Helen Monks Takhar knows how to write addictive fiction, full of plot twists (one more twisted than the other, literally) and morally grey characters. A page turner that made me happy that my girls are not of school age yet!

Three words to describe it. Twisted. Dark. Captivating.

Do I like the cover? Yes, it’s delicious!

Have I read any other books by the same author? Yes, I’ve read the highly addictive Precious You, now published with the title That Woman.

I couldn't get into this book. It sounded good and I had just read something with a similar plot. The characters were not that likeable. I couldn't even finish it. I realize I felt the same way about Helen's previous book. Looked and sounded good, but fell flat for me.

Such A Good Mother is psychological suspense that delves into motherhood and school mum cliques producing a dark, disturbing story with many unlikeable characters and cleverly crafted twists that keep you reading. It's also a social biography of bullying, shaming and gentrification of inner cities. Explored in an impactful way, it shows many aspects of modern society in an unfavourable light.

I like the vivid characterisation and the vibrant setting that gives the story authenticity. The shocking twists are well written but equally thought-provoking, the socio-political issues the story explores.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It centres around Rose, a mum wanting to give her son the best chance in life but the family has little cash, are struggling to make ends meet and live in a tiny flat.

Despite all odds amazingly Rose's son gets a place at the most prestigious school 'The Woolfe' which is when the real problems start. Rose has her own insecurities and is desperate to fit in with the other rich and glamorous mothers and in doing so makes some really quite dumb choices. Things escalate when she is offered a place into 'The Circle' an elite group of school mums who give extra help to The Woolfe which leads her to risk everything she holds dear.

I'm still not quite sure who Rose was making all these stupid decisions for, were they to benefit her son and husband or ultimately herself?

Wow, what an amazing read! Rose O’Connell’s son Charlie will be starting school next year and so when her old high school, now turned into an elite free primary school, has an open evening, Rose goes along with her best friend and sister-in-law to check the place out. Haunted by her past in the building though, Rose isn’t sure whether the place is right for her son, especially when she discovers there’s a special clique of people who help run the school. But Rose is determined that her son will have a better education than she did and is determined to get her son into The Woolf, but is it really the best place for Charlie and her?

This is such a brilliant and gripping story that had me turning the pages from the very beginning! Rose is nervous about the school, especially when she finds out that there is a class divide between the elite parents at the open evening and everyone else. However Rose is soon swept into the room with the elite looking parents and soon finds a place is ready for her son at The Woolf. Rose take her time deciding whether it’s the right place for her son though and as she wonders whether she should accept the place, we start to get an insight into Rose’s life with son and husband.

I like Rose as a character, she comes across as quite nervous and shy which I can definitely relate to when I think of the school I used to go to. Rose is an easy character to like and the life she has with her son and husband isn’t the richest in money, but is a good one. However, when Rose ends up taking Charlie to The Woolf, it’s soon obvious that things aren’t going well Charlie or Rose herself. The elite school, singles out her son as troubled and he has all sorts of problems, as does Rose, with fitting in. However when Rose finds out about The Circle, a special group of mothers who help to run the school, and is later invited in, she finds her and Charlie’s lives transformed with neither of them having any more problems fitting in and Charlie enjoying himself at the school.

The story is interesting andI like how creepy and weird the school is from the start. Rose’s home life is interesting too with her coming from a poorer background and showing all the problems that go with a life like that. I like how the main character’s life isn’t perfect but the relationship with her family at home is so lovely to see, and how Rose’s joining of the Circle affects her home life as well as her life with the school. The story is split into three parts, each part beginning with an interesting third person view of a death/murder before Rose begins narrating her story, prior to each death taking place. I have to say I like the way this was done, the initial death is intriguing and I like how we later see who it is and what happened.

The whole story is gripping from the start, and I found myself unable to put this book down. As the story goes on there are some very interesting twists and shocking moments too. A lot of things are revealed in certain chapters and I like how this book kept me guessing throughout. There are things I thought I knew but then shock moments I just didn’t expect, especially the ending of the second part of the book! The overall ending has a particularly dark twist and I found the build up to what happens at the end really brilliant. I’m not sure I enjoyed that very last scene so much though, it felt good until that last mention of something which gave it a bit of a dark vibe, but I did like how the story plays out for Rose and the others in general and how there’s a brilliant twist of what happens to one character right near the end which I wasn’t expecting.

Overall this is a great story and one which will be on my mind for some time. There are so many shocking moments and twists that it kept me guessing and glued throughout. Although there was one twist I managed to guess before it was revealed, it was only a page before the reveal and everything else was a huge surprise. There are some author’s notes at the end of the book which are interesting as it gives you an insight into how some characters came about, and I can totally sympathise with the author’s mention of what happened with the free lunch tickets as it happened to me too! There are mentions of some deaths, murders, and also the occasional use of the s or f swear words but nothing else too upsetting in this book, other than the shocking twists which happen throughout!

