This is a gripping psychological thriller that runs in a similar vein to Anonymous Girl. Finding herself unexpectedly pregnant, Roz Foley finds herself in an impossible position. Her catholic background demonizes abortion and with no money and no family support, Roz decides it would be best to put her baby up for adoption. While scanning through on online matchmaking service for adoptive parents and mothers looking to give up babies, Roz is contacted by a diamond couple. A mysterious celebrity couple who live in New York, they sound like an ideal match to provide everything for her baby. Roz is so caught up in the promise of a perfect home for her baby that she ignores her best friend’s pleas to exercise caution. When the celebrity couple offers to fly her to New York, and pay all of her expenses, she jumps at the opportunity. From the outside, Sheridan and Daniel, seem like a couple on top of the world, in awe of her luck, Roz signs a contract to adopt her baby girl to Sheridan and Daniel. It isn’t long before Roz finds herself cut off from the outside world. Sheridan strictly controls her daily routine, and Roz is kept in a windowless basement and surrounded by staff who seem to think she doesn’t exist. As time goes on, Roz starts to have doubts. Since she is cutoff from the outside world and no one knows where she is, Roz starts to worry that she may never be allowed to leave. As time goes on, things only get worse for Roz. This is a wild story, that kept me on edge. Sheridan is the ultimate villain. A washed up actress who is trying to find ways to stay relevant, she is a character I loved to hate. A controlling narcissist, she will go to any lengths necessary to promote her own causes. No one is who they seem to be in this wild ride. This story was a lot of fun, I look forward to more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley for the early copy.

All I can say is “Wow”!! The Perfect Mother was full of twist and turns. The author definitely did not disappoint and I look forward to reading more of her books. Roz was this naive Irish girl who thought that she was doing the right thing for her unborn child only to find out the potential adopters had different ideas. I highly recommend this book . It’s definitely one of the best I have read in a long time.

This is the first book I have read by Caroline Mitchell, but I found The Perfect Mother to be a well written and very tense psychological thriller with plenty of twists and turns that will keep you reading.

I enjoyed reading 'The Perfect Mother' and I definitely recommend this book.

I look forward to reading more of Caroline's work in the future.

This story was so gripping I stayed up until 2:30 in the morning to finish it. What suspense, the potential parents were absolutely crazy and I was so enthralled with Roz and what was happening to her. I can’t wait for more from Caroline Mitchell. Will definitely recommend this title. It would make a good movie also.

Thank you to net galley for the chance to read the ARC Of this book. Overall this was not one of my favorites. The storyline was far fetched and characters unlikeable. The only character I really liked was Dynpna. Everyone else was annoying or unbelievable. At the end of the day, this book was not my cup of tea.

Excellent book couldn’t put it down. Not what I expected. Roz was in a complicated situation. I’m glad I got an ARC to give an honest review.

Excellent book couldn’t put it down. Not what I expected. Roz was in a complicated situation. I’m glad I got an ARC to give an honest review.

This is the first I've read from Caroline Mitchell and it won't be the last.
I think this one really blew me away with how possible and realistic it is.
In our current society where picture perfectness is key in all areas it's amazing what some people will do to get where they are and to appear things are great.
When Roz becomes pregnant by someone she should never have been with, she makes the decision immediately to give the baby up for adoption. As she searches online she's almost instantly matched with a "diamond" couple in America, far from her Irish roots, and is promised wonderful compensation and full support until the baby is born. However, since they are such an elite couple, she does not know who they are until she arrives at their home. Almost as soon as she arrives she realizes this too good to be true situation is just that, but she's broke, has no contact with the outside world and has no way to get back home...even if she could get out of her basement apartment on her own. As her belly grows so do her fears as someone in the home leaves her clues that she may not be the first to have this same situation with this couple.

Thank you Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Caroline Mitchell for the ARC to review. Bluntly put, not one of my favorites. The story line, while probable, is a little far fetched for me. Like when given the chance, RUN. However, I was quite surprised to find out who the baby's father was.

3.5 stars

When 24 years old Roz finds herself pregnant and penniless, she turns to an adoption site in the hopes of providing a better life for her baby. A too good to be true opportunity comes along when a celebrity couple decides to adopt Roz's baby. But everything is not as simple as it seems, and by the time Roz realizes that, it might be too late to back out.

The interesting premise convinced me to request for this book. Overall it was a fun ride! I liked the Mitchell's writing and short chapters, it made this book an easy and quick read. Roz was an okay MC, but I was not too attached to her. Sheridan was a complex, quite an evil and unlikable character, but you do feel bad for her sense of desperation in some places.

I really liked the deep friendship and progression of mother- daughter relationship shown in the book, there were some good moments. Plot and story was okay, but the mystery and thriller aspect of it was underwhelming. It had a very strong start but got kind of went pretty average by the end.

Overall an enjoyable book, but not a very strong mystery/thriller for me.

Roz is young, penniless and pregnant. All she wants is to be the perfect mother to her child, but the more she thinks about her own chaotic upbringing, the more certain she is that the best life for her baby is as far away as possible from her hometown in Ireland. Determined to do the right thing, Roz joins an elite adoption service and can’t believe her luck. Within days she is jetting to New York to meet a celebrity power couple desperate for a child of their own. Sheridan and Daniel are wealthy and glamorous—everything Roz isn’t. Her baby will never go hungry, and will have every opportunity for the perfect life. But soon after Roz moves into their plush basement suite, she starts to suspect that something darker lurks beneath the glossy surface of their home. When Roz discovers she isn’t the first person to move in with the couple, and that the previous woman has never been seen since, alarm bells start ringing. As the clock ticks down to her due date, Roz realises her unborn baby may be the only thing keeping her alive, and that despite her best intentions, she has walked them both into the perfect nightmare.

