Of all of the jobs I’ve had in my lifetime (including writer!) no other job holds more importance than being a mom. These books not only appealed to me as a writer, but stirred something deep in me as a mother. These books play on every mother’s fears and insecurity. And, they made me view motherhood from a different perspective, asking, could I survive that? Would I have handled that differently? But mostly these books stuck with me long after I finished the last page, taught me to judge less, and grow my compassion muscle. These moms are forced to survive the unthinkable and emerge on the other side stronger. As strong as a mother.
After her husband of fifteen years comes out of the closet, a blindsided, forty-year-old Amanda Lewis is forced to salvage what remains of her shattered heart and navigate a new life for herself and her teenage daughter. But will a sizzling secret romance with a famous young NFL quarterback lead her to winning the life she deserves or set her up for her biggest loss yet? As she embarks on the journey of rebuilding her home, Amanda discovers that finding forgiveness and repairing her damaged self-worth are her biggest challenges of all. While searching her soul-and even searching inside her city's history-she finds answers. But will answers come too late and can a broken heart ever be truly fixed?
Though the daughter’s story in this novel is full of twists, I connected with her mother who must hold her life together while being a full-time grandma to her missing daughter’s baby, while experiencing a daily living nightmare. While desperately trying to find out why her daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend vanished after a date night, she must also step in to care for her daughter’s baby. This story changes POV from the mother and from the daughter’s, building the suspense as the daughter’s POV flashbacks draw closer to the “night she disappeared.” What I really love about Lisa Jewell’s writing is she can take a setting and make it an intriguing character. Also, the whole time I kept imagining how I would survive the disappearance of my daughter and what I would do in this mom’s position. Jewell’s writing is superb. So good!
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone comes “her best thriller yet” (Harlan Coben, New York Times bestselling author) about a young couple’s disappearance on a gorgeous summer night, and the mother who will never give up trying to find them.
On a beautiful summer night in a charming English suburb, a young woman and her boyfriend disappear after partying at the massive country estate of a new college friend.
One year later, a writer moves into a cottage on the edge of the woods that border the same estate. Known locally as the…
The very first page drew me in with the richness of the writing and the sheer intrigue and wondering what possibly went wrong in this mother’s life. This book has left a definite imprint on my heart, and maybe not in a good way. This mother experiences something that literally made my jaw drop, shocked me, and kept me frantically wanting to know what happened next, hoping for some sort of relief to the protag’s anguish. This mother’s heart was broken in the most horrific of ways, and I felt them all. As a woman, we all assume if we have kids, we will love them and they’ll be loving back. But what if that isn’t the case at all?
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | A New York Times bestseller!
"Utterly addictive." -Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train
"Hooks you from the very first page and will have you racing to get to the end."-Good Morning America
A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family-and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for-and everything she feared
Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.
Another story where you don’t need to be a mother or a wife to feel this woman’s angst on all levels and the twists will keep you flipping the page – like a mother. This prays on every mother’s fear and shakes the very core of every mom. She lets go of her son’s tiny hand for a moment, and that moment turns into a hellish road of despair. And then, of course, she learns horrible things about her husband. But her choices make you think, could I do that? Even if the answer is no, you still root for Marin and feel her every gut-wrenching frustration. But seriously, would you make the same decisions?
"Unflinching and unforgettable. Little Secrets has everything you want in a thriller" —Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Lock Every Door
Overwhelmed by tragedy, a woman desperately tries to save her marriage in award-winning author Jennifer Hillier's Little Secrets, a riveting novel of psychological suspense.
All it takes to unravel a life is one little secret...
Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day…
Switching gears from the Domestic Suspense genre, I’d like to recommend a historical fiction gem. It’s been a while since I finished this first book in a series, but this story – and the mother of all mothers, Jeanie – has stuck with me. Her story is a constant reminder that womankind of the 1800s was made of steel and I’m not sure I would’ve survived back then. Jeanie’s life quickly turns from wealthy and having an esteemed reputation to losing it all. She’s then forced to follow her husband’s dreams of prairie life where Jeanie is forced to live off the land and faces the harshest of conditions, natural disasters, and the worst tragedy a mother can experience. (sidenote: follow this author on TikTok where she reads the real letters from Jeanie!)
"Gripping historical fiction—A tale of two women finding meaning behind all that went wrong in their lives. A timeless tale of redemption with the best plot-twist at the end I've seen in a long, long time. Can't wait for book two!" New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Melissa Foster
Katherine wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't found the letter...
In the summer of 1905 Katherine Arthur's mother arrives on her doorstep, dying, forcing her to relive a past she wanted to forget. When Katherine was young, the Arthur family had been affluent city dwellers until shame sent…
Breaking a rule and recommending another book by the same author (that’s how much I love Lisa Jewell because I’m not a rule-breaker!). This author writes real, authentic mom characters. This book has all that encompasses the domestic suspense/thriller genre, so you’ll love all that good stuff while trying to find out why this hot guy with amnesia washed up on her beach and the page-turning story behind it. But you’ll love the main character because she’s a bit of a mess, literally. Not a perfect mom, messy house, saggy belly, but, oh, her heart! Her maternal, caring, instinct is what stole the show for me and made me feel genuine love for this story! You’ll definitely keep turning the pages like a mother.
'How long have you been sitting out here?' 'I got here yesterday.' 'Where did you come from?' 'I have no idea.'
Surrey: Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one.
East Yorkshire: Alice Lake finds a man on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, no idea what he is doing there. Against her better judgement she invites him in to her home.
Enter a captivating world where science fiction and thrilling suspense converge. After plummeting from the roof of Helix Unbound, Amanda awakens to a life devoid of memories. Desperately longing to fit in, yet sensing she harbors an extraordinary secret beneath her seemingly ordinary facade, she explores the unfamiliar world in an effort to find herself. But when a companion from her forgotten past becomes entangled in a serial killer’s deadly game, Amanda is thrust into a race against time to prevent a catastrophe of massive proportions.
Dive into this gripping techno-thriller series that explores the emotional turmoil of life, resilience in the face of tragedy, the ever-present specter of death, and the eternal struggle to find the inherent goodness within us all.
A genetically engineered child with no memory of her past. A killer with dreams of destruction. And the fate of a city hanging in the balance…
Enter a captivating world where science fiction and thrilling suspense converge. After plummeting from the roof of Helix Unbound, Amanda awakens to a life devoid of memories. Desperately longing to fit in, yet sensing she harbors an extraordinary secret beneath her seemingly ordinary facade, Amanda explores the unfamiliar world in an effort to find herself. And when a companion from her forgotten past becomes entangled in a serial killer’s deadly game, Amanda is thrust…
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