This book has definitely made me interested in reading more of the author’s work in future and indeed the hardback even has an extract of her previous novel which I’ve enjoyed reading and will want to now read fully. Overall this really is a great book for anyone who enjoys a thriller with interesting characters, a likeable main character and some brilliant and dark twists. I’m just not sure about that final one, which seemed a bit too dark and weird for me if I’m honest.

Big thanks for my copy to review on netgalley. I loved her debut !!

I raced through this.

Intoxicating and chilling.

Fantastic book that has you hooked from the start.

If you have kids you’re likely to have stood in a playground… say no more…

Thought provoking..how far would you go to ensure you fit in. And we would all do what we can for our children.

Published 4th August and do check out the other blogs taking part in the tour.

My thanks to NetGalley and HQ publishing for the opportunity to review this book.
A dark and twisted tale of manipulation. A page turner that will make you review the groups of parents at the school gates.
An unexpected ending.
I highly recommend this book.

Description 🔖

There is nothing Rose O’Connell wants more than to be a perfect mother. After enrolling her son at the most sought after primary school in the area, she’s unexpectedly recruited into “The Circle”; a group of women who run the school and have it all. Due to Rose’s desire to have it all too, she joins them and is willing to overlook some questionable things in order to climb up the social ladder.

Things like, where does all of their money come from and why did one of the mother’s take her own life and what made them pick Rose in particular? Rose is soon to find out that having it all comes at a cost.

General Thoughts 🤔

I had been looking forward to reading this book for a few reasons; I liked the cover, I enjoyed this author’s last book and the blurb sounded interesting. I will admit that this book wasn’t quite as good as Precious You in my opinion (review here), but it was enjoyable. I liked the concept of the book; a woman who hasn’t got much, surrounded my woman that have a lot and how far will she go to be like them. It turned out that Rose would go a lot further than I initially thought she would.

Characters 👫👭👬

The main character Rose was flawed in many ways, but I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. She spent a lot of time feeling less than, so I did kind of feel happy for her when she started to climb the social ladder. However I do think that she took it too far. She started to make bad priority decisions and it was at this point that my sympathy for her withered away.

I really liked Rose’s husband Pete. He was a sweet man who seemed to be content with his lot in life, albeit he was lacking some ambition and drive. There was some back story there that I would have liked to have read a little bit more about.

Writing Style ✍️

There were parts of this story that I did think were very relatable. Everyone judges each other at the school gate (whether they admit it or not). There were also parts of this story that I don’t think were relatable for the majority of society, however I did think they were believable. I liked the way that the author mixed the two of these together to create a story that I could see myself in, but with some drama sprinkled on top.

I think that the majority of the book was well paced, however there was a lot of unravelling in the last 3-5 chapters. I think that this could have happened a little earlier maybe or been extended out to create a bit more tension.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

Overall I thought that this was an enjoyable read. It didn’t grab and hold me as dramatically as I was anticipating it to, however it was a good steady burn of a story with some interesting characters and an intriguing plot. I would recommend this book for some relatively easy reading.

Wow what a great book from start to finish had me gripped and wanting to read more.
The story is about Rose Rose O’Connell, enrols her seven-year-old son, Charlie into the prestigious school, the Woolf Academy. It is run by a woman called Amala who runs The Circle who are an elite group of influential, wealthy mothers who believe they rule the school. When a member of The Circle dies, Rose is invited to join them...
What follows is a story be careful what you wish for and how secrets can come and bite you.
Highly recommend. look forward to reading more books from Helen Monks Takhar.
Thanks to NetGalley & HQ for a advanced copy.

Rose O’Conell is a 36-year-old mother of one, Charlie, who is 4 and about to start school. Rose is married to Pete, who is a self-employed plumber, but recently he hasn’t been getting any paid work, money is extremely tight, and it all falls on Rose’s shoulders. She works as a cashier in a local bank and tries to juggle work and motherhood.

As you may have guessed, she feels extremely guilty. She would like more money to ease the burden of family debt, but also to spend more quality time with her son and husband. Rose wants the best for Charlie and she reckons that by him going to the Woolf Academy, a prestigious but free school with an outstanding reputation, he will have the best start in life.

When Charlie is accepted, Rose is overjoyed, but not so much her husband and his sister, Jacqueline (she is also Rose’s best friend). They both think that The Woolf is a bad fit for Charlie, but Rose is adamant it’s the best place for her child.