This is such an addictive read! Mitchell really treats the reader to a toxic, intense atmosphere that proves relentless the whole way through. There are no real plot twists but this does not matter at all as everything builds to a dangerous, horrifying crescendo.

Let me return to the beginning, Roz is instantly likeable and I was immediately invested in her and her story. She finds herself in an impossible situation and lured into what seems like the perfect life. It is fairly obvious that everything is going to go wrong but I did not predict how addictive I would find the read. Enter Sheridan and Daniel, a powerful, celebrity couple who look like they have it all. Bubbling under the surface are horrifying realities that people cannot imagine. They are the perfect couple for this plot, outwardly charming and inwardly damaged and toxic. They really added to my sense of unease reading this.

'The Perfect Mother' is a highly addictive, intense thriller that will have you hooked from the start. Open your mind to the most terrifying situation and enjoy the ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy.

The Perfect Mother is a perfect storm of a thriller, using a fear most women can understand perfectly. When Roz is faced with an unplanned pregnancy, she feels that adoption is her best option, and is ultimately chosen by a famous American couple to give them the child they haven’t been able to have. In a weird requirement, she must live with them until the baby is born and they of course will take care of all of her expenses. Unfortunately, one bizarre happening leads to another, and she finds herself trapped by this couple she thought wanted only the best for her. It’s an unsettling tale, full of twists, and was a great trip to take.

The synopsis of this book drew me in but the actual book had me hook line & sinker. Read it in 2 days and thoroughly enjoyed every word of the book. Highly recommend.

This is a perfectly decent read and I loved the concept - young pregnant Irish woman, Roz, seeing through the last 6 months of her pregnancy in New York with celebrity Hollywood couple, Daniel and Sheridan, who plan to pass the baby off as their own. Roz’ enthusiasm is quickly dampened when things start to look a little sinister and Roz begins to wonder what is really in store for her!

I found the story a little long and relations between the characters maybe lacked a little authenticity for me, but overall I enjoyed the read and as such wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a dark little dose of escapism!

My thanks to Netgalley, author and Publisher for the opportunity to review this work in exchange for an honest review.

This is not a book for the faint hearted or anyone expecting a baby! It is a great read but somewhat far fetched in aspects of the characters actions and changes in switches in personality. However the main female lead. Roz is well portrayed and you genuinely get attached and involved with her in her predicament. There a few twists and turns, as already alluded to, some rather a stretch but then this is a novel and you need that often to make a story. I read this in 2 days as I couldn't leave Roz in such trouble and needed to know what happened! Sign of a good read.

Terrifying, thrilling, fantastic. The writing that gives way to the book’s suspense is the purest form of excellence. Following Roz becomes an unputdownable journey. I was in a book slump prior to starting this book, but within a few pages I was hooked. Mitchell outdoes herself with this one.

When I first saw the cover I was sure it must be the next book of Sandie Jones, as the cover was soooo similar. Non the less I enjoied this book quite as much.
This read was awesome, i read it twice! It was a read that got you in a net, a sad story of a young girl in a bit of a PICKLE! And oh my Lord it took a turn i never I never expected, not even if I’d have planned it myself .
Caroline Mitchell pulls these storylines from nowhere and never ceases to grab my guts and hold it tight till the book is done.. There are those who are meant to read and those who are meant to write ,we are an awesome combination :-).
The characters are fabulously rooted Jekyll and Hyde style the storylines that just jump out and suck at the main one are perfect its like a tree growing in Slow motion,its exciting, bold and in some parts quite terrifying because it can actually be believably true , this read makes you believe it could happen.

I liked this book a lot, just wasn't in love with it. It's a tightly paced book with an interesting, believable premise--a super celebrity couple keeps a young girl trapped in their basement until she gives birth to a child, which the couple will then pass off as their own. It's a icky idea but certainly seems like something the ultra rich and famous could pull off.

I really liked the pregnant woman Roz and found her story (and that of her best friend/roommate back in Ireland) to be compelling. It seemed realistic that Roz could fall into such a trap. It isn't until she gets to New York and other elements are slowly revealed (like being confined to a basement only accessible by an elevator that requires a pass code) that you start to get a queasy feeling and realize how much danger this woman is in.

However I felt like the half of the story about celeb couple, Sinclair and Daniel, to be less believable. As mentioned above, I believed such a thing could happen, but I didn't quite buy the psychology of why and how. Sinclair seems almost comically villainous at the start of the story. I had a hard time buying her maintaining this whole lifestyle when she's basically a sociopath. However, later in the book, we asked to almost warm up to her and see her as a victim of circumstance. I wasn't really buying that transition either. The storyline about Daniel just felt underdeveloped to me.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

UK author Caroline Mitchell builds a world of terror in a luxury basement apartment in New York City. Twenty-something Roz is pregnant, she doesn't feel ready to care for a child and she can't go to the father for help, so she signs up for an adoption website to match with prospective parents. After travelling from Dublin to New York she meets the celebricouple that want to adopt her baby. Under very specific conditions...a twisted tale of innocent people getting caught in the spiderweb of celebrity and privilege.

An interesting premise that could have been done better... We have lots of hard to believe situations and cheesy dialogue, as well as unlikable characters in The Perfect Mother. I like domestic thrillers, and the synopsis for this one sounds really interesting, but the execution wasn't all that great. I'm going with 3 stars.

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced PDF so that I can share my opinions with y'all