Wow, I really enjoyed this book. Its truly terrifying to even imagine losing a child in such a way. The grief and guilt that come afterward for the family is painful to read and I found myself feeling really emotional with them. The story itself is brilliant. It's got a creepy psychological feel to it amongst the heartbreak and suffering abdi think I had a slight suspicion of every character at some point along the way which is unusual for me because I'm normally quite good at figuring out the plot before I'm quarter of the way through a book. So that was fun. The ending actually surprised me most of all it was not at all what I was expecting so that one was definitely a shocker!! Overall a fantastic read with a killer plot and a shock twist

I found Mother to be a good although very sad read with a plot that had some very good twists and turns.
A very good read highly recommend.

I found this book to start quite slowly but once into the story I really enjoyed it , and what a totally unexpected twist !!!

Thanks to Netgalley for the preview of this book. It was a good read with a really different narrative. The twist was one i genuinely didn't see coming. I look forward to more from this writer

A new author for me, and one I would happily read from again! Enjoyed the book, realistic characters and an intriguing plot line. I would recommend it to friends. The author managed to achieve a balance of tone and ensured that I looked forward to picking up the book and becoming absorbed in the next chapter- sometime I find my interest is lost if I have to read it in stages due to life taking over, this was not the case here! Thank you.

This is my first time reading a book by Laura Jarrett and it took me a little longer to read than usual. I kind of took notes as I went through the book to give you an idea of how I felt at the that time in the book.
I absolutely loved the very quick twist-this is that we are all going to possibly assume she saves the daughter we think she is most likely going to save by just reading those first few chapters.
I'm sure all of our thought processes will be different but this little shocker at the end of chapter 9 had me hooked! A very clever way to start a book out.
And without giving anything away I had chosen wrong to whom I'd thought. Shock horror! Around to the end of the next chapter..... Oh no the revelations do not stop at number 9.... Here comes another twist. Then they kind of stop dead. Dissapointing.

One problem I found was how the writing was laid out, other than the font there was no obvious separation of the person "watching" and the women narrating 'Lizzie', it was all written into the same chapter.

The whole middle of this book to me was pointless. Not alot of anything happened-but alot of words were printed.

Then we come to the end, great emotional ending had me captured for all of one chapter, then it all became a bit muddled and messy and again pointless dialogue.... The final chapter, mixed emotions.

I started off loving this book and it went kind of downhill from there and it couldn't keep me captivated. Final few chapters roped me back in and with the end in sight I managed to finish the book.

2.5/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

I enjoyed but didn't love this book. I found it quite slow paced but enjoyed the narrative. The 'twist' came from nowhere and though I didn't expect it, I also didn't find it that exciting.
I liked the familial relationships portrayed throughout the book.

Really enjoyed reading this book, couldn't put it down, must admit its one that I would happily pick up again and read,
Overall I would recommend to anyone to read it, can't wait to get it on my page and let my followers know what I think about it!

Well this book certainly had twists and turns. Heartbreaking, frustrating and a really page turner. I couldn't wait to get deeper into the story. Would recommend 1000000%!

This book is absolutely brilliant! It explores the complex emotions involved in grief, motherhood and relationships. I couldn’t put it down even when, at times, it was hard to read. It provoked an emotional response in me at so many points, trust me when I say this is not an easy feat!

Not for me as it was too sad for me to cope with. The misery and guilt was far too overwhelming and I struggled to read it.

I liked the look of this book at first, then found I couldn't put it down.
I could understand why the main character did what she did, must have been a very hard desision, in that situation would you even know what you were doing. I give this book five stars really enjoyed reading it.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. I feel like overall the description was better than the book. It had some good suspense, some good twists, and the ending was a shocker to me. But I felt like some parts in the middle didn't hold my attention.

How do you decide which child to save? That is Lizzie’s dilemma. When Lizzie’s car crashes into a lake with her two daughters inside and she can only save one of them, how does she decide which one? The story follows the aftermath of the accident and the way Lizzie and her family deal with the outcome.

A great fast paced thriller which I enjoyed.

A difficult yet fascinating read, reminiscent of Sophie’s Choice. A difficult and emotional tale of a mother having to decide which of her drowning daughters to save when their car sinks underwater, and the disasters that follow in the accident’s wake...

Lizzie has to make a choice no mother has to make, her car is sinking fast into a deep lake and only one daughter can be saved. The book follows the aftermath of this event, which daughter she chose, why she chose her and hiw the family deals with the grief. Things quickly take a more sinister turn as it appears maybe the crash wasn't an accident at all.
Mother is fast paced and gripping, there are many twists and turns and although some are predictable it is still a real page turner. Overall a wonderful first novel for this genre. Well written, an enjoyable read and just enough surprises to keep you interested without getting over the top as some crime thrillers do.

Gripping, unpredictable and a new author for me. This is definitely an author j will be looking out for.
I can’t wait to read more by this author.

Categorised as "women's fiction" - really are we still doing this?

Despite being a man I thought I'd give it a try and although I took a while to get into the story, as I didn't find Lizzie a particularly engaging character, I enjoyed it. I can't imagine the feelings that any of the main characters were going through or how they could live with the decision made, but I did feel that Lizzie did herself no favours by bottling up her emotions. For me the story became more interesting once it became apparent that foul play was afoot but I'm afraid I felt that the denouement was just a tad too out of the blue and too easy.

Nonetheless I felt that as a debut adult novel the author did a fine job in keeping me intrigued and I thank her, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

After a car crash involving Lizzie’s two daughters , her and her family struggle to put their lives back together and come to an understanding of what happened that fateful day. Absolutely packed full of action and emotion it will leave you gripped and drained.

This story starts with Lizzie and her two daughters embarking on a journey home after a holiday in the Scottish countryside. However, due to a combination of bad weather, and the interferences of another road user, Lizzie crashes and is faced with a horrendous choice. Her two daughters are trapped in the back of the car. She only has time to save one of them.

For the rest of the book we follow Lizzie and her family come to terms with the accident, and the loss of one of the girls. At times, it is a heartbreaking read, not least because it is so easy to put yourself in her shoes. I cannot imagine losing a child, and the grief that would be all-consuming. To feel that you were responsible for that loss in any way, or had any semblance of real choice over the outcome, would be unbearable.

This is a very pacey read, and I devoured the first 50%; however, I felt it lost it’s way after that, and I struggled slightly to keep going. There are a few twists and turns, but nothing that kept me on the edge of the seat, and nothing I didn’t see coming.

This is a strong debut novel in this genre for this author, and I’d be intrigued to see what else she produces in time, but this ended up leaving me feel a little cold and bored towards the end.

The Stars
A really strong start, that lost its way. A strong 3 stars.