Mim gets the phone call, her husband Ben has gone missing whilst working on a project in Indonesia, but something isn't adding up and her and her children could be in danger. So she runs.

I devoured this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it and the suspense was great! I felt alot of the book was spent on the boat and the ending felt rushed which was why it dropped to a 4 star review for me but the premise of this story was brilliant, its something I could envision being made into a movie and one I would watch.

It portrays a world that could be not far for us with houses that respond to you as you walk around and chips in your hand to access houses, pay for this, travel places. It portrays conspiracy theories such as the government are watching and listening at everything we do and how corrupt they are.

I really enjoyed this book, and would like to thank Harper Collins for reaching out and asking me to review this book and be a part of the tour.

This was a brilliant, a fantastic thriller set in the near future in Australia.
In Mim’s world the Government is watching you and your family, especially a part of it called The Department who oversee all aspects of your life including your passport, banking and your chip, and I’m not talking about potatoes! Everyone is chipped, well nearly everyone.
When Mim is told that her husband is missing, and that The Department want her and her kids passports, and is then told to not leave the family home, she realises that something is very wrong. She wants to find him, but isn’t sure how she can when the chips in all three of them will tell The Department that they’ve left home!
Well this gripped me so much! I loved the writing, and loved getting caught in Mim’s journey to keep her and her kids safe, whilst looking for her husband. It was fraught with danger but also with kindness from family and friends. Mim wasn’t a super mum, she was very ordinary, she struggled to make decisions and worried constantly about whether she was being a good parent or not. It made a nice change to have a character who felt so real and made me like her even more,
I really didn’t know what was going to happen, whether they’d find Mim’s husband or if it would just be a wild goose chase. I’d definitely read or listen to more by the author.
I definitely recommend this one if you enjoy thrillers set in the near future.

To keep her children safe, she must put their lives at risk …
In suburban Australia, Mim and her two children live as quietly as they can. Around them, a near-future world is descending into chaos: government officials have taken absolute control, but not everybody wants to obey the rules.
When Mim’s husband Ben mysteriously disappears, Mim realises that she and her children are in great danger. Together, they must set off on the journey of a lifetime to find Ben. The government are trying to track them down, but Mim will do anything to keep her family safe – even if it means risking all their lives.
Can the world ever return to normality, and their family to what it was?

Every time I read a new dystopian novel I end up feeling a little disturbed about how close it is to the world we’re in now. Especially with the extreme weather events, potential for WW3 and the lingering pandemic all competing for our attention. Yet for some reason I’m drawn to them and when they’re done well they blow me away. There have been a few dystopian novels sitting high on my ‘Books of the Year’ list for the past two years running.

This was another novel set in the near future, where severe climate change events and continued terrorist attacks have made the government take drastic action. They now have a totalitarian government, run under the sinister title of the “Department”. Humans have been installed with the type of microchips anti-vaxxers are terrified by, allowing the government to keep tabs of every single citizen. All civil liberties and freedoms have been swept aside for the false promise of round the clock security provided by their privacy being invaded. Any dissent is dealt with quickly and without mercy, and there are purpose built compounds ready to house anyone who speaks out. Many go in, but nobody comes out again, a though that fills me with dread considering I’m writing this as Russia is dismantling any left-wing TV or radio station and announcing new laws to curb anyone even labelling their invasion of the Ukraine as a war instead of a ‘special military operation.’

So when officials from the Department tell Mim is tell Mim that her husband Ben is missing, she has to think quickly and tactically about the best plan of action for her and their children Essie and Sam. When officials arrive at her home to department to "help and advise’ she knows that she’s being trapped. Their advice warns her to stay home and they offer her some official looking forms to sign, but without giving her a chance to read them. Finally, they’re asked to surrender their Passports. This might be run of the mill stuff in a dictatorial regime, but Mim isn’t so easily controlled or fobbed off. Ben had been working in Indonesia, at a gold mine, so Mim is used to him being away from home, but he’s never been unexpectedly delayed or kept at his place of work without some notice. However, his return ‘in the next few days’ allows Mim time to think and delay telling anyone they know. The only other person who. knows the truth is Raquel - a foreign, independent journalist who had happened to ring because she had heard Ben had disappeared on the grapevine. Mim decides to run, knowing that officials will take them as security to lure Ben to them if they don’t already have him.

The story of this family on the run makes a great thriller, the pace is mostly superb and I was rooting for this family. The Department are relentless though, and Mim finds her way blocked, not just by the confiscated passports, but by frozen bank accounts and phone calls where her children are threatened if she doesn’t return home. I felt torn about Mum’s decision making. I applauded her for sticking to her principles and the belief that her children are in more danger living within this totalitarian regime than by running any. The other half of me was thinking she was crazy to risk their lives this way. An old friend of Mim’s takes the family on a treacherous sea voyage to find Ben, but I kept wondering whether she could trust her friend or if there are ulterior motives. I found some of Mim’s choices here difficult to understand and the story seemed to slow as they tried to reach Borneo. However, once there and towards the end the pace changed suddenly and my only criticism of the book would be that this huge change in pace made the final section feel like it passed too quick, giving me a bit of an anti-climactic feel. I thought the Big Brother elements of the novel were well established and the government felt truly terrifying in their scope and methods of punishment. I enjoyed the fact that it made me think, not just about the politics, but about being a mother in this oppressive situation and the decisions I would have made for my children. Was it worth putting their lives in immediate danger to avoid the potential future consequences of staying put? I found it involving, intelligent and eerily prescient, with the ability to start a few nightmares.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. Other readers may enjoy it more, but I could not get into it and ultimately did not finish it.

