We all want different things. Francie wants to be the perfect mother. Nell wants to escape the past. Collette wants to spend more time with her family.
All Winnie wants is to have her baby back.
When Nell suggests a night out in Brooklyn to her new mums club, the others jump at the chance. But the evening takes a tragic turn when single mother Winnie learns that her six-week-old son Midas has been kidnapped.
As the investigation hits a dead end, Nell, Collette and Francie make it their mission to succeed where the police are failing and bring baby Midas home. But as Winnie and those around her come under scrutiny from the media, damaging secrets come to light and friendships are pushed to the limit.
Because people will do almost anything to protect the ones they love . . .
**
Review
“A riveting psychological thriller that takes a sharp, insightful look at motherhood, The Perfect Mother explores the pressures, the hopes, the fears, and the secrets between a group of friends who realize how little they know one another when a crisis strikes. A fast-paced, twisty, engrossing read—I loved it!” (Megan Miranda, author of All the Missing Girls)
“For a charmed group of new moms, a girls’ night out ends in one mother’s worst nightmare. In twist after masterful twist, secrets and lies begin to unravel; The Perfect Mother is a tense and riveting page turner with an ending you won’t see coming.” (Liv Constantine, author of The Last Mrs. Parrish)
“Molloy, a master of clever misdirection, deftly explores the expectations, insecurities, and endless judgement that accompany motherhood in this fast-paced thriller featuring a bevy of strong, smart, and realistically flawed women who, refreshingly, have each other’s backs when it counts the most. Mesmerizing.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred))
“I raced through The Perfect Mother , desperate to find out what would happen. Both the writing and the characterization are excellent, and it was so easy to identify with these women and the pressure they are under. I absolutely loved it—a true page turner!” (B.A. Paris, author of The Breakdown and Behind Closed Doors)
“A captivating and deeply insightful page-turner, The Perfect Mother is both a riveting mystery and a satisfyingly sharp social commentary about what it means to be a good mother.” (Kimberly McCreight, author of Reconstructing Amelia and Where They Found Her)
“Readers who can’t get enough of suburban suspense along the lines of Liane Moriarty B. A. Paris will want to give this a try.” (Booklist)
“For lovers of cunning narrative suspense in the vein of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl , this debut novel.... Will keep readers turning the pages.” (Library Journal , starred review)
“ The Perfect Mother is a gripping page turner that explores the pressures of modern motherhood, as well as a mother’s absolute worst nightmare. At once wonderfully nuanced and compulsively readable, it keeps you guessing at every moment up until the very end. I could not be prouder to be bringing this thriller to the big screen.” (Kerry Washington)
[A] promising first novel.... The mystery of Midas’s disappearance may be the skeleton on which Molloy’s plot hangs, but it’s her characters’ anxieties that give the story life and substance.... Her clever narrative structure heightens tension while spotlighting the solitary struggles of motherhood.” (Publishers Weekly)
About the Author
Aimee Molloy has collaborated on seven books, including Maziar Bahari's Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival and Pam Cope's Jantsen's Gift: A True Story of Grief, Rescue, and Grace. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and daughter.