Untangling The Web

The Bad Mother by Amanda Brooke is a contemporary psychological thriller that has the reader hooked and guessing from the start.

The novel opens and then jumps backwards six months before moving forwards. This is a clever device as it made me question what had happened to end (or start) so intensely?

If someone reminds us of our actions, it must be true. Memory can mislead us. “Do you know what it’s like not to trust your own memory?” Once the seeds of doubt are sown it is hard to return to where we once were.

The novel deals with mental illness. We fear family genes coming down the lines. We fear history repeating itself. “None of us can escape the past.” The past haunts our present and we fear for our future.

Nothing is stronger than a mother’s love. No matter how old we get, we still need our mum. No matter how old our children get, we mums still respond to the cry “catch me if I fall.”

Abuse can take many forms. Psychological abuse puts down deep roots until in the end we believe “It was her fault. It always was.”

Pets are therapeutic. “I’ve been cuddling him all day. He keeps me calm.”

Tell a lie often enough and I will believe it. The novel deals with truth and lies. What is real? What is imagined? In this marvellous psychological thriller, the reader tries to unpack the truth from the lies.

Do not read this book alone in the dark. It will give you nightmares.

A marvellous and gripping thriller.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON