her friends as they take their meeting to the nearby cafe to welcome new mums to the fold. It's as she's collecting her order that she hears the familiar voice she never thought she'd hear again. Lotte. But they're no longer in Majorca. So what is she doing here?
It turns out that Lotte has not only enrolled her daughter in the same school as Ros' children, but she also lives in the street just around the corner. And Ros just knows Lotte is up to something. But what, she has no idea. She just has this uncomfortable sense that something wasn't right and that she didn't trust the woman. She tried voicing her concerns to Adam and to her friend Diana, both of whom thought she was imagining things and Lotte was just trying to fit in. After all, starting afresh in a new place as a single mum can't be easy. So why did she feel uneasy? And why did Lotte gloss over her past as if it was of no consequence? And when she asked for Ros' assistance to find a job, Ros discovers a few more untruths. So what is it that Lotte is hiding? And why?
As time passes, Ros can't help but feel something happened in Majorca that she can't recall. What exactly did she say to Lotte? I mean, the woman was pushing for the bare tell-all facts, wasn't she? What if Ros told her too much? No, she already knows she told her too much when she confided about Sophie's problems. But what if she told her the one secret Ros has never told anyone else? Surely she couldn't have been that stupid...or drunk...or was she?
What unfolds is an emotional tale of secrets and lies and a long buried past for one of them. Secrets unravel and as they do, lies are slowly uncovered and Ros finally learns the shocking truth...
There is twist after twist that is bound to shock you but I'd reached the halfway mark when I knew what was happening. Not all of it, I figured that out closer to the end, but that final twist I saw coming and wondered what Childs was going to do with it and how she was going to throw that into the story. But the most shocking secret will come with a trigger for some (but I can't say what as it is a spoiler). Just be aware that it is there. But wow! The final 10% of the book was a thrill ride to say the least. Everything is turned about and the reader is left wondering why. Until the penny drops as it did for me, or you reach the explanation.
I love a good domestic suspense and THE MOTHER AT NUMBER 5 did not disappoint and I will certainly be checking out more of Jill Childs in the future.
I would like to thank #JillChilds, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMotherAtNumber5 in exchange for an honest review.
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