Soon, she receives an invitation to join The Circle, an elite clique of Woolf mums, who are rich, beautiful and make motherhood (and life) seem easy. They are everything that Rose isn’t, but she will try her hardest to fit in.

However, on closer inspection, nothing is as it seems. What are the women hiding?

Soon, Amala, the leader of The Circle, begins to ask the impossible of Rose. Will she quiver under pressure?

You’ll have to read this book for yourselves to find out.

I really enjoyed this psychological thriller, it had me hooked from the beginning.

Rose was quite a complex character – her father was a conman, and she was the one that paid the price for his notoriety. She craved acceptance and to start with, she appeared quite meek. When Charlie got accepted in the Woolf, a change occurred – she became more confident and certain of what her family needed.

Amala was the antagonist of the story, bold and beautiful, with everything you could have wished for: nice house, handsome husband, and a great child. She would also do anything for her family and for The Woolf, but I felt she did take it too far. She was driven by money, power, and revenge.

My favourite character was Jacqueline. She was the most genuine of all the women in the story. She wasn’t scared of speaking her mind and she loved Charlie, Rose, and Pete.

Overall, if you enjoy a tense psychological thriller, then this book is for you.

I recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book from the start.
I thought I knew where this was going then 3 quarters of the way in the twist wow then another and another. At one point i was sitting with mouth open thinking wow. I just wanted to keep reading. Really good.

I was really excited about the premise of this book, elite school with a clique of uber mums where not everything is at it seems. But I was disappointed with the pace and the characterisation. I couldn't sympathise with the Rose as she was down trodden but not in a plucky underdog way but in a 'stop wallowing in pity' way, meaning that I actually didn't care about her storyline. I found peripheral characters flat and the storyline slow.

Rose O’Connell, enrols her seven-year-old son, Charlie into the prestigious school, the Woolf Academy across the road from the O’Connell home - a shabby, tiny flat. The Circle are an elite group of influential, wealthy mothers who believe they rule the school. When a member of The Circle dies, Rose is invited to join them...

Although this tale pushes the boundaries a bit for what I deem to be plausible, I still found it to be a highly compelling and engrossing read. A great family drama that's well worth a look.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HQ via NetGalley and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

Rosie joins a circle of helpers at her son's exceptional school. The leader is Amala, and each Circle member follows her every instruction. As things improve for Rosie and her son, she discovers that there is more going on in the background, and Amala's requests become more demanding. What has she let herself in for, and can she leave the Circle?
A great book showing how easily we can be blinded by what seems to be the easy wealth and status of others. A great read!

I really enjoyed this novel i found it really well written and enjoyed the character development. The mystery aroiund teh cult was intriguing and engaging.

An intriguing psychological thriller about a struggling family who enter into an elite world of schooling…. All is not what it seems though. Far fetched but entertaining and gripping

I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this one!
I was hooked from the start and didn’t want to put it down, ambiguous throughout I found myself trying to guess the next twist and turn and failing.
However the last 10% wasn’t what I was expecting and I’m still trying to decide if I liked the way it ended…hmmm

Such A Good Mother by Helen Monks Takhar is a gripping psychological suspense that I just could not put down. I was totally consumed.
The novel is divided into several sections. Each section begins with a different voice to the main body. It is up to the reader to see if we know who is talking. We are left questioning – something has happened but to whom? When? And why? With these questions in my head, I read greedily on.
All the characters are well drawn but not all are likable (they are not meant to be). There is an air of menace as a character exerts control over all. A spider’s web is spun, entrapping all who come near.
We are all a product of our upbringing. Our childhood, especially any trauma, shapes the adults we become.
Obsession with money and power drive some characters. Others have secrets they want to stay hidden. And others are driven by the need to protect. The results are shocking.
Such A Good Mother was a read that set my heart racing and my pulse rising. As the novel sped towards the conclusion I clung on for dear life.
It was a complex, extremely well executed plotline, and once more I failed to predict the outcome!
Such A Good Mother was an incredibly compulsive read that thoroughly engrossed me.
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this title; it seemed a little different to what I usually read, but I’m pleased I chose it. An elitist group of mothers at an exclusive school all have their secrets. When a new member is introduced, it all goes pear shaped and lives change. It’s filled with exactly the type of people I would avoid where possible. They’re moneyed, aspirational, backstabbing and downright evil. Some will stop at nothing to get what they want.

I was quickly immersed in the story and the cast if nasty people. I was waiting for just desserts and the story took me on a very unexpected journey. It’s pure entertainment but delivered everything I want. I was in another world watching and listening to events, didn’t see the twists and was keen to know how it would all pull together. It’s a great read and I enjoyed it.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

Sorry, I just couldn't engage with the mothers in this book. I gave up about a third of the way through