The Mother Fault is a gripping page-turner that keeps you hooked. It could be like any other book within it's genre but the family element gives the entire story a new and exciting dimension, that helps to make it an exciting and interesting read.

I love Jane Harper's books so the comparison to her writing was very appealing to me - so perhaps I set off on the wrong foot with this book, The Mother Fault was more futuristic than I had been expecting rather than a crime thriller set now. But although it wasnt what I had been anticipating, the futuristic dystopian setting of this book grabbed me and was drawn in by the storyline and characters.

I was amazed when I read The Mother Fault. The first few chapters were nothing like I expected. The surprising elements keep intriguing me. I want to know what happened, what happens to her husband; the reason he vanish – not contacting any family members, and why is it the title said, The Mother Fault? Who's the chaser and why do they have to run away? So many questions I needed answers to.

A wonderful book. Set in a near future dystopian society. A mother of two Mim finds that her husband is missing. The story set in Australia has Mim setting off with her children to find him whilst trying to avoid detection by The Department and trying to keep her children safe.
A Highly recommended mystery which will keep you engrossed. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

Very good read, keeps you on the edge of your seat. I finished this in one sitting and was blown away. Loved it.

Dystopian thriller. Tick.
Suspenseful. Tick.
Enjoyable read. Tick.
Set in Autralia, where climate change is well underway. Mim's husband Ben goes missing, and no-one knws where, but both Mim and the government body The Department are both deperate to find him. Well worth a read.

Not my type of hook at all!! Set in a world where everyone is microchipped & one woman's quest to find her husband. Long & boring, did not finish

This was difficult to write review about. Writing was good, timelines confusing. subplots could be made sharper. An okay read

A book that wasn't for me I'm sorry to say.

Set in a future where climate change is not just something that is likely to happen but is all too real and where everyone is micro-chipped and controlled by the Government, this is the story about Mim trying to find out about her missing husband but feeling she has no other option than to go on the run with her children.

Sounds good doesn't it, well for me it just fell short on excitement. There was a lot of description, too much waffle and whilst the characters were well developed, I couldn't seem to get on with them. The ending was also a disappointment; it seemed to take a while to get there and then it was over with many questions still to be answered - maybe I missed something somewhere?

So whilst this wasn't for me, there are plenty of positive reviews out there so don't take my word for it as I always say, if we all liked the same things, the world would be a very boring place indeed.

My thanks go to HarperCollins UK / HarperFiction and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

Set in a future Australia ravaged by climate change this dystopisn story had brilliant tense moments, actions that led to chilling consequences but also questionable moves from the main character Mim which took away from the action for me slightly as they seemed out of character given what she was undertaking & why.

The end has left me wondering if there's going to be a second book as it was quick & not all my questions were answered.

This was a chilling thriller. Dystopian story set in Australia, where the government has taken control of everyone and everything. The main characters husband is missing and the government want to take charge of her and her children, so she runs and tries to find her husband. Action packed and realistic.

I was intrigued to read this book from the description and it didn't disappoint. exciting thriller and mystery overlaid with topical Climate change and a big brother dystopian society.
i found the characters relatable and couldn't wait to understand the bigger picture and what would happen.
one small negative for me was that I found the ending a little rushed compared to the rest of the book. This didnt however put me off the whole novel and would highly recommend it.
Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
#TheMotherFault #NetGalley

Mim’s husband Ben has disappeared, leaving her only cryptic messages and a warning to keep their children safe from The Firm. As they set off on a journey across Australia to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, Mim keeps trying to find out what has happened to Ben. Will he be able to find them?

Set in a future where climate change has wrought havoc on the world, The Mother Fault isn’t an easy read. I struggled to get going, finding it, like the land, dry and lifeless. While I’m sure there’s a good story in there, for me it was just too much to try and find it.

Sorry, just not something I enjoyed.

Although I found the story line interesting and we possibly could be heading in that direction, I did struggle to get into it. The character of Mim wasn’t a likeable one for me unfortunately.
I couldn’t understand the title of the book or how it relates to the story either. Sorry it’s not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read an advance copy in return for my honest review.

The Mother Fault starts off really well, with the scary thought that everything it outlines could happen! The story develops well but then for me there was no pay off. I realised I was 90% of the way through and didn’t feel the story was as far along as I was expecting. Overall, it was quite disappointing, the story had so much promise.

The Mother’s Fault is a dystopia like none I have read before, it is believable and I can imagine the word actually being like this one day.
It is set in Australia which is now run by “The Department” and everyone is chipped when born. If you defy “The Department” you do so at your peril.
Mim’s husband Ben has disappeared, he can’t be tracked and after being questioned she has to surrender her passport and has been threatened that her children will be taken into care. She is being watched in case he gets in touch with her.
She is scared for her husband, herself and her children. She has no option but to run.

The premise of this book is great, however, I questioned Mim’s actions a lot. Not only going on the run in the first place because she was in danger either way but throughout the book, I was wondering how she actually felt about the husband she was supposed to love and be looking for because her actions didn’t really portray the love.
I also felt that the ending was abrupt and I was left with many questions which unless there is a book 2 in the works I will be left wondering about.