What Every Mother Needs

By: Emily Shiner

Many thanks to Bookouture for the ARC of this book and the stop on the book tour!

About this book

She’s what every mother needs. But can you trust her?

Charlotte: Since my husband Lawrence died it’s just me and our sweet baby girl Jordan. It’s so hard raising her alone. Then Sophie shows up at my door. She says she is Lawrence’s sister… and she seems like a blessing in disguise. But with her in my house, looking through my things, it’s going to be difficult to keep the secrets about my marriage hidden…

Sophie: Charlotte didn’t recognize me. That isn’t surprising. She seems frantic, and I know she’s not sleeping. I hear her tossing and turning while I rock her baby to sleep. When Jordan stares up at me with those big blue eyes, my heart melts. Charlotte doesn’t deserve such a gorgeous child. Not after what she did.

It’s clear to anyone that Charlotte isn’t coping. All she needs is a little push to send her over the edge… And then I’ll finally get what I really came for.

Both of these women are liars. One of them is a killer. Who is really in danger in this house?

My Review

I’m a huge fan of this author! I enjoyed this book. It’s an easy to read, fast paced, with a lot going on kind of book. I really enjoy Shiner’s writing style. It’s straight and to the point. There isn’t a ton of “flowery” descriptions, and with the chapters in both Sophie’s and Charlotte’s POVs, we get inside the head of both characters.

There’s a third type of POV we get here too, though at first it’s not clear who it is. What we learn is who Lawrence really was – the type of man that he was. He was manipulative and very controlling. He wasn’t even a main character in this book but I really did not like him. I wasn’t sad that he wasn’t around!

I guessed at one of the reveals/twists. But there were some others that were coming that I didn’t know about or could foresee coming! That’s what makes Shiner’s books so great. There’s always something that you don’t see coming. The ending wasn’t my favorite. It felt like it ended somewhat abruptly and kind of open ended, but I feel like Shiner may have made this choice on purpose.

Overall, this wasn’t my absolutely favorite Shiner read, but it’s a good one and one that I will still recommend!

About the Author

Emily Shiner always dreamed of becoming an author. After spending years devouring stacks of thrillers, she decided to try her hand at writing them herself. Now she gets to live out her dream of writing novels and sharing her stories with people around the world. She lives in the Appalachian Mountains and loves hiking with her husband, daughter, and their two dogs